Enjoy the journey, my tuppence worth, I want to put my pellet in the bore and thumb it in place I compete with a K12 but my back up is a Morini Titanium that has a "tray" and so many times I've dropped a pellet in the gulley / tray and it has dropped backwards needing tipping out and a restart needed. For me the full length works but to bring the COG back you can use a compact / short cylinder. I do have short barrels and cylinders for both the K12 and Morini and have used them extensively but have returned to the full size versions now. Try out all you can, it is a hoot and a really good focus to have in life as you have to switch off every other thought and that is a good thing.