Pistol bolts, why on the right?

[magicesperanto]

I have never understood why a target air pistol does not have the bolt on the left side.

Is the right handed shooter supposed to reach over with the left hand to reload, or change hands?

Surely it is better to maintain the correct grip throughout a group?

Can anyone enlighten me please?

[eyebull]

It annoys me too. When I built my 7740 target pistol I got a left handed breech for this reason.

I suppose it could be considered 'safer'?

[Adam77K]

I agree but I think it’s just laziness and not thinking ergonomically: “Bolts go on the right”.
Match pistols tend to allow left hand loading, e.g. Steyr LP10.

I built my custom 1377 with a left hand bolt.

[trick cyclist]

I suppose it could be considered 'safer'?

True, with a left-handed bolt, you should adopt a 'finger out of the guard' policy when not in the aim, particularly if you have a pistol with a mag, would be quite easy to loose one off if you go into day dreaming, which of course none of us do!

[El Garro]

Maybe to save it jamming in the holster when you need to draw quickly outside that saloon

[PaulR]

Although the CP2 does not qualify as a match pistol it has the bolt on the left hand side which is really annoying as I am left handed.

[Tony.T]

Such a good point- I've been saying this to shooting mates for years. They're all back to front aren't they?

[Rickenbacker]

Not a full-fat target pistol, but they thought of that with the Titan and Falcon air pistols by putting all the cockery/loadery on the left hand side of a right hand pistol:

falcon-fn8.jpg

[Geezer]

Because a lot of people who design airguns are production engineers, not airgunners.

Frankly, a lot of gun designers are production engineers, not shooters.

Take a look in the firearm world at the classic and well-regarded HK G3. Not an awful rifle, pretty reliable and crucially able to be sold at well under (IIRC half) the unit price of its main rival the FN FAL. But the FAL has the controls (safety, bolt catch, mag release, cocking handle) exactly where they should be. The HK's human engineering is much less good. It's only virtue apart from cost is accuracy (once you have learned to tolerate bad stock design, heavy trigger, poorly located safety, etc). But it and its variants have served in about 100 countries' armies and national police forces.

[Geezer]

On a more prosaic airgun level, if you are, say, Crosman, and you want to use the same parts for a carbine (2250) and a pistol (2240), you pick the right-hand option. Crosman are a master class in using the same basic parts in a wide variety of guns, often for decades. Some of the Chinese makers are now at the same level, producing the same base design in PCP, multi-pump, CO2, and rifle and pistol variants.

[Geezer]

True, with a left-handed bolt, you should adopt a 'finger out of the guard' policy when not in the aim, particularly if you have a pistol with a mag, would be quite easy to loose one off if you go into day dreaming, which of course none of us do!

At the risk of being branded a total sanctimonious preachy dickhead, that should be standard practice with any gun from day one. Rule 3. Finger off the trigger (which means outside the guard) until you are on a safe target and ready to shoot. Most "accidents" with guns are Rule 3 violations, or would not have happened (despite Rule 1 and 2 violations) without Rule 3 being broken.

[Arthur John Smithsplease]

If by target pistols you mean the likes of Steyrs, Feinwerkbaus, Walthers, etc.the bolt is on the left, isn't it?

I know as a former owner that it is on the Steyr LP10.

[trick cyclist]

At the risk of being branded a total sanctimonious preachy dickhead, that should be standard practice with any gun from day one. Rule 3. Finger off the trigger (which means outside the guard) until you are on a safe target and ready to shoot. Most "accidents" with guns are Rule 3 violations, or would not have happened (despite Rule 1 and 2 violations) without Rule 3 being broken.

Speak as you find; however, shooters still have NDs, and these tend not to happen unless someone has their finger in the wrong place at the wrong time. Clearly not enough sanctimonious preachy dickheads around.

[airgunnut]

Most of the population are right handed, so we can assume that right handed pistol shooters hold the pistol with there right hand, what hand are you going to use to open the bolt and load the pistol?

Or are you one of those who after a shot move the pistol from your right hand to your left, then use your right hand to load? .... If you are then you need to practice loading with your left hand, in a comp every time you change your grip you change the impact point of your pellet.
I have shot in county comps (some years ago now) and I know that just changing how tightly I hold on to the pistol changes the impact point.


If your a south paw then you have to pay a premium for the left handed version.
i know some shooters who are left handed but shoot right handed, that's cos 98% of the second hand guns out there are right handed, this could be because left handed shooters are nowhere as common as right handed shooters, if they do buy a left handed gun they tend to keep it forever as they find they have a very hard time selling it due to there been a very limited market for left hand guns, or it could be down to the fact they might be to tight to buy a left handed gun!



Dont bother shouting at me, I know I have pissed some of you off with my observations (then again you wouldn't be on the bbs if you didn't want to be pissed off!)

[harvey_s]

If by target pistols you mean the likes of Steyrs, Feinwerkbaus, Walthers, etc.the bolt is on the left, isn't it?

I know as a former owner that it is on the Steyr LP10.

Yep, and so is the Morini.... Predominantly it'll be the cheap end of the market that has a RH bolt.