Air Arms Can a ProSport be safely decocked?

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dormitionskete

dormitionskete

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Feb 8, 2019
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Colorado, United States
www.trueorthodoxy.org
This video shows how to decock a TX200.


From what I understand, the ProSport and TX200 have the same power plant, except the ProSport doesn't have a bear trap.

Our HW97K manual says:

Never pull the trigger if the barrel / cocking barrel is bent down.The barrel / cocking barrel will
fly up, bend and could cause injury. A cracked and / or broken stock will occur. Guaranteed!
This will always void any warranty!

To uncock a cocked and empty air rifle (no pellet inserted), close the barrel / cocking
barrel, firmly depress muzzle opening against a soft pad (carpet, cardboard) and discharge it.
If you have already loaded a pellet, you have to direct the muzzle into a safe pellet trap, aim and discharge it.

--

If it can be decocked, that'd be really nice; but I'd rather not break a $1K airgun just trying it out.
 
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I think I just found the answer to my own question. From the ProSport manual:

"Once cocked the rifle cannot be easily de-cocked, never fire the rifle without a pellet as this may damage the seals. If you have loaded and cannot fire at your chosen target but wish to make the rifle safe, fire the pellet into soft ground."

Forgive me for bothering you, guys.
 
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It's not a bother, it's an intelligent question that needs answering. I suspect the quotes from the manuals you have found are meant to prevent newbies and uneducated gun owners from damaging their rifles. Decocking such rifles requires pulling the lever almost to its limit and grasping it firmly so that it cannot fly up uncontrolled. Also, if the cocking lever is only partially pulled down and you release the piston, intentionally or otherwise, the piston assembly will accelerate and slam into the cocking shoe and arm with unhappy outcomes.

Pulling a trigger on a standard break barrel rifle while the barrel is broken open is a sure way to cause it to slam shut and usually ends up bending the barrel upward or worse, damaging the breech and maybe even breaking the stock where the bolts attach. All of us who owned early springers that have no bear trap mechanism learned to keep your booger hook well away from the trigger while loading pellets. Frequently, I would load a pellet and then decock the rifle by pulling the barrel down gently to its limit, holding it and pulling the trigger and then slowly letting the barrel swing back up. You have to be ready for the same force you experienced during cocking. Do you trust your own grip? I do. That way, I would have one in the chamber and a very safe condition for the next time I saw a snake or other pest.

I would not attempt this unless you know the trigger is operating and holding properly because there is an element of risk as you are pulling the barrel or cocking lever down, before it reaches the end of its stroke. If the trigger lets go before you are ready to hold it in a controlled way, the piston will accelerate and slam into the cocking mechanism as described above.

I can understand a healthy fear of trying this with a newm expensive rifle, especially when the manuals don't recommend it. I think manuals are written nowadays in an overly protective way that coddles users and attempts to limit company liability.

Have you tried using the forum search function? I see you found at least one video for decocking the tx200 mkiii. This is not a subject I recall seeing talked about very much in the years I have been part of this forum. Perhaps your post will draw someone out of the woodwork with an answer. Try another post asking specifically about your HW 97 decocking procedure. Now you've got me curious.

Feinwerk
 
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I have the HW97 and decocking it is only impossible because of the anti-bear trap mechanism that blocks the trigger......The bear trap can be removed as some folks find them to be a bother.
I left mine in as my wife shoots and the bear trap feature allows her to cock it some and adjust her grip to finish the rest.
 
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As far as the prosport goes, I found one post in the following thread that mentions a linkage in the prosport that prevents the trigger from being pulled unless the cocking lever is all the way closed in firing position, preventing decocking 👎🏻

Air Arms - TX200 VS PROSPORT which one?

I was wondering which one is more popular out there and why ?
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com

I found another thread, discussing the different construction of the hw97k that prevents it from being de cocked. There's no button to bypass the anti-bear trap mechanism to allow it to be uncocked. You have to modify the rifle to remove the anti-bear trap parts, which appears to be a common modification. I'm sure that if I owned one, I would do this because I firmly believe it is necessary to decock a springer to make it safe rather than always having to fire it or leave it cocked with the energy in the spring.

As pointed out in this thread, you can also reset the safety while the rifle is cocked by pulling the lever down to its limit and then hard at its limit to reengage the safety mechanism and then return the lever to the closed position.

HW/Weihrauch - HW97k Questions

I have several questions regarding my HW 97k that someone my be able to answer. If I forget to put a pellet in the chamber and close the action can I reopen it? Do I have to take the safety off in order to open it? If I have a pellet in the action and take the safety off, can I put the safety...
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com

Feinwerk
 
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853_OKG said:
I decock my prosport all the time. It is a little tedious, but you have to press in the little button under the cocking rod to release the bear trap safety lockout mechanism.
Click to expand...
@853_OKG - That's great news! But how do you depress that plunger, keep it depressed, while you hold onto the cocking lever firmly with one hand and pull the trigger with the other?

This will really help me a lot if I can manage to do this.
 
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boscoebrea said:
why not shoot it into a safe place?,a springer should never be cocked until ready to fire,simple as that,imy opinion:unsure:
Click to expand...
@boscoebrea - I keep track of my pellet usage: Critter hits, misses, blow offs, target practice, etc. I'm not anal about it; but it's in the ballpark. Since January 1, 2024, I've blown off ~192 pellets. I consider those mostly wasted shots. Yes, I've shot most of them at little pebbles, etc. for target practice of sorts. But that's a lot of mostly wasted pellets. If I can decock these springers, that would make me very happy!
 
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853_OKG said:
I decock my prosport all the time. It is a little tedious, but you have to press in the little button under the cocking rod to release the bear trap safety lockout mechanism.
Click to expand...
@853_OKG - I can verify that this works. It is a bit tedious, as you said. But it works. I'm going to have to make me a little tool or gadget of some sort to streamline the process. I have a few ideas, but if you have any suggestions or further info that might be helpful, I'd love to hear more.

This makes me exceedingly happy. Many thanks again!
 
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dormitionskete said:
@853_OKG - I can verify that this works. It is a bit tedious, as you said. But it works. I'm going to have to make me a little tool or gadget of some sort to streamline the process. I have a few ideas, but if you have any suggestions or further info that might be helpful, I'd love to hear more.

This makes me exceedingly happy. Many thanks again!
Click to expand...
Sorry for not replying to your earlier post. I'm super busy with work. I'm glad to hear you figured it out. I've considered making a tool as you suggested, but after you do it a few times and get the hang of it it's not too difficult to do wih just my finger.
 
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