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Taipan Manufacturers - When are you going to make a forward cocking side lever?

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I own a veteran, and in close comparison a FX wildcat, which is forward cocking. The wildcat has an ergonomical advantage as I see it. When sitting on the bench it is easy to load the taipan with my left hand, as the gun is rested on a tripod. But off bench when I use my left hand to rest the stock on, the wildcat is easier to use, as I do not have to unrest the gun to use my left hand. Using right hand to load the taipan without unshouldering it is not that comfortable. But this thread is probably not meant to discuss what guns are best, but rather what would be an improvement on the veteran, or not. I still think the veteran is a nice gun and have no plans selling it. Maybe taipan could make a forward cocking gun, with a new model name, and sell it alongside the veteran? That way customers could choose what model they prefered. From a business point of view, it is probably not a bad idea to offer more options.
 
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I own a veteran, and in close comparison a FX wildcat, which is forward cocking. The wildcat has an ergonomical advantage as I see it. When sitting on the bench it is easy to load the taipan with my left hand, as the gun is rested on a tripod. But off bench when I use my left hand to rest the stock on, the wildcat is easier to use, as I do not have to unrest the gun to use my left hand. Using right hand to load the taipan without unshouldering it is not that comfortable. But this thread is probably not meant to discuss what guns are best, but rather what would be an improvement on the veteran, or not. I still think the veteran is a nice gun and have no plans selling it. Maybe taipan could make a forward cocking gun, with a new model name, and sell it alongside the veteran? That way customers could choose what model they prefered. From a business point of view, it is probably not a bad idea to offer more options.
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+1 Total agreement with your analysis. Especially, your last two sentences.

I will occasionally use at the range for Bench rest, but 90% of time it will be for backyard pesting and plinking bottle caps and other small targets at 25-35 yards. 

May wait until 1H 2021, and if nothing gets announced I would get a .22 Long from Tony. I had a Regal XL and still have the Royale, so robust high quality guns mean a lot to me. 

I like ‘out of box’ guns that don’t break, keep their POI and don’t need constant maintenance and tuning. 
 
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As a response to a Q a few posts back on why i personally like TAIPAN over others.



Main trigger housing / scope towers using 12 cap screw on 5mm pitch. No little tiny fasteners like FX & AGT use = Long servicing life and just robust !

Trigger / safety mechanics all METAL precision machined on hard pins with linkage clevis also being billet and not a "Du-Bro" type R/C threaded cheap poop connecter

Trigger mechanics ... WORLD CLASS having adjustablity beyond anything on the market in this "Pup" sector. AND QUALITY TOO

Very light BOBBIN type hammer similar to STEYR rifles. Free flight no bounce operation with lightning fast lock time and a super crisp firing action

Simple valve design easily modified or changed up, serviced, entire gun servicing requires ZERO special tools. Left / Right cocking too

The entire receiver is just TIGHT having every single part wobble and wiggle free with just Stellar machining threw out !!!

Great barrels and IMO one of if not the most effective factory LDC provided by a manufacturer..

Could go on .. but i won't.



JMO and nothing more.



Scott s


 
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As a response to a Q a few posts back on why i personally like TAIPAN over others.



Main trigger housing / scope towers using 12 cap screw on 5mm pitch. No little tiny fasteners like FX & AGT use = Long servicing life and just robust !

Trigger / safety mechanics all METAL precision machined on hard pins with linkage clevis also being billet and not a "Du-Bro" type R/C threaded cheap poop connecter

Trigger mechanics ... WORLD CLASS having adjustablity beyond anything on the market in this "Pup" sector. AND QUALITY TOO

Very light BOBBIN type hammer similar to STEYR rifles. Free flight no bounce operation with lightning fast lock time and a super crisp firing action

Simple valve design easily modified or changed up, serviced, entire gun servicing requires ZERO special tools. Left / Right cocking too

The entire receiver is just TIGHT having every single part wobble and wiggle free with just Stellar machining threw out !!!

Great barrels and IMO one of if not the most effective factory LDC provided by a manufacturer..

Could go on .. but i won't.



JMO and nothing more.



Scott s

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Scott, thanks for the technical descriptions and feature advantages.

Tom 

 
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I'm with you Tom. I really enjoy my forward mounted cocking bolt on my Hummingbird, and just recently purchased an older .22 cal Vulcan with forward cocking lever on the left side as well. I shoot mostly from a bench with bipod, and it does make things more pleasant than shooting my trusty laser beam rear cocking .22 Cricket pup.

The learning curve on loading and cocking the Cricket is just tad, bit more than the Vulcan, so it should be easier to start a new shooter on the Vulcan when they come to Camp Fussell. But in the Cricket's defense, every one that shoots it seems to brag on it? Haven't had any newbies shoot the Vulcan yet, other than a friend who just bought a .25 cal Vulcan himself.

I'm eyeballing the new forward cocking Crickets for now, but still might consider waiting to see what Taipan has in store for next year? I learned my lesson from buying the newest flashiest gadget with the Edgun R5M when it first hit the shelves a few years back. My Humming Bird put it to shame with ease of cocking, not to mention the flimsy plastic magazine on the Edgun would occasionally jump clean out of the breech and land at my feet on the ground?

I've had better luck buying tried and true used guns from fellow airgunners than buying new. So, if I can hold off on the new Cricket 2 ,maybe I'll try the side cocker Taipan if it comes out a winner!

This is a target my buddy Chan sent me from an indoor range in Virginia. He shot 10 shots sub moa at 100 yds indoors with his .22 cal Taipan Vet.

chans 10 shots at 100 indoors.1605980784.jpg



 
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Yeah, somewhere in Checholasvakia the now owners of the rights to produce Taipans are reading this thread and thinking to themselves, "Vy banda oprávněných Američanů mi můžete políbit prdel! Budu stavět tyto Taipans však chci postavit! A víš co? Dám prodat všechny z nich, a budu dělat hezký kapitalistický zisk. Je mi u prdele, jestli si jeden koupíš nebo ne!"
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Tony, can you translate this into English? Now you have me curious as to what they ( or you) are thinking.😀
 
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I'm with you Tom. I really enjoy my forward mounted cocking bolt on my Hummingbird, and just recently purchased an older .22 cal Vulcan with forward cocking lever on the left side as well. I shoot mostly from a bench with bipod, and it does make things more pleasant than shooting my trusty laser beam rear cocking .22 Cricket pup.

The learning curve on loading and cocking the Cricket is just tad, bit more than the Vulcan, so it should be easier to start a new shooter on the Vulcan when they come to Camp Fussell. But in the Cricket's defense, every one that shoots it seems to brag on it? Haven't had any newbies shoot the Vulcan yet, other than a friend who just bought a .25 cal Vulcan himself.

I'm eyeballing the new forward cocking Crickets for now, but still might consider waiting to see what Taipan has in store for next year? I learned my lesson from buying the newest flashiest gadget with the Edgun R5M when it first hit the shelves a few years back. My Humming Bird put it to shame with ease of cocking, not to mention the flimsy plastic magazine on the Edgun would occasionally jump clean out of the breech and land at my feet on the ground?

I've had better luck buying tried and true used guns from fellow airgunners than buying new. So, if I can hold off on the new Cricket 2 ,maybe I'll try the side cocker Taipan if it comes out a winner!

This is a target my buddy Chan sent me from an indoor range in Virginia. He shot 10 shots sub moa at 100 yds indoors with his .22 cal Taipan Vet.

chans 10 shots at 100 indoors.1605980784.jpg





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Jimmy

We need to get Chan to shoot the NUAH matches next year. Pretty nice at 100 with his Vet!

re. Taipan and forward cocking. It does seem like there are clearly two camps of Taipan owners. Those that like the rear cocking and those that want to see a forward cocking model. Both groups make good arguments for their POV. 

I may wait a bit as I previously indicated hoping for a 2021 announce. My local shooting buddy Ed has a Vet Standard in .22 and has offered to let me try his out.



 
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I like my .22 Standard very much, in fact, because it's so short and quiet, it's become my go-to weapon in home defense against squirrel attacks. My other uses are shooting from the bench at the range, and with shooting stix while seated in the yard. Using the stix, or, shooting from position, requires me to break position to cock the thing, which takes time. But hey, I'm retired and my time is cheap! If I used it to practice service rifle position shooting, the rear cocking lever would be unacceptable. Coming out of position, especially if under sling tension, is just a non-starter. I appreciate the simplicity of the current design. Going to forward cocking would add some bulk and weight to an already heavy and bulky rifle. I can't quite envision how a design would work that would equal the current rifle's appeal (to me). But, if you need forward cocking, then obviously the current rifle is not for you. I have a very high opinion of the design and production quality of the rifle. If they redesign the rifle, or add a forward cocking model, I think it will be a good one. 

Ed
 
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Well said Ed.

I can say that if there is no announcement in early 2021, I will buy a Taipan next year! Too good to not experience in this short life!

I have this funny feeling I’m over thinking this ...

.
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If you think about any rifle purchase longer than it takes to recite the credit card number, then yeah, you're probably overthinking it. These are toys, you buy'em and you have fun with'em, and then you move on, keep it or sell it. It's only money.
 
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Okay.

Just this evening I was waiting for the starlings to fly back in after popping a few and pulled out my phone to catch up on this thread. 

Right when the starlings landed in the trees again I got the idea that I could just FILM and maybe get rid of the need to visualize what I was trying to describe when explaining how I use my Veterans. 

First off, there is nothing downrange, for a loooooonnnn ways (google earth measurement tool and comparison with Chairgun max range at 30 degrees convinced me that I'm safe here), so safe tree top sniping is happening here (in hindsight, I should have added that as a text box in the vid). 

This is with my .20 converted Vet so single shot tray only. Hopefully anyone interested can see how much quicker and easier it would be if magazines are being used. I shoot from a bench and bum bag the same way (cock and load with left hand, right/trigger hand stays where it should).

The video also gives a good idea of how effective the OEM moderator is (VERY). Gun is doing 800fps with JSB 13.73gr .20s, for just a hair under 20fpe. First shot that was a miss was quiet enough that they didn't spook and I got another shot. Only when I smacked one on the second shot did they all fly off, cuz the sound of the pellet popping the starling was louder than the gun's report. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hukY5sH0tAs


 
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To anyone on the fence regarding the position of the lever:

Do yourself a favor and just go for it
thumbs_up.1606052199.gif




A few years ago I found myself on the very same fence.

I was a Wildcat owner and was very skeptical of anything with a rear lever.



But I kept reading about this little obscure bullpup that a small group of owners raved about.

When I finally broke down and decided to order one, they were out of stock everywhere 😭



I started to panic. I really wanted a Taipan now!

Finally located a used .22 Veteran shorty at R&L. Previously owned by Dave Cole if I remember right.



It wasn't what I wanted... used? with a black stock? ugh, I wanted a brand new one with brown wood.

Screw it. Paypal sent!



Received it a few days later. Within the first 10 minutes shooting it I realized what everyone was talking about.

Within a month, my Wildcat was posted in the classifieds and gone.



Purchased 4 more Taipan Veterans since then and currently still own 3 shortys. A .25 and two .22s

Sold two Standards because I just don't need that much power and I just love my guns short.



I also have a Gen 4 Vulcan in .25 cal that is laser accurate with a buttery smooth side lever.

I rarely shoot it but I hold onto to it just cause it's so damn accurate. Real barrel lottery winner (CZ)

For me, the Taipans are just more pleasurable to shoot and just as accurate.



Hope this helps someone in making a decision.

I will never sell my shortys. The Vulcan? Every once in a while I think about it... 💭



Here's the Taipan I bought used. It's a sweety.






 
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