Canadian Airgun Forum

Picked up a Crosman pellet pen a few days ago at Princess Auto, ready to proceed with the mod so that loading pellets to the P17 becomes less of a chore. But before I drill/dremel the hole, wanted to get input from the users here. You know, just in case it turns out to be a useless mod and I'd have to live with a hole right at the most visible part of the gun.

Below is a vid showing how to do it. Really simple but again, is it a worthwhile mod?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbIuE1q ... e=youtu.be

_________________
No, no, it was bigger than that! It looked like a weird monkey-dog thing!
COG First Class Recruit
Gears of War

lol...what a waist he takes longer to load with the pen then i do with just my fingers.
guess its OK for those that have difficulty with there finger, like some form of arthritis or something.

_________________
"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"

Joolz - I see you found the video of the P17 pellet pen mod I mentioned. Thanks for the link.

As to questioning how well it works, you may have what you need to answer this yourself. There is no question the hole provides access to the barrel with the pen. The question then is: does the pen do the job of inserting the pellet properly. If you have (or have access to) a .177 break barrel gun that allows use of the pen just see if you like how it works.

Or perhaps someone here uses the pen on something other than a P17 and can comment on how well it works.

_________________
A mask is not a political statement. It is an IQ test.

I have a .22 one; and used to use it on my QB78D all the time (until I installed the repeater mag).

Once you get the hang of it; I found that it made it easier to load pellets with less fumbling.

And less lead contact on your fingers (load and wash and shoot; load and wash and shoot).

The fumbling part and the added time it takes is what led me to want to try something different. Oh and the hand washing part too. All that fumbling with the pellets means even more contact with fingers compared to loading single pellets to a break barrel.

Then again maybe I just haven't developed a technique yet. Don't have thick fingers (although a bit on the long side) nor have issues with dexterity, contrary to Ace's sentiment on why such pens are necessary. I just find it a pain to load them pellets, to the point it breaks my shooting rhythm.
It's a small investment, the pen was only $13 and I can still return it for a refund since I haven't used it yet. It's the part about putting a hole to the back of the gun that has me wanting to get input prior to proceeding. Then again that's what black electrical tape is there for

_________________
No, no, it was bigger than that! It looked like a weird monkey-dog thing!
COG First Class Recruit
Gears of War

Doug and Joolz? You guys wash your hands between shoots? That's a little OCD isn't it? Just used nitrile gloves if your really concerned about lead poisoning!

I used to carry lead pellets in my lip like chewing tobacco. I think that might explain the brain damage now days along with the 6 concussions!

_________________
-Rick

Brocock Concept .22
3 Crosman MK 1 pistol .22

If you use Crosman pellets then you'll want to wash your hands after handling each pellet. Seen less graphite in pencils!
Of course I don't use that anymore but have baby wipes nearby so that I just quickly flicker my fingers on it after handing lead for a while. Followed by a final soap wash. Far from OCD but not as bad now that the H&N pellets I use hardly has any graphite. So yeah, more concerned about the greasy graphite that goes everywhere you touch while in your hands than the actual effects of lead.

You've had 6 concussions and still manage to shot straight? Did those come from shooting .50 cals from those super powerful sniper rifles? Can only imagine the recoil from those things.
I only got about half that, I think all happened while racing. Or maybe it was more. Can't really remember

_________________
No, no, it was bigger than that! It looked like a weird monkey-dog thing!
COG First Class Recruit
Gears of War

I used to do the same thing, then just spit them in the barrel, saliva gave me a few more fps....

Jim

.50 recoil from the Barrett semi-auto is similar to a light weight pump 12 gauge shotgun. So nothing that bothers me. 6 Serious concussions required hospitalization for explosions being concussed from the shock wave picking me up and throwing me or being slammed into a building or trees. lots of broken bones and skull fractures. I am very fortunate my vision is 20/15 and 20/15, now require reading glasses for anything longer then my arms!
I have quite a bit of memory loss though. All my early years 0-12 are completely gone. Only when my brother or parents can resurrect those memories, and I see my self more third person then when the stories are told.

_________________
-Rick

Brocock Concept .22
3 Crosman MK 1 pistol .22

Joolz: What is the problem you are trying to fix here? The only problem I can imagine is the skirt still sticking out after loading it with a finger and that skirt catching when closing the gun. If that's it then I'd bevel the breech a bit so the pellet sits deeper. If it's something else then do tell because I'm sure there's a better fix than using a pen each time. Many consider the P17 too hard to load already, I consider them just harder to load but not too hard. If I had to use a pen as well then it would be too hard and I would probably would not use the gun.

No issues with the pellet being fully inserted, it's the annoyance of having to work my fingers in such a limited space. It's not like i can't get it in, I do get half of them in without much struggle. The other half I fumble a bit. Sometimes I drop it and have to turn the gun upside down to get the pellet to drop in my hand (which inevitably leads to it falling to the ground). So I thought using the pen could cut back on the annoyance factor.

other than this I love the gun. Really glad the folks here mentioned it (along with the 953) and within 3 days of joining this forum I had them on order. Don't regret it, just looking for a better way to load the pellets to make the experience more enjoyable. The pen idea in theory makes sense and it's easy enough a mod. Guess I'm gonna go ahead and do it. Worst case scenario I put a piece of black tape to cover the small hole around the fake hammer.

I really thought that more users in this forum would have tried this by now, seeing how 2/3 of you show the P17 in your sig and the other third (like myself) own one but doesn't have it listed in their sig.

_________________
No, no, it was bigger than that! It looked like a weird monkey-dog thing!
COG First Class Recruit
Gears of War

Rick, re: concussions.
Man, that is scary stuff. Concussions are a far more serious thing than a lot of people realize. It's no wonder sports like hockey is beginning to finally take much a (reluctant) stance on it. It may seem trivial as it doesn't take to shake your noodles and often it may even go unnoticed. Or worse, untreated.
And it can be career ending. A young teen we knew well had so many of them (a real motocross prospect) that it came to the point where his dad wouldn't let him ride a dirtbike anymore, on the advice of the doctors. As in, not even casual riding (as we all know once a racer, always a racer, especially when it comes to younger guys that don't know what holding back means).

In your case it sounds like you could have been killed - more than once. I mean, doesn't the shockwave from a blast has the potential to cause internal organ damage? Not to mention nervous system fatigue to the point of permanent injury?
I suppose having your brain scrambled, either by a shockwave, hitting the boards or while eating dirt is all the same, it's all bad. But when the rest of your body has to take the force of a blast, man, that escalates the danger greatly.

Glad to see you're still coherent (then again I haven't met you in person!)

_________________
No, no, it was bigger than that! It looked like a weird monkey-dog thing!
COG First Class Recruit
Gears of War

Oic... I can load mine faster than the guy in that video so maybe it's all in the technique? I hold the pellet by the skirt between my thumb and index. When my thumb touches the side of the barrel the head of the pellet is over the hole, then a little forward movement of my index finger rotates the pellet nose first into the hole. Then a quick push down to seat it and she's good to go.
Doesn't hurt to try that mod I spoze, if nothing else it'll make cleaning the barrel easier
The guns are really cool imo, just need a little trigger work. I did some other stuff too, like reduce friction, disable the auto safety, and blue the chrome parts. Chrome has no business on a gun, and it looks much better all black (imo). I have two of the guns now and will probably get another. I also want to experiment with a longer barrel, a shroud, and make it multi-pump. I think two pumps and a longer barrel could net double the power, and with a shroud hopefully do it with half the noise. Maybe make one in .22 as well... No reason other than a project to play with.
Btw, some apparently don't have a chamfer (or a good enough one) on the inside of the air inlet port which will cut/tear the O-ring and the party's over. So I always take them apart before anything and sand that spot extra good. Apparently some O-rings that fit can be found at some hardware stores, but I'd rather prevent it in the first place and keep the O-ring that works perfectly. Mine likes 8.4 and 10.3gr JSB, even the 13.4gr which is slow out the gate at 320 but has more energy at any range.

I remember having endless problems loading the p17 until I realized that you can present the pellet at 90 degrees to the bore and let it drop in as the head moves over the opening. Then a quick tap with the forefinger to set the pellet home and it's done. Rarely have a problem now and don't really think of it as more difficult to load than any of the other guns.

Jim

Jim that's the technique I landed on by accident once.
Loading is easy now but closing the pistol without pinching my gut is still the real challenge!

_________________
Keep you powder dry and your seals oiled.
Shoot straight and safe.

http://plinkercases.ca/