Why No Cocking Piece On Modern Rifles?

823 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by undeRGRound, 3 mo ago

Politically Unreliable

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

I've been quietly wondering something for QUIT a while now. I want to see what others have to say, so I'm going after it on the Hi-Point Firearms Forum. (This is actually the only online firearms forum I interact with even close-to-frequently.)

The point - Why don't almost any* modern (last 40+ years) bolt action rifles come with a manual "cocking knob/piece"?
Think: the little plunger on the back of the Keystone Cricket*, Mosin Nagant, 1879 Lee, Schmidt Rubin Swiss K31 (loop) and the Old Sears 30-30 I used in the 1980's. Plus a few others, that I can't name.

As I recall, there was a safety benefit from not having the mechanism cocked while walking/standing with a round in the chamber. As I recall, with the plunger back, you could still cycle the bolt. All I had to do was use my index and middle fingers to quickly & quietly pull the knob back then sight the target. It didn't take long. It seems to me to be a safer design than just relying on a trigger safety. Like a hammer-fired single/double action pistol. Redundant, maybe. But I liked it.

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lklawson

· #2 · 3 mo ago

Crossbolt and thumb safeties are just as effective as a safety and don't require dismounting the rifle from the shoulder or releasing the trigger hand in order to disengage the safety. It's just a matter of practicality.

Piece favor your sword (mobile)

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adam01364

· #3 · 3 mo ago

My Springfield 84 .22 had a cocking knob that was practically a miniature version of the one on a Mosin. And Moonzy won't like this, but the Jennings Junior had a cocking knob.

lklawson said:
Crossbolt and thumb safeties are just as effective as a safety and don't require dismounting the rifle from the shoulder or releasing the trigger hand in order to disengage the safety. It's just a matter of practicality.

And I'm betting they're less expensive to manufacture as well. Gotta keep costs down -and profits up!

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Politically Unreliable

Discussion Starter · #4 · 3 mo ago

lklawson said:
Crossbolt and thumb safeties are just as effective as a safety and don't require dismounting the rifle from the shoulder or releasing the trigger hand in order to disengage the safety. It's just a matter of practicality.

Piece favor your sword (mobile)

I didn't have to pull it from my shoulder to pull the knob. That being said, the pulling typically happened as the gun was coming up.

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Rufus Nathaniel REDD

· #5 · 3 mo ago

Simple reason : Better ammo....the "cocking-piece" gave the rifle an EZ way to effect a re-strike.
Ammo wuz not always as reliable as it is now...brass wu not hi-quality and primer technology wuz young.

By & large re-strikes aren't needed any more...and besides that, the lack of the "cocking-piece" improves
lock-time and streamlines production.

REDD

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Dagwood

· #6 · 3 mo ago

Redd seems to have the most practical, realistic reason why this is no longer common practice. Makes sense to me.

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Politically Unreliable

Discussion Starter · #7 · 3 mo ago

Rufus Nathaniel REDD said:
Simple reason : Better ammo....the "cocking-piece" gave the rifle an EZ way to effect a re-strike.
Ammo wuz not always as reliable as it is now...brass wu not hi-quality and primer technology wuz young.

By & large re-strikes aren't needed any more...and besides that, the lack of the "cocking-piece" improves
lock-time and streamlines production.

REDD

I can actually accept that.
I still want it on my b/a rifle though. Personnel thing.

Rufus Nathaniel REDD said:
Simple reason : Better ammo....the "cocking-piece" gave the rifle an EZ way to effect a re-strike.
Ammo wuz not always as reliable as it is now...brass wu not hi-quality and primer technology wuz young.

By & large re-strikes aren't needed any more...and besides that, the lack of the "cocking-piece" improves
lock-time and streamlines production.

REDD

That works.
Which would explain why we still see it on the Cricket. Rimfire ammo. Plus, it may be a good safety training aid for the target audience - young beginning shooters.

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greg_r

· #8 · 3 mo ago

Of course modern rifles do have cocking pieces. They are just mostly internal. I know what you are talking about though. Any firearm with an exposed hammer can be manually cocked. Of course bolt actions, pump actions, and lever actions are manually cocked too, just not usually in a second separate motion.

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moona11

· #9 · 3 mo ago

adam01364 said:
My Springfield 84 .22 had a cocking knob that was practically a miniature version of the one on a Mosin. And Moonzy won't like this, but the Jennings Junior had a cocking knob.

And I'm betting they're less expensive to manufacture as well. Gotta keep costs down -and profits up!

Fucking Jennings snob. Lol

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moona11

· #10 · 3 mo ago

Trigger safety is more safe and easier to use.

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ajole

· #11 · 3 mo ago

Politically Unreliable said:
That works.
Which would explain why we still see it on the Cricket. Rimfire ammo. Plus, it may be a good safety training aid for the target audience - young beginning shooters.

I despise the cocking piece on the Cricket and other rimfires. It’s too easy to let it slip while cocking the gun, especially for young shooters. I don’t think those are designed that way for any reason other than cost. They can design and build it without spending any money on a safety.

If you want to train them on using a safety….having a real safety that works like the rest of the guns out there is probably a good idea.

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greg_r

· #12 · 3 mo ago

moona11 said:
Trigger safety is more safe and easier to use.

Or like I was taught at Quantico. Just lift the bolt handle.

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undeRGRound

· #13 · 3 mo ago

At least one of Dad's old bolt guns has this... I'm thinking the old Savage rimfire. 🤔

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