If you own an Air Arms TX200 MKIII and are having a problem cocking it completely, for example, the auto safety is not engaging or the anti bear trap device isn’t releasing, there is probably an easy fix. I bought a new TX200 recently and immediately began having problems. Once cocked, I could not get the anti bear trap device to unlock the cocking handle. I would have to hold the cocking lever as far as I could push it an then release the beartrap device and let up on the cocking handle. Also the auto safety wasn’t engaging. I searched online and found a lot of similar complaints but only one solution that didn’t involve sending the rifle back for repairs. The one solution I found involved taking the trigger assy completely apart and soldering a piece of metal onto one of the trigger parts. That’s a job too difficult for all but the most daring do-it-yourselfer. And after looking closely at the rifle and its superb quality and engineering I found it implausible that the Air Arms Trigger would need such altering.
If you find a post on an airgun forum that describes how to fix your cocking problem by modifying the trigger assy, DO NOT FOLLOW THOSE INSTRUCTIONS AND BUTCHER YOUR BEAUTIFUL RIFLE. It probably will fix the problem, but it will turn a 15 minute fix into a several hours long nightmare that you may never wake up from. The reason I am writing this is to save you from destroying your TX200.
Now, on to a quick fix for your rifle. Click on the photos to enlarge them.
Start by removing the rifle from the stock. There are two allen head screws in the front of the stock and two in the trigger guard. Once the screws are removed the rifle lifts easily from the stock.
Release the cocking lever and open it until you feel resistance from the piston. The shiny angled stock bracket is now accessible. The single allen head screw that holds the stock bracket to the receiver should be the problem. Feel the head of the screw with your finger. If the top of the screw doesn’t sit flush with the bracket or a little below it, the cocking lever is hitting this screw and not pushing the piston far enough to engage the trigger sear and allow the spring loaded auto safety jump into position. If the screw is sitting flush or below the bracket, stop and put your rifle back together and send it back for repairs. DON’T BUTCHER YOUR TRIGGER.
Here is a close up view of the screw sticking up above the bracket. The bracket has be countersunk to allow the screw to fit flush, but the countersink isn’t deep enough. I had already fixed this before I took the picture so I backed the screw out to show you what it would look like. This is a bit exaggerated. It originally only sat about half as high above the bracket than shown here.
This is what happens when the cocking lever is fully cocked. Instead of the cocking lever stopping on the bracket it is hitting the screw head, which doesn’t allow the lever to push the piston back far enough to engage the trigger sear.
The cocking arm is connected to the cocking lever with a pin. You have to remove the cocking arm to make it easy to remove the stock bracket and screw. Each end of the cocking arm pin has a little E clip attached to prevent it from sliding out of the hole. Carefully remove one of the E clips with a small screwdriver or pick and slide the pin out and then lift the cocking arm out of the receiver and return the cocking lever to its resting position under the barrel.
Notice in this photo the dents on the cocking lever where it was hitting the hardened screw instead of the stock bracket.
Use a 1/2″ drill bit to carefully deepen the countersink. Use a vise or clamp to hold the bracket and be careful not to let the drill bit catch in the hole and tear it out of your hand or drill right through the bracket. Once you can drop the screw into the hole and the head sits flush or below the top of the bracket you are finished.
This is what the bracket should look like when reinstalled. The top of the screw now sits flush with the bracket.
Reinstall the cocking arm to the cocking lever and cock the rifle. In this photo you can see that the cocking lever now stops on the stock bracket and no longer hits the screw. Ensure your rifle looks the same. You are done. Put your rifle back together and test it. It should work properly now.
Hi John,
Thanks for your article and suggestion to deepen the counter sink. This worked great on now the it seems to fix and make it easier to fully cock my TX200 MK3 so that it is easy to disengage the bear trap mechanism and extend arm.
Unfortunately the safety still does not engage.
Do you think a quick disassembly, like if I were to tune the rifle or put in a tune kit, and then reassembly might help?
The safety used to work and I’m just not sure why or when it stopped.
PaperTiger
Thanks John. I tried a few things from your article, and it worked great. It only took about 20 minutes to fix it. I think the spring shrinks over time due to compressing it, next I will adjust the trigger, it is too sensitive, I almost shot a pellet through my window pain, I missed it bye inches.
This remedy is a complete waste of time by someone who knows nothing about airguns, and shouldn’t be let loose with sharp tools.
See the UK site for information on AA mods and solutions:
Response from John:
I have removed the link to the UK site to protect readers from the same geniuses who think butchering your trigger with heat and solder is a good idea. These Brits got pissed at me for posting this easy fix to their website. I think they are so upset because the only guns the Queen will let them play with are pellet guns. Now that us Yanks, who get to play with the real guns, are getting involved in air guns. And to rub salt in the wounds, us Yanks buy the same air guns as the Queen’s subjects’ are allowed to play with, but the version we can buy are more powerful. Sucks to be a European.
I have a AA Pro Sport and it had the same problem but it has a different cocking mechanism, I cured the fault by tightening up the large Allan screw holding the trigger guard on, evidently any movement on the trigger unit can cause the safety to malfunction.
You really found a way to make this whole prsecos easier.
For a guy who writes dodgy software during the day and fills bits of wood with auto filler, before chipping away at it at night that’s a good statement. And where did the Brits bit come from? I live in Hartford just up the highway from you, plus if memory servers me right the Brits can get a firearms licence with out any bother, and shoot any power available plus they can use silencers. A better deal than we can get over here.
So don’t go around calling other national’s names and making US citizens looking like thick idiots, we are not all dumb bastards like you.
Hey Derek, please point what name I called other nationals. You are a poor liar. Your IP address is from London England. And no self respecting American would use the terms “dodgy” a “bits of wood.” If you are going to masquerade as a freedom loving American, at least learn how to speak like one. As for the Queen’s subjects getting firearms licenses, really? Even us thick idiot, dumb bastards know better than that. Tally ho!
hi there all i would just like to say that this thread saved me from using the solder technique and work perfectly thanks for the information guys bloody greeaaat lol and yes i am english but cant be bothered with petty politics
and would just like to finish of with yes you can get a firearm certificate in the uk but is very much policed and its very hard to obtain thanks
My new tx200 at around 1000rnds had same problem. I also upon disassembling noticed the loose screw in the bracket. After tightening the screw doen my groups which were beginning to open up became tight again. This however did not fix the cocking problem. I removed the trigger assembly and found that when the piston drove into the front port it was not causing the safety to engage nor was the sere holding. I used a small flat tip screw driver (keep in mind the whole trigger assembly is out and is in one piece,did not take it apart) to push up on the silver aluminum piece directly in front of the trigger. There is a slot that runs down the center of this piece which the screw driver end fits into nicely. When you push this piece up with the screw driver it will cause the trigger mechanism to work properly and the safety will engage. Now you can push in the safety and pull the trigger and here it click. I liberally applied RWS spring cylinder oil (trigger assembly upside down for oil to flow through it) into the trigger assembly from all angles. Then repeated pushing on the aluminum piece in front of the trigger to set it in firing position,push in the safety and pull the trigger. Kept repeating this firing order over and over. At least a couple of dozen times after lubricating. Wiped it down and reassembled the rife. This fixed the problem altogether. The owners manual recommends you to put a drop of oil in the safety before every outing. Air Arms is obviously aware of the potential of this problem to occur. I recommend to turn the rifle upside down and put a couple of drops down each side of the trigger before every outing. Even if you shoot daily. At least this has worked for me.
Thanks, Dan, it worked for me too!
Simple, quick and effective. I guess others might have different causes for these symptoms but I’d say this is worth trying first.
TX 200 cocking problem: I too had a cocking problem where the safety would not reset and the gun would not fully cock. The front stock screw lug was okay with no interference. I recently replaced the main spring and trigger pull spring with original spec springs from Pyramyd Air. Now there are no more cocking or safety problems. Unknown what the problem was but it was somehow related to these springs.
I’m new to airguns, just bought a TX200, couldn’t cock it without giving it a good yank near full cock to set the trigger and safety. Even then, it wouldn’t set the safety some times. After 50 shots, the cocking lever became slightly bent from all the yanking and would not clip back in place.
A search turned up this page with great info. My hold down screw was flush with the aluminum bracket, so I just filed a little metal off the two spots that hit on the cocking lever. I also filed the front edge of the aluminum bracket that was hitting the C notch area. Removing the pin helped get access to file it.
I wrapped some tape over a 1/8″ strip of metal, placed it between the cocking lever near the pivot and the barrel, then bent the rod straight by pushing up on the end. It now works perfectly and I don’t have to yank the lever near full cock anymore, just cycle it. This was a brand-new gun. They must not test them very well at the factory. Also the trigger guard screws were on the loose side. THANK YOU!
I am having problems with my TX 200. I can not engage the safety and the gun will not engage the spring so I can not fire it. The bear trap engages and disengages but it won’t hold the spring to fire. I will try some of these remedies. Thank you all, I will let you know if any of these remedies helped.
I was able to fix it, the safety engages now and I am able to cock it and it locks in and I can release the bear trap, because of all comments and instructions. I think the spring becomes squeezed together and shortens over a short period of time. It probably would be good to replace the main spring to a better quality one. I am going to order one.
Thanks to all you guys
I filed down the corners and recessed the screw so it moves it deeper to set the spring. I saw a video where some one actually stretched the spring out with a vice and screw drivers. I feel a better spring made with better steel is the permanent solution………
I was rather disappointed with my new TX200 Mk3 because of the safety not engaging unless the cocking level was pulled very firmly. Too firmly in my opinion.
Following your advice I deepening the countersink and gently filed off the touching corners of the cocking lever just to be sure. This solved the problem in 15 minutes – thank you.
It amazes me the number of people with this problem going by the various forums and that most end up saying live with it and force cock the gun.
I now have to fix the cocking lever that fell off soon after I bought it. Blue Permatex will probably do it.
A beautiful and accurate gun but should not come with problems like this.
Bought used TX200MkIII .177 air rifle that had the failure to cock and engage the safety. After I took the stock off it worked fine. The forend bracket screw fit flush with no evidence of wear or binding on the cocking linkage. Note the prior owner had made a sling attachment using the forend screws to secure it and I had tightened them up a bit. When I re-attached the stock I loosened the forend screws a bit and the rifle cocked and the safety engaged when you stroked the cocking handle fully to its stop. Apparently, the forend screws when tightened were affecting the forend bracket – just not certain. Note the previous owner’s forend screws were long but they didn’t touch the linkage but they were rather raggedly ended so I squared and beveled the ends.
Thanks for that. It would have taken me a long time to work that out myself. Cheers for posting. Nice one. Muchas gracias.
This is how the cocking and safety engagement problem in my previous post was identified and solved – just not in that order. When I replaced the stock forend screws with shorter stainless steel ones I ordered on ebay, I had no more problems with cocking and safety engagement. With better lighting I looked closely at the cocking lever’s hinged linkage and sure enough there were two small shiny points of wear on the curved portions of the linkage where the longer forend screws had made contact.
Anti-bear trap wasn’t releasing. Following your directions, I countersunk the screw flush with the bracket. Works perfectly now. Thanks!
Glad it worked for you.
I saw the same problem with my TX after a few thousand shot cycles, with the action failing to (at first) engage the automatic safety consistently, then failing to engage the cocking mechanism. Both problems were related to insufficient travel backward by the sliding compression chamber, as the rear of the chamber holds the catch rod for the trigger sear. Apparently over time the gun had developed a stackup of wear in all the cocking pivots, reducing the travel of the mechanism JUST enough to prevent full engagement. The lost cocking travel wasn’t really wasn’t much and no single replacement part would be likely to solve the problem, but all friction points did show a small amount of wear.
The fix would be to replace everything that can possibly wear, or to extend the catch rod on the sliding compression chamber just a skosh. The rod is threaded (and Loctite-ed) into the chamber, requiring a bit of heat to soften, but there is plenty of thread depth to allow it to be heated and safely turned out a quarter-turn or so for added length and that’s all it took.
You all know how easy it is to break a TX down, so this can be done in an hour or so if you’re familiar with the MK3. The only downside I see is that the threaded shaft DOES extend all the way through the business end of the piston, so you’ll have a slightly greater air volume left in the chamber from the retracted shaft and technically it could reduce peak compression pressure from original. Along with a barely-shorter stroke, this probably reduces pellet speed slightly, but my experience is that it’s not noticeable and the rifle works like new once again.