Antique bb/pellet guns, collecting

[Draco]

I don't know if any of you guys collect older bb or pellet guns but i wanted to share my latest find. Daisy CO2 100, it was the first CO2 powered pistol daisy made, it was only made in 1962 and are fairly rare to find, most did not survive as they had problems leaking gas and had an odd problem where they could unintentionally go full auto and empty the internal 5 round magazine, it has a back hopper that holds about 200 bb's and used a 8.5 gram CO2 tank that are hard to find now, most modern stuff uses a larger 12 gram tank that is too long to fit in this model.
I cleaned and repaired my example back to factory specs a few days ago, so it hold gas and fires as it should, this model was a replica of a 22 cal pistol, a Wamo Powermaster from the mid to late 1950's.
in 1963 Daisy replaced the 100 model with the 200 model that they made for a few years after and are rare as well
oddly when i am out of CO2 tanks i can use N2O whip-its for my whipped cream maker, but thanks to morons huffing the N2O those tanks are hard to find



more info can be found at http://co2airguns.net/collection/Daisy%20100/index.htm

I know i am as exited with these as i am with lasers, I have a pellet rifle from the 1930's i may post later, it in well worn condition so i dont know if i want to cosmetically restore it but mechanically if is fully operational

[JohnYayas]

I don't collect them but I still have my daisy BB gun that I got back in 77 or so.

[LaserCo]

with a single pump/hand levered daisy I could, from the hip shoot off rounds like . FAST . Chuck Conners in that old western series The Rifelman.. Once warmed up I'd be pretty accurate

[JohnYayas]

You'll shoot your eye out, Ralphie.

[Eidetic]

I remember fondly shooting BB guns with neighborhood kids all around the subdividsion in the late '60s. This post sent me right back. Thanks for sharing this neat piece of my past too!!!

[Soulstorm]

That's a nice daisy you have there. It's quite intriguing how far back air guns do go, even to the early days when USA was still being explored..

I use mine as tools, bit more modern but still counts I guess.. looking to buy a British Theoben Eliminator Mk2 in .25cal - 30ft/lbs of pest loving.
Most powerful hand cranked air rifle on the planet. Serviceable and the rest. Had enough of springers!
Also would love a Theoben Fenman in .22 for bush use, shorter and easier to carry plus much lighter.

The .25cal would be my cannon of choice for long range/open field work though, especially in wind.

[Draco]

Thanks for the feed back!

I was surprised how far air guns went as well, last i read the Lewis and Clark expedition had air riles.
I have a crosman .22 pellet rifle that is a variation of there first model, a 101 i think, i cant find the website that had the data i am looking for, it has a side loading magazine and operates like a bolt action to load, rear knob to cock it and it's a pump style, mine is from the mid 1930's as it has a rubberized pump lever handhold is that's the right term, it was only used for one year and i think it was 1936-37 when i can find the exact date i will update that, it's in poor cosmetic condition but it works very well so i am torn if i want to cosmetically restore it or not. the barrel is brass, i have no clue why they did that, but it still has it's rifling.

I just looked up the British Theoben Eliminator Mk2, that is a serious air rifle that makes me drool, i have spent that level of money on a center fire rifle but not an air rifle ..yet lol so many hobbies so little money, From what i read you cant use normal lead pellets, i think they would deform or de laminate at those energy levels?

[Soulstorm]

Yes that's right, Lewis and Clark expedition was the one!

I'd say keep the crossman as is, patina is worth more these days in most cases for old stuff, but air rifles specifically I'm not 100% sure. Sounds incredible though, I'd love to see some photos of that crossman if you can take some. Seems rather complicated too especially for a collectable type like that. Have you had to do much servicing for the crossman?
My current bush gun is also a crossman optimus .22, nothing special but does the job, light, easy to wrangle through the bush, it can drop a 5kg brushtailed possum straight out of a tree at 40m with a good shot.
A family member has a 70s or 80s Ruger .22 6 shot revolver, looks very realistic, like a colt, solidly made too and a lot of fun to use. co2 of course as well.

In New Zealand I don't have a gun license yet, however, not all is lost, from time to time I can have some time with real guns though, a business partner has an extremely extensive collection of antique guns, H&H .500 BPE previously owned by a Maharaja! 1" bore 1800s lead ball rifle and some other very crazy stuff .
I stick to air for now, especially as the regulations on air rifles allow much more flexible use in rural/inhabited rural environments, +80m of a property so you can do much more with one as long as you're using it safely. We also have no power restrictions, meanwhile in UK/Germany etc they require license over 12ftlbs. While the crossman does the job for perfect head or heart shots, at 15-16ftlbs, if you miss a little it can not be so nice for the possum (they are pests there), so a .25 and almost twice the grunt will really help finish the job. Best part is you can leave the air pistons cocked for up to a few months, which is perfect for me, I usually hunt most nights, (living in the bush has its' perks!) so de-cocking or discharging a springer if nothing is around can be a pain. Plus I enjoy having a self contained gun, great if you need a SHTF gun - easy to cast pellets for them, no gun propellant needed, two o-rings plus minor amount of cleaning at worst, plus enough power to do the job if needed..

Those Theobens are still made and available in USA, I believe they were called Crow Magnums for a while too. What is available today I believe is the 4th generation. They're still a great gun but there are a few unique features on the mk2 which I'm aiming for, adjustable pressure, very nice trigger and no cracking through hole stock like the mark 1, with a bump in power too. I'd love a mark 2 with a custom through hole stock, they look very nice.

Here is a video of the various versions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i8BrwkHf0A

Yes you're right, soft lead pellets (what I tend to use for pest birds/rats/etc) will deform the skirt quite severely with a gun like that. Hence a .22 fenman would be wonderful for such use around the house. But need to save for that one. If I have some luck with shows in the next while, perhaps I'll try send both from UK, while I'm over here in EU Cost is no different for shipping as it has to be in some weird locked safe, they treat them like real guns. Pain in the butt..

Looking forward to seeing some shots of that crossman, sounds intriguing as hell.. never heard of a brass barrel.

And nice to see we both have guns and HiFi in common too

[Draco]

the pics did not come out great but here she she is, The only maintenance I have done is light oil on the leather seals and the bolt some times jams so i took a pic with the cover off, the forearm does not stay up on it's own, that was one problem with the rubberized plastic, the ones made from wood have a metal clip that locks it up, when your aiming your had is in that spot anyway so it's not a big problem, the peep sight works well and the front sight is fixed





the regulations in my state are kinda odd for airguns, they cant be shipped unless it's to a licensed firearm dealer, but unlike firearms there is no need for registration or a criminal background check, the only current exception is a pellet pistol with a rifled barrel only intended to fire pellets, it's currently in my states government's agenda to have that removed and all air guns treated the same way. I own the only exception to that law that i have found and that's a crosman 1377 pistol that originally would single shot bot bb's and pellets and has a rifled steel barrel, it was redesigned a number of years ago and can no longer fire bb's but still falls into the exemption.

[Draco]

Here are both versions of the 1377, one i believe is from the mid 1970's and the one with the bolt handle is a 1377C I bought new about 15 years ago, both have been though a house fire otherwise they would not be rusted. shooting bb's will wear out the riffling, i believe that's why the current version no longer has a magnetic bolt. I use both of these quite a lot and both have been rebuilt, new seals in the pressure chamber and the pump, I have the optional stock on the newer one and some times use optics, for a pistol they have the power and accuracy of most pump rifles, except the newer line, like the ones you have, they can take out smaller pests like mice and rats but dont have the knock down for larger pests like possums.
they are offered in .22cal now but fall under Michigan's pistol law, i can convert one but i can not get a clear answer if it would be compliant or if i would need to register it as a hand gun, no need to go to jail over a 70 dolor varmint gun lol. i think these are getting cleaned today as well



One thing i have found that they are good at hunting flies, cock it about 3-4 times with no ammo, the blast of air kills the fly and does not usually leave smashed remains on the wall like a swatter would