June 26, 2016, 09:23 PM | #1 |
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My old pellet gun.
I was cleaning out the garage today when I noticed my old pellet gun laying on a shelf. My Dad bought it for me in the Summer of 1974 when I was almost 10 years old. It was a Daisy model 880 pump. I can remember that day as if it was yesterday. You could pump it up a maximum of 10 times, though a friend said if you pumped it up a 100 times it would be as stout as a .30-06. I never went beyond ten. In fact, my Dad said I could only pump it up 3 times in the backyard of our city home. I pretty much complied to his orders. I shot many little green army men and several birds off of the power line wires in our backyard during my youth. It was amazingly accurate. The seals slowly wore out and it would no longer pressurize and it went by the wayside as I moved on to bigger things. Today I decided to bring it back to life. I fashioned a seal from a faucet stem washer and oiled it up good and it built enough pressure to shoot a BB about like the Red Ryder BB gun. It won't bring down a charging Grizzly, but it sure made me feel good inside to hear it shoot agin.
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June 27, 2016, 05:34 AM | #2 |
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I have an old original red rider bb lever action rifle and it still shoots fairly well.
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June 27, 2016, 08:55 AM | #3 |
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^^^^^
Me, too, and it even gets used once in awhile. Daisy and Crosman are probably as popular as ever.
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June 27, 2016, 09:56 AM | #4 |
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Older 880's have a following over on the gateway to airguns forum. I believe you can still buy the parts to repair it properly, and those parts are pretty cheap.
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June 27, 2016, 05:06 PM | #5 |
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Good on you for getting it back in service. I have an old Benjamin Sheraton Blue Streak that has remained remarkably accurate albeit mine was made in the mid 80s. Eight pumps sent a lot of pesky ground squirrels to the great ground squirrel roundup in the sky.
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June 27, 2016, 06:41 PM | #6 |
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There is just something so cool when you uncover a piece of your past history like that! I'm going to bet that a few folks have uncovered their lost treasures, and they bring back fond memories. Thanks for sharing, and reminding me of our experience!
When we were getting ready to relocate to Kentucky last year we were cleaning out the house and came across the Red Ryder 50th Anniversary (1988) that we bought for our Son when he was just a young boy. He loved shooting that rifle when he went "hunting" with me for squirrels. He joined the Army and retired after a 21 year career and was helping us out with the move, when he found it. He took it out in the yard and it shot just fine. He ended up buying our home in NY, and now uses that little Red Ryder to keep the squirrels at bay while protecting his bird feeders.
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June 27, 2016, 07:56 PM | #7 |
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Id like a benjamin in pumper in .22, although right now all i have is a cheapo Hatsan breakbarrel in .25
That .25 sure does have some power even though the pellets are only traveling about 600fps. It sure does put the smackdown on squirrels
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July 1, 2016, 05:54 PM | #8 |
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i HAD A .177 Benjamin that I'd pump about 20 times, load in a BB and it would go thru many soda cans.
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July 1, 2016, 06:01 PM | #9 |
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I have an IZH-46 en route as we speak and I cannot wait to see what it can do and what - I - am able to accomplish behind it!
I'm kind of thinking it should be a "no excuses" kind of air pistol. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
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July 1, 2016, 07:49 PM | #10 |
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I had an 880 for a lot of years. I finally replaced it with a Gamo Bone Collector. Without question, the Gamo has a lot more power but that old Daisy was actually more accurate. It killed a ton of pests and quite a few cottontails and squirrels.
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July 2, 2016, 02:41 AM | #11 |
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This thread is not related to firearms and must be deleted!
Hah! Just kidding I've bought a few Red Rider bb guns in the last few years, a couple for me, a couple for gifts. They are cheap and a lot of fun! My cousin and I went shooting/camping a while back and we actually spent more time lobbing BB's at far away targets then we did shooting actual firearms. We were having such a good time holding high and seeing who could get more consistent hits on a small 3 inch steel disk at something like 30 - 35 yards. Plus it's a lot of fun to actually watch the BB fly through the air. I've also noticed that it's pretty easy to see a .22 lr in flight if the lighting is right. Maybe I'll go shoot a BB gun tomorrow. |
July 2, 2016, 06:14 AM | #12 |
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I repaired a "Benjamin" pistol years ago that someone found in a house they bought. The pistol even had a wooden case. It was really heavy and the machining was as good as on a center fire handgun. It looked really old back then. I often wondered what it was worth.
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July 4, 2016, 07:57 PM | #13 |
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Still have my old Sheridan from 1971----still works great
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July 5, 2016, 08:23 AM | #14 |
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Red R-Y-der
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July 5, 2016, 10:29 PM | #15 |
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Daisy 880 was my BB gun choice. Went though a couple of them. Still had one bumping around till not to long ago, gave it to a friend to deal with a squirrel infestation.
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July 6, 2016, 02:11 AM | #16 |
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I rebuilt my 880 twice over the years. With a 7x scope, I took down a lot of squirrels. Some at impressive distances for a pellet gun.
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July 6, 2016, 08:02 PM | #17 |
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You'll shoot your eye out!!!!
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July 6, 2016, 09:57 PM | #18 |
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I have a Beeman Hurricane (purchased new in 1983), a Beeman C-1 (new in 1988)with an SS-3, a BSA Meteor (1988), a Daisy 717 (1995), and two PredomLucznicks (2007), all in .177.
The Hurricane has seen the most use, by far. Time for a mainspring and some seals. |
July 14, 2016, 03:23 PM | #19 |
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I still have and it shoots as hard as ever a Smith & Wesson 77A .22cal pellet rifle. Bought new in 1974, used to kill armadillos with one shot, beautiful gun.
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July 14, 2016, 08:06 PM | #20 |
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I've had a pump up BB gun for years and it is powerful. However, I didn't appreciate pellet guns until I bought my grandson a Crossman Nitro Piston break barrel 22 caliber pellet gun. It is powerful and accurate with the look and weight of a real gun. It is a great birthday present for a teenager.
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July 14, 2016, 09:39 PM | #21 |
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My favorite was my .22 crossman from the 80s. I think it was around 550 fps, but in 22 it packed a punch. Bought several CO2s and they always seemed to eventually leak. Still have an old revolver, but need to fix it.
Does anyone remember the $4.95 guns sold in magazines in the 80s. Shoot pellets as fast as you can pull the trigger. I bought around 4 of them at once. Such a disappointment, not sure what I was expecting for $5. They were plastic and shot pellets that looked like tic tacs. The pictures in the ads made me think they were real, but I was young. |
July 14, 2016, 10:17 PM | #22 |
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The older, metal 880s can be rebuilt. The seals, leather, and plastic parts are pretty cheap.
I had one that I was going to save, but ended up donating it to a guy in Georgia that rebuilds and resells air rifles to help support his charitable efforts (he's a pastor that runs several 'outreach' programs). Just as I was about to ship that metal 880 out, I discovered that it wasn't actually in need of repair. It just had a small piece of skirt from a pellet lodged in the air valve. (I still sent it, along with a note explaining that it was functioning as intended.) My own Daisy 880 Powerline really isn't worth much. It's a ~6 year old plastic model and just doesn't shoot worth a darn. I've tried all kinds of pellets (even some BBs), and it just won't shoot. It may be that I had lower expectations at the time, or that I was shooting things at point-blank range and only thought the targets were farther away, but the Crosman 760 Pump Master that I had as a kid sure seemed to be much better - especially with BBs.
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July 15, 2016, 05:29 AM | #23 |
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I still have my old metal frame, solid plastic stock 760. That gun would cost $300.00 today to build compared to the plastic receiver, hollow stocked model they push today. I new a kid that had one with (I think) a rifled barrel, nickle plated receiver and a wooded stock and forearm. I'm pretty sure it was a 760 XL, very cool!
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July 18, 2016, 08:33 PM | #24 |
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Many years ago (1970's) my uncle worked for Benjamin Air Rifle Co. in StL. I still have a .22 caliber air pistol and .22 cal air rifle he gave me, fresh from the factory. Still function well, and like NIB. Ahhhhhh........the good old days.
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