Winter 2021-22 Antique Pistol Restoration Project

Antique "Sterling" .38 cal.rimfire restoration project update...

  It seems that I could have bought an E.L.Dickinson "Parts gun" a couple of weeks ago, but I passed, not realizing a the time, th...

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Mr. Marvin was selling a lovely early 1970's  "made in the USA"
 Smith & Wesson model 78G, a .22 caliber single shot Co2 pistol based on the .22LR model 41 target pistol.
I have bought way more AirGuns this past six months, so I have to pass on this beautiful tack driver.





http://airgunoldies.com is Mr. Marvin "the AirGun Guy's" wonderful website!
Thanks to him, I own a pristine,  Hawthorne Montgomery Ward M-150, which is a rare variant of the Crosman model 150 .22 caliber Co2 Pellet pistol. It is in nearly new condition even though it was made around 1955.
A Crosman SA6 "Single Action Six" .22 caliber Co2 revolver replica of the Colt 1873 Single Action Army and because of the odd design of the Co2 O-ring seal, I am sure it was built in 1960.
  A 1st variant Crosman 1322 Medalist pneumatic pistol.
A Benjamin Model 317 pneumatic pellet rifle that was built between 1940-56, and a lovely,  CrosmanTrapmast 1100 .380gauge Co2 Air Shotgun(1968-71) + new old stock Crosman #8 Shotshells.

If I could afford them, I would have bought dozens more vintage AirGuns from Mr Marvin.

Crosman's M16 replica break barrel air rifle



The first replica AR-15/M16/M4 air rifle I owned was the Crosman M4-177, a multi-pump pneumatic air rifle that is a bolt action 5-shot .177 caliber repeater.

D&L AirGuns had a few "De-tuned for Canada" 495 fps Cosman MTR77NPC break barrel nitro piston air rifles in stock about 4-5 years ago for $250 including shipping & tax , and I bought one to find out if it was as nice in person as it was in photographs, and it was much better in person!

I have a number of different types of rear sights for the AR-15/m16/m4 style rifles, as well as a couple of the A2 sights with half a dozen different types of front sight posts.
Customizing these types of air rifles is half the enjoyment for me.
I have a few slings to carry this AirGun.
I prefer to use iron sights over scopes or other optics. The recoil from this AirGun was rather violent for the first 100 shots, and a UTG rear M4 peep sight broke because of the shock of recoil!



I have chronographed all my AirGuns with all sorts of different pellets, roundball, slugs & steel, leadl copper, polymer & alloy BB's.
The Users guide/manual states the velocity as "up to 495 fps" with "standard LEAD pllets"
So, the air rifle is not tuned for alloy lead free lightweight pellets, but for 7.4 or 7.9 grain Crosman Premier pellets.
That was refreshing for a change.
My M4-177 multi-pump pneumatic air rifle only shot the lead pellets around 425 fps, and 5.4 grain Crosman fast flight lead free penetrators would chronograph in the high 480's.

This nitro piston break barrel AirGun actually consistently averages above 480 with 7.4 grain lead pellets!

My Crosman MTR77NPC was my first air rifle that wasn't in the "inexpensive" catagory. I would say that this AirGun is in the lower mid-range of spring & gas piston air rifles.
Perhaps since this is definitely an "adult AirGun", Crosman doesn't detune it as much as they do with the AirGuns designed for younger shooters to handle. The m4-177 is lightweight, and with the adjustable stock, it can fit a smaller person.











Monday, March 18, 2019

Crosman 2240 Co2 pistol picatinny rail upgrade!

I own a pair of the .22cal/5.5mm  Crosman  2240 Co2 Pistols, and this is a Co2 pistol worth owning more than one of.




The Crosman 2240 is the Co2 pistol that helped spark my interest in the earlier Co2 and pneumatic air pistols that Crosman and Benjamin created and sold from the 1940's thru the present day.

I also own a pristine & rare variant of the Crosman model 150 .22 caliber Co2 pistol that is considered to be the Grand-Daddy of today's model 2240.
Mine was made around 1955 and is branded : Hawthorne Montgomery Ward Co. "M-150".

Anyways, up until now, to mount an optic on my 2240 pistol, I have a few of Crosman's dovetail barrel mounts + various ' dovetail to picatinny/Weaver rail ' adapters that work ok, but since they are clamped to the barrel, I have to sight then in everytime I take the pistol out shooting.
I could buy a steel breach that has a dovetail groove which is an expensive upgrade, and I have done ok with the barrel mounted rail plus a picatinny riser/adapter to attach optics that only cost me $20 for the mount & adapter.





I was browsing through eBay and looking at what airgun   products were available and I saw a nifty picatinny/Weaver rail that someone designed and manufacturered with a 3D printer.
I took a chance, and ordered one a couple of days ago.

This Rail cost me $30 plus $11 shipping, which is still considerably less than the steel breach upgrade.

It took a couple of weeks, but the dual rail arrived.

I installed the 3d printed dual picatinny rail on to one of my Crosman 2240 Co2 pistols, and it is awesome looking!
I am going to have fun with this Co2 pistol this summer, especially with one of my high power gun lights attached to the under rail!









Sunday, March 17, 2019

Umarex 'Legends' P08 Luger 4.5mm Co2 pistol





I borrowed the next two  photographs from Tom Gaylord's 'Airgun Blog' & the two after that are from the " replica AirGun dot CA" AirGun review blog:








Here are two patent drawings of the original Luger :




I won an eBay auction for a new Umarex Legends P08 Luger Co2 4.5mm BB pistol for $110 CDN including shipping.
I only saved about ten dollars, but it was still kind of fun, and now I finally bought a Luger.
It should arrive in the next week or two since it is coming to me from New Hampshire, USA.