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...

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Russian Made AirGuns...

I have a soft spot for IZH-Baikal Airguns.
I am completely obsessed over the Baikal MP-656/Tokarev TT-33, but here in Canada, if you come across one for sale, it will cost $900-$1000 CDN!!!!
The Baikal MP-654 is the famous Co2 Makarov pistol, and it is widely available in Canada, and will cost around $450-500 CDN to buy one new from a retail surplus store.
I am glad that Baikal also makes other unique AIRGUNS, like the MP-651K, which comes in three variations that are pictured below:






The MP-651K has a unique magazine system, which combines a built in spring fed roundball magazine above and parallel to the barrel, and a pair of  8 round rotary magazines, one for roundball ammo, and one for pellet ammo.


The next three photos are of my own IZH-BAIKAL MP-651k which I purchased directly from Baikal-Canada in Toronto, Ontario about 5 years ago.
I may have received one of the last MP-651k's they had in stock, because the next time I checked out the Baikal-Canada online store, they were sold out...






My other Russian made Co2 pistol is a ANICS skif-A3000.
I purchased it from Mr.Marvin at the Kitchener Gun Show 3 or 4 years ago.
These are quite rare, and built almost as tough as a real steel pistol.
I think that it looks to be based on the Walther P-22 semi-automatic .22LR pistol.
Lead pellets need to be resized slightly to fit in the magazine, but steel BB's fit nicely, so I generally only shoot Hornady Black Diamond steel BB's with my Anics Skif-A-3000 because they are the easiest ammo to reload into the 28-round belt fed magazine, plus there are never issues like failures to load, like with some lead pellets, or gamo lead roundball.






Tuesday, April 9, 2019

New "tactical" black AirGun case for my Air Venturi HellBoy M4, with new foregrip!


 I buy a lot of my shooting gear on Amazon and eBay, and this case was $48 on Amazon and it arrived the day after I ordered it!
There is a second pocket on the front that unzips and has a Velcro loop for storing a second carbine or breakdown rifle, like a Crosman P1322 multi-pump pneumatic pistol with a shoulder stock!
Other pockets and pouches of varying sizes are large enough to hold my two HellBoy M4 magazines, tools, oil, rags,  manuals, ammo, Co2 and whatever else might be needed.


This angled foregrip cost $10 from an eBay seller name "cool-girl2014" in Shanghai, China.
It is the first of a few upgrades I ordered for my HellBoy M4 and it was easy to securely mount on the length of picatinny rail on the underside of the handguard.
I am still waiting for an aluminum alloy  6.7" carbine quad rail handguard, and a MTR style shoulder stock to arrive.



UPDATE: aluminum alloy 6.7" quad rail handguard arrived today.
It really modernizes my HellBoy M4!
Pics to comeπŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«πŸ”«

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Walther Arms & 007's LP-53



Even though 007, James Bond carried a Walther PPK at this time, he appeared in this press photo and illustrated movie poster brandishing a Walther LP-53, a .177 caliber pellet  break barrel spring piston target pistol.

The LP-53's appearance was based on the Nazi-Era   Walther M1936 Olympia .22LR Semi-Automatic Target Pistol.







The "Luft-Pistole 53" certainly does look like the famous Olympia M1936!











The Walther LP-53 had a Polish made clone by the name of "Predom Lucznik" , which sometimes pops up for sale on the Canadian collectable AirGun websites, and it is much  more affordable and more powerful  than when someone is selling a Walther LP-53.
I regret not buying a "Predom-Lucznik" from Mr.Marvin "the AirGun Guy" five or six years ago, instead I basically flipped aacoin to decide, and I  bough a near mint condition, very rare variant of the Crosman model 150 .22 cal. Co2 pellet pistol...a Hawthorne Montgomery Ward M-150, which was a smarter choice, because it is a 60+ year old brand new, very powerful, and very collectable Co2 pistol that has probably appreciated in value during the six years that I have owned it.
Regardless, I still wish I had the spare cash to have bought both air pistols the one and only time that I have seen either one for sale in Canada.

Below is a few photos of the Predom-Lucznik .177cal/4.5mm spring piston air pistol that was made during the 1970's.






Thursday, April 4, 2019

Vintage American Pneumatic AirGuns 😎

The multi-pump pneumatic airgun was perfected in the USA during the last half of the 20th Century.
There were three companies that were key to the development of this potent and reliable powerplant for air weapons.
Benjamin Air Rifle Company, Crosman Arms & Sheridan Products were the leaders in pneumatic AirGuns beginning in the 1920's with Crosman.

Pictured below is a Benjamin model 317, a .177 caliber pellet rifle that I know was made between 1940-56 because Benjamin only began using serial numbers in 1957, and they introduced this air rifle with the pump lever under the barrel in 1940.
The model 317 has a brass rifled barrel and walnut stock and pump handle.





The second photo is of a .22 caliber Crosman model 1400 Pumpmaster pellet rifle, which according to its serial number, was made in June 1976, making it the third and final variant of a long line of pneumatic air Rifles that began with the model 120 back in the 1950's, and then the model 140 and 147, with the final model being the 1400 'PumpMaster'.
It has a rifled steel barrel and maple stock and pump handle.
This is the only pneumatic AirGun that I have heard of, were it is not advisable to store the air rifle with 1-3 pumps of air, in this case because it has an automatic cocking action when it is charged with the pump.
This Pneumatic air rifle is considered by collectors and enthusiasts to represent the "high water mark" in pneumatic AirGun development.







The third photo displays a Sheridan CB Blue Streak .20cal/5mm pellet rifle.
It was made in December 1972, which was the first year since 1947 that Sheridan began using serial numbers.
It has a bronze rifled barrel and American Walnut stock and pump handle.
This Sheridan CB Blue Streak is in excellent condition inside and out, and shoots as straight & hard as the day it was made.
It has the factory installed Sheridan--Williams rear peep sight, which would officially make it a model CBW according to the Sheridan Catalogs from that time.
High quality AirGuns tend to inspire a sense of pride in ownership, and this Sheridan CB Blue Streak from December 1972 most certainly inspired someone to take good care of it for almost 50 years!









Tuesday, April 2, 2019

"G.K.ARMS" TTD-22 Custom



This is my first Custom Co2 pistol which for fun, I have named : 'G.K ARMS' TTD-22 Custom, which stands for : "Tactical Tack Driver .22 caliber"

I have a pair of stock Crosman 2240's and after shooting them for 7 or 8 years, I finally bit the bullet and spent a few weeks browsing online and found inspiration on eBay.
I was able to buy a slick 3D printed ABS polymer dual picatinny/Weaver rail, an O-LIGHT 450 lumen compact pistol light and a micro red/green dot sight.
I also put the new style grips taken from a P1322 multi-pump pneumatic air pistol. I think the new grip design looks more appropriate for this pistol than the grips it came with.

It's pretty easy to turn a $100 Co2 pistol into a $300 Co2 pistol!

I think the pistol looks great now, and I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I can take it out for some early morning, or late night target practice/plinking 😎






This optic + light set up might be the ideal rig for inner city plinking.
Here in Canada, municipal "no discharge" by-laws make it difficult to enjoy your target pistols unless you have access to private land, outside of these "no discharge" areas.




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.