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Education / Training Some questions are answered!

Some questions are answered!

By B.B. Pelletier

Pyramyd AIR gets a lot of email and phone questions, so I’m going to answer a few of those today.

Where do you get gas springs for conventional spring-piston air rifles?
You don’t. At least not anymore. In the late 1990s, Tom Gore made and sold some upgrade springs for Beeman R1 rifles and Webley Patriot rifles. He also had some prototypes for the TX 200 and HW 77, but I don’t know how far he went with them. His company, Vortek, isn’t selling them anymore, and to my knowledge, neither is anyone else. During the time Vortek was selling gas springs, Theoben offered gas springs for the R1, Patriot and a few others. As far as I can tell, they’re not doing that anymore.

If you want rifles with gas springs, you either have to buy Theobens, which is hard now that Beeman no longer imports them, or buy the Beeman RX-2. My intuition tells me you’d better hurry if you want an RX-2!

Why are some pellets copper-coated or graphite-covered?
To reduce oxidation. Lead oxidizes when exposed to air and to other things such as most woods (found in drawers) or cardboard boxes with acidic content. Today, almost all lead pellets are coated with graphite; the few exceptions are some Chinese pellets that have a waxy material on them.

Benjamin used to put straight oil into their pellet tins, but that didn’t help the problem. They turned powdery white in 20 years or so. By the way, it’s the graphite coating that makes an airgun barrel dirty, so cleaning the barrel is really not required. The stuff found in there doesn’t really hurt the bore in any way.

If you wash your pellets to get rid of the anti-oxidant, you have to do something to protect them from oxidation. Otherwise, they’ll start turning white inside of three years – and possibly sooner depending on the climate and where they’re stored.

Why do birds fly so far after I shoot them with my .177-caliber Diana RWS 350 Magnum?
Because your gun shoots too fast to be effective! You’re shooting through the animals instead of smacking them hard with all the energy the rifle has. The same rifle in .22 will shoot slower and kill small game much more efficiently. Some shooters buy .177s because the pellets are a lot cheaper. If you plan to hunt with your gun, .20, .22 or .25 caliber is a much better choice.

How can I tell what kind of CO2 cartridge my old air pistol takes?
You look it up in the Blue Book of Airguns! There are four editions published so far, and the fifth edition is due out very soon. I think Pyramyd AIR will be selling it, so watch this website. Blue Book has LOTS of information about old airguns, including what they’re worth. It also has articles that will interest most serious airgunners, so get a copy for your library. I’ll tell you more about the Blue Book in another posting.

11 thoughts on “Some questions are answered!”

  1. DO YOU FEEL THE BEEMAN RX-2 WON’T BE AVAILABLE MUCH LONGER? HOW RELIABLE ARE GAS SPRING GUNS? HOW DOES THE RX-2 COMPAIR IN POWER TO THE RWS350 OR THE PATRIOT.
    I REALLY ENJOY YOUR ARTICLES AND LOOK FOWARD TO READING THEM EACH DAY. HOPE YOU KEEP WRITING FOR A LONG TIME. DAVE

    P.S. I RECENTLY PURCHASED A SLIGHTLY USED RX-2 .20 CAL.IN MENT CONDITION.

  2. Dave, My observation about the RX-2 is just an opinion. I’ve seen a lot of gas spring guns leave the market in the past two years and I’m wondering if the RX-2 might not be next.

    The RX-2 is made by Weihrauch except for the gas spring unit, which they buy from Theoben.Theoben gas springs are very reliable, so I think your gun should work well for a long time to come. In my limited experience, gas spring are very reliable. The ones on cars work for a decade or better and they aren’t as well-made as the ones used in airguns.

    Comparing the three guns you mentioned, the Patriot is the power leader, and I believe the 350 and RX-2 would have to fight it out for second place. It would depend on what pellet was used, I believe.

    Enjoy your RX-2. Try Crosman Premiers in it. I hear they work well!

    Thanks for reading the postings and don’t hesitate to comment in the future.

    B.B.

  3. I own a Beeman imported RX-1 (HW-90) and have enjoyed it very much. B.B. please point me in the direction for more knowledge on this gun. Thank you.

  4. I have a 40 year old Benjamin pump air pistol that I still use today. It’s a 22 cal. model 132. I’d like to add an optical or laser sight to it since I can’t seem to hit the elusive squirrel that thinks my house is a chew toy! Any ideas?
    Also, I never thought that it would be worth anything until I found this sight. What is the approx. value of a gun, which is in perfect condition? The only flaw is my name burned in the plastic handle. I did it with my wood burner when I was a kid.
    Also, where can I buy pointed tip pellets for it? I’ve only been able to find the flat nose type at my local Wal-Mart in .22 cal.
    Please e-mail a reply to msolow@insp.com.
    Thanks.
    Mark Solow

  5. Mark,

    Your old Benjamin has no collector value, due to the name burned into the pump, but it’s a nice old gun nevertheless.

    Optical sights are a real chore to mount on these guns because of where your hand go when you pump, but a small laser might be feasible. Use the B-Square mount to fits over the receiver, if you can find one. If you use an intermount the light will be right where you want to grab the gun for pumping.

    B.B.

  6. griptech3,

    The only Benjamin 300 I know of is a smoothbore front-pumper pneumatic long gun. If it has most of its black nickel it’s worth at least $250. If it’s mostly brass, it’s worth $75. If it has most of the silver nickel, it’s worth $150.

    All prices assume a working gun.

    B.B.

  7. I have my father’s Benjamin BB Gun from the 1930s. I have photos but I don’t know how to get them to you. It has a wooden stock. The pump mechanism protrudes from a large barrel that is under the smaller bb barrel. I know I am not explaining this well. I have tried to find out information on this gun. I did not want to clean the patina off to find a stock number. I don’t know where to look for it. Years ago I wrote to Benjamin to ask about getting the packing replaced and they said they would not fix it. I was wondering if it is worth bringing to a gun smith to have repaired, if not what is it worth. It has probably not been cleaned since the 1950s. I can send pics if I get an answer.

  8. Bonnie,

    Is the Benjamin that you obtained from your father a pistol or a rifle?

    Please look closely at the metal on both sides of the gun for a model number. I’m guessing it’s a model 310 or 312 or 317. Please also tell me if there are any embedded emblems on the stock (wood).

    photobucket.com is a free service that allows you to post pictures. If you’re willing to do that please post the web address here so we can view pictures of the gun.

    Unless you have something very rare you probably have a gun that’s worth $50-$200. There are repairmen that can fix your airgun. Here are a couple:

    kevin

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