by B.B. Pelletier
The Pioneer BB76 BB gun from Ultra Hi
was made to look like a Kentucky rifle.
There are some strange BB guns out there, and today’s example is one of them. The Ultra Hi Pioneer was made to cash in on America’s Bicentennial celebration. The date of ’76 referred to the Bicentennial – not to any date that a firearm like this might have been produced, which was from about 1835 to 1900.
Look for them new in the box
Sales must have been disappointing for this gun because so many are still new-in-the-box today. But, the airgun community has now recognized this model as special, and you can expect to pay $200 for a good one (that’s like-new in the box). A shooter will be between $100 and 150. Ten years ago, they were selling slowly at $75 to 100 because nobody knew what they were.
It’s powerful and feeds ammo flawlessly!
The Pioneer has a short underlever that’s pulled down to cock the gun. Cocking is light, yet this BB gun is as powerful as the most powerful Daisy number 25 ever made. That puts it in the 375 f.p.s. region with steel BBs. However, conventional BBs are too small for the bore and they scatter like a shotgun at close range. Try three inches at 12 feet! For best accuracy, try 4.4mm lead balls. Groups will shrink to less than one inch, again at 12 feet.
An underlever is pulled down to cock the gun,
then returned to its place in the bottom of the stock.
The magazine is a copy of Daisy’s 50-shot forced-feed mag from the number 25 pump. It works the same way and feeding is flawless in my gun.
Getting ready to shoot
After putting a loaded magazine in the gun, lower the cocking lever until it cocks the action, then return it to its stored position. You might think the gun is ready to go, but it isn’t. You also have to cock the external hammer before the gun will fire. This is a safety feature that also makes this BB gun that much stranger. The hammer is plastic and it cocks so easily you’d swear nothing is happening, but it really does make the gun ready to fire.
Once the plastic hammer is pulled back
like this, the gun is ready to fire.
The hammer is also the gun’s one weak design spot. I’ve seen guns that wouldn’t fire at all because someone had done something to the hammer. I’ve also seen some that fired independent of the hammer. I always thought the former owners had forced it in some way and broke whatever is inside. Being plastic, it won’t stand much abuse. If you follow the procedure I give here, the gun works fine.
This is a big gun!
At 44.5″, this is a HUGE BB gun; at 4 lbs., it’s not that heavy. It could stand a few more pounds to steady it in the offhand position, but smaller shooters can also appreciate the gun at this weight. The light cocking effort makes this gun available to everyone.
If you want one, you’ll have to watch the auction sites and classified ads. Or, go to a good airgun show and you might get lucky.
i have one of those bb guns and i was woundering how much it would be in mint condition
email me at d_attleberger@hotmail.come
thank you
In excellect condition with the box it’s worth $200 in the box, like the posting says.
B.B.
“…But, the airgun community has now recognized this model as special, and you can expect to pay $200 for a good one (that’s like-new in the box). A shooter will be between $100 and 150.”
B.B.
I just bought one from a gun dealer. It is in great condition with one ding in the butt plate. It shoots really well. Paid $30 bucks for it. He is mad as hell when he heard it was worth alot more. Thanks for the info.
BB – I don’t know if you still monitor the comments on these old posts, but I have one of these! Paid $20 for it when I was a kid (saved up a lot of allowance and odd-job money). It was either this, or one of the Daisy multi-pump pellet-BB combo rifles. The hollow plastic stocks on the Daisy made it difficult to balance, where the wood stock on the Pioneer felt right to me. I had some experience with a .22 rimfire at Cub Scout camp, and it felt like that… a real gun.
I couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with it, and thought that it was beacuse I couldn’t shoot worth a damn. I lost interest in the shooting sports soon after. I may drag it out of the basement, load it up with a few .177 round pellets, and see if it still shoots. What kind of maintenance does one of these require, especially if it’s been sitting for a few years?
BTW – this is an amazing blog! Your depth of knowledge and easy-going, matter-of-fact writing make it one of the finest technical blogs, in any field, I’ve had the pleasure to read. I’m considering a IZH-61 on the strength of your recommendation… and I wasn’t considering any airgun at all until I started reading.
~ Matt Gabriel
Matt,
4.5mm balls (what you are calling .177 round pellets) are too big for the bore of your gun. It will work with 4.4mm lead balls. For those, contact .
B.B.
hello, i was just wondering where and how i could possibly purchase one of the pioneer bb76 rifles. I know that they have been fairly unpopular but then again, they are hard to come by. if u have any information, just post it on the wall. Thank you
I have one
These guns turn up at the airgun shows. I saw a couple for sale at Roanoke in October.
You can watch the classified ads here:
http://www.airguns.net/classifieds/classifieds.php
B.B.
I have a fella that wants to swap me one of those BB76rs in mint condition but no box towards a snowmobile I’m selling. Is there anyone out there that would like to buy this from me if the deal goes through? If so…hfalpacas@gmail.com
To Anonymous,
Re: Pioneer BB76 you may accept in a swap for your snowmobile
You found THE place to obtain relevant information on airguns/BB guns. Unfortunately the comment you left is on a post that started on August 4, 2005 so not many people will check back to answer your offer to sell.
An auction site would be your best option for selling the Pioneer BB76 if you decide to trade. There was a BB76 on the gunbroker auction site in November, without any reserve on the gun, that didn’t sell. See here:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=115677809
Other auction sites to consider listing/selling the BB76 gun on:
http://www.airguns.net/classifieds/classifieds.php
http://www.network54.com/Forum/79574/
or the gunbroker site I gave you a link to originally.
Best of luck.
kevin
hello could anyome tell me how to get ahold of the company that made the pioneerbb76 kentucky rifle?
gabby4686,
That company is no longer in existence.
B.B.
BB DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO REPAIRS THEM? GABBY
WHAT ARE THEY WORTH NOW IN 2009 IN NEW CONDITION?
gabby4686,
Sure, there are plenty of people who repair them! Try this guy first:
Jim Coplen, PO Box 7297, Rochester, MN. 55903 (507)281-2314.
5522 Clearwater Rd. Rochester, MN 55901
An excellent gun in the original box is probably worth $250. A gun alone will fetch $125-150 in excellent condition. Any problems will drop the price rapidly.
B.B.
hi ive just had 1 of these rifles given 2 me its in good conditon cocks and shoots pretty well although i havent tried any bbs in it was just wondering how much these are worth ?
hello,i've heard they can bring 300 dollars in new condition and in the box
Waynebuckley and GABBY,
B.B. answered this question in the posting as well as in the comments. Depending upon condition, they were worth from $100 to $200 when he wrote this blog posting. Granted, that was 5 years ago, so the value may have changed some since then.
To get an up to date estimate, post your question to the most recent days blog rather than one that's 5 years old as many more people will see it there. There are only a handful of folks who see the comments to the older blog posts, but many thousands who read the current post.
Waynebuckley and GABBY,
Ooops, I made a typo. B.B. estimated that they were worth from $100 to $250 depending upon condition. The rest of the comment still stands.
Back a few years (above) the question about getting this gun repaired was asked. My comments are about that!!!
I repair a number of model airguns, but I try to stick to the "Cowboy Types" of Daisy and Crosman, AND the Pioneer BB-76.
Parts are next to impossible to obtain, mostly available from other guns of the same model that are not worth repairing anymore , or by hand making them! Many of the problem parts are made of plastic, including the hammer and the butt plate, which seem to be the pieces most often broken! Another fellow and I are looking into the possibility of making these parts, new, but out of better material. So, right now, we are taking names and contact info so we can advise you when they are ready. No obligation on your part and we don't know the prices of the parts yet. But, if you will drop me a line and tell me what you "think" is wrong with your Pioneer, or what it's doing or NOT doing, we can get a rapport started so that when we are set to go on them, you will be one of the first to know. Like I said – no obligation on your part, and nothing ventured – nothing gained.
Contact me: Cowboy 1894
Cowboy,
The Pioneer is pretty scarce, so I doubt whether there will be enough interest to sustain manufacture of parts. But this isn't the way to contact people. Very few folks will ever rear this old posting. You need to post a comment on the current day's blog, where about 60K readers will see it.
/blog//
B.B.
Is it truly a single shot? Do you load it at mouth of barrel?
No, it has a 50-shot forced-feed magazine.
B.B.
Howdy Pards,
I have a few of these guys, and would
be interested in a few more, IF, I can buy them right! Sure wish all of that plastic were metal, though! So
am in the process of making it such, and is my interest in getting a few more of them!
Thanks, HB.
Hugh,
This report is seven years old. Post your comment on the current blog:
/blog//
B.B.
Well, Shucks – I went to the current page just now (10-7-14) and, of course, they are on “current models”, except for the old Colt 1911 pistol, look-a-like), instead of more of these “old guys” (like me) that I prefer. No question, for the most part, the modern BB/Air Guns shoot faster, harder shooting, and most are far more accurate – but I figure, if I am shooting a BB gun, I’m more interested in the “character and nostalgia of it all, more so than the other features! ALTHOUGH, having said that, remember the late and great Joe Bowman, known as “The Straight Shooter”? Using the Daisy, model 1894, he could shoot an aspirin tablet off of a picnic table, AND OUT OF THE AIR, at a distance of about 10 – 12 feet ! ! ! Now THAT is shooting with a bb gun! AND, his 1894’s were not “special”, either, except he had knocked the sights off of them. I know this for a fact, as I had the honor of maintaining his arsenal of 5 of these Daisy 1894’s for him. He’d send them to me 2 to 3 at a time to clean, lube and check them over. So, without sights, how would he hit anything? “INSTINCTIVE SHOOTING” ! He would simply “Point and Shoot”. Now the gun(s) had to be shooting the same accuracy consistantly, or he couldn’t have done his part with them – right? SO, IT CAN BE DONE, IF YOU ARE PERSISTENT! BB GUNS CAN BE FUN, AND IF YOU TREAT THEM RIGHT, THEY WILL TREAT YOU RIGHT ! ! ! I’ve been playing with them now for over 77 years, and I still love ’em! ! ! Cowboy 1894 – (And, with the correct size bb, that Pioneer BB 76 is a very accurate gun. I’m still buying them, by the way, just in case you know of any ! ! !
B.B. has written extensively about Lucky McDaniel and Instinct Shooting. Here are some previous blog posts:
/blog/2011/09/lucky-mcdaniel-instinct-shooting-trainer-outfit/
/blog/2006/10/instinct-shooting-with-a-bb-gun-part-1/
/blog/2006/10/instinct-shooting-with-a-bb-gun-part-2/
Edith
Hugh,
Just yesterday I did a Hakim trainer fro 1954. The blog is always different. Keep watching.
B.B.
I have a model BB76 Pioneer Air Gun new in the box, never used. Won it in a raffle around 76 I guess and it’s been in the attic ever since. Ran across it while cleaning out the attic and saw the postings from 10 years ago, was wondering if the value is still the same or changed either way?
Ed,
Welcome to the blog. The Pioneer is still in demand. New ones have stayed about where they were in 2005. That’s mainly because of the entire economic scene that has frozen the collectibles market as a whole.
Several years ago I found the .45 caliber muzzleloading rifle that was built by the same company that made the Pioneer — Miroku. They sell for less than the BB gun on Gun Broker from time to time. I have both of them in my collection as a firearm and its companion lookalike airgun.
B.B.
Hmmmmmmm! I just now noticed this message from you – Don’t know how long it’s been on here! ! ! Just wanted to tell you:
I enjoyed the conversations on the Pioneer 76 BB Rifles. I’m restoring a couple of the “around 50 of them” that I did buy a number of years back (thru the 90″s). They have broken “toes” on the butt stocks – which takes part of the plastic butt plate along with it, of course. Also, the plastic hammers are broken on a bunch of them, etc., etc..
I have three of these 76 on the bench right now – and measured the muzzle end of the bore. One is .177, while the other two are .178 ! ! ! The Daisy BB’s measure .173 ! ! ! That allows the bb’s to slop around in the bore on the way through! Sure doesn’t help with accuracy!
Cowboy
Cowboy 1894,
Welcome to the blog.
It sure doesn’t promote accuracy!
Have you tried .177 lead balls in any of your guns?
B.B.
Dear Cowboy 1894
Are you still repairing the Pioneer 76 BB Rifles? I got one many years ago at Christmas when I was about 6. Loved it. Always hit my target & where my grandfathers Daisy Rifle would bounce off the empty soda can targets, mine would go through the fulled ones. The problem was at 6, you don’t think about preventive maintenance. It no longer shoots, well to power. Not sure if the spring is broke or stretched out. It does have some damage to some of it like the “toes” on the butt stock, but the is fine. Anyway, if you are still working on these, do you have any idea, what you would charge for repairing? If not, do you know anyone who does? Thank you for your time.
Tom
LWK1973,
Welcome to the blog.
Cowboy1894 wrote his comment back in April, and I haven’t seen him post anything in the past months. I doin’t know if he still rerads the blog or not.
But here is a BB gun repairman who may be able to help you:
Larry Behling 315-695-7133 or co2bbjlts@juno.com
I hope you find what you need,
B.B.
Thanks. I’ll give him a try. Not having any luck findinf someone in NJ. The funny thing is although made in China, it was made for a company in North Jersey