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B.B.’s airguns – What I kept and why – Part 2

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Today, I’ll continue the story of what airguns I hung onto over the years and why I kept them. I’ll also throw in a few firearms just to spice things up.

Crosman M1 Carbine
I kept the second M1 Carbine BB gun I ever got, but I let the first one get away. It was a wood-stocked model that’s considered more collectible, though I think the plastic-stocked gun looks more realistic. I kept this one because it was a gift, and I have the original box it came in plus the original owner’s manual. I also kept it because it’s an M1 Carbine, and I have told you many times how I love that little gun.


A military M1 Carbine above and my Crosman M1 Carbine below. It’s very realistic!

S&W 78G
I kept a boxed 78G that I bought in an auction years ago, then had Dave Gunter reseal and soup up a little. It’s a fine-shooting air pistol, though it cannot compete with a 2240 accuracy-wise. I keep it because I’ve sold several boxed 78Gs and one 79G over the years. Ten years ago, these guns were being sold new-in-the-box at airgun shows for $100. I knew it couldn’t last, and it didn’t; but when there’s a pile of 50 of anything, it tends to lose value in my eyes. I’ll hold on to this one because it would cost too much to replace it.


The S&W 78G is a single-shot copy of S&W’s model 41 target pistol.

Daisy 499B
I keep the world’s most accurate BB gun because every so often I write about it. I need to have one to remind me of how really great the gun is. And I bought a case of Number 515 Precision Ground Shot, so I’d never run out for the rest of my life. I just opened the second box after 10 years. There are 23 more boxes to go, so you might plan on buying them at my estate sale.

Diana model 27
I’ve owned several Diana 27 rifles, both in .22 and .177, but the beautiful one I bought from Richard Schmidt at the first Little Rock Airgun Show I attended 17 years ago is the one I will keep. I’ve had it apart several times for photography and tuning, and I love the way it shoots. I’ve had several .177 model 27s, and I can say that I never warmed up to any of them. For some reason, the .22 caliber gun is the one I love.


I love my little Diana 27, which is a Hy-Score 807.

Airguns I no longer have – the Hakim
I’ve owned at least 15 Hakim spring rifles over the years. For a couple of years, the Anschütz-made Hakims were my weakness, just like M1 Carbine firearms are today. For some reason, I lost interest and slowly let them all get away. They’re great air rifles, and you really should shoot one, but I’m no longer fatally attracted to them.

Now, if you have a BSA Airsporter you’d like to get rid of reasonably, we should talk. The Airsporter is a BSA-made Hakim design in a sporter stock. Same for the Falke model 80 and 90, though both of those rifles are much more collectible and sell for a lot more.


The Hakim used to be on my must-have list…but no more.

The Sheridan Supergrade
I owned one long enough to learn that it is neither more powerful nor more accurate than a standard Sheridan Blue Streak. But it’s quite the air rifle from the style side. I don’t normally care about style, but the Supergrade is one exception. Mine was an early rifle that had the long bolt handle, which I find particularly attractive. I had to sell it to raise money to live on, and then the prices tripled inside two years. I probably won’t get another.

Sharp Ace
I’ve owned three Aces. Two were Japanese-made and one was made in southeast Asia. One of the Japanese guns was regulated to 12 foot-pounds and had a beautiful barred walnut stock. The other Japanese model was full-power and got up to 25 foot-pounds in .22 caliber.

The Ace trigger gets stiffer as more pumps are put into the gun. I could not reconcile that, so I let them all go. They’re terribly accurate, though. Way more than the Sheridan rifles.

Daystate Sportsman Mark II
This is a sidelever multi-pump rifle that looks and feels like a PCP. It’s just as accurate, too. But it weighs over 10 lbs. scoped, and the sidelever makes it unbalanced. I could not reconcile that feel, so I sold it. I still see it for sale every so often at airgun shows.


The Daystate Sportsman Mark II is a multi-pump made to look and perform like a PCP.

Air Arms Schamal .22
This rifle was a heatbreak to sell. It was another natural shooter, like the R8 I just reviewed for you. It had a great number of shots per fill and was reasonably lightweight. The stock was figured walnut that I thought was breathtaking. At 40 yards, it shot one-hole groups. I’ve seen other Schamals that didn’t excite me, but this one was special. I sold it to get the money to live on, but if I got it again I don’t think I’d let it get away a second time.

Baby Bernadelli .25 ACP
Forty years ago, I owned a .25 ACP Baby Bernadelli, which is an Italian copy of the Baby Browning. For some unknown reason, that little pistol was dead-nuts accurate. I could put three bullets through the bottom of a pop can at 30 feet every time. I’m talking a one-inch group! It was a natural shooter that I let get away…and have regretted it ever since.

Ruger flattop .44 Magnum with 10-inch barrel
I’ve owned eight Colt Single-Actions, including three that were first generation guns. I have also owned a genuine Remington 1875 single-action. Yet, I don’t really miss any of them as much as I miss this Ruger. It was collectible when I owned it in the 1970s, and it’s super-collectible today. I liked it because it was accurate and because I could load it to .44 Special power and it didn’t kick much. I doubt I’ll ever spend the money to buy another one like it.

Well, that’s enough sob stories for one day. How about the rest of you open up between now and Monday with your own tales of woe? I have many more to come, so don’t worry. We’re just getting started.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

89 thoughts on “B.B.’s airguns – What I kept and why – Part 2”

  1. The stock on that daystate sportsman MK II is dreamy. I can see and hear the dramatic similarities between it and the titan mohawk. Sadly, I think the mohawk is headed for the same fate as the daystate sportsman MK II for similar reasons.

    Although this article is titled “What I Kept and Why” it’s more important than that since B.B. was transparent enough to reveal “What I Sold and Regretted”.

    Here’s my confession. I only regret selling one gun.

    I couldn’t drive for several more years so I must have been 14 or 15 years old. I saved up a lot of hard earned money and bought a remington model 700 in 30-06. I helped put a lot of meat on our table with that gun. I spent an inordinate amount of money on ammo in my youth learning to shoot that gun and that cost always haunted me and drove me into reloading later in life.

    When I was able to drive and had a car of my own I enrolled into a gunsmith school. It was a night class after my normal high school classes and I drove 120 miles each way to gun smith class each Thursday. I got home about 1:00AM on Friday and had to get up for school at 6:00AM.

    I learned. I saved. I made a custom stock for the 700, bedded the action, made a custom trigger (this is before you could buy an aftermarket trigger. They’re cheap by the way), re-barreled the gun (traded an old shotgun for the new barrel) and learned how to shoot the gun since I was now convinced it could shoot (save your money and learn how to shoot your guns. LOL!!!)

    Started a business of my own when I was 18. Went broke. Had to sell many things but never declared bankruptcy. Had to sell the 700. OH, and I made a custom walnut case for that gun too. Routed out a 1″ blank for the top and a 3″ blank for the bottom. Every gun show I attend I am on the lookout for that gun. I know how to shoot that one.

    kevin

      • Kevin

        I have a few questions.

        Is the Remington 700 not the rifle the Marines use(d) for sniper training?

        Have you any photos of this rifle?

        If I may, what type of business was it you started at such a tender age? At 18 I was working as a valet parking attendant at a Country Club. So ambitious.

        • Slinging Lead,

          Bingo. At a young and impressionable age I was directly influenced by the USMC’s choice of the remington 700 as their base for building their sniper rifles. The changes I made to mine were also influenced by the shortcomings that the Marine Corp discovered in the factory guns.

          I never took a picture of the gun. I have pictures (old 35mm, somewhere) of me holding the gun with elk and deer recently shot in the foreground. That was in my bloodthirsty days.

          I read the books, took the required State of Colorado exam, passed and started selling real estate at the ripe old age of 18. Although I’ve learned a few things along the way, I still sell real estate to this day.

          http://kevinlentz.com/

          kevin

          • Kevin

            I need to put you in contact with my Fiance. She is a real charmer, and can sell ice cubes to Eskimos, meanwhile I couldn’t sell ice cubes in hell if I had a monopoly. If you have any advice I could give her, I would appreciate it. She is a natural, and can talk to anybody. In fact she insists on talking to everybody. I feel she is selling her self short in her current vocation.

            • Slinging Lead,

              Real Estate Brokerage is a hard row to hoe.

              Your fiance can contact me at klentz4@comcast.net.

              Always happy to talk about real estate brokerage and will encourage quality individuals with integrity to enter into this wonderful endeavor.

              It’s a tough road. In Colorado only one in 27 licensee’s are still in the business after 24 months.

              kevin

        • I’ve had a long-time interest in the Remington 700. As the foundation of the Marine Corps sniper rifle, the M40, it has a certain cache. One would suppose that the Marines would use only the best. The M40 is certainly very accurate. The specifications I’ve read are for .3 MOA from a rest. However, I’ve come across some things that say that the Remington 700 was chosen more out of expedience than pure quality. In fact, Carlos Hathcock himself, the great Marine sniper who racked up his totals with an M40, was quoted as saying, “The Savage is the most accurate off-the-shelf stick.” Now there is a man of discrimination. The fact is that the M40 is heavily rebuilt by the Marine armorers and costs about $10,000. So, I wouldn’t expect your factory Remington 700 to shoot the same.

          Matt61

      • B.B.,

        Ah yes, the walnut gun case. Another one of my many blunders.

        Spent almost the entire first year of high school in woodshop class building that beauty. Cut and reversed, routered the lid and bottom. Even left dividers in the bottom that created compartments to accommodate shells, oil, cloth, tools etc. The inside was brushed with glue immediately followed by a process where you used a hand pump filled with granulated felt that you blasted onto the fresh glue (think green dust cloud). The results of the interior looked like a flawlessly lined, high end gun case I had seen in magazines. The outside was hand rubbed oil and then waxed. Brass hinge and latches. Looked like a fine piece of furniture when it was done.

        Although I watched over that case like a father with his first born child it inevitably got dinged, scratched and gouged after a few seasons traveling afield. And boy was that thing HEAVY. Never thought of that. Duh.

        If I ever get that gun and case back I’ll retire the walnut case and buy a pelican gun case for traveling.

        Thanks for keeping an eye open.

        kevin

  2. When I was in junior high school, my dad bought me a Winchester M70 in the then-new .264 Winchester Magnum caliber, so we could go deer hunting together (alas, this never happened). I sold the gun to a dealer in Vermont in 1999. I don’t miss the .264, which was in any event a chambering that tended to burn out its barrels. I do miss that pre-1970 Winchester however, and wish I had had it re-chambered for a different caliber. As I remember, the .264 and the .300 were necked down versions of the .458, so re-chambering would have been relatively easy.

    • The .264 Win. Mag. is a fine long range cartridge. It’s BC is high with 140 gr. bullets. It retains it’s velocity really well. As to being hard on barrels, it is. But, so is the 7mm Rem. Mag. and other similar rounds. When used to hunt with it will be a long time before you need to re barrel.

      Mike

  3. Wife called me at work one day. She’d just returned home and found glass all over the stoop and the front door open. Police were called to check the house. As I drove home, she called back on the cell to say that they’d stolen all the airguns. Immediately felt sick inside. Fortunately, the very few firearms I have were locked away so those didn’t end up in circulation. But I lost an early RWS branded Air Arms TX200 in .22 cal with one of the nicest factory beech socks I’ve ever seen, as well as a .22 cal tap-loading BSA Stutzen, a pre-safety .177 HW50S, a .20 cal HW-77, a Laserized .25 cal Beeman R1, and a .20 cal Beeman R-10. Of course, everything had been set up with all the old Beeman accessories–scope stops, Sports Match rings, SS2 scopes, slings… In all, a really, really lousy day made even worse as we knew it had been done by someone who’d been inside our home. We never proved it, but we’re pretty sure it was a contractor who’d recently re-sided and re-roofed our house. He’d been inside briefly to measure for some new windows. Sad, as he and his crew had worked at our house for weeks and we’d gotten to know them all quite well. We even got them another roofing job before the burglary occurred.

    The good news is that I’ve replaced those airguns with different airguns and met many nice guys along the way. Oh, and I got a really big, heavy safe.

    • Derrick

      I have read parts of this story from your previous comments and each time I cringe more. I like to think that contractor was eaten by wolves shortly before dieing of dehydration because they had a leg caught in a bear trap in the middle of Death Valley California. I guess I’m the type that holds a grudge. And poison ivy on the crotch.

      I had a car stolen once. It was a Volkswagon Jetta. The police were quick to locate it of course, because it was reported to them, totaled, in a some parking lot in a grimy part of town. I had nothing but liability coverage, because I was a poor college student. It was nearly new, and I got $500 for it from salvage. My mother reassured me by pointing out that if I hadn’t bought such a “flashy” car, no one would want to steal it.

      Also, Mrs. Slinging Lead stole my heart, but that is another story.

    • Derrick,

      Every time I read this story of yours I get sick. I can’t stand thieves. I still think we should chop one of their hands off for a first offense. Don’t ask me what I think the punishment should be for a second offense.

      kevin

      • I’m with you on this one…all the way.
        In my youth I was much more liberally inclined. Still feel that real deserving people at times need a hand held out when times are tough…but my thinking towards people who do stupid things has changed dramatically.
        Case in point…theft. Years ago I was of the thinking that ‘hey…it’s only stuff and that’s what insurance is for’.
        But a few years back, after a break-in where they got my first camera (an ancient Leica from the early 30’s that was my grandfathers). Plus some stuff I worked very hard for.
        Yup…off with their hand!!

        • It’s been said that a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. Modern liberalism seems inclined so often to invoke mercy without a sense of justice balancing it out. Oftentimes that’s worse than no mercy at all…

    • Derrick,

      I remember that story. It tweaks my mind how one can be so friendly and yet stab in the back so easily. I’m a contractor and don’t take lightly the trust someone puts in me to work in their house. It’s hallowed ground. I’ve past this on to more than a few young up comers.

      As far as having things stolen from my house, only once did I get a break in and the punks took my High School ring. Some stereo stuff and some money too, but the ring is missed.

      KA

    • Derrick:
      That is awful.
      I have been the victim of motor crimes.That long walk to a broke in car after you have spotted a puddle of broken glass on the floor.
      Sickness,anger,impotence and loss.All those feelings at once.
      You must have felt ten times worse.Terrible.
      DaveUK

    • That’s outrageous. But on the bright side, they did not get your firearms. In California, theft of firearms involves not only the loss of their value but a $10,000 fine for the owner if they were unlocked at the time of theft and subsequently used in a crime. This is an ongoing anxiety for me.

      Matt61

      • 10,000 dollars when you the one wronged! If the house is locked and broken into what’s to stop them from breaking more locks? Well, I guess that is to be expected in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia!

        Sad.

        Mike

  4. B.B.,

    The capacity to give things up, or let things go is a healthy one both mentally and spiritually. More power to you!

    I had wanted to say this during Part 1, but I’ve been kind of busy. Still am, actually.

    Regards,
    Victor

  5. Hi BB,
    I don’t have too many regrets in guns I have sold. I would like to have some back but the decisions were not bad ones that I made. Some of my largest regrets are guns I did not buy. One year at Little Rock there was the most beautiful Shamal I have ever seen and it has a Beeman 66R scope mounted on it. The owner was asking a really low price for it. The Shamal was right handed and had a sharp roll over cheek piece and the pistol grip was also biased for a right handed person. As a lefty, it just wouldn’t work at all. The stock was too pretty to modify. If I ever see a left handed Shamal like that I hope I can afford to buy it.

    David Enoch

  6. BB

    Don’t you know the guy that has the Schamal? And don’t you have right of first refusal on it? And isn’t he named Wayne? Maybe I am thinking of another gun, I don’t know. It might be worth it to email him. Nag him a little. Just like someone else I know, but whom I will not name except to say he is probably wackier than than the Wayne that owns the Schamal.

  7. Not a real sob story, just a little hiccup: The Marlin Cowboy delivery has been pushed back a seventh time, and the rest of the items in my order just go along for the ride again. Ah well, bless the Chinese and the folks at PA who don’t mind.
    Hmmm… maybe I should add a couple of Condors and S410’s and TX200’s to that order, see if anybody gets antsy about not shipping and not billing the order then!
    -AlanL

    • Alan did you get an email from PA or did you just notice it on the website and does the date you have match the one on PA website which is September 3rd ?
      Did you notice the date is now being pushed back week by week instead of 2 and a half months like they did the first time, they must be close, I can almost feel it (and I hole I’m not wrong).
      Do you think they’ll have some left when I visit the US in October so I can order one ?
      Do you have other stuff in your order that’s now out of stock ?

      J-F

      • J-F,

        I agree– the pushbacks are in smaller increments now, but after nine months I’ll believe it when I see it in my hands. Miraculously, all items in my order (except the Cowboy) are currently in stock, though a couple of them have gone out of and back into stock several times in the interval.

        I have no clue if PA has sold just mine or 1000 pieces since they started selling it. But if you like I’ll amend my order to two and take delivery of your unit (if they ever ship them!) Then, at the time you come to the States you’ll always have yours for sure- just tell me where to ship it. Let me know.

        -AlanL

        • 9 Months!! Wow I didn’t realise it had been that long. Maybe there’s a pregnant rifle somewhere that’s gonna give birth to a bunch of little marlin BB guns 😛

          Thank you very very much for the offer, it’s very nice of you but I’ll take my chances.
          If it’s available I’ll order one and probably a Beeman P17 and some pellets to bring the order over 100$ and have the free shipping. If it’s not available I’ll just wait for the next time I or my parents go to the US to order it and maybe I’ll be able to order the marauder pistol at the same time 😀 (or maybe I’ll just go spend 2 days in a cheap motel and have it shipped to me overnight when (if) it comes out).

          Thanks again Alan

          J-F

  8. Morning B.B.,

    The only gun that I’d really like back is a 3 screw Ruger flat top in .44 magnum that I bought new in 1961, serial number 20882. Perhaps someone could tell me that it’s in a good home. I swapped it off for the reloading equipment to feed my 22-250 which was a wildcat round then.

    Kevin, I too will keep my eyes open for your rifle.

    Bruce

    • Bruce,

      I just acquired a Super Blackhawk three-screw in a trade, to make up for the one I stupidly traded away 30 years ago. It’s not a Blackhawk, of course, but it does have the old-style action, which gives the trigger a chance to be nice. And it’s a 99 percent gun. If I load it to .44 Special levels, it should be pretty nice.

      Sorry about your Blackhawk, and I know how you feel about it.

      B.B.

  9. Hi, folks. Sorry, but I’m going to double-post this note to Fred PRoNJ from yesterday’s blog, just in case he’s following only the latest comments:

    “Fred – you’re in Maryland? Sounds like you’ve got your hands full, but if you can find the time, let’s go shooting! The Damascus IWLA air rifle range is about an hour from College Park. And I think Mr. B and his range are closer still. I happen to be taking the week off of work, so I’m a free man. Impromptu PA blog fun shoot?!?

    -Jan”

  10. Hey GenghisJan,

    I’m back in the People’s Republik of NJ now. There was absolutely NO time off yesterday. Man, when I went off to college, everything fit in a regular, hard-sided suitcase, including my 10 transistor, AM-FM battery powered radio – my only stereo. TV? Computer? Stereo? Ha! Carrying two duffel bags filled with my daughter’s clothes and God knows what else up three flights of stairs was the equivalent of riding my bicycle up the Watchung Reservation mountain. I’m getting too old for this crap! And the duffel bags were only PART of the load!

    Anyway, thanks for the offer and perhaps we can work something out when I schedule a business trip to the Baltimore / Hunt Valley / DC area but I usually travel on Amtrak so I’d have to alter my normal mode of transportation.

    Anyway, my one regret was selling my Ruger Mini 14 I bought back in the 70’s. There are only two ranges I know of here in Jersey that I could still shoot that rifle but NJ took care of things back in the 80’s when they declared that little rifle an “assault weapon”. Ah, the ammo was darn expensive anyway.

    Fred PRoNJ

    • Sounds great, Fred. Be sure to drop me a line if you find yourself with Baltimore-area travel plans and an itchy trigger finger: jvvjvv at gmail.com. Probably no need to alter your transport MO: I’m happy to chauffeur, and I believe Amtrak has recently lifted its post-9/11 ban on firearms in checked bags. I only noticed because there was an utterly inane controversy as a result. Like the bad guys would need to subvert the new policy to bring arms onto a train.

      I can see it now: “Nobody move! Now, take this train to Cuba!”

      -Jan

  11. B.B., 15 Hakims slid through your hands?? I don’t have any stories about lost guns since I have recently bought all of mine and have an acquisitive cast of mind anyway. But one profound regret is letting the family Winchester 94 rust for 20 years while hanging on the wall because nobody had a clue about how to care for it. Thanks to Ballistol most of the rust is gone, but it will never be restored completely.

    Fred PRoNJ, tell me about it. My Black Hills .223 for my Savage 10FP is running about 80 cents per round.

    Edith, the survival story would be a sort of Josh Ungier style biography of your early experiences that have made you so aware of survival equipment and tactics. But of course nothing you’d be uncomfortable telling.

    This just in. I do believe that dry firing is having a beneficial effect. The other night I shot two 10 shot groups into contiguous holes at 15 feet. That is not normal for me. There are other indications too. Start dry firing. I also have to report a memorable shot. I was practicing my snap shooting with the Walther CPSport and was being defied by the black dot from my Shoot NC targets that I was aiming at. I realized finally that I was trying to put the sights on the target. So, I tried again with a more scrupulous observation of the Applegate snap shooting method: convulsively squeeze the trigger with your whole hand as soon as the gun rises to break the line of sight with the target. And boom, the black spot was blown right off the paper. Incredible. Insofar as the joy of shooting has to do with unlocking the subconscious, snap shooting is hard to beat.

    Matt61

      • Okay, the reloading is getting to me…. You can’t ignore those figures. Speaking of which, if you didn’t want two perfect springers like the HW97 and the TX200, what possessed you to get 15 of the lower performing Hakims? Maybe you didn’t have them all at the same time.

        Matt61

    • Matt,

      I bought Hakims when they sold for $60-75 apiece. That’s how I got so many. Then I got a reputation as the Hakim guy and people started bringing me Hakim parts. Then people began pushing their unwanted Hakims on me and that’s when I lost interest.

      B.B.

  12. I’ve told this story before.
    I lost a slew of guns out of apathy about 11 years ago.
    My father was an avid shooter. Not a collector but he bought a lot of guns for reasons from looks to accuracy.
    When he was first diagnosed with cancer in 1999 he decided to get rid of them…he figured he’d never enjoy what he couldn’t use.
    His first thought was to offer them to me…lock stock and barrel. But I said no, I probably wouldn’t shoot them so let them go to someone who would use them (at the time I was at a point where I had zero interest in shooting). My parents didn’t need the money, so it was not a case of feeling they should benefit financially…in fact my father gave quite a number away to some of his old good friends…which was probably more fitting anyway.

    But some that I remember were the aforementioned beater Rem 700 in .223 with the synthetic stock.
    4 Weatherby’s
    1 Purdy
    3 Sako’s
    2 CZ’s
    2 Winchester 1994 (30-30 and .22)
    2 Anschutz target rifles
    1 fully restored Mauser K98
    1 Russian AK-74
    1 Webley sidelever air rifle (not sure which one)
    1 Uzi…with full auto mode (this one was always a secret)
    That’t the rifles I remember

    1 S&w model 41 completely decked out for comptetion
    1 .357 S&W with target barrel
    1 Ruger 44 mag SS
    2 Colt .45, one of which was custom, one dated from WWII

    That is what I remember…and it was about 1/2 of what he had.
    And I didn’t take any of them.
    He passed away in 2005. Of all of them I sure wish I had that beater Remington…he swore by that thing.
    Gotta admit, as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to have a pretty strong spritiual side (not religious…if you know what I mean).
    I like to think that up in heaven he is smiling when his grandsons (7&9) are out at the range with their Red Ryders and BAM AK’s.

  13. I have a story. The one I’d most like to have back is my .45 Colt Combat Commander. It was the steel frame, satin nickle finished, with maple grips, version of the commander. I traded it even for a S&W mod 19 with the 6″ barrel. That Colt had gotten me through a couple tight spots and boy do I still miss it! Missed it so much, I compounded my mistake, and traded another favorite gun , a 4″ S&W .38 spec Combat Masterpiece, that I had carved the grips to fit my hand. That one was my first centerfire handgun. Once ,I shot five squirrels in a row with it , using Winchester Western .38 target wadcutters while hunting one rainy afternoon. One was a black squirrel that was directly overhead in a large hemlock tree in our woods. About a 60 ft shot straight up and I took him right through the neck. I ‘ll always remember that shot and that hunt.I only had one cylinder of ammo with me too.
    Anyways, I traded the .38 for a used.45 Colt officers model to replace my old commander. I rationalized that I didn’t need it anymore because I had the mod 19, and that was after all a .357. Still have both of those , but niether means very much to me , and I seldom shoot them now,Robert.

  14. To BB,Slinginglead & all,I have located a couple more very interesting airguns….last night I stumbled on a HW Barakuda who’s bluing is still very good for a very fair price.There aren’t alot of these out there!For those who don’t know this air rifle is classified a firearm because it sports an ether injection system.My second find,quite undervalued,is a .25 cal smoothbore “original Will” bugelspanner in about 80% condition,functioning for 175$.I consider both of these to be very good finds!

  15. Hey Tom,
    I just wanted to tell you that it is always fun to come here and see what is on your mind everyday. Have a good weekend and keep healing up.

    David Enoch

    • David,

      Well, what’s on my mind today is that I’m finally well enough to go to the range! So I’m trying to set up a day next week when I can get to the range to shoot a few of these guns I have laying around.

      Probably the top two on my list are the .45 SAA I was was gifted recently and an 1862 .45-70 Peabody.

      Maybe I’ll take pics and turn my day into a report!

      Another thing on my mind is how I need to start casting some bullets. I need some for my .45-70s, and some for my .43 Spanish, plus a whole bunch for my 1911s. I can go through 200 of those in a day, so I need to cast up about a thousand of them and get started on sizing and lubricating.

      I’m planning on going to Roanoke. Mac is going to drive out and then drive back with me to Roanoke. When it’s over we’ll drive back, then he’ll turn around and go back home. For those who don’t appreciate this, Mac lives about 4.5 hours from Roanoke. So he’s driving an extra 2,400 miles just to help me. Can you say Friend?

      B.B.

  16. Wow, thanks for all the kind words and sympathy. Don’t feel too sorry for me. I’ve replaced the lost airguns with different airguns. Except, I haven’t managed to replace my .25 cal R1. .22 cal is the largest caliber in which it’s currently offered. As a result, I have a semi-ridiculous pile of .25 cal pellets and nothing to shoot them through. I suppose that just gives me reason to keep hunting for the next gun. And the next…

  17. Derrick,

    Don’t try a .25 caliber BSA to use up those pellets. I made the mistake of doing that after I sold my Patriot. The little Lightning XL seemed like a good way to use all those left over pellets, but the British have a different idea on what .25 caliber is so I ended up needing to buy even more .25 caliber ammo.

    Maybe swap that .22 Mrod for a .25?

    • Derrick,Icould lend you the .25 DAQ,if you don’t mind double loading those pellets 🙂 It’s not really happy under 70gr….but your welcome to borrow [BORROW] it.It has a little brother carbine that’s kinda loud but shoots well w/
      30gr range of diablos.I reccomend a railroad tie for a backstop.

      • Nah, I’ve got nowhere to shoot something like that. Too powerful, too loud for the residential area in which I live. That would help me use up the .25 cal pellets though, as it sounds like I’d have to pour a quarter of a pellet tin in for each shot.

        I’ll come across the right .25 cal gun at some point. It’s not like I don’t have anything to shoot…

        • The .457 is the one that likes a 1/4 tin of pellets…..that’s my secret to shooting groups.:0 one shot one group!As long as you realise anything in my “Library” is available to you,my brother from another mother.

    • Yeah, I’m hip to the Brits using a slightly different #3 bore size. The prospect of being able to buy relatively cheap .25 cal Marauder barrels directly from Crosman opens up some interesting caliber conversions for tinkering types. It’s on my short list. Would be closer to the top if I didn’t need a new receiver to do the conversion on my Marauder…

  18. Fred in PRoNJ

    A Toyota Tacoma does not a Bubba make. I live in the largest Bubba producing state in the nation, so I know what I ham talking about. A Bubba’s truck must be a Ford or Chevy, (for some reason Dodge doesn’t count.) A trampoline will be necessary to access the cab, and the CB radio antennae must be at least twice as tall as the truck itself. A confederate flag is not mandatory, but will earn you bonus points.

    Toyota Tacomas are for city-slickers.

    • Slinging Lead:
      This could be confusing for Bubba.
      I had a Ford Maverick 4×4 but it was actually a re badged Nissan(Datsun)Terrano.
      At the time Ford didn’t have their own 4×4 but wanted to cash in on the growing market over here.
      Great fun in the snow but handled like a Bison in a wonky shopping trolley under normal circumstances.lol
      Chopped it in for a ‘Scooby Doo’-Subaru, Impreza Turbo.
      DaveUK

    • My wife will be very happy to know that. Perhaps. However, she’s in a good mood now so I don’t think I’ll bring the subject up just now. Hey BB, I think I have a hundred empty cases of military .223. I can bring it down to Roanoke for you, if you like?

      Fred PRoNJ

    • Don’t forget an Old American Favorite – The Jeep, not the prissy ones. The Wrangler Soft Top go anywhere, yes I’m a biased owner of my second 😉 and loving every minute.

      rikib

  19. How does that song go?
    “To all the gun’s I have loved before” or was it girls?lol
    And the words from ‘My Way’
    “Regrets,I’ve had a few” you bet I have.
    With this in mind,I need to future proof my next and possibly last air gun purchase(After all,a good quality rifle could easily outlast me).
    I have found my ‘lifetime’ musical instrument that fits like a glove and it didn’t cost the earth like some I have had.
    The air rifle equivalent is what I am going for 🙂

    “Bore size”.We can’t even drive on the right side of the road over here. lol
    DaveUK

  20. How about this for lost guns. I met a guy who is a descendant of an old aristocratic German family. Towards the end of WWII with the Russians on the way, the guy’s father took his massive collection of valuable guns and buried them somewhere on the property hoping to retrieve them at some later point. These were the holdings of a very rich man and I have no doubt they included some original Mausers from the Oberndorf factory. But, perhaps thinking he would be able to get them within a short time, he didn’t bother making a map. The family fled to the west. (The father, a military officer, took the lead to scout out a refuge and told the wife and kids to catch up to him in a horse drawn cart….) The property was taken over by the East German government and only after the fall of the Iron Curtain was the guy’s son able to buy back his own property. The father had since passed away without passing on the secret location of the guns. So, the son knows that the guns are somewhere, presumably well-packed away, but he doesn’t know where. The property is a bit large for using a metal detector.

    Matt61

      • Slinging Lead,

        You bet it does. Even though Matt61 says it’s too big an area for a metal detector, I beg to differ. The bigger the better! Tom and I metal detected the University of Maryland at College Park. Talk about big…those were the good old days 🙂

        Edith

        • How about an airgun academy field trip ?
          With a whole bunch of us maybe we could get some airguns factory tour and during the night we all put our ninjas outfits and we go metal detecting 😀
          If we do the searching maybe the owner would be willing to split the findings ?

          J-F

        • Okay a whole college campus is pretty impressive, but this property is not to be underestimated either. The guy claims to be a descendant of the Teutonic Knights and showed me a chapel on the property that dated back to the 13th century. He says that the property is much reduced from its original size, but from the top of a small hill, it just about stretched to the horizon with lakes and little clusters of woods all over the place. Let’s say that there’s enough for lengthy and enjoyable metal detecting although I suspect that the guy probably buried the guns around his house. The family name is von Arnim if that rings a bell.

          B.B.! You saved the day for me with that ammunitiontogo reference. The Prvi Partisan match ammo is half the price of the Black Hills and apparently comparable out to 300 yards which is way farther than I normally shoot.

          Matt61

    • Matt61:
      Quite frequently in Britain,amateur blokes with metal detectors turn up bags of coins and gold in some ploughed field or other.
      Most dating back to Roman and Saxon times.
      What were the circumstances that caused them to be buried?
      Who knows.
      Concerning these buried guns.
      Thanks to you,we now know the answer to a question that may not be asked in a thousand years.
      Unless WE go dig the buggers up of course.lol
      DaveUK

  21. The only gun that I wish I still had is one that was stolen from me. A Remington Model 580 single shot bolt action 22. My father gave it to me for my twelfth birthday. That rifle was very accurate, seems like I couldn’t miss with it. Almost like it was made just for me.( the 580 is a youth model) I have been trying to locate one to replace it. Any ideas on where to look would be appreciated. I have occasionally checked sites on the internet but have had no luck. Thanks!

  22. Thanks for the links B.B. Pelletier. I’d already sent Bryan & Associates an Email about the seal for a S&W 79G air valve and Reb had clued me in on JGAirguns.

    And Hey Reb!

    At your suggestion I checked out John & Linda Groenewold’s site. My parts blowup is a dreadful fifth copy of a copy but as far as I can tell JGAirguns doesn’t list what looks like part SW 11265. In any event there’s an email explaining my plight headed their way.

    I got lost in this blog trying to respond to your earlier thoughts about my notion to cast a hard urethane as a replacement seal for the S&W 79G air valve shuttle. I may be reduced to trying it if I can’t find the seal.

    Another thought is to machine down a good old fashioned urethane water faucet “washer.” Those things are pretty robust and grind cleanly. The hard part will be figuring out how thick the seal needs to be. The geometry in that valve isn’t trivial.

    I’m glad to keep you posted if I can somehow figure this blog out…

    • Win,
      Put your cursor on the words”Air gun blog, It will turn blue,click and wait about a minute. When the dashboard pulls up it will show recently published articles with dates,You can’t click on them but where people’s comments are below Recently published will have blue #’s click on one that sounds interesting.One or more of the comments will be from the day’s blog.
      Or just type “pyramyd airgun blog” that’s how I get there.Good Luck! Hope to see ya there soon!

      Reb

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