by B.B. Pelletier
What do I mean ANOTHER .12 caliber airgun? When did I show you the first one? Well, it was back on May 23 – The BB pistol that didn’t shoot BBs. In an earlier article – Have you ever seen a rubber band gun? – we looked at the Sharpshooters, which were also .12 caliber. Today we have another one.
The Kruger ’98 was Wham-O’s idea of
cleverly suggesting a Luger without copyright infringement.
A pity they didn’t know the Luger is really an ’08 and the Mauser is the ’98!
Wham-O made airguns?
The Wham-O company gave us lots of fun toys in the 1950s, but there were a few that I’m sure most people aren’t aware of. Among them, the Kruger pistol was the only BB gun they made, as far as I know. It was a black styrene (plastic) handgun modeled after the famous Luger – hence the name. Most of the external parts were plastic, but there were some internal parts made of what was probably a low-carbon plate steel.
It shot birdshot with caps
The pistol was a single shot that used the explosive power of the common toy cap to launch No. 6 birdshot down a rolled steel “barrel” and out into the atmosphere. The instructions said you could use several caps for more power, so you know what all the little boys did! They loaded the firing mechanism with enough caps to send the shot into space, then they learned that the collective cushioning effect from dozens of paper caps was enough to slow down the hammer, causing the gun to misfire.
Inside the box lid, a sales pitch helped storekeepers move the guns.
Caps don’t have much energy
By eliminating caps one at a time, little shooters eventually discovered that a brand-new Kruger had enough oomph to fire three caps at once – for a couple of shots. That was enough force to expel the tiny lead ball all the way out the muzzle, and in some cases several dozens of feet beyond! However, the act of firing set another force in motion that taught the junior shooter his second important lesson.
The guns turned to rust!
Caps, when they fire, leave a residue that is both corrosive and hygroscopic. So, after a few days of soaking up moisture from the air, the gun’s mechanism was thoroughly rusted! Not only would the tiny shot no longer fit through the now-encrusted bore, the hammer mechanism refused to move through the built-up rusty scale along its sides. Most Krugers wound up in the trash in pretty short order.
Looking inside the firing mechanism,
where the caps went, we can see the rust.
This one is actually pretty nice.
But, Wham-O persisted!
Not content to rest on their laurels, Wham-O later brought out a real BB pistol they also called the Kruger. This pistol may have replaced the .12 caliber gun. It looked and functioned the same, but there was one important difference. If toy caps had a hard time pushing tiny .12 caliber lead shot out the barrel, they were completely unable to deal with a steel BB having three times the mass! This made the “big” Kruger the world’s weakest BB gun.
Of course, those guns rusted just like the earlier ones, so there was soon no more evidence of what a bad idea this had been. Wisdom would have let sleeping dogs lie, but wisdom is sometimes in short supply. In Mexico, the Cabanas and Mendoza companies brought out their own cap-fired guns. Cabanas used round Greenie Stick-em caps in their revolver, while Mendoza had their own proprietary percussion caps and BBs!
Hey, these aren’t really AIR guns at all!
Before someone takes me to task, I will admit that these are not really airguns. In fact, they are firearms in the strictest sense. But their weak and often ambiguous performance has placed them in the bottom tier of airguns, so I decided to report on them. And, they do share a projectile that some of our airguns also use.
The next time you’re at a garage sale, estate sale or flea market, you might find one of these Wham-O guns. Pay about $5 or $10 for one – and not a penny more.
I have one in the orginal box . Thank you for all your time to write this ! It was neat to find out about it .
As the only comment to this posting I guess you and I are the only two people in the world who care about these strange guns. There are actually many more cap-fired BB guns like these, so if you are interested there’s more territory to explore.
B.B.
Was there ever any that actually worked?
Ed
Ed,
B.B. is out of town. When he returns later this week, he’ll answer your question if no one else has already done so.
B.B.’s assistant
B.B.
I am looking at one of these as I write this. My Grandmother kept it by her bed for protection,I am not sure from what. I googled the brand just to see what I could find out and got your article.Thanks very much as I am glad to have some information about the gun.
Walt
Walt,
That’s the best story I’ve heard yet about this gun. Mast people don’t even know what it is and some don’t believe it ever existed!
B.B.
This was distributed by Wamo but manufactured by Kruger Corp. I have 2 of them. I also have a few BB’s but no ram. Anyon know what that looks like?
The ram is a short piece of wire that looks like a standard Allen key. any stiff wire that you can bend an angle on the end would be fine. First put it down the barrel to determine correct length then bend a 90 degree angle on it and cut it off with snips leaving about half an inch or so.
I have a Kruger in original box with cleaning pin, target, small booklet, and caps. The actual gun is in near perfect condition, no dents or scratches but very little rust inside as pictured. I am considering selling it but am unsure what to ask for….please advise. Thanks so much.
Lucky,
I paid $60 for one of my boxed Krugers and $100 for the other. The problem you face is finding someone who wants it. They are out there, but they mostly appear at airgun shows.
B.B.
I’ve got one too! I have the gun with little rust, the rod, a box with caps and BB’s, and a small box it was in from Anaheim, Calif. postmarked 54′. A toy collector wants to buy it from me and wants me to give him a price. Any suggestions out there? Hurry, my time may run out!! Thanks, Patti
Patti,
I paid $40 for the boxed example seen here, if I recall correctly. I recently bought a similar gun off Ebay for $35 boxed. That one, a Western Haig, was postmarked 1952.
But I have also seen this gun offered for $100 boxed and this past weekend I saw the Haig I mentioned priced at $165 at a collector’s show.
Somewhere in that range.
B.B.
I GOT ONE IN BOX DATED DEC. 19 1955.IT COAST .30 CENT TO SEND.IT HAS NO RUST,5 PACK OF B-B AND TARGET.IT HAS ORDER BLANK TO ORDER MORE AND HOW TO CARE FOR IT.IT ALSO HAS HOW TO BUY CAPS AT THE 5 AND 10 STORE.I WANT TO SELL IT.BUT WHERE.
Try here:
http://www.airguns.net/classifieds/classifieds.php
B.B.
I CANNOT FIND ANY CAPS FOR IT.DO THEY STILL MAKE CAPS.I GUEST THEY ARE AGAINST THE LAW IN THE U S.
John,
Caps are sold at my local Wal-Mart. I guess it depends on where you live.
B.B.
So what would you say a western haig is worth in used but unbroken condition?
Anonymous with Western Haig,
Here’s an article B.B. did about your gun.
/blog/2008/3/the-western-haig-the-stuff-of-little-boys-dreams/
kevin
This may be the only video of this gun in existance. I also filmed it with a high speed camera. I hope everyone enjoys seeing this in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXcWiBvORD4
J,
You are putting this link on an very old blog, so I will move it up to the current day's post.
B.B.
The Kruger 98 I have is missing the "trigger", the flat spring steel strip is fine. If anyone has a broken body, and has the parts, please let me know.
thejackman,
I have one you are welcome to.
Contact me at blogger @pyramydair.com
B.B.
i would like to buy one i live in western australia can anyone give me advise like a website or something about how to bu a BB airsoft gun plz
We do have a couple of readers that share your contnent but I’ll leave it to them to elaborate on.., it but if it’s legal get it while you can!
Reb
Seyyed,
Please contact sales@pyramydair.com. They will tell you if you can import a gun from the U.S. to Australia.
Edith