by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Daisy Buck BB gun.
This report covers:
- The plan
- Blue Book correction
- The Buck
- Made in China
- Sights
- Trigger
- Power
- Ratchet safety cocking lever — the anti-beartrap mechanism!
- Common sense
- Summary
Today I begin looking at the Daisy model 105 Buck BB gun. That’s quite a difference from $1,000+ PCPs — no? But this is a basic BB gun, perhaps the most basic there is. And I am testing it for two very good reasons. First, this BB gun is more suitable for younger kids than even that icon, the Daisy Red Ryder. It’s better because it’s smaller, shorter and costs less.
The second reason I’m reviewing this BB gun is because reader Terry Harman has sent me a scope base for one! It’s called the Little Buck Rail Scope Mount. Now, a scope on a BB gun isn’t a mainstream thing, but there are lots of people who like the idea of scoping them. You may recall that I reported on the Brice scope base for the Red Ryder back in 2016. And much to my surprise, using a scope on a Red Ryder did improve the accuracy measurably.
The plan
I want to report on the BB gun first of all, but that can go faster than a normal report. BBs don’t vary in velocity that much — certainly not like pellets, so I can combine the velocity test and the first accuracy test in one report. Then we will look at this new scope base and mount a scope.
Blue Book correction
I looked in the Blue Book of Airguns to find the history of the Daisy 105 because I thought it was generations old like the Red Ryder. What I discovered is there are several models of smaller BB guns and the 105 Buck is just one of them. The Blue Book also says the sights are fiberoptic, but thankfully that’s incorrect. The front sight is a squared-off plain post and the rear sight is a plain squared notch. More on the sights in a bit.
The Buck
The Buck is a very small lever action repeating BB gun. It holds 400 BBs in a gravity-fed reservoir that feeds BBs as the gun is cocked. The gun is 35.4 inches overall and the test gun weighs 1 lb. 13 oz. which is about 1.8 lbs. They do vary because of the variable weight of the wood butt.
The pull of the stock (the distance between the end of the butt and the trigger) is 10.75-inches. That measurement is the one parents deal with all the time when getting a BB gun for their children. As I recall, the Red Ryder comes with instructions for cutting off the buttstock to fit your child. I’m not saying the Buck will fit all children, but it will come a lot closer from the start.
The gun is blackened steel with a genuine wood buttstock. The front sight, lever, trigger and safety mechanism are black plastic that does not detract from the appearance, in my opinion. There is no buttplate — just rounded-off wood.
There is also no forearm, which seems like the cost-reduction step that it is. But this one isn’t new. It dates way back to almost the dawn of folded-metal BBs guns. Plenty of vintage and even antique (over 100 years) BB guns lack forearms.
Made in China
This BB gun is made in China, as many BB guns are today. The overall quality looks fine and seems no different than when the guns were made in America. We know that most of the world’s premium BBs are made in China, so it should surprise no one that the guns are made there, as well. Yes, the U.S. and China are in a tariff war right now, but the retail price of the Buck remains around $30.
Sights
The front sight is a squared-off post that at first glance appears to be attached with a Phillips screw. But that screw head is simply molded into the plastic sight that is itself a part of the muzzle cap of the gun.
The Buck’s front sight is a crisp post that has a fake Phillips screw. The sight is actually a part of the muzzle cap.
The rear sight is an extension of the steel spring anchor of the gun. Lift it out and the mainspring can be removed from the gun — though a lot of other steps are necessary, before you get to that.
The steel rear sight is the top of the mainspring anchor. It does not adjust.
Trigger
The trigger is plastic, as mentioned. It is combined with the crossbolt safety that is entirely manual, thank you, Daisy! The listed pull weight is 8 lbs. and I can tell you that when a gun’s trigger pull is 4 times the gun’s weight, it won’t be easy to shoot with full accuracy. I’ll measure the trigger pull in the next report, but I can tell you right now it’s heavy. Many kids will need two fingers to fire this gun.
The trigger is plastic and heavy to pull. Note the crossbolt safety behind the trigger. It’s 100 percent manual!
Power
On the outside of the lithographed box Daisy says the Buck is capable of 350 f.p.s. I really doubt that number. Pyramyd AIR lists the velocity as 275 f.p.s. which I think is a lot closer to reality. Even the Red Ryder of today doesn’t get 350 f.p.s. I got 280 f.p.s. when I tested my 60-year-old Red Ryder with Daisy Premium Grade BBs. Then I got a brand-new Red Ryder and it averaged 281 f.p.s. with the same BB. I don’t think there is any way this smaller BB gun is going to exceed that!
Ratchet safety cocking lever — the anti-beartrap mechanism!
Uncharacteristically I read the owner’s manual for the gun, just in case they slipped in something special. “And after every 50,000 shots or every 5 years, whichever comes first, give the longevity screw a quarter turn clockwise. There is enough adjustment to prolong the life of the BB gun 2 million shots or 500 years before rebuilding.” And that was when I spotted the separate orange instruction sheet that tells how to cock the gun!
Daisy has installed a ratchet safety in the lever cocking mechanism. This does away with the childhood rite of passage of having the lever slap your bare knuckles. What some nasty little boys used to do was have another kid cock their gun, then leave the lever down and pull the trigger. It was sort of the kid’s “M1 thumb.” Ha, ha! Well the lever on the Buck has a ratchet mechanism that catches the lever 7 times through the cocking arc until the gun is cocked. Once cocked the trigger cannot fire the gun until the lever is brought all the way back home.
I am sure the design committee was proud of this change for the safety it brings. Little did they expect that buyers would pull the lever down until they heard a click and then assume the gun was cocked! Oh, my! Lucy, you got some ’splainin’ to do!
The current Red Ryder also has this ratchet cocking safety mechanism.
Common sense
Finally some engineer has used some common sense in the design of this BB gun. The screws that pass through the sides of the receiver all have nuts on them. Daisy always punched the sheet steel to form a screw thread on the side opposite the screw head, and when that failed, fathers all around the world found nuts that fit the screws. Now the factory is building them that way and there is no need to ever strip a screw again.
Summary
I am looking forward to this test because it’s one I never thought I would do. A Daisy Buck? Come on! That’s like taste-testing water!
But look at how water is sold today. I guess it’s past time for this test!
B.B.
Way off of current blog, I’m sorry. In a much previous report on the HW 50S, here:
/blog/2010/07/testing-the-hw-50s-part-3-2/
The last line reads, ” we aren’t finished with this report just yet”. However, it seems you were?
I can find nothing more or since.
-Y
Yogi,
I searched, too, and found nothing. Mac has passed away and I have no way of finding out what else there was nine years ago.
B.B.
I just read the Buck manual on pyramid air, to see where the 500 year adjustment was located, and it does not mention the “longevity” screw.
Or did I have a lapse, and it’s April 1st already.
Can you please point out that adjustment on the gun?
I still love BB guns, they are a fun low powered departure from the other airguns.
And a lot of fun lobbing the bbs at longer than average bb ranges.
45Bravo,
Apparently not all Bucks have that screw.
B.B.
I guess there is an update to the blue book of airguns bor the Buck 105.
Or do y’all add little tidbits like that to the guns descriptions?
It would help future collectors.
Oki just read your reply to Chris USA below.
Never mind.
I have a Red Ryder, and that trigger is flat HORRIBLE! Like pain and blood horrible. But somehow I seem to get decent groups at 15-18 feet or so.
B.B.,
In the following section, “sides of the receive”, should be receiver.
“Common sense
Finally some engineer has used some common sense in the design of this BB gun. The screws that pass through the sides of the receive all have nuts on them.”
When I clicked on the photo at the beginning of the report and went to the bb gun on PyramidAir’s website,
PyramidAir’s website states in the item description area:
“This rifle is NOT designed for a scope.”
LOL right?
That scope rail is awesome and totally ingenious.
Nice report B.B.
And Thank You for all you do
God Bless,
John Carlisle
John,
Fixed it. Thanks,
B.B.
B.B.,
I have the 499 and a 75th anniversary Red Ryder. The 499 cocks so much easier. It probably has to do with leverage points… or something,… but it seems crazy that a youth shooter should be such. Triggers as well.
It could be the Red Ryder and Buck and other small levers are over-sprung too? A lighter spring might yield a lighter cocking effort, as well as a lighter trigger pull,… while seeing no loss in fps. Maybe?
At any rate,…. looking forwards to your review.
Good Day to you and to all,………… Chris
B.B.,
What is/where is the “longevity screw” located? What it supposed to adjust?
Chris
Chris,
The screw is located behind the flux capacitor. 🙂
B.B.
B.B.,
It was early when I made that post (work day) and then went back and read the blog again and (realized it was a joke) and deleted it. It was gone then,…. but not now. Oh well,…… ya’ got me! 😉
Chris
BB,
There is one of these upstairs right now. It is what I started teaching my grandson with. It is right beside my 99 which will be his one day.
BB—I bought a Daisy 102 in 1971. I cut the stock short , removed the open sight, and added a simple peep sight. I used this gun to train my children , their friends and my grandchildren. After reading your blog, I measured the trigger pull on my gun. It is a 2 3/4, 3 pound pull. It is as accurate as my old Red Ryder. Is the model 102 the same as the 105? ——Ed
Ed,
The 102 was made from 1952 to 1978. That span of years means it was made in both Plymouth, MI and Rogers, AR. It was similar in size to the 105 I am testing but that’s where it ended. The trigger was different, the loading was different and the powerplant was different.
B.B.
BB—-Thank you. I thought that the 105 was an updated 102. A 102 with a safety and a ” longevity” screw added. —–Ed
A little off subject.
A friend at work has learned I am into airguns and told me his two sons, 10 and 14, are not happy with the performance of their bb gun. At my recommendation he will be getting an HW30 in the near future. I think they will be happy with its performance.
B.B.,
“Longevity screw,” eh? If only people came with those! ;^)
Michael
B.B.,
Great stuff! I’ve got mine leaning against the outside of my gun cabinet, and it gets a pretty fair amount of use.
Using a chronograph (which I finally had to get after your many sermons on the subject, and it’s well worth it! =>), I get an average of 260 fps with my Buck 105, versus the 300 fps average I get with my 70th Anniversary Commemorative Red Ryder. As for accuracy, a cat food can at 35 feet wedged between two logs gets hit most every time by the little Buck…although the heavy trigger forces me to concentrate; and I have to aim at the top of the can at that range. All in all, it’s a fun little plinker, and I look forward to the rest of your reports on it.
Mine was a spur-of-the-moment buy; I was walking out of our local Academy Sports store, and I spied it on the shelf; there was one left, and it was marked down to $13.99 …at the price, I couldn’t afford not to buy it. =>
Thanks B.B. for your great work,
dave
Dave,
Yeah — that’s the cost of a fast-food meal!
B.B.
Yes! And at 6 feet tall, I can still manage the short stock. =>
I love these b.b. guns.
I have a little shooting range in my basement with a Gamo Rocker pellet trap at one end.
I do my fair share of the laundry in our family and whenever I go downstairs to throw in a load of wash I always take a dozen shots at the trap with the kids Red Ryders.
It’s just FUN!!
CSD,
Good to hear from you again! 🙂
B.B.
This is still the first blog I read every morning. Just as I’ve become older I don’t respond as much unless I think I have something valuable to add….unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be too often 🙂
CSD,
I’m always glad to hear from you. Just tell me the weather if you want!
B.B.
B.B.,
Lucy got some splainin’ to do! I think you do too ;^)
“Common sense
Finally some engineer has used some common sense in the design of this BB gun. The screws that pass through the sides of the receiver all have nuts on them. Daisy always punched the sheet steel to form a screw thread on the side opposite the screw head, and when that failed, fathers all around the world found nuts that fit the screws. Now the factory is building them that way and there is no need to ever strip a screw again.”
Here I always believed the nuts and bolts play nice together but screws never do well with NUTS! I have seen slotted caps used with screws but never never been NUTS about those!
Had a Daisy 960 pop gun when I was a wee tyke. My dad believed in seeing how I it before he gave me a 102.
shootski
shootski