Category Archives: maintenance

maintenance category

What do YOU want?: Part 2

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 85 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

This report covers:

  • In a handgun
  • A target BB pistol
  • What it’s for
  • A hunting handgun
  • Any holes?
  • Get real!
  • Over to you
  • Summary

This is a continuation of your opportunity to affect the world of airguns. I told you last time that airgun manufacturers all over the world read this blog daily. Of course there are exceptions to that from time to time. Sometimes a personnel change at a company diverts the attention of its people to other things and we loose them for awhile, but then someone in the company has a question about something airgun-related and they go online to research it. That usually brings them to this blog and they bring the others in their company back with them.

In a handgun

What do you want to see in an air handgun? It can be anything from a simple BB gun to a big bore airgun capable of taking big game. I’ll get you started and then turn the discussion over to you. read more

1896 New King Single Shot: Part 2

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 174 Comments

Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

1896 King
1896 New King single shot BB gun.

Part 1

History of airguns

This report covers:

  • Design an Airgun contest
  • The bear
  • However!
  • Tapered breech
  • Something else
  • Clearing the barrel
  • Discussion
  • Cocking effort
  • Trigger pull
  • Summary

Design an Airgun contest

Today is the last day of the Design an Airgun contest, and we have several interesting entries. I will announce the winner next week.

The bear

Sometimes the bear eats you! That’s almost what happened to the 1896 New King single shot BB gun today. I got one shot out the muzzle at 157 f.p.s and the next BB didn’t come out. I was still inside the gun, along with a second BB I loaded, thinking the first BB had rolled out. At least that’s what I believed at this point.

It will be hard to say what happened exactly before I get this gun running again. That’s assuming I can even do that. I will try, and I will document what happens so I can report it to you. But for now I was sure Part 2 of the 1896 New King Single Shot, the velocity test, was over. read more

How to mount a scope: Part 4

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 114 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

This report covers:

  • What optically centering DOES NOT mean
  • What optically centering really is
  • How to optically center a scope
  • Why do we do it?
  • Field target
  • Counting clicks — mechanical centering
  • Erector tube return spring
  • A better way
  • What about left and right?
  • Why so anal?
  • Pragmatic approach
  • Summary

Today we are going to discuss optically centering a scope. It’s going to be a difficult report for me to write, because the subject does not have much merit for airgunners. So I will compensate by adding some things that do have merit. Let’s go!

What optically centering DOES NOT mean

Let’s start with what optical centering DOESN’T mean. The optical center of the scope is not the place at which there are an equal number of clicks up and down and side to side. I say that and some of you already know it and yet the website “RifleOpticsWorld” has an online article written by “Rifle Optics Team” that says that setting a scope to the optical center is simply returning it to the factory setting. Excuse me?????  read more

1896 New King Single Shot: Part 1

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 40 Comments

Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

1896 King
1896 New King single shot BB gun.

History of airguns

This report covers:

  • How this happened
  • Detailed history
  • Pop quiz
  • BB shot and air rifle shot sizes
  • Getting ready
  • Good news!
  • Summary

Sometimes we get the rare opportunity to examine something that’s really from the past. Today is such a time. We will begin looking at a New King single shot BB gun from Markham. It is the 1896 model that was made from 1896 until 1905.  Mine was made in either 1900 or 1901, as I will explain.

How this happened

Periodically I look at eBay to see what sort of antique airguns they have and a couple weeks ago I saw this listing. So I went to the Blue Book (the new edition of which should be available by this Christmas) and saw that in 95 percent condition this was a $1,950 BB gun. In 20 percent condition it is a $400 gun. This one is 10 percent at best, which meant that the opening bid of $150 was reasonable. But oddly there were no bidders. So I bid on it and won it without opposition. The listing said that it works, which is far more important to me, and I took a chance that it did. So far — it does! read more

Tell BB gun: Part 3

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 29 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

BB gun
This military-looking BB gun is large and good-looking!

Part 1
Part 2

History of airguns

This report covers:

  • Lead balls only
  • The test
  • 4.4mm copper-plated lead balls
  • Trigger pull
  • 4.4mm Punktkugeln
  • H&N 4.45mm lead ball
  • What we know
  • The last step
  • Summary

Today we look at the accuracy of the Tell BB gun. I think this is going to be a very interesting report, so let’s get started.

Lead balls only

I waited to do this test because I was considering what to do about the inaccuracy of steel BBs. At two feet they were spreading out to three inches apart. That would mean that at 5 meters (16 feet) the spread would be several FEET. I thought about shooting them closer to the target but what’s the point? If they are that inaccurate I’m never going to shoot them anyway. So I decided to run this accuracy test at the standard 5-meter distance with larger lead balls. read more

How to mount a scope: Part 2

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 83 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

This report covers:

  • Rest of the story
  • Why did it shoot high?
  • Today
  • One last remark
  • “Level” the scope
  • You cant
  • The bottom line
  • Other than springers
  • What’s next?

Rest of the story

In Part One we learned how to properly mount a scope on a spring-piston air rifle. Today I’ll start by telling you what happened with my friend’s Gamo Whisper that I scoped in that report. I shimmed the tube on the rear scope ring because my friend told me his rifle was shooting all over the place. To me that’s code for the scope is adjusted too high. The majority of them are. He had taken the scope off before bringing me the rifle so I was just guessing. Thinking I knew the problem,  I shimmed the new scope in the rear. Then I gave it back to my friend.

A week later he called and said he had shot it at a box 150 feet away and didn’t hit it. So I walked him through the 10-foot sight-in. He did it and called back — the gun shot 2-inches high at 10 feet — not two inches low like I said it would. Oh, oh! read more

How to mount a scope: Part 1

Posted on by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 155 Comments

by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

  • The olden days
  • What needs to be done
  • Eliminate cant
  • The tale
  • More information
  • The scope must be angled down
  • Adjusting the scope too far right is also bad
  • Not experts
  • Position the eyepiece
  • Adjustable scope mounts
  • Is it enough?
  • Points to remember
  • Summary

The olden days

When I started shooting in the 1950s, scopes were not that common, especially on airguns. I was as intrigued by them as anyone, believing that they increased the accuracy of whatever they were mounted on. 

Well, they don’t. What they do is make it easier to shoot accurately with a given airgun or firearm. But they can only do it if they are mounted on the gun correctly and then sighted in properly. This series is dedicated to addressing all that is inherent in both mounting a scope correctly and then sighting it in properly.

What needs to be done

To properly mount a scope there are several things to consider. Here is a list. read more