M1 carbine | Air gun blog - Pyramyd Air Report

What would B.B. shoot?

Posted on February 14, 2014 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 145 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Blog reader Kevin asked me this question recently, and I embraced it because I usually don’t even have time to think about which airgun I would prefer to shoot. There’s always another blog, a feature article and 5 other deadlines pressing on my time…so thinking like this is not a luxury. It’s a fantasy! Then, Kevin asked this question and “forced” me to stop and think about it for today’s report. Ahh! Happy Friday!

The first gun that pops into my head when I ask this question is the Diana model 27 rifle. It’s just such a simple, uncomplicated airgun that I guess it serves as my happy place. But as I think about it, other guns pop up. The Air Venturi Bronco, the Falke model 70, the Diana model 25 are 3 more that come to mind immediately. They all share the model 27’s chief attribute — ease of operation. In short, they’re all fun airguns.

Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun: Part 3

Posted on August 12, 2013 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 56 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

Crosman M1 Carbine and U.S. Carbine
M1 Carbine on top and Crosman M1 Carbine below. A realistic copy!

Today, we’ll test the Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun for accuracy. I pulled out all the stops, plus I shot a comparison group with a Daisy Avanti Champion 499 BB gun for comparison.

The course
I fired all targets from 15 feet, which is the NRA distance for BB gun competition. Daisy uses 5 meters, which is about 16 feet, 6-and-a-fraction inches, but the NRA standardized on 15 feet many years ago and hasn’t changed. They don’t hold any significant competitions that I am aware of, while Daisy hosts the International BB Gun Championships every year. But since the gun I’m testing was never meant for competition, I felt the shorter distance would suffice.

Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun: Part 2

Posted on August 6, 2013 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 22 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

Crosman M1 Carbine and U.S. Carbine
M1 Carbine on top and Crosman M1 Carbine below. A realistic copy!

Today, we’ll take a look at the velocity of the Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun. My gun is one that has a plastic Croswood stock, which means it was made between 1968 and 1976. It doesn’t have any indications of having been taken apart, so I’m assuming that it’s factory original.

Strange spring-piston gun!
This rifle is unique in that it has a valve. Despite being a spring-piston gun, there’s a pop valve in line with the piston. It remains shut until overcome by pressurized air. A small coiled spring holds it shut as long as possible. That allows the maximum air pressure to build up, so the BB doesn’t start moving before the piston has almost reached the end of its travel.

Crosman M1 Carbine BB gun: Part 1

Posted on July 29, 2013 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 43 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, a.k.a. B.B. Pelletier

Crosman M1 Carbine and U.S. Carbine
M1 Carbine on top and Crosman M1 Carbine below. A realistic copy!

When I attended San Jose State College in the 1960s, I was in ROTC. My first 3 years as a cadet were in the enlisted ranks, and we all drilled with the M1 Garand. Today, people feel the Garand is a cool historical military weapon (and it is!); but in the late 1960s when it was all we had, it wasn’t nearly so cool. It was, in fact, heavy, clumsy and dangerous when you performed Inspection Arms. We learned to live with it and eventually became adept at not smashing our thumbs when we closed the bolt, but the fact was that the Garand was a 10.5-lb. clunk that always seemed to weigh too much.

Great expectations!

Posted on May 25, 2012 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 79 Comments

by B.B. Pelletier

Announcement: Adrian Cataldo Beltran is this week’s winner of Pyramyd Air’s Big Shot of the Week on their facebook page. He’ll receive a $50 Pyramyd Air gift card. Congratulations!

Adrian Cataldo Beltran is the BSOTW.

This is the second time I’ve used this title for a blog. The last time was a blog I did back in July 2007, almost five years ago. In that report, I was mostly addressing the expectations of accuracy that new airgunners have and how they relate to reality. Today, I want to look at something different.

Today I want to look at our secret hopes — those unspoken agendas that push us and direct us toward gun purchases that can sometimes disappoint us. I had one of these happen to me just this week.

Lookalike airguns: Part 1

Posted on November 18, 2011 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 103 Comments

by B.B. Pelletier

Announcement: Aliabas Abas is this week’s winner of Pyramyd Air’s Big Shot of the Week on their facebook page. He’ll receive a $50 Pyramyd Air gift card.

Aliabas’ winning photo. Looks like he’s got a Gamo.

I had a different blog prepared for today, but I can’t use it because the products haven’t arrived at Pyramyd Air yet, and I don’t want to talk about something that you can’t get.

Yesterday’s blog got me thinking about lookalike airguns. I mentioned that Crosman had made the M1 Carbine BB gun that I love so much, and they made a host of others like the SA-6 that resembles a Colt SAA revolver, and the 38-T and 38-C revolvers that look something like Smith & Wessons.

B.B.’s airguns – What I kept and why – Part 3

Posted on September 10, 2010 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 132 Comments

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1
Part 2

First, for those who don’t read the comments, the organizer of the Roanoke Airgun Expo, Fred Liady, passed away three days ago. Fred has been seriously ill all year long and in and out of the hospital. His wife, Dee, was taking care of him at home for several months.

Fred sold his airgun collection to Robert Beeman several years ago, but he continued to run the Roanoke show out of love for his many friends who attended. He’ll be missed by thousands of airgunners whose lives he touched over the years.

The fate of the Roanoke show is yet to be decided. We can’t press Fred’s widow, obviously, so no decisions have been made. However the show has so much momentum that it may well continue. When I get some facts, I’ll share them with you.