Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Take the opportunity to introduce yourself.
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NotRocketSurgery
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Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by NotRocketSurgery » Mon Jul 22, 2013 11:39 pm

Greetings to you all from Bloomington, Indiana, just about an hour's drive southwest of Indianapolis.

My interest in airguns came along later in life, after I retired ... too late to get involved in hunting, etc. Target shooting appeals to me much more. And, the more I get involved, the more I am leaning towards an interest in pistols. Plus, and this was a huge surprise to me, I seem to be more interested in the smithing of air guns than I am in the actual shooting. As I discover more and more, I seem to be growing in interest in the Old One's. I acquired a box of three new (to me) pistols over this past weekend at an auction. One I recognized as a Crosman, the other two have no identification, the price was right, so I bought the box of three. In trying to identify the two other pistols by searching online, I came across your organization and decided that there seemed to be a lot of knowledge and information here in which I would be interested. So, I signed on. Now you have one more Colonial Cousin among your ranks. For the time being, I believe that I will be a reader rather than a writer. I hope to ask a lot of questions, and I hope that I don't embarrass myself too much. I am pleased to be aboard.

John Washbush
Bloomington, Indiana

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Big Steve
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by Big Steve » Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:21 am

Welcome John; if you post pictures of the 2 pistols you have not identified, I feel pretty certain somebody on the forum will be able to help.
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Certus
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by Certus » Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:40 am

Hello John,

Nice to have a another member from across the pond which can only add a further dimension to the knowledge we freely share in the common interest. Don't be afraid to ask any questions as one of the main aims of the site is to help and learn from each other.

Regards

Brian
Last edited by Certus on Tue Jul 23, 2013 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

micken
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by micken » Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:59 pm

Hello John and welcome to the forum. Your interest in airguns is fairly reflective of my own. I was a very keen pistol and rifle shooter in my teens and then gave up for umpteen years. Having just come back to shooting and close to retirement I am keen to set up an air gunsmith workshop.

Very best regards,

Mick

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NotRocketSurgery
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by NotRocketSurgery » Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:48 pm

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Hi Mic ...

Thanks for the note. You hit the nail on the head exactly. A childhood BB gun accident which nearly "put my eye out, (no kidding) pretty much did away with any thoughts of shooting until I went into the Service. I loved it and qualified very well. But, the Vietnam experience really soured me on shooting anything so for years I avoided it like the plague. It was my doctor who put me on to this. He told me to get a hobby that would get me outdoors more, improve my concentration, develop hand eye coordination and make me move around. I told him that as soon as he could find a hobby like that for me that I could do laying down, I would do it. Oops. "Target shooting?", he said. Next, I discovered pistols and olympic style pistol shooting and that did it for me. The first pistol I bought was a used and abused Crosman 2240 and the first thing I did was to disassemble it. Boom, lightning struck the second time in the same place and eventually I wound up here. Where this will lead, I have no idea but I am sure pleased to know that there is a friendly chap on a very similar path.

I may as well get this out of the way quickly, but I consider myself to be sort of a Brit by Association. I lived in Harrogate, Yorks for a few years back in the 1960's and, over the last 45 years have visited The Big Island maybe 9 or 10 times on holiday. I am still learning how to speak Sheffield (English as a Second Language, you know ... 'At's me Mum, 'At's me Dod, At's me 'and ...), have owned a couple British automobiles in my day and still have a Hudson Kindred Spirit that I built 20 years ago. Other than that, I can still pretty much pass for an American.

I took some photos yesterday of the two mystery pistols and I'll see if I can post them here.

It looks like one of them is up top and the other is down below. Is there a limit or a guideline as to how many photos a person can post here? I have a few more if it is OK.

Thanks again ...

I'm happy to be here ...

John
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pmh
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by pmh » Tue Jul 23, 2013 6:08 pm

Hello John,

And welcome to the forum.

I have approaching 40 airguns now, and they always bring a smile to my face, and many good memories of halcyon days.

The two airguns you showed certainly have the Chinese/Eastern block appearance to them.

The SP2 appears under a few identities, with Industry being the most commonly listed.

If you look in the "Recommended Reading" section, you'll see some recommendations for reference books which you should find very helpful.

Kind regards,



Phil
M0KPH
I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

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NotRocketSurgery
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by NotRocketSurgery » Sun Aug 25, 2013 3:38 pm

Greetings, Gents ...

Thanks for the comments. I have done more searching myself and I am almost certain that they are both Chinese in origin. The one marked SP2 is definitely from the Shanghai Airgun Factory (SAF) is called SP2 in most places. The second one has no markings on it at all that can be seen without a complete disassembly, but it is so close to a number of others, that it almost certainly originates with Industry Brand. I don't have a clue under which name it might have been sold. However, it doesn't matter to me one bit. For all practical purposes, I paid less for all three than what the Crosman was worth, so I will enjoy the experience of getting to know the two Chinese pistols. The unknown one will be my first project and I am looking forward to seeing what I can find inside.

I want to say also that I have all of the leanings and talent to become some sort of a collector. Being an old age pensioner, what I lack mostly is money. So, I have decided to not even think about genuine "rare" pistols - make that "expensive" ones. What excites me most now are the mechanically "unusual" or "unique" one's that are probably not in true collector condition or are inoperative to some degree. I think I will get the most enjoyment from "fixing up" something unusual. So, as time goes by, if you come across something that fits that description, please let me know. Also, if any of you have suggestions for me as to how I can find sources for old pistol sales on your side of the pond, also please let me know.

Thanks again for the nice welcome. More soon ...

John

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pmh
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by pmh » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:28 pm

Many of the Chinese airguns get a bit of a rebrand from a "local" distributor, who tend to put a name before the SP2 part, for example.

Sometimes the cheaper, more quirky, guns are better to collect than the expensive desirable and expected.

I particularly like the Gat guns, more commonly known as pop outs.

Let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,



Phil
M0KPH
I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

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NotRocketSurgery
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by NotRocketSurgery » Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:10 pm

Hi Phil ...

Well, my first "collectable" pistols were GAT guns. Well, I guess I am not exactly sure what a "gat gun" is. Mine are cocked by compressing the barrel until the loading pin comes out of the back of the barrel housing. Mine only shoot pellets or BBs but I have been talking to a person who has a more current Milbro that shoots corks and darts and bolts and who knows what else? It even has a fly swatter attachment!

My little one is a H-S Model 9A, I think. (I have not yet found an authoritative source where I can make a positive identification on airguns. I subscribed to the Bluebook of Gun Values, but the longer I use it, the more I see it is lacking.)

Then, just the other day, I bought a Milbro No. 2. I have not even received it yet ... it may be here Monday or Tuesday. This one is not working so I plan to get an education from it. And, that pellet locating loading pin that screws into the piston from the rear is missing. So, if anyone has any idea of where I can find one of those, please let me know.

Then, I also have a Daisy 118 Targeteer. That is similar to the H-S in that the barrel compresses in the same way, but there is no opening at the back. The outside of the gun is made entirely from stamped sheet metal, it seems. Actually, I got two for the price of one in that one is in very, very nice condition ... could be a 9 probably ... and the other has been neglected horribly and is rusty and pitted. So, I plan to get educated on that rusty one also.

I am going to start a new thread and ask for input on the subject of restoring and preserving airguns. The Internet works so well that when I put an ad for "old air guns wanted", I got a dozen replies the first day. Most of them were unusable and would, collectively, make a great boat anchor. But, that is where I came across the Milbro with the fly swatter. I saw a couple that were in horrible looking shape, but functioned. I didn't negotiate on any of them, but I suspect that I might find some available at little to no cost. I used to try my hand at old car restoration but I can't handle that any more. Pistols? I would live to restore the wood as well as the metal.

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

More soon ...

John

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pmh
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Re: Hello from Bloomington, Indiana ...

Post by pmh » Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:55 am

The Gat is generally a pistol where the barrel is pushed into the body, and loaded by removing a rear screw in plunger.

The one that does days, corks, pellets, and has a fly swatter, snare by T. J. Harrington, but was also sold, I believe, under other names.

There are quite a few useful restoration articles in our technical section, link >here<

You'll also find recommendations to good books to own in our recommended reading section, link >here<

Kind regards,



Phil
M0KPH
I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

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