A handful of Crosman.......................

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cinedux
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A handful of Crosman.......................

Post by cinedux » Tue Dec 04, 2012 2:20 am

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Ian
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Post by Ian » Tue Dec 04, 2012 7:45 am

Crosman 451

Only manufactured for a short time 1969 & 1970

Super rare and valuable!



The appearance of one last week on an internet classified site stirred up lots of discussion on the forums!


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Ian
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Post by Ian » Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:04 am

Here is an article cut and pasted from the tinternet

Crosman's mysterious 451 Military .45 Auto

by B.B. Pelletier

That was the model designation, but the 451 was really a .22 pellet pistol. As famous as the Crosman 600 is, the 451 is equally unknown, except among advanced collectors. Both air pistols were .22 caliber semiautomatics with true semiauto functioning. But where the 600 remained in production a full decade (1960-1970), the 451 was only made for part of two years ('69 & '70).

A true semiauto
As you are aware, real semiauto pellet pistols are not common. The Drulov DU-10 is one, and there are a couple of five-shot 10-meter target pistols, but pellets don't lend themselves to being run through gun actions rapidly. This has kept their development at a minimum. The model 451 has a strange circular magazine mounted on top of the gun, and it rotates in the horizontal plane rather than vertically, which is conventional. Like the SA-6 revolver, pellets are loaded skirt-first into the six chambers on this magazine, which makes this the world's only muzzle-loading semiautomatic air pistol.

Single-action only
Like the M1911A1 it copies so closely, the 451 must start with the hammer cocked. When it falls, it strikes open the firing valve, sending gas up the hollow tube that also acts as an axle for the cylinder. The gas pushes on the pellet in the firing chamber, sending it downrange, but a small portion of gas enters a secondary passage and pushes on a valve that impacts against the slide, shoving it backward. The slide cocks the hammer on its way back, then runs forward under spring pressure and advances the cylinder for the next shot. It all happens so fast that it's almost impossible to detect anything beyond the noise and recoil from the shot. If the hammer fails to cock, you must recock it by hand, as this is a single-action pistol and the trigger will not cock the hammer.

The shooter feels an impulse of recoil from the weight of the moving slide, and the trigger is very light, needing only to restrain the hammer for firing. Gas pressure and springs run the rest of the operation. Actually, the sheetmetal slide is not full-sized. It runs about two-thirds of the top of the pistol, but it's heavy enough to cock the hammer and to impart the feeling of recoil.

In its day, the 451 had no equal. It was the only pellet pistol with a realistic recoiling action. Accuracy was very good, but gas usage was the pits! Because so much gas was used for the blowback facility, the 451 got only about 18 shots per powerlet. Compare it to the 600 model, which got 30-33 shots per powerlet. That number was low, too, but compared to CO2 air pistols made today, the 451 is abysmal.

Except for the CO2 adjustment mechanism on the bottom of the magazine well and the lump in the middle of the slide, the 451 looks very convincing.

Difficult to repair
As long as it works, a 451 is reliable. When it gets out of order, it's a bear to repair. Not all repair stations can fix one, so check before sending in your treasure. A common problem was the nylon piston that actuates the slide - it will start leaking and lose energy. When that happens, the gun will fail to cock. That repair is an easier one than tearing into the whole gun.

If you want a vintage gun like this, you'll have to watch the auction sites and be prepared to pay for it. They do turn up at airguns shows, but the prices are high there, as well. If you just want a semiauto pistol you're a lot better off with a Drulov or even a Crosman 600. Some of you will absolutely HAVE to own the rarest of all Crosman semiautos, now that you know they exist!

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Interesting stuff!

Some say that the 451 was supplied to the military for training purposes but there is little evidence to support this and there is a consenus that this didnt happen. It is known that the Crosman 38's produced in the 60's were used by the US air force as trainers though


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pmh
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Post by pmh » Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:23 pm

Nice gun, with obvious leanings towards the Colt 1911.

As Ian said, very rare, and always causes a stir once one is "released"  into the wild that is a collectors arms.

Kind regards,



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

Leonardj
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Post by Leonardj » Sun Dec 23, 2012 9:14 pm

At one point, I had three of these amazing pistols. Now, down to just one - the best of the three.
I have shot mine quite a bit, and have not yet experienced what was the major flaw with these guns - the hammer breaking off at the point where the hammer spring attachment rod passes through the hammer.
I'd have been a bit more hesitant to shoot the gun so much had I not managed to find a brand new replacement hammer, which to date, I have not had to make use of. :D

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Ian
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Post by Ian » Sun Dec 23, 2012 9:37 pm

I know of someone that owns 3 - he would be willing to sell me one but they are expensive pistols. I may well give in to temptation if I can negotiate a price that doesnt require a second mortgage!



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pmh
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Post by pmh » Sun Dec 23, 2012 10:14 pm

It's a shame when key components, such as the hammer, break.

This is the sort of gun I wouldn't shoot if I ever owned one.

Kind regards,



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

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