Short throw Daisy Model 25

[Van]

  A friend asked me to take a look at this old 25.  It appears to be made somewhere during the 1920's that he found at a barn sale for $5.  It is only missing the take down screw and only shoots a small puff of air.  I believe the leather seals are bad due to the age. I looked down the barrel shroud and the air tube looks to be in good condition and the mainspring is very strong. One Daisy website says they shot a larger diameter lead BB in those days held in place by friction so steel ones roll out the barrel and that appears to be true. The lead Gamo round balls might work so I wanted to ask y'all if anyone has worked on one that old and have any advice to offer.  Leather seals are available, but I don't think a modern 25 shot tube/magazine will fit.     

[Van]

  I got this old 25 apart yesterday and you can see why the short throw model from 100 years ago was hard to cock for a kid.  The mainspring is much longer, about 10 coils longer, and the shorter cocking arm does not help either. The spring has a few kinks but still cocks and shoots fine. The shot tube has a larger ID than steel BB models as it was for larger lead balls and the air tube is just a bit too large in OD to fit into a modern 25 shot tube/magazine.  However, I found that if I open up the entrance at the back of a new shot tube to 11/64" a BB will not roll out the back and the old air tube fits right into it. It also screws into the gun just the same as the old one.  I'm waiting for a leather seal set that's on order to come in to try this idea out.  The metal in this one puts a new model to shame. It's so much stronger and just needs cleaning up and some Brownell's gun black treatment. It would be easy to cut out a new buttstock from 1" walnut to replace the old oily one that has a split in it.  The new 25 tube compared to the old is below in this picture.  I need to talk my buddy out of this one as I would like to have it myself. 

[Van]

  After drilling a few holes for testing the large diameter air tube fit and BB retention in the modern shot tube, I found a #17 drill bit works better than 11/64" as the air tube will enter the shot tube and the BB will not fall out the back.  At 11/64 a BB could be forced out the back with enough pressure.  Can't really test if this will work as I think until the seals come in.

[Van]

    Got the leather seals in from Ebay & installed them today.  Really tight fit and the gun shot only 255 fps so I hope they loosen up with use. After breakin I would like at least 300fps. The modern 25 shot tube works great after opening up the rear clamshell entrance with a #17 drill bit so the oversize lead shot air tube will fit into it. You just can not shoot steel BBs in these oversize lead ball shot tube/magizines as BBs roll out front and back. The 30 coil spring is very strong but is being held back by the tight seals.  If possible I may look into converting it to modern seals if these don't work out. I do like tinkering with these old guns.

[Back_Roads]

 The leather seal may be parachuting and robbing power, this may breakin with use.

[Van]

The leather seal may be parachuting and robbing power, this may breakin with use.

  I think so as it was hard to get into the tube even after soaking overnight in oil and you can tell the firing cycle is a bit slow. Maybe it will size itself with use or needs to be sized before inserting like some springer seals. I'll keep it a while and see what happens. I may have to come up with a way to get modern seal in it. The main problem I see is the air tube on this gun is 1/4" longer than a modern 25. I don't know if that is a problem with changing to a shorter seal & air tube assembly from a new gun.  A lot of internet posts said no way to get a new type shot tube to work but it was a simple drill fix. Here is a picture after cleaning 100 years of grime off inside and out with Easy Off oven cleaner spray and glueing the stock split.