Post War collecting - How to identify a 1949 Crosman Model 100 & 101

[DWTrull]

I collect post war Air Rifles and thought others may find this useful

IDENTIFYING THE 1949 CROSMAN 100 - 101 (Period three 1949 variant)

The Crosman 101's break down into three broad periods, labeled appropriately Period One, Period Two and Period Three. Period three covers post- war models produced after the war up to 1949. 1949 was the last year for the 100 and 101 models.
 
Period One 1925-1929 "Patent Oct 28 1924" or Premier Logo , Short knurled Hammer Knob, octagonal shape barrel receiver, Tombstone rear sight, Walnut stock and Forearm. Both Steel "Remington" and Bronze Barrels known.

Period Two 1930-1941 Applied Logo without Patent date. Long Knurled Hammer Knob,  Round shape barrel receiver, Hexagonal rear sight disc, Walnut stock and either walnut or hard rubber Forearm,  Bronze Barrel

Period Three 1946-1949 Cast in "Pellet" Logo in Receiver, Large 5 ring Hammer knob, Usually Hard Maple stock and forearm, Walnut and Elm are optional, Steel or Bronze Barrel. 1949 Variant - Diabolo or 5 ring hammer knob, knurled 107/108 rear sights, smooth or wrinkle finish, curved flowthru bolt, bolt retaining bracket. (Maple and Elm Stocks  were post war only)
The Model 100 is just a .177 version of the Model 101and was introduced around 1940. Appearance and identifying features for the model 100s would match their .22 caliber brother (Model 101) built in 1949. Model 100's are rarer than the 101's.

Prior to the war, Crosman Air Rifles were hand built by highly experienced Craftsmen and they produced excellent well crafted airguns that have withstood the test of time. After the war, Crosman moved away from the hand-built model and modernized their production.  This required Crosman's Chief engineer Rudy Merz to make small modifications to the design to facilitate the change in manufacturing methods. As a result these early Period Three 101's are not considered to have the same high quality build as the prewar models. It wasn't until 1949 that Crosman got their act together and the 1949 version is considered to have the best build quality of the postwar era 101's. So after 25 years of production, the venerable Crosman 101 ceased production in 1949. Arguably the 1949 version was the best version of the 101 ever made. With build quality now reaching prewar levels, the evolutionary improvement of the valves over the years and incorporation of the Town and Country Rear sights made the 101 even better than the prewar version and allowed the model to leave on a high note. The 1949 model 101, in the opinion of Crosman expert DT Fletcher, is one of the most valuable of all 101's. He would suggest at least a 25% premium compared to a typical 1946-1948 model 101. Add a diabolo cocking knob and that might go up to a 50% premium.
In terms of Rarity, the 1949 Variant is relatively rare. By 1949, Crosman was busy preparing to introduce the new CO2 line. The new interim Town and Country line was introduced that year as well. Marketing for the 101 basically stopped before 1949 and what little marketing there was for the Town and Country in 1949 basically stopped early in 1950. Crosman was betting everything on the new CO2 line. As a result both the 1949 100/101 variant and the Town and Country Senior lines are relatively rare.

Identifying features of the 1949 Model 100 - 101:
Post war Crosmans began using a large 5 grooved Hammer knob to replace the prior "long" knurled Hammer knob. Generally all Post war Crosman's used this 5 ringed knob from 1946 to mid 1949. As supplies of the 5 ringed knobs ran out, Crosman began equipping the 1949's with a Diabolo Hammer knob. Crosman also tried a new wrinkled finish paint on some of the late 1948 and 1949 models (Sears Variant).
 
1. 1949 models may have 5 ring or Diabolo hammer knob. Diabolo hammer knob is 1949 only.

2. All 1949 models have the same Rear Sight assembly and large knurled hold-down screw as the model 107/108 Town and Country Senior.

3. 1949 models may have either a smooth or wrinkled finish paint job. (Wrinkled finish available only 1948-49)

4. 1949 models have a flow through bolt with curved bolt handle.
 
5. 1949 models have a one year only bolt retaining bracket

6. Stock and forearms are available in Hard Maple, Elm and Walnut in 1949. All Pre-War Crosman's had Oil finished Walnut Stocks.  Hard Maple and Elm stocks were available post war only. The standard post war stock material was hard Maple with Walnut and Elm as 1949 options. So the vast majority of Post War 101's had hard Maple Stocks. Elm is usually found on 1949 101's with the Wrinkled finish paint (Sears Variant). Clickless rubber forearms are prewar only (1938-1941).

I'll attach a pdf with pictures

[mentolio]

Good info, thanks for posting. I am looking (not too actively) for a 101 to be my next gun, and now have some reference!

[Bicycleman]

First, Dave, welcome to the GTA Forum.  My uncle owned one of those 101s that I was lucky enough to use for a while.  When I was about 12 years old, the rifle when back to him; and I received a Benjamin Franklin 310 BB for my birthday.  I don't know what became of that 101.??.  Thanks for the information - I have saved it for future references.

[bbv13]

Welcome and thanks for the info. There isn't much out there when it comes to figuring out when they were made.

Bryan

[DWTrull]

Just got my 1949 model 101 variant in the mail today!! Bought it on a online auction, and had my fingers crossed that it would hold air.
Put a couple drops of Mac's secret sauce and Pumped up fine YEAH!
Decide to take a Picture that shows most of the 1949 specific items (Flowthru bolt with curved handle, Diabolo hammer knob, Town & Country peepsights, and bolt retainer bracket)

[longhunter]

the '49 101 also came with a straight probe bolt, vs. the flow through. I can tell that mine was original to the gun, due to the wear pattern on the bolt, and receiver. crosman  may have been using leftover bolts from earlier models. no way to really tell.

[DWTrull]

Having a straight bolt on a 1949 wouldn't surprise me. Crosman was probably using up what ever 101 stuff they had left to clear it out that last year of manufacturing. Thats why they used the Diabolo bolt knob when they ran out of the 5 grooved knobs. I noticed my gun has a steel barrel, when it was assumed Crosman was using bronze/brass by that time. Again they used whatever they had left. So I'd expect to see some variation among the 1949 Variant. I guess the later that year they were made, the closer to my gun they became. I think the one item most would agree is a hallmark of the 1949 model is the Town and Country peepsights.

[upthehill]

thanks for the post, saved the pdf for reference.
I have a phase 2 101, that was my father in laws when he was a kid.
dated to 1935
still shoots well.

[longhunter]

Having a straight bolt on a 1949 wouldn't surprise me. Crosman was probably using up what ever 101 stuff they had left to clear it out that last year of manufacturing. Thats why they used the Diabolo bolt knob when they ran out of the 5 grooved knobs. I noticed my gun has a steel barrel, when it was assumed Crosman was using bronze/brass by that time. Again they used whatever they had left. So I'd expect to see some variation among the 1949 Variant. I guess the later that year they were made, the closer to my gun they became. I think the one item most would agree is a hallmark of the 1949 model is the Town and Country peepsights.

mine had a steel barrel, but, I had to change it out. the bore was HUGE. I slugged it at 5.55. couldn't get it to shoot anything, consistently. the other given hallmark is the bolt retainer. really wish they would've made it of a little stiffer steel, though. 

[jolobolo]

Thanks for this great information.

[DWTrull]

Wow, I wrote that ages ago and I am embarrassed to say that my post about the 1949 variant from 2016 has numerous factual errors. I had gathered my info from other internet sources and the bluebook back then, and I just repeated it back without doing any real research. After some real research, I have found much of the information to be wrong. First of all, there is no 1949 variant! The rifle containing the specific hardware described as a 1949 variant actually came out in early 1948, so it would be more appropriately called the 1948 variant. The Crosman Silent rifle series was much more diverse than the three periods described in the Bluebook and repeated by me in that post. Frankly I would delete the post if I could because I don't want to continue to spread misinformation. 
Here's a few corrections

1. The CG guns were freshened up in May 1948 and these improvements were applied to the pump silent rifles as well. so this variant came about due to the CG rifle upgrade.

2. The town and Country sights is also misleading since the single shot Silent rifles had them 6 months before the town and country sr. was introduced. The knurled peep was designed for the CG guns first, so they should be called the CG knurled peep sight.

3. The diabolo knobs were designed for the CG guns and began appearing on the pump guns when Crosman discontinued the CG guns in mid 1949.
 
4. The high comb stock were designed for the CG guns and began appearing on the pump guns when Crosman discontinued the CG guns in mid 1949. All high comb stocks are maple and are leftover  CG parts inventory.
 
5. Early 1948 variants invariably  had Maple stock, by late 1950 Crosman was using elm stocks. A very few walnut stock guns were made from war surplus wood Phil Hahn found.

6. Wrinkle finish paint on 1950-51 single shot Sears models.

7. The silent Rifle did not end in 1949. The CG rifles ended in 1949 but the pump silent rifle production was only temporarily halted for the Bulkfill guns in late 1949. Silent rifle production restarted in 1950 and only ended in mid 1951.

Still working on the different models and variants, which I hope to publish soon.

[c801tfd]

Dave,

Thank you for the updated information. Looking forward to learning more about the different variants and sub variants.

[45flint]

One characteristic I don’t think I read was that the smooth paint 101 of the 1948-9 era was much superior.  I believe it was the same finish used on the T&C and it was much nicer and durable.  Its very noticeable compared to the cheaper painted use in the early years.  Good luck on your book.

[DWTrull]

The late upgrades to the pneumatic silent rifles were the result of the upgrades applied to the CG guns that were passed on to the Pneumatics. Although I can't confirm it, I believe the upgraded harder and duller paint was first applied to the gallery guns due to the significantly harder life they led. The other upgrades are documented, but the change in paint is not, but the timing indicates it probably happened around the same time.

[45flint]

The late upgrades to the pneumatic silent rifles were the result of the upgrades applied to the CG guns that were passed on to the Pneumatics. Although I can't confirm it, I believe the upgraded harder and duller paint was first applied to the gallery guns due to the significantly harder life they led. The other upgrades are documented, but the change in paint is not, but the timing indicates it probably happened around the same time.

I think this paint finish is so superior that it makes this version one of the finest to own?  Mine below show how durable that finish is and the steel barrel make it probably the nicest 101 I own except for the rather plain maple stock.