1980 Daisy 880 Teardown

[mr007s]

Thanks everyone, all this info is very helpful and gives me confidence.

[cobalt327]

To find an early type rifled barrel in a parts gun, look for a 1980 through 1989 model 880 having a LOT NO with the:

• 1st position- any letter
• 2nd position- number 0 through 9

The LOT NO. info above is wrong, and it's too late to edit the post. It should read look for a 1983 through 1989 having a LOT NO. with the:

• 1st position- numbers 3 through 9
• 2nd position-  any letter

Sorry about that!

[Stinger177]

Dennis, unfortunately that's the new style like Daisy is currently selling for $12. It's what would be used if someone wanted to swap out the old style setup. Replacement/maintenance parts like seals, exh. valves, etc. are uber cheap. It also shows what I was talking about regarding date stamping- it was made in 2017. Earlier VB are sometimes stamped with an ink stamp.

Yeah Mark, it's been a whole year since I was into 880's and I've since moved on to Weihrauchs. Give me another year and I'll have forgotten all of that as well, LOL.

Sorry if I've misled anyone. 

[cobalt327]

Yeah Mark, it's been a whole year since I was into 880's and I've since moved on to Weihrauchs. Give me another year and I'll have forgotten all of that as well, LOL.

Sorry if I've misled anyone. 

Well, you haven't misled anyone nearly as bad as I just did- it turns out the "new style" VB with a pressed-in barrel isn't so new after all! I had previously thought that a brass compression tube = clamped-in barrel. I just found out that pressed barrels were used as early as April, 1984- and possibly earlier! So a brass compression tube doesn't mean anything as far as how the barrel is retained. AFAIK, the brass tube does mean the intake seal is the expensive to buy cup type, aka "top hat" seal.

So strike all that I said above regarding what years to look for to get a clamped-in barrel that's rifled. I will post what years- if there are any- as soon as I know.

I apologize for any confusion that I have caused.

[mr007s]

I got everything needed from Tony at T-Mac today. Going to take my time and clean, polish , lube and check twice as I reassemble. I GOT this,,,,,I think,,,,I hope!

[cobalt327]

You definitely got this!

Link to a GTA thread on finding Daisy model 880 rifled barrels that are a drop in fit for smoothbore 880 guns is HERE.

[mr007s]

                                      SUCCESS,,,,,,,,,but not at first attempt


Took my time and thought I had it aced. But, was very disappointed  when I tested my work. All I got was pufft, tried several times. Went back upstairs to sulk.  I thought about just setting it in the corner and selling it at the up coming gun show in October, I dont need this aggravation. After cooling down and thinking some more I went back to the work bench to tear down again. I found the small amber seal that goes between the valve and barrel port was busted in three pieces. Dont know if the clamp was too tight or the barrel moved around while being assembled and cracked it. Lucky that Tony had put a spare in my bag of goodies . Just a little more time and she was back together. Mounted the Muller red dot back on and headed outside. A couple sight in shots and then 5 in the bull of a 2" shoot-n-see at 10 meters. Maybe I can get a good nights sleep now. I enjoy destroying empty beer cans with this little fun gun. Off to drain a can or two now.
 Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement

[cobalt327]

Sweet success!

That confounded seal is the biggest drawback to the design of the earlier 880 IMHO! When the seal was new it had compressibility and that lets the clamp and screw attachment arrangement do its job- the seal acts as a spring to hold the barrel tight. But when the seal gets old and brittle and takes a set to the installed thickness, the chances of it leaking pressure as well as cracking goes way up. It shows Tony knows his stuff by including a new seal with your order.

[AmBraCol]

So did you find the rifled barrel you were looking for?  Back in the day mine only had a smoothbore - but was deadnuts accurate anyway.  I've got parts of two rifles knocking around here, need to put them on the bench and see what is lacking to get one up and running.  It'd be cool to have an old 880 around again.

[mr007s]

So did you find the rifled barrel you were looking for?  Back in the day mine only had a smoothbore - but was deadnuts accurate anyway.  I've got parts of two rifles knocking around here, need to put them on the bench and see what is lacking to get one up and running.  It'd be cool to have an old 880 around again.

I had Tony at T-Mac to inspect the barrel. He thinks the swirls we could see is the riffling.Said they would be light because of it being a straw barrel. BUT, then he came out with another straw barrel that had deep rifling but did not know what gun it was from, it had the port opening but not the small notch for the seal placement. I suspect it may have been a Crosman. Regardless, my barrel is shooting very well out to 25 yards so I dont plan to worry about it anymore.