Crosman Pell Master 700

[avator]

Memory is not what it used to be....
Some years ago I bought a Crosman Pell Master 700 tap loader C02 gun from another member. The problem is that I can't remember exactly who. For some reason it stuck in my head that I had bought it from a well known member and the story was that it once belonged to one of the forum's founding fathers, Gene. But that member nor I can confirm the purchase or the provenance. The gun shot as it should when I first got it but my addiction to airguns really took off shortly after and it became more of a wall hanger than a shooter.
A recent thread here on the forum inspired me to get the old plank back out. But when I did I discovered the seals had dried out and it would not hold C02. Kits are available online but I figured I would have a look inside and see if I had the seals to fix it on hand. After a couple attempts I finally got it to seal. I have left the gun sit with a cartridge in it for as long as 2 weeks and it's held perfectly.
This gun is surprisingly accurate at the 20 - 30 yds. that I have been shooting it with open sights. Even more surprising is that the gun shoots most any pellet I have tried accurately.. including my cast 217 20 RF pellets.
More on that as I go forward with this thread. But in the meantime, here are the original pictures from the ad posted in the GTA classifieds.

[avator]

Speaking of being inspired...
Another GTA member has been recently posting about his adventures with a few Daisy 853 guns. He has restored them to functioning condition and refinished the stocks on them. I have refinished several stocks during my time with airguns and here on the GTA as well. The Crosman guns from this era are typically dressed in Elm furniture and I'm quite confident that the PM700 is as well. Elm finishes nicely and often times has a flame looking grain pattern.
If you look closely at the pictures above you can see the bumps and bruises on the PM700 I have. I feel this gun deserves some level of refreshing.
I'm not going to do anything with the metal work aside from cleaning it up with some Ballistol and a rag. It's not in bad condition at all. But I am going to sand the old finish off and refinish that stock.
I am not a fan of high gloss finishes on any gun. I prefer a satin finish at best. I have a variety of stains on hand and while I'm sanding I'm trying to decide what shade I want to put on it. The original finish was dark, as you can see. I'd like to lighten that up some but I'm not a fan of "blonde". I thought about a walnut but that tends to come out quite reddish on Elm. I am leaning towards an American or Golden Oak with a clear stain finish.
So there is the prologue, of sorts, to this thread. My intentions are to fully review the gun and post the data as I move through the thread. I just began the sanding process this morning so it may be a couple days before finish that phase.

[NHGuide]

Bill, this sounds like a lot of fun~! I'll be watching to see your review and progression.

I have three Crosman 160s, each of the three main variants and they are all 'restored'-ish. great rifles all of them...it was a hoot to bring them back to service!
   
I have wanted the Pell Master 700 in the past but I am mostly playing with PCPs now... the build quality and metal used 'back-when' was as most things of noticeable quality difference than virtually all out there today.  Ahhh the good old days.
If I'm able to retire in a couple years or less, I'll be re-restoring most of my *now  50* airguns and probably offloading them for far less than I have into them to some folk(s) on here.
keep fiddlin'...I'll be here watching your results!

[avator]

Thanks Will..  Yep, a 160 is one of the guns I had done in the past. Another member is now the owner of that one.

Nose to the grindstone...
I finished up the sanding with 80, 100, 160 then 220 grit. Then I wiped it down with a muslin cloth. I wasn't sure how dark I wanted to go so I began with a coat of Golden Oak. That leaned to far to the "blonde" side for me so I went with Antique Walnut next. I did this because I didn't want the reddish color of American Walnut. I put the first coat on and it really began to go in the direction that I wanted. I let that sit for an hour or so then applied another generous coat. This one I wiped in with a clean cotton cloth. Next came Ballistol. I rubbed that in pretty thick and let it sit for 30 minutes or so then wiped it down with another clean cotton cloth.
I'll let that sit over night then rub it with 0000 steel wool and apply a coat of polyurethane satin. Let it dry and hit it with the steel wool again. I'll then determine if it wants another coat of poly and finished again with the steel wool.
The wood has a nice medium grain with a bit of flaming (not alot) and it has some character marks that I didn't want to go deep enough to remove them. I want the gun to have the vintage look it should have.
Pics to follow once it's done.

[avator]

Meanwhile, back at the casting shack...
Before I pulled the action out of the stock for refinishing this morning I shot the remainder of that original cart though it. Then I loaded up a lube injected cart and shot 5 or so rounds. These carts have the lube mixed in with the C02 when they are filled.
If I don't get the urge this afternoon, I'll check on the stock in the morning and see if it's ready for the next step... if so I'll move forward with that. While the stock is "fixing" I'll turn my attention back to the action. I'll lube the moving parts and apply some Ballistol to the metal.
At some point I'll bust out the chronograph and get some numbers including shot count.

Keep on shootin' y'all.

[avator]

Ok, how 'bout a couple sneak peeks?   

[avator]

Betty Lou said she really likes the color but she made me take it back outside. Something about....  "It Stinks"   

[brewbear]

If I may, which lube injected cartridges are you using? I saw a few on the a-zone but not sure which one to buy.

[avator]

If I may, which lube injected cartridges are you using? I saw a few on the a-zone but not sure which one to buy.

Ultrair are the ones I have. I only use them as a treatment and not on a regular basis.

https://a.co/d/03izcuFt

[avator]

To be honest, I think I paid around $100 for this gun. My interest is not in it's collectible value. I see at as more of a tool. It's very light weight and easy to carry or move around. It wields off hand very well and the open sights make for quick target acquisition. It will be a tool. No support equipment... a few carts and a tin of my cast pellets in the pocket and I'm good for a day of shooting.

[Spooner]

The stain looks great Bill  . It shows the wood grain very nicely!

[avator]

Thanks...
I like the way it turned out. It has that "ready for duty" look. The pictures don't do it justice.
I had a look at it a couple hours ago. I think it's ready to be put back together in the morning. I don't think I need to do anything else to it. Maybe just a rub with Ballistol now and then.

[19Sheridan57]

  Bill,
   The one I owned had the same drab brown finish . Not a pretty rifle but it was " different " & fun to shoot. I was surprised that it never leaked a drop the entire time I owned it. The person I sold it to said the same thing. I never did chrony it, but I think it got about 35-40 good shots out of each cartridge. One thing I DID notice was that it was hard to load certain sharp pointed pellets, so I just went to lightweight diabolos. I was told by someone else that if it ever leaked , replace the O rings on the end cap, & add a drop of Pellgun oil or transmission fluid, to the end of the cartridge. He said that you never have to tear one apart. 
   I got the rifle in a pile of other air rifles that the owner wanted to sell all at once at an estate sale. There was a non working Crosman 160 in the bunch, too. I would never have bought that pile , BUT, there were 2 Sheridans in there . As you know, I just could not turn those down.

[avator]

I remember hearing you talk about that deal Steve.
When I tore this one down the valve seal was hard and brittle as well as the end cap seal. Both crumbled when I tried to remove them. There is another really small oring in the end cap that seals the piercing pin. I wasn't able to get to that one but I was able to give the keeper nut just enough of a turn to squeeze it. I put some air gun oil in there and it seems to have worked. I will replace that one if the gun ever fails again. I couldn't see any signs of anyone having been it the gun before... if that's the case, that's amazing.
Once the gun is back together this morning I'll get some numbers.