Semi-impulse BB gun choice: Daisy 25 or ????

[airgunaut]

TorqueMaster, thank you for the info about different BBs. 🤠

IFA had bottles of 6000 Daisy zinc-coated BBs for $15.49, so I hied over there. To my horror, the price said $31.99! I told the cashier I'd checked their website just before driving to the store and asked why such a discrepancy. She frowned and immediately dug into what had happened. It was just a labeling error. The sticker should have been placed on a gun!

I wonder if someone bought a $31.99 gun for $15.49.

I now have a stash of 6350 BBs, or I will after the gun kit arrives. Where IS that order, anyway?

[bantam5s]

What about the Winchester model 12?

That and the 25 are available from daisy.com possibly with free shipping over $50.

They look very similar to the marksman BB gun, and those are complete garbage.
Absolutely terrible toy quality plastic, I had one that broke the day I got it.
I returned it and the 2nd one did the same.
If the Winchester model 12 bb gun was all metal and based on the original marksman from the 70's-90's I'd be interested.

I did consider the 12 before ordering. It is 2" shorter than either of my smallish rifles and I didn't feel like experimenting. If you look at Daisy's ad in their BF e-mail link, the 12 has been updated with wood stock and wood forearm. So it might be worth looking at.

I'm anxiously awaiting notification that my new plinker has been shipped. Have fresh aluminum cans ready. Eager to try those Shatterblast disks. In the meantime, Walmart and one or two other local stores might sell BBs to try, other than the included standard ones. Scratch the itch a little bit, know what I mean?

I had no clue that they switched to wood because the plastic stocks are still shown on their website.
Maybe they were just trying to breath some more interest into a gun that wasn't selling well ?
I found a new stock photo on AGD and I don't like how the top corner of the Butt is so heavily rounded off, it looks like the stock would really slip off your shoulder.
Plus like 105 RR & 25 the very butt of the stock is smooth & round instead of flat making them fairly slippery on the shoulder ( that's why I make a leather stock shoe for mine ) , and according to reviews they're harder to cock than the model 25 so they'd really slip and be hard to keep shouldered while racking back.

That's not to mention the wood stocks being such an extremely shameful waste on a gun that's otherwise pretty much all plastic , I just don't get why they'd do this.

If I could buy that longer model 12 corn cob forearm and put it on my model 25 ( if it fit I'd buy the gun just for the forearm ) that would be awesome,  but I'm otherwise not interested in the gun itself.

[lillysdad621]

Pat, im a little late to the party, but i would have actually recommended the barra 1866 Jr. (Rosie, if you could find it, but the goldie will do). Single pump Pneum. that shoots everything. Yea, BBs, pellets and darts. Harder and more accurate than the mod 25 or the RR (not the 499 for sure, but it will fling them farther, flatter.). I wrote a little review on it... the ultimate winter/indoor/apartment airgun.

But good luck with the 25

[airgunaut]

I got the gun today. Before even clipping off the zipties, I checked screw tightness. All were good as they came except for the one circled in the photo below. I just barely turned it before it spun freely, as if stripped!

What function does this little screw serve? It does not go through the receiver to the other side as the ones around it do. It just goes through the left side and protrudes inside that wall. Does it prevent part of the pumping mechanism from moving too far over?

[bantam5s]

I got the gun today. Before even clipping off the zipties, I checked screw tightness. All were good as they came except for the one circled in the photo below. I just barely turned it before it spun freely, as if stripped!

What function does this little screw serve? It does not go through the receiver to the other side as the ones around it do. It just goes through the left side and protrudes inside that wall. Does it prevent part of the pumping mechanism from moving too far over?

I believe it just eliminates some rattling.

[airgunaut]

Hah, I proceeded to try it out on a soda can set on the ground 15' to 17' away. The notch sight is good as is out of the box! Woohoo!

All the shots smacked the can, with most knocking it over and away. Way too fun to just pull back the little wooden sausage roll for another shot without pausing to reload or pump.

Next time I'll load 50 BBs in the tube instead of just a dozen. Also remember to keep the gun pointed a bit upward so the first BB doesn't roll right out. THAT'S weird.

The little screw not being tight does not seem to matter. If it does, I'll try something to hold it from budging.

Probably should dot white nail polish on the front sight to make it stand out on the post, too.

[airgunaut]

lillysdad, thank you for the note above. I had indeed read your reviews some months back and tucked those into the back of my mind.

I chose the Daisy for a simple reason:  I've been able to get inexpensive parts for the 880, along with excellent service, on every phone call to them. Barra might well earn a similar track record; I hope so! Please keep posting reviews and shooting reports. That kind of real-customer (unsponsored) info is a tremendous benefit of frequenting this forum.

Happy shooting with your little shooting buddy!

[avator]

Miss Pat...
FYI..
A .177 pellet pen such as this one makes loading BBs EZ PZ. You might be able to get one at your local Walmart.

https://a.co/d/976xjMU

You just line the rubber tip with the fill hole and zip them all in at once. Takes a couple tries to get the hang of the proper alignment but once you get it... done deal.
I pull the stem out of the pen and use the yoke of my thumb and index finger as a funnel to load the pen... don't fill it to the top to leave room for the stem to start in.

[airgunaut]

Miss Pat...
FYI..
A .177 pellet pen such as this one makes loading BBs EZ PZ. You might be able to get one at your local Walmart.

https://a.co/d/976xjMU

You just line the rubber tip with the fill hole and zip them all in at once. Takes a couple tries to get the hang of the proper alignment but once you get it... done deal.
I pull the stem out of the pen and use the yoke of my thumb and index finger as a funnel to load the pen... don't fill it to the top to leave room for the stem to start in.

A BB loader would definitely be nice. Thanks; I'll check at Walmart and any other place that sells BBs.

Boy, am I glad I took a look through the sights INDOORS tonight before putting a dot of white nail polish on the front sight. It has the tiniest hole in it that allows light to shine through like a pinpoint! Earlier when I was firing the gun at the can on the ground, ambient lighting was dark enough (late afternoon and cloudy) that I just aligned the post as a silhouette in the notch. It worked very well.

I can't wait to try it in full daylight, and at longer distance also. Longer being relative, like 33'.

Fun shooter for playing kick the can, it has already told me. The kit included a Shatterblast dropper that I need to assemble, plus two stakes that hold one disc each.

I have a strong magnet that I'll strap to a long stick to pick up used BBs on the ground. Not for reuse but just to keep critters from trying to eat them.

[lillysdad621]

a little secret lost in time about the model 25, Pat... that big screw to the left of the one you circled... uncrew it all the way. once off the gun, grab the front of the gun (around the pump, but wrap your hand around the whole barrel tube), and grab the neck of the stock (just pass the pistol grip area). then gently pull them apart. Voila!. you have a take down BB gun!. Grab an old wool sock, shove both halves and a Daisy BB tube and there you go, tuck it in your bag, under the seat, anywhere. You never be without your BB gun again.

PS remember to put the big screw back so you dont loose it. reassembly is as easy as reading this post upside down:)

[airgunaut]

a little secret lost in time about the model 25, Pat... that big screw to the left of the one you circled... uncrew it all the way. once off the gun, grab the front of the gun (around the pump, but wrap your hand around the whole barrel tube), and grab the neck of the stock (just pass the pistol grip area). then gently pull them apart. Voila!. you have a take down BB gun!. Grab an old wool sock, shove both halves and a Daisy BB tube and there you go, tuck it in your bag, under the seat, anywhere. You never be without your BB gun again.

PS remember to put the big screw back so you dont loose it. reassembly is as easy as reading this post upside down:)

That is one cool tip! I'm already having tons o' fun with this gun. Wish I had had one as a kid.

[Back_Roads]

 OK now I need the "new" TDR Daisy 25

[splitbeing]

Aw man... been resisting through this whole thread but now it's really a challenge not to get one. it's the indoor ricochets that might still stop me.

[OTmachine]

.

Next time I'll load 50 BBs in the tube instead of just a dozen. Also remember to keep the gun pointed a bit upward so the first BB doesn't roll right out. THAT'S weird.
.

This post may help: https://airgunwarriors.com/community/airgun-talk/daisy-model-25-pump/

[airgunaut]

I started shooting airguns only in March 2023. Never thought I would contribute to enablement. 😱

The BBs are easy to see on the ground with their still-spherical brilliance shining among the gravel. But they must travel more after touching down, because I find a smaller percentage of them than I do of spent pellets (I usually recover 90% or more of those). Something to consider when evaluating ricochets.

For now, I just shoot out the front door at a distance of at least 17' from the building. I found one BB about 7' in front of the door; nothing has bounced back hard enough to end up anywhere closer. BUTbutbut this was shooting at a soda can or empty soft plastic bottle placed ON THE GROUND OR UP TO 3 FEET ABOVE GROUND--shooting downwards. Steel cans will call for much longer distance and away from things I wouldn't want hit.

[airgunaut]

New question:

Is is OK to store BBs in the shot tube? Daisy manual states to keep gun unloaded when not being used, but what about having the shot tube loaded up and stored outside of the gun? Would this cause the spring to wear out faster or take a set?

[bantam5s]

New question:

Is is OK to store BBs in the shot tube? Daisy manual states to keep gun unloaded when not being used, but what about having the shot tube loaded up and stored outside of the gun? Would this cause the spring to wear out faster or take a set?

They're a pretty thin soft compression spring,  and I would not expect that spring to take a set any time soon.
The last time I had a chance to play model 25 tic tac toe with my dad his was still loaded from before and seemed fine.

[lillysdad621]

yeah, i have opened 25s that have been loaded since WW2... spring still had tension... I think they dont want you to have it "loaded" from a lawyer standpoint, if you know what i mean.

[airgunaut]

yeah, i have opened 25s that have been loaded since WW2... spring still had tension... I think they dont want you to have it "loaded" from a lawyer standpoint, if you know what i mean.

I'd bet that's exactly the reason. Our household has only two adults, and neither of us monkeys around with the other's guns. As long as I do not cock it and keep the safety on (standard practice anyway) I might leave it loaded. I counted out 50 BBs into an empty pellet tin and will repeat that in another tin, even if I don't load them into the shot tube till ready to shoot.

[avator]

Another little tip.. this one for counting out Bbs/pellets.
I have a digital scale for weighing my cast pellets. I count out the number I need of a certain pellet and weigh the total. I log that weight in my journal or a text file in the folder on that gun. Now I can just dump what I need in weight and put them in the holding vessel.
Saves a little time.