Author Topic: Old airguns that you still love, or think you still love? 2025-020-27 POST (Read 576 times))

GTA-Airgunner · « **on:** February 27, 2025, 12:26:42 PM »

Hey there GTA members! I hope you all are having a great day.

I spent Monday and Tuesday shooting and filming and took the opportunity to grab one of my all-time favorite airguns out of the shop and send some lead down range. The Walther Maxima Thor .25 was my go-to hunting rifle back many years ago. I believe I got it back in 2016 / 2017, so it's certainly older. At the time, it was a beast of a gun. Nearly 50 foot-pounds in a multi-shot German-made PCP that was as pretty as it was heavy. I remembered that it was heavy and a beast of a gun, that it was accurate despite a massive shot curve, and, all in all, a really fun gun.

I got it out and mounted a Hawke Sidewinder Tactical 4.5 - 14, an old-school scope for an old-school airgun, and started to sight things in. The performance and accuracy were exactly as I remembered. What was a shock was how much effort was required to cycle the bolt and also the fairly heavy trigger pull. I've gotten completely spoiled with side levers, regulators, and sub 2lb triggers, even from budget airguns. It's easy to forget just how far we've come in only a few years.

I wound up shooting a video of the old girl, which will come out sometime in March, I suspect. I'm probably going to post it up for sale in the classifieds (keep an eye open for that), as while I love the gun, it actually caused me physical pain cocking the bolt, LOL. It was a beautiful walk down memory lane, but I'm ready to let someone else enjoy all it has to offer.

What old airgun do you all have kicking around? Have you shot it recently, and does it still live up to your memories of it? Let me know when you can.

Tomorrow looks like another good day to get out to he range, so I'll be testing and shooting more guns. I'll let you all know how it goes. And for anyone in the El Paso area or coming through the area, reach out if you want to come out to the range. I'd love to have you out to do some shooting together!

Thank you for being a part of the GTA!

Cheers
Rick

Hoosier Daddy · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2025, 06:42:32 PM »

Old guns are my weakness.
Sheridan's, Benjamin's, Crosmans.. own many.
But here are my vintage springers for starters.
Left to right
Winchester (Diana) 435 . Oct 1968
Beeman R-10 from Santa Rosa in .20
FWB 124 Deluxe... Serial #54864
All are accurate as heck!.

GTA-Airgunner · « **Reply #2 on:** February 27, 2025, 08:23:52 PM »

Those look super nice. I’d love to shoot the FWB 124. I have an R9 and Walther LGV that I really enjoy shooting.

Thank you for sharing.

Cheers
R

Nick Jones · « **Reply #3 on:** February 27, 2025, 08:32:11 PM »

I have a Benjamin pump pellet rifle that used to be my uncles. I think it was made in the 40s. My dad has one too. I rebuilt the pump in my uncles and it shoots but I don’t think I did something just right because the pump handle will get loose after a few minutes and fall open. It is my favorite though even though I never use it.

Hoosier Daddy · « **Reply #4 on:** February 27, 2025, 09:15:01 PM »

Rick...
Have you ever shot an FWB 300S?
This old airgun is the jewel in my thorny crown.

GTA-Airgunner · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2025, 11:56:27 AM »

No I haven't shot one of those.. but you are making me covet!

Maybe one day!

Cheers
Rick

10Gauge · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2025, 03:55:57 PM »

Great thread 👌. I have bought and either sold, gave away, or tossed at least a couple dozen air rifles through the years. Including a few price point PCP rifles that never lived up to my expectations.

I settled on three guns. A RWS 34P, a Beeman R9, and a older Benjamin 392 with the old style trigger. The 34 has a Vortex soft kit, and as much as I loved that gun, I passed it down to my grown son. Now, we can enjoy this together. The 392 is not near as accurate or powerful as I remember from youth, but it is pure nostalgia. The R9 is breakbarrel perfection and I will probably take it to the grave.

Anyway, more on topic. I picked up the 392 used, on a whim. I have bought and sold a few Benji’s, and I could always wring some accuracy out of them by cleaning out the overspray. This one, not so much. The only thing it will group are the 28.5 grain Eunjin domes, and they are good to 15 yards at best because of the drop. But she proudly wears a Williams peep and punches above her weight class with the eunjins.

The R9 is a different story. The first 5-shot group that gun ever made was about 1/8” ctc with Benjamin hollowpoints at 25 yards. I have no problem drilling a 1” target at 30 yards at will, shooting plain unsorted CHP out of the tin, and I am not an “artillery hold” user.

I picked up a new, old stock, Stoeger PCP for cost the other day. It’s the first airgun I bought in a long time, and it is a hoot to shoot. After I sighted it in, I pulled the R9 out and just for gigs I dug out the old Straightshooters sampler. Took out five of the RWS super h-points, picked a spot on the cardboard, and let one fly with the old .177 R9. Hit right on the crosshairs 👌 I used the next 4 to shoot out the rest of the little target repair spot I used to zero the Stoeger from about 20 yards.

I never finished pellet testing the R9 because it loves the cheap local CHP. But it seems to equally like those super h points and hits the same POI. I might do that and post results.

I apologize for the long post. Comes from reading all those Field and Streams and the other gun mags all my life. 🤷‍♂️

Hoosier Daddy · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2025, 06:38:42 PM »

Quote from: GTA-Airgunner on February 28, 2025, 11:56:27 AM

No I haven't shot one of those.. but you are making me covet!
Rick

That is what I do here... enabling.

The 300s at 10M ... two shots per bull with the 300S

GTA-Airgunner · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2025, 08:01:48 PM »

That’s super nice shooting!!!

Cheers
Rick

buellm2 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2025, 08:23:29 PM »

Super nice shooting is a reasonable expectation from a FWB 10M rifle. Life was never the same after I shot one.

Hoosier Daddy · « **Reply #10 on:** March 01, 2025, 07:41:58 AM »

Quote from: buellm2 on February 28, 2025, 08:23:29 PM

Super nice shooting is a reasonable expectation from a FWB 10M rifle. Life was never the same after I shot one.

Agreed!
They were chosen for the Olympics for a reason back then.

buellm2 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 01, 2025, 10:06:41 AM »

And designed for Olympic level shooters. I sure do appreciate how it shows me (with every shot) EXACTLY how deficient my skills are.

Privateer · « **Reply #12 on:** March 05, 2025, 03:50:27 PM »

I am an Evanix FanBoy myself. I regret selling every one I had! And I've had a few.
Still hanging onto the Max Air .25, Sniper .50, and a RainStorm 1 .22

GTA-Airgunner · « **Reply #13 on:** March 06, 2025, 12:02:21 PM »

Hey there. I'm a fan of Evanix guns as well and have a bunch of them. Some of them are still new in the box. I think my favorite is the IBEX that I have. It's gold and black and I have .22, .25, .30, .45, and .50 cal barrels for it. I need to get it out again and do some shooting!

Cheers
Rick

10Gauge · « **Reply #14 on:** March 09, 2025, 02:30:56 PM »

I wish I would have gotten a Huntmaster AR6 while the getting was good. What a freaking rifle. Might still be one of the greatest PCP hunting rifles.

Hoosier Daddy · « **Reply #15 on:** March 09, 2025, 04:56:33 PM »

Pfft...Evanix is modern... go back a few decades

How far back you want to go?

I got this project Crosman 105 from Avator a few years ago...
Now she is an awesome shooter

Hoosier Daddy · « **Reply #16 on:** March 09, 2025, 05:12:01 PM »

Also picked up a "gaggle" of 112 / 116 to play with when the dust settles here.
Love me some "bulk fills" to match my old 114 rifle.

airgunaut · « **Reply #17 on:** March 10, 2025, 12:20:57 AM »

I prize the Blue Streak I bought from 19Sheridan57 last spring. Best I can tell, it is a 1968, but it has been resealed and I don't know what changes might have been made a long time ago. I shoot it about once a week.

GTA-Airgunner · « **Reply #18 on:** March 10, 2025, 12:07:57 PM »

Very awesome on the bluestreak.. I had one a long time ago.. wish I never sold it.

Cheers
Rick

lefteyeshot · « **Reply #19 on:** March 10, 2025, 04:52:01 PM »

One of the many B3's I've had. Forth gun I ever bought after a Beeman RS2 dual cal., a Gamo Silent Cat and a Ruger Airhawk. It was pretty beat up. I re-finished it with blue varnish and spray painted the exterior metal flat black. Had a gunsmith bud put a Weaver scope rail on it and cut a groove in the middle of the rail for a OEM rear peep sight off a Ruger Mini 14 a friend gave me when he upgraded. Mounted tall see-thru rings so I can use the open sights or the scope, a Hawk 2-7x32 AO mildot lum scope. Still got the same scope on it. I put a canvas AK/SKS sling on the existing sling mounts. It had plain grooved wood at the back end of the stock and it's had a few different rubber slip over recoil pads on it. Now it has a slip over recoil pad off Ebay made for the old French Army rifle the Mas 49/56 7.5mm 10 shot semi. It has Mas 1962 written on the back of it. I have replaced the spring and seals on it a few times. The piston seal was the plastic type that snapped over the end of the piston. Second or third rebuild I put in a piston from a B3 parts gun with a screw hole to install a leather piston seal for nostalgia sake . It's not a tac driver but shoots half inch groups at 25 yards with .177cal 8.3 grain RWS Miesterkugeln wadcutters at 550fps.

Bought a FWB 300s a few months ago that's slowly becoming my favorite. Close behind is a Walther LG155 with double set triggers and a couple of Remington Summits with GRT triggers. Lone'em all though.

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Old airguns that you still love, or think you still love? 2025-020-27 POST

Author Topic: Old airguns that you still love, or think you still love? 2025-020-27 POST (Read 576 times))