Old Chinese Springer?

[bbv13]

I've got the fever and bought an old air rifle at a yard sale for $10 that shoots but is in bad shape. The barrel will not latch in place. I suspect it may be a Chinese rifle from the early 70's. It doesn't have a safety and has a lever that retracts the catch that should keep the barrel in place after it's cocked but it looks like it's worn out. The rear sight is missing the part that adjust the elevation but still has the dove tail. Overall considering it's over 40 years old I guess it's not that bad. I'll post some pictures tomorrow and maybe someone can tell me what I have?

Bryan

[bbv13]

Here's some pictures. I hope someone can tell me what kind of rifle this is. All I know is it's .177 and the person I bought it from said their father bought it for them in the 70's. The stock is short so I believe it's a youth model and there's no writing on it.

Bryan

[Paul68]

I believe that's an old B2. Had an old one as well that I pretty well frankengunned to death. Fun to tinker with and can shoot ok with some work. Leather seal so little bit interesting if you want to restore it to stock.

[bbv13]

I believe that's an old B2. Had an old one as well that I pretty well frankengunned to death. Fun to tinker with and can shoot ok with some work. Leather seal so little bit interesting if you want to restore it to stock.

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to fix it but it doesn't have to be restored to stock. The barrel doesn't catch but it shoots as long as you hold the breach closed. It's really easy and smooth to cock. Do all the B2's have the lever that retracts the barrel catch? As far as I can tell it doesn't have a safety?

Bryan

[Paul68]

Nope, no safety and no anti-beartrap. Expect the barrel to be bent upwards since there's a good chance whoever had it wasn't knowledgeable about things like the lack of an anti-beartrap and probably had a few accidents.

The barrel lockup is pretty simple if I remember correctly. More than likely the springs in the lever lockup and chisle detent are just crushed or broken and smoothing things up and replacing them will restore function. Couldn't tell you if all B2's were fitted with em.

The seal is a screw on leather design. Since you have a lathe, you can probably make an adapter to allow the use of a newer synthetic seal. I've made em by hand with good results, so with a decent lathe it should be much easier. You basically just  make either a screw on piston button with an integral stud, or one with a hole drilled through the center to allow you to use fit a screw through it. Then just screw it on like you would the leather seal.

If you want to replace the spring, the E3650 from Air Rifle Headquarters will probably work if you cut a couple coils off. Not sure what seal would fit that reciever.

[bbv13]

Nope, no safety and no anti-beartrap. Expect the barrel to be bent upwards since there's a good chance whoever had it wasn't knowledgeable about things like the lack of an anti-beartrap and probably had a few accidents.

The barrel lockup is pretty simple if I remember correctly. More than likely the springs in the lever lockup and chisle detent are just crushed or broken and smoothing things up and replacing them will restore function. Couldn't tell you if all B2's were fitted with em.

The seal is a screw on leather design. Since you have a lathe, you can probably make an adapter to allow the use of a newer synthetic seal. I've made em by hand with good results, so with a decent lathe it should be much easier. You basically just  make either a screw on piston button with an integral stud, or one with a hole drilled through the center to allow you to use fit a screw through it. Then just screw it on like you would the leather seal.

If you want to replace the spring, the E3650 from Air Rifle Headquarters will probably work if you cut a couple coils off. Not sure what seal would fit that reciever.

I wish I had the tools to tinker with it. You must have me mixed up with someone else. The barrel looks straight but I haven't put a straight edge on it to see. The spring seems to be fine. When I use the lever to push it in it pops right out. The ledge under the barrel has a lot of wear on one side but it still should work. For some reason it doesn't. I have to drive down to Monroe tomorrow and I'm going to take it by Smith Airgun Repair while on my way back through Kannapolis and see what he thinks. If it's really expensive it may inspire me to buy some tools and do it myself? What kind of performance can be expected from one of these rifles if it's fixed?

Thanks for the information.

Bryan

 

[Paul68]

LOL. Yeah, guess I did.

You'll get maybe 550-600 FPS out of that in 177.

[bbv13]

LOL. Yeah, guess I did.

You'll get maybe 550-600 FPS out of that in 177.

Where do you live in NC?

500-600 fps is more than I expected. Cool!!!!

Bryan

[Paul68]

I'm out in Richmond county. Pretty much in the middle between Charlotte and Fayetville.

[bbv13]

I'm out in Richmond county. Pretty much in the middle between Charlotte and Fayetville.

I ive in the Triad area. All of us NC guys need to get together and have a cook out. I prefer Eastern style BBQ but most folks around here want Lexington style. Considering where you live it's hard to tell which one you would like. It's like being torn between perfection either way.

Bryan

[demarisl]

Bryan,

I have a B-2 in .22 that I don't have a stock for.  Works and shoots fine.  Will send it to you for the cost of shipping.  Just taking up space here and will be a simple drop in for your stock. 

Larry

[bbv13]

Bryan,

I have a B-2 in .22 that I don't have a stock for.  Works and shoots fine.  Will send it to you for the cost of shipping.  Just taking up space here and will be a simple drop in for your stock. 

Larry

I'll probably fix the one I have but post a picture. How much is the shipping?

Bryan

[demarisl]

Bryan,

Would ship cheapest way through the USPS so should be in the single digits.  Don't have a picture but its the same as what you have without the wood stock.  It was actually taken apart and lube tuned as part of Mike Melick's tuning class two summers ago. 

Larry

[bbv13]

Bryan,

Would ship cheapest way through the USPS so should be in the single digits.  Don't have a picture but its the same as what you have without the wood stock.  It was actually taken apart and lube tuned as part of Mike Melick's tuning class two summers ago. 

Larry

That sounds good but I don't know that I need another one because the one I have is fixable. How hard is it to take a picture? If you send it to me I'll pay you for it. I can get a stock for it.

Bryan

[bbv13]

Bryan,

Would ship cheapest way through the USPS so should be in the single digits.  Don't have a picture but its the same as what you have without the wood stock.  It was actually taken apart and lube tuned as part of Mike Melick's tuning class two summers ago. 

Larry

I'm not interested. The one I have is fixable and I'm going to tinker with it myself. I might just learn something.

Bryan

[bbv13]

It's taken me awhile to get this old B2 shooting again Does anyone know when they stopped using leather breech seals? I'm trying to figure out how old it is. The lady I bought it from said she is in her 50's and he father bought it for her when she was around 12 so I know it's probably 40 years old. Anyway the bore and the internal parts including the leather breach seal of this rifle were in good shape. All I had to do to get it latching up again was a little grinding, polishing and adjusting. I didn't mess with the other internal parts except for oiling them and I put drop of chamber oil in the chamber. I used paint stripper to get the paint off the metal and steel wool with oil to clean off the rust. I think the paint may have protected the metal because the old bluing is still in decent shape. I'm not going to re-blue it because it's just a beater rifle and it looks okay to me. The stock is the only part I'm not finished with. The natural grain in the wood is pretty nice. I'm going to rub it down with steel wool to remove some scratches and stain it again before I put a clear coat on it.

Today I finally got to shoot it. I'm surprised because it shoots pretty strong and it's not all that hold sensitive. The trigger is a little heavy but predictable enough for decent shooting. I had to make a metal slide for the rear sight because the one that came with it is missing. I made one from one of my wife's hair pins and it works good. The windage was set dead on and all I had to do was move the slide up one notch from the bottom and it was sighted in at 30'. I pretty much tore the center of the target up and my kids took a few shots so that explains the flyer's. This is fun I'm going to have to look around for another gun to work on.

Bryan