Idiots guide to classic airgun strips (pt 1)

[ggggr]

I dont know if this is collectable but its a good plinker. I left the sights on when I stripped this. Undo the two frame grip screws on the sides and the one to the rear of the trigger guard (the one on the cap on the pistol grip can be left on) and lift the action out of the frame. I stripped the trigger down by remoing the sear coil spring and the trigger coil spring first. I then removed the middle pin that is a stop pin. I then took the front one out and removed the presse steel trigger and its actual trigger piece and small spring. I took the sear pin out and removed the sear from the front of the housing. I had to knock out the cocking arm pivot to enable me to remove the cocking arm from the cylinder. I undid the barrel pivot and removed the barrel. You can remove the small pin from the breech block to clean and lube the plunger and spring if you want. I put weight on the cylinder end plug and removed the pin and released the tension. Mainspring and piston came out. I didn,t change the piston washer which was a parachute washer on a boss. Clean and lube and put the piston and spring in and then replace the endplug and pin. Replace the barrel and breech and barrel pivot bolt. Go to pt 2

[ggggr]

Replace the cacking arm in the cylinder slot and replace cocking arm pivot pin. I peened this over a little after replacing it. Slide in sear and locate pin. Locate trigger and small spring and locate pin and then locate middle pin (stop pin). Replace the two big coil springs on the trigger and sear. Replace action in frame and replace the three screws.
I find this to be a nice pistol. The instructions in the handbook are not much use. To adjust the elevation of the foresight, you have to press down on the blade so the small square of steel on the adjuster screw is out of its slot before turning the adjuster screw. I dont like the ratchet/antibeartrap device. I think if you struggle for a mainspring, a Diana 25 one would fit but I wouldnt swear to it. I fitted a small bit of tube inside the mainspring to act as a floating guide. If you know someone with a lathe, they could make up a longer cylinder end plug and tap it to take a shoulder stock.

[ggggr]

I reckon these are really well made.The cocking arms push onto a boss on the underside of the piston (like a B2 but better). Ive seen two of them so far,one had no scope rails but had a piston weight/guide in the piston and the other had rails but no weight/guide. Undo and remove two front stock screws and the one in front of the trigger guard and remove action from stock. Undo lock screw for barrel pivot and barrel pivot and remove. Remove barrel and cocking arm from cylinder but watch out that the barrel release catch and its spring dont fall off. You can remove catch and spring to lubricate. On mine the spring was a little short so I used a small screw down it as a spacer. If you want to get at the barrel plunger and spring, knock out the pin at the front of the cylinder. I will assume you will do that now and replace it. Knock the pin out from the rear of the cylinder and then place cylinder with the breech end down onto a piece of wood. If you now push onto the cylinder end cap and turn anti clockwise about 3/16 of an inch it will free the pin that locates on a recess in the cylinder and you should be able to release pressure.(I have seen a pin that has been knocked into the trigger housing. You can knock it further and it should drop out and you can replace it in the hole. Otherwise a small pin could be fitted if it is missing) Guide, spring, weight/front guide (if fitted )and piston shoul now all come out. Go to pt 2.



EDIT----Ive recently seen one of these that was different to others Ive seen. It had no barrel catch and the breech seal was on the end of the cylinder and not on the barrel. Stock screws were crossheads instead of slots. It had scope rails and the guide looked a little different to the others I've seen.

Another EDIT. It seems that up to the late 80's they still had the barrel catch as someone recently said

"A friend of mine used to work at a place called Country Skittles near Townshend in Cornwall in the mid 1990's, where one of his jobs was operating an air rifle target range.

The guns used were Baikal IJ38's, but these were the version without the thumb latch and with a seal in the standing breech face rather than on the barrel, the stocks were wood although had a slightly different shape without any schnabel style tip on the fore-end.

I believe these were a later version of the IJ38, as I had bought one a few years earlier (late 1980's) that had the thumb latch to break the barrel. "

[ggggr]

You dont have to touch the trigger if you dont want to. It has two coil springs, one for the trigger and one for the sear. This goes between the sear and the anti beartrap bar. Piston washer is leather and held on by a 5mm countersunk head screw. Clean and lube. Replace piston, front guide/weight (if fitted),spring and guide. The mainsprings are quite soft in these guns, fat but with coils close together. I dont know if you can get them but I tried a old mainspring (maybe from a meteor) and it went in and upped the power a fair bit. Ive since taken it out and tried one about 1/2 inch shorter and this is closer in power to the original. Push trigger block into cylinder and turn clockwise until pin locates in cylinder recess. Replace cylinder end pin, taking care to line up the hole in the trigger as the trigger pivots on this. Fit your barrel catch spring and catch and locate barrel in breech jaws and cocking arm onto piston. You may have to fiddle about getting the anti beartrap bar into place as its quite springy. Replace barrel pivot screw and lock screw. Drop action into stock and tighten the 3 stock screws.
As said, a well made rifle and I think it will take the meteor spring with no problems if you want the extra power.