Crosman 761 XL

[Gamocfx]

Does any one own the 761XL?

I have never seen one other than in photos. Is this the famous Whalley Crosman? I certainly like the bolt and breech on this rifle but I must be in a minority because no one ever enthuses about them. For a crosman this thing looks solid....I doubt that they ever reached these shores but I remember reading reviews in the magazines and trying to save for one-even though I had never even seen one for sale! Any one else have the same late 70s memories?

[TonyL]

I'll bet there will be the odd one or two lurking unloved in some houses, neglected and gathering dust.

Yes, I'm pretty sure the Whaley Crosman was based on the 761. I can remember Rod Linton testing it for Airgun World. If I remember rightly, you could put a load of pumps in and get two shots. Or you could put a load of pumps in and just keep topping it up with a few, but if you lost track of where you'd got to consistency would suffer. Whaley obviously did a lot of work on the pump assembly, valve and hammer.

I'd guess that it never gained mega popularity over here due to a number of factors :- our home produced guns were springers, and pump-ups will have seemed like far too much work for not that much return, although recoilless. The Crosmans always appeared to be built quite flimsily, creating fear of poor reliability/longevity. If you were a Crosman fan, most would go for the 766 (still available now as the 2100), due to,it's higher power. These all paled, however, when compared to the earlier, more solid Crosmans.

And, if you were a fan of American pump-ups, all these more modern Crosmans lived under the shadow of the legendary Sheridan Blue and Silver Streaks, with their solid build and promise of magnum power levels.

[Herpquest]

If you contact 'tradingnow2010', I am sure that he will be able to help you in your search for a Crosman 761 XL. Stephen is a good lad
and will point you in the right direction if he doesn't have one at the moment.
ATB
Eric

NB. This thread nay be of some help. http://www.airgunbbs.com/archive/ind.../t-454508.html

[Gamocfx]

Thanks for the replies Chaps. yes i will definatley search for one...I kept an advert for the Whalley Crosman for years just for nostalgia reasons...never realised that they could fire two shots though!

It is strange that Crosman pistols crop up on a regular basis but not the rifles....?

[Hsing-ee]

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY

They are a cheap pump up pellet/BB gun and are designed by Crosman to last a few thousand pellets. They are still made as throwaways for 12 year old American kids who will graduate to .22 rimfire on the next Christmas.

In the late 1980s they were converted to higher power in the forms of the Whaley and the Marshall Crosman conversions and sold at a premium into a market where there were no PCPs, no CO2 and no other recoilless full-power rifles. The mags lied about them and a a hundred or more were sold.

They are cheap, flimsy pump ups. I lusted after one when I was a teen, even though I had a Crosman 766 which was pretty much the same power and build quality. Then one day I met one; awful disappointment.

The answer to the ultimate airgun of the time was the Feinwerkbau Sport. This is still a superb rifle. Get one of them, and you will not be disappointed.

If you still want a good pump-up, get a Sharp Ace (or Victory) or get a Crosman 140. You could even try a Sheridan now there is a good supply of quality .20 ammo.

[AllanM]

There is a 3 page road test of the Whaley/Crosman 761XL by Arthur Reid in the March 1979 issue of AGW in which it's claimed it could knock out 2 shots (735fps and 740fps) on 11 pumps with RWS Match 8.3g pellets.

There was another UK modified Crosman (almost identical to the Whaley/Crosman but it has distinctive vertical grooves on the fore-end) called the Marshall/Crosman 761XL and the .22 version was reviewed by Geoff Boxall in the February 1980 edition of AGW getting 584fps with 6 pumps.

[Gamocfx]

Ouch...another dream shattered!! Were they really so bad?? I will hunt the mags down to read the reviews...a bit like having a trophy wife I suppose, they still look good though...
I have had the Sharp Innova but didnt like the plastic. A Blue Streak maybe the way to go then.

[fat man]

Yes I have a Marshall-Crossman. I like mine its quirky and something different. Like some of the other posters here I can rember the reviews in AGW - Geoff Boxhall was quite critical of it in the I think December 1980 issue and it was quite expensive at £95.00 I wanted one and got mine from here a few years back, bought of Draftsman if memorey serves. First problem was wouldnt hold air, so sourced a new valve assembly via Holland and was fitted by Welsh Willi for me. Its very accurate and for 8 pumps 2 shoots, not to difficult to pump. Bit fidilly to load but soon get the hang, main problem is if used for a number of shoots in quick succesion the valve heats up and locks the rifle until it cools down. Loves Accupels and I use Her quite often. Its not as good as it was painted by Rod Lynton but has He was involved in the companey selling/makeing them then He was hardly unbiased was He and yet as stated I like it, but then again I dont follow fashion and base my views /opinions on my own experiences. I suppose its abit of a Marmite gun some ( like me like it ) others dont, some where in the middle is the truth. If you want a 761XL then by all means get one but please be aware that they are ok but not the super gun old Rod said they were in His articles on the Whalley/ Marshall guns based on the 760/761.

[tradingnow2010]

If you contact 'tradingnow2010', I am sure that he will be able to help you in your search for a Crosman 761 XL. Stephen is a good lad
and will point you in the right direction if he doesn't have one at the moment.
ATB
Eric

NB. This thread nay be of some help. http://www.airgunbbs.com/archive/ind.../t-454508.html

Thanks for that eric, the 761xl first variant which they stopped making in 1978 is a very hard rifle to get hold of being very popular with collectors and commands premium prices ,the all wood stock ,brass reciever ,full power ,recoilless action makes this very collectable.. and if you like tinkering they were easy to mess with, i have a 140 ,147 2200w,2200 magnum ,2100 ,innova,s most pump ups you can get all out on display and whenever i have a visitor who has a look at my gun wall they always point to the 761xl and ask ,oooh can you get me one of those ? you have to remember crosmans sold millions of rifles ,were very innovative,with fantastic designs and had to compete with firearms in the usa which were almost as cheap, i think they have done rather well and given the customers what they have asked for..

All in all get one, dont be put off because i guarantee you if i put one on gunstar now ,in new condition in a box, i would sell it 15 times the original price ,and it would sell in minutes...

[Gamocfx]

Thanks for the replies...it is now officially on my wish list!

[fat man]

Theres a few good old Crossmans, I have a Canadian model 140 in .22, a model 1 in .22 with Williams notch sight, 766 phase 2 in .177, there all very good rifles. The old 140 still easily dose 11.2 ft/lbs with accupels for example

[windygap]

Ouch...another dream shattered!! Were they really so bad?? I will hunt the mags down to read the reviews...a bit like having a trophy wife I suppose, they still look good though...
I have had the Sharp Innova but didnt like the plastic. A Blue Streak maybe the way to go then.

I owned/given a 760 as a kid. I also had a very used 1956-58 ish Sheridan blue streak , I owned before the Crosman unbeknowst to my parents who wouldn't have approved . Thats another story.

I had fun with the Crosman , and used it up as a plinker. But , it wasn't a serious shooter like that old hold-down Bluestreak . I could knock a squirrel out of a tree at 30 yards with the Sheridan almost at will. To make a kill with a 760 , one had to pretty much get close enough to club the bugger to death.

That said ... I remeber seeing the Whaley Crosman advertising. I was stunned at how hansome gun it was in the pic. Visually it was a homerun . I wanted one even though I suspected the performance was much the same as the old 760 I had years earlier.

They have to be very collectable , I never see any of the fancy ones for sale. I don't think , I would spend the money if it was for shooting purpose , you'd be better off with alot more pumpers.

But, if it for collecting and display ...YES !!!! If I had a passion to own one as a collectable which sounds like you do, then I would buy the best one you can afford and find. Display it and admire it.

Good luck with your search.

[TonyL]

If you fancy a cheap intro into Crosman pump up rifles, you can buy a new 760 for about £55-60. It's a junior, smooth bore gun, with power around the 6ft.lbs mark. Five shot pellet clip is quite novel. I bet, if you really wanted, you could power it up, but can't really see the point.

If you really bite the pump-up bug, you could then hunt out a Crosman 140, Blue Streak or Sharp Ace or Victory.

They're fun and worth having for the novelty factor, and even the humble little 760 is a fantastic, lightweight, compact, recoilless short range plinker.

[Gamocfx]

Thanks for the replies. I will probably pick one up, I think it is the fact it had a wood stock...definatley a looks thing, I would'nt use it for huunting at all. There must have been thousands sold but not a lot of people rave about them and they dont seem to crop up that often, maybe they just did'nt last?

[harry mac]

Didn't one of the airgun writers of the time recently admit to having to shoot pellets through a target almost at the muzzle in order to get a "decent group" to photograph for his article using one of these rifles?