Paratroopers ...help with history.

[battyone]

Over the last month or so I seem to have been bitten by yet another collecting bug... damned evil things:-)

I wanted a paratrooper as a kid,but nasty parents didn't like things like that. Probably figured I'd get into more trouble, it's not as though I shot all that many people when they got me a bow for Xmas... It was only a couple of mates and my little bro lol.

So I had to make do with mates air guns, luckily there were always plenty to go round. Being able to afford ammo was always our biggest problem.
Seeing paratroopers in the catalogue all the time was painful... but by the time I could do what I wanted I had more expensive interests.

I saw a tidy mk2 paratrooper on Protek's website at New Year and was extremely pleased when it arrived...just missing the horrendous tnt price hike.
It's average condition, but everything is there. All the plastic is intact and it shoots really smooth. May not be very powerful but it's accurate.

Any old way...I liked it and thought that it was an old itch scratched and I could get back to old beezers
Then a mk1 repeater was offered on this here fine page. Oh no another collection started!!!

So I thought I'd best see what I could find out about various models that were available back in the day.
I knew there were mk1s and 2s, an advert found online suggested that the repeater was only made in.177 .
I had an idea that some were about with wooden furniture...But couldn't be sure. Then I stumbled upon a post on German site co2air.de . Unfortunately Google didn't do a great job with translation, but I was able to confirm a few facts.

There were possibly 500 wooden stocked mk1s, before el gamo cut costs and switched to plastic. The obvious difference between 1s and 2s is the added plastic foregrip on the 2s. But there were a few changes over the years, unfortunately this is where the translation falls down. Making it difficult to understand what changed when.
There are 2 different front sights. Cocking arm changed from two piece articulated to a one piece. Different grip shape. Plastics painted, rather than self coloured. Smooth or faux grain?
The German site also shows two different shapes of trigger guard and non adjustable plastic triggers.

So do we have anyone who will admit to knowing anything about these old Spanish plinkers???

Thanks for ploughing through my little ramble

[red bob]

Have you tried John walters airgun book,this has the related history concerning this model.
And yes i to collected these ,i got to five before i had a nightmare with the trigger mechanism:
not being the type to give up easily on a project i was determined to fix the hairspring
that returns the trigger, its attached to the frame on a spigot moulded into the frame but
every time i reassembled it it failed after a few shots.this put me off this model
and i sold them all before another trigger spring failed!

[Geezer]

Here's my ramble:

- I had no idea the first ones had wood. How cool.

- Pics I've seen of the very early Paras have a very pronounced forward spur at the bottom of the pistol grip. Never seen one like that in real life.

- My Para was a swap (for a boxed Webley Typhoon, with Webley scope, accessories, etc.. OK, that was in retrospect probably a bad deal, but made sense when I was 13-15) in 1982-3 with a schoolfriend. Repeater. .177". Plastic pistol grip and butt (no fore-end, but the later smaller trigger guard spur). I managed to break off the rear of the frame/receiver (where the cylinder fits) through incompetent adolescent "gunsmithing". Bought a new frame. Found grip would not fit as screw holes had changed. Cut grip down (aargh!) to fit and araldited it on (aargh!). A little bit later sawed barrel down to about 7 inches and sawed off the butt to make a magnificent 5 ft/lbs repeater pistol (but with no sights). Many tin cans went unhurt, but they were scared.

Then bought a "Sniper repeater" on sale at JSR and dismantled the Para. Bits mostly long gone, though have a few somewhere in an old shoe box.

There, that was a cathartic little confession. I feel good for sharing it with the group.

Anyway, conclusion is, I think it's much more complicated than Mk1 and Mk2. There's early ("long spur?")wood stock; possibly early "long spur" plastic, later "short spur" plastic (as I had), and the later and most prolific one with the extended fore-end. And though I may be hallucinating, wasn't there a later version with a side-folding stock too?

Bloody awful guns. But also really nice in a bad gun sort of way.

[battyone]

Yes on all counts, they are complicated, trigger and history wise. They aren't much good, but they do have that strange something. Maybe it's just the link to simpler times???
And yes there was a folding stock version... Ranger here I think, commando in Germany from the info I found.
I've seen pics of the early trigger guard with the pronounced spur. Pretty sure Sniper on here has/ had one, found old threads when I ran a search.

I like my mk2 .22 it is as good as I am, what more could I ask for?
The.177 needs some help, we have the technology... to quote a fave program from when I lusted after one first time round.

[battyone]

The German info I found. Lots of pictures.
http://www.co2air.de/wbb3/index.php?...threadid=57567

[Geezer]

The German info I found. Lots of pictures.
http://www.co2air.de/wbb3/index.php?...threadid=57567

The "first version" is what I had, but with the trigger guard from the "second". Given the context, there is no way at all mine was a bitsa, it must have been as it was sold. So Mk 1 and a half?

[thisisdonald]

The confusion between these fdifferent models may come from the fact that paratroopers were asi imports and the rest if the world had gamo 85's. The stocks and trigger spurs were different on these. In fact while at first glance they look like the same rifle, there are many differences.

[Unframed Dave]

Try posting on the other forum, gasman on there is an avid collector of these.

Dave

[Benelli B76]

Just rebuilt one of these this week. Although they have the longest spring of any rifle I work on (about 40 coils) they do not produce a lot of power. This one had a broken back stock in plastic which I repaired with fibregalss resin and a missing front pistol grip which I replaced with a plasic moulding. Will sell for £50 to my mate as the magazine is missing, but you can get replacements. Our local RFD has a rifle for sale at £170!

Baz

[battyone]

I've read a few threads about the spring! It's hard to believe that there's so much coiled in there when they make so little power and shoot so smoothly.

I'm already planning moulds for the plastic. Composite construction is my thing and the paratrooper furniture is all very simple. The only complicated part being the inside of the one butt piece.

I didn't realize that the 68 85 Euro models were completely different. That might be due to the crappy translation I got??? However I have definitely seen the pointy trigger guard pictured on here. I thought the Germans were talking dates.

Hopefully another one shortly on the way. Mk1 in .22 . I'm going to have to get working on some display racks, I'm running out of room in cupboards.

£170!!! The one must be a miss print. They are a cheap collectable at a time when the pre war bsa models are getting more expensive. And there seems to be a Webley service round every corner- although prices don't reflect their profusion.

[AllanM]

If you Google "El Gamo 68/68-XP - A futuristic airgun from the past" you will find a very informative 6 part article by B B Pelletier.

[battyone]

If you Google "El Gamo 68/68-XP - A futuristic airgun from the past" you will find a very informative 6 part article by B B Pelletier.

Thanks Allan, much appreciated

[gedfinn 2]

Over the last month or so I seem to have been bitten by yet another collecting bug... damned evil things:-)

I wanted a paratrooper as a kid,but nasty parents didn't like things like that. Probably figured I'd get into more trouble, it's not as though I shot all that many people when they got me a bow for Xmas... It was only a couple of mates and my little bro lol.

So I had to make do with mates air guns, luckily there were always plenty to go round. Being able to afford ammo was always our biggest problem.
Seeing paratroopers in the catalogue all the time was painful... but by the time I could do what I wanted I had more expensive interests.

I saw a tidy mk2 paratrooper on Protek's website at New Year and was extremely pleased when it arrived...just missing the horrendous tnt price hike.
It's average condition, but everything is there. All the plastic is intact and it shoots really smooth. May not be very powerful but it's accurate.

Any old way...I liked it and thought that it was an old itch scratched and I could get back to old beezers
Then a mk1 repeater was offered on this here fine page. Oh no another collection started!!!

So I thought I'd best see what I could find out about various models that were available back in the day.
I knew there were mk1s and 2s, an advert found online suggested that the repeater was only made in.177 .
I had an idea that some were about with wooden furniture...But couldn't be sure. Then I stumbled upon a post on German site co2air.de . Unfortunately Google didn't do a great job with translation, but I was able to confirm a few facts.

There were possibly 500 wooden stocked mk1s, before el gamo cut costs and switched to plastic. The obvious difference between 1s and 2s is the added plastic foregrip on the 2s. But there were a few changes over the years, unfortunately this is where the translation falls down. Making it difficult to understand what changed when.
There are 2 different front sights. Cocking arm changed from two piece articulated to a one piece. Different grip shape. Plastics painted, rather than self coloured. Smooth or faux grain?
The German site also shows two different shapes of trigger guard and non adjustable plastic triggers.

So do we have anyone who will admit to knowing anything about these old Spanish plinkers???

Thanks for ploughing through my little ramble

I have one, A repeater in very good condition, It came with a new Bsa Mk 7 scope,
The Asi Staticals are IMO very good, Also one of my Asi Supermatch.
Cheers, Ged.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...&1455286513189

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...&1455286531413

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...&1455286531421

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...&1455286531443

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...&1455286531474

[lodmoor]

Being a pistol man I looked at them when they were new (yes I am ancient) but never bought one until last year when I succomed to the urge. Dunno what MK but it is .22, plastic simulated wood stock, pistol grip and fore stock. Not exactly pristine but it satisfied the urge. Needs a new breech seal but I will get around to that eventually.

[thisisdonald]

just incase anyone is interested, these are 25mm piston and will accept TX piston seals and anything that will fit the TX piston.
The reason it wont do more than about 7fpe is the long thin transfer port. I can remember exactly what it is, but its something like 2.5x19
I done a wee bit of experimenting with a gamo 85 last year and couldnt break the 7fpe barrier without altering the TP, so I didnt. I got it shooting nice and sold it on.. I think I left it at about 5.5fpe.
I think if I had put a new seal from custom air seals I would have got some more power and it would have shot nicer..