Possibly the 2 rarest US CO2 pistol variants together

[45flint]

These two CO2 pistols could possibly be the rarest variants from each company. The Crosman Sears JC Higgins first variant was short lived but sported a unique gray krinkle paint job and gray spacer. The Benjamin 2620 was short lived as well and was their “Rocket” Pistol with a 20 shot magazine on top. Only shot 22 caliber round balls, which was probably its downfall. Also Benjamin continued used the smaller 8 gram CO2 cartridges. Got to love the stacking of three tubes. Both pistols came out in the 1950’s

[vintage]

A nice pair indeed

[Abasmajor]

I was a confirmed spring powered air pistol user until I had the chance to shoot a Crosman 150 which changed my attitude altogether, particularly in .22 calibre pistols.
I now have quite a few from Crosman, Benjamin and Schimel including the S/A versions of the Crosman (600) and Benjamin (422) which are great fun to shoot if not as accurate as the single shot pistols. These pistols are also very economic to run with a single CO2 capsule easily providing an evenings entertainment at the range. I guess the only downside is that they feel a bit lifeless in the hand lacking the recoil characteristics of the springers, but this does help with accuracy.
A bonus for me is the loud crack which often accompanies their use which only adds to the overall experience.
Brian

[gingernut]

I've got a single shot Rocket in its bright yellow box.
177 very pellet fussy.
Also leaks and my fixing friends can't stop it

[45flint]

I've got a single shot Rocket in its bright yellow box.
177 very pellet fussy.
Also leaks and my fixing friends can't stop it

For reliability and ease of repair hard to beat the Crosman 150.

[gingernut]

I agree
Benjamins are a bit annoying
And attractive!

[45flint]

Looking at the two the Benjamin had to be more expensive to produce? The Crosman you can tell was engineered for more simplicity and cost savings. Benjamin has a brass tube connecting the tube to the barrel, Crosman plastic. Benjamin seems a little more quirky which to be honest is endearing. Still performs very well and hits hard.

[Garvin]

These two CO2 pistols could possibly be the rarest variants from each company. The Crosman Sears JC Higgins first variant was short lived but sported a unique gray krinkle paint job and gray spacer. The Benjamin 2620 was short lived as well and was their “Rocket” Pistol with a 20 shot magazine on top. Only shot 22 caliber round balls, which was probably its downfall. Also Benjamin continued used the smaller 8 gram CO2 cartridges. Got to love the stacking of three tubes. Both pistols came out in the 1950’s

[Benelli B76]

After the circlip is removed deep down the tube of the single shot Rocket, you can be lucky and get the valve to slide out with a knock. The problem is removing the O ring right at the far end of the tube as it is usually stuck fast and gummy. Lawrie uses an aluminium tube with a saw tooth edge to clean out the old O ring. Apparently in the early days Benjamin supplied you with two O rings for the cylinder cap as the material they used expanded with exposure to the CO2 gas and you could not screw the cap back in after fitting a new capsule. They instructed you to fit a new O ring and put the old one to one side until it returned to size after evaporation of the gas so it could be reused. We think the wrong quality O ring was also used for the very back seal which causes it to get all gummy over time.
The Schimel is not a difficult pistol to re-seal. People make a couple of mistakes in assembly which cause them to leak. The chamber cup seals are the same in all of them but there are 4 design differences in the capsule valve unit.

Baz