Benjamin 250 & 262 Co2 Pistols

[Abasmajor]

Hello,

The link below is to some pictures of an early boxed Benjamin 250 Co2 air pistol I picked-up at the Bisley Imperial Arms Fair on Saturday.

The Benjamin 250 dates from the early fifties and is complete with its original paperwork, unused 8grm Co2 capsule and tin of pellets. The 250 is in .177 calibre and was Benjamin's first entry into the Co2 air pistol market. It was smoothbore and could fire either BBs or lead pellets. The BBs are inserted into a little recess in the 'cocking /pellet seater or if using pellets, straight into the breech. The idea was that it would be much cheaper to use BBs if merely plinking with the alternative of pellets for something a bit more serious. The barrel was made from brass, not for economy reasons, but to prevent any moisture emitted from the Co2 gas forming within the bore and possibly causing some corrosion. The 250 was quickly followed by dedicated .177 (Mod 257) and .22 (Mod 252) pellet only versions both with rifled barrels.

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psb5ac9c0f.jpg

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...ps463509cc.jpg

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...ps36b2f167.jpg


Regards

Brian

[flatrajectory]

A great find Brian, especially in that condition. I am a big fan of early Benjamin airguns and have a few myself.
Benjamins are often overlooked in favour of Crosmans, probably due to the fact that Crosman had a much larger marketing budget and 'sold' their products more aggresively than the smaller manufacturers. A similar situation to that of BSA and Lincoln Jeffries.
Pete.

[johnbaz]

Some beautiful pissles in your cvollection Brian- The 600 looked a beauty mate

That Benjy is in fantastic nick with the box too



John

[Josie & John]

What a lovely little set Brian - well done. Must say that had I had a closer look at the set you bought, I may well have been tempted myself. Some fine items in your collection too, as has already been mentioned. Some of those 'Target' BSAs are just itching to be shot...

Kind regards,

John

[Benelli B76]

Lovely little quality built CO2 pistols, a lot of power and accurate. Gingernut and I walked by someone selling one like this on the previous 2 Bisleys, price was a bit rich for us. I ended up buying a boxed 257 for £175 and gingernut got a 250 for £150 I think.

Well done, Baz

[Benelli B76]

gingernuts 250 began to leak on his first shooting session. There is a special double end stripping tool which some people make up. I managed to get a new one from the US for £10. The valve is almost identical to this one from gingernuts old design EB20. The square section seal can be turned up from polyurethane, no problems.





Baz

[Abasmajor]

Lovely little quality built CO2 pistols, a lot of power and accurate. Gingernut and I walked by someone selling one like this on the previous 2 Bisleys, price was a bit rich for us. I ended up buying a boxed 257 for £175 and gingernut got a 250 for £150 I think.

Well done, Baz

Hi Baz,

I not really a Co2 collector and already have a reasonable 250 for shooting, but just couldn't resist this neat little set due to its completeness and overall condition. It wasn't cheap, but after a little negotiation a reasonable price was agreed.

I also bought a Benjamin 262 from Keith Bayliss to compare with my Crosman 150. Both the 250 & 262 pistols hold gas OK and shoot at around full power for the normal 20-30 shots per capsule. Having now shot both the Benjamin 262 & the Crosman 150, I would lean towards the 150 due its slightly nicer appearance and superior sights, Having said that, the Crosman rear sight is only adjustable for windage whereas the Benjamin moves in both elevation and windage.

Since I seem to have developed quite an interest in Co2 pistols recently, I bought a copy of the Blue Book of Airguns to get an idea of what there was out there. The book contains a table of U.S. equivalents to UK terms at the front and the one I really liked was:

British: "Knackered" = American: "Needs Repair"

Regards

Brian

[Abasmajor]

What a lovely little set Brian - well done. Must say that had I had a closer look at the set you bought, I may well have been tempted myself. Some fine items in your collection too, as has already been mentioned. Some of those 'Target' BSAs are just itching to be shot...

Kind regards,

John

Hi John,

I do shoot the standard pattern Improved Mod Ds on a regular basis, but only indoors at 20 yds. I must get along to one of your Bisley meetings one day and have a go at longer ranges, although 80 yds does seem a bit optimistic for my eyesight.

Regards

Brian

[Abasmajor]

A great find Brian, especially in that condition. I am a big fan of early Benjamin airguns and have a few myself.
Benjamins are often overlooked in favour of Crosmans, probably due to the fact that Crosman had a much larger marketing budget and 'sold' their products more aggresively than the smaller manufacturers. A similar situation to that of BSA and Lincoln Jeffries.
Pete.

Hello Pete,

Have you ever come across a Benjamin 422 semi-auto pistol ? I believe it was not nearly as successful as the Crosman 600 due to it's temperamental pellet feeding system. Looks really cool though and would be nice to handle one in the flesh so to speak.

Regards

Brian

[Benelli B76]

Brian, your 250 is rarer due to it still being black. Most have been taken down to the bronze or nickel finish. My 257 is polished bronze but a lovely pistol to shoot and accurate due to the rifled barrel. I think the rarest American CO2 I have is the Challenger Arms Plainsman.

Baz

[flatrajectory]

Hello Pete,

Have you ever come across a Benjamin 422 semi-auto pistol ? I believe it was not nearly as successful as the Crosman 600 due to it's temperamental pellet feeding system. Looks really cool though and would be nice to handle one in the flesh so to speak.

Regards

Brian

Yes Brian, I used to own a 422 and found it most interesting. It loads and feeds in a similar fashion to the Drulov Condor, but the Condor works faultlessly, whereas the 422 can be troublesome. I found the 422 worked better by only loading 6 pellets max instead of the 10 it was designed for. The thing is the 422 was designed to feed its own make of pellet, which of course are no longer available. The pellets were true .22 ( 5.6mm) flatheads....no longer available in any make that I could find.
It is still an interesting pistol and one I would reccommend trying to find if you can get one.
I still have some of the correct sized o rings that make the feed system work ( 4 of them per breech).
Pete.

[Josie & John]

Hi John,

I do shoot the standard pattern Improved Mod Ds on a regular basis, but only indoors at 20 yds. I must get along to one of your Bisley meetings one day and have a go at longer ranges, although 80 yds does seem a bit optimistic for my eyesight.

Regards

Brian

Hi Brian,

I think 80 yards was too optimistic for everyone but that is just because we were unclear of where to aim! With a little practice, I reckon it can be done consistently. Be good to see you -the meetings are not too serious from a competitive aspect but a lot of fun.

Kind regards,

John

[DT Fletcher]

I would lean towards the 150 due its slightly nicer appearance and superior sights, Having said that, the Crosman rear sight is only adjustable for windage whereas the Benjamin moves in both elevation and windage.

This is not true for all model 150's. Many of the later versions have both elevation and windage adjustments.

[micky]

Hi Brian it looks like you are starting a Co2 collection, there's some very nice guns out there just waiting for you.

regards,
Mick.