Possibly the 2 rarest US CO2 pistol variants together

[45flint]

There is little question that the Crosman 150 was the best engineered CO2 of the Golden Era 1950-60’s but Benjamin had a reliable good looking compact modern type CO2 pistol the 250 in 1952 two years before the Crosman 150. Yes, Crosman with the 150 took the lead in 1954 and never looked back. The Rocket was Benjamin trying to compete with the 150 in 1956. They weren’t better, but you could argue they had nice machining and a better machined bolt system than the cheaper sliding bolt cover of Crosman. But collecting joy often comes from the guns that were a little odd and short lived. The 2620 was such a beast as well as the much later 422 in 1969. The 20 shot loading mechanism is unique and would not be surpassed until Crosman’s 600 which obviously is a “classic”. But classic means they made a lot of them and they are not rare at all. A major collector of Benjamin Guns said to me on another forum that this 2620 was the first one he has seen for sale in 15 years looking. He only has one a serial number 200 from mine. Lastly I have a 600 and the downside is it’s too is a little odd looking, heavy, large, die cast and very complicated.

Holding a Crosman 150 with grip panels like the one below feels perfect in the hand!

[Abasmajor]

[QUOTE=45flint;7942441]There is little question that the Crosman 150 was the best engineered CO2 of the Golden Era 1950-60’s but Benjamin had a reliable good looking compact modern type CO2 pistol the 250 in 1952 two years before the Crosman 150. Yes, Crosman with the 150 took the lead in 1954 and never looked back. The Rocket was Benjamin trying to compete with the 150 in 1956.

I was a bit worried when I bought this Benjamin 150 as it appeared that it was intended for .177 BBs, but thankfully it quite happily shoots .177 pellets with no problems. Although the larger CO2 capsules are more readily available, you can still get the smaller ones from home brew shops etc.



Brian

[45flint]

[QUOTE=Abasmajor;7942464]

There is little question that the Crosman 150 was the best engineered CO2 of the Golden Era 1950-60’s but Benjamin had a reliable good looking compact modern type CO2 pistol the 250 in 1952 two years before the Crosman 150. Yes, Crosman with the 150 took the lead in 1954 and never looked back. The Rocket was Benjamin trying to compete with the 150 in 1956.

I was a bit worried when I bought this Benjamin 150 as it appeared that it was intended for .177 BBs, but thankfully it quite happily shoots .177 pellets with no problems. Although the larger CO2 capsules are more readily available, you can still get the smaller ones from home brew shops etc.



Brian

Brian what a nice example! I’ve been looking for a nice 252 which was rifled for 22, they are so compact and clean looking. One that clean is very hard to find. These are not rare but most have no finish left at all. I don’t think Benjamin’s finish was very durable, they were all brass guns I believe.

[Geezer]

[QUOTE=Abasmajor;7942464]

There is little question that the Crosman 150 was the best engineered CO2 of the Golden Era 1950-60’s but Benjamin had a reliable good looking compact modern type CO2 pistol the 250 in 1952 two years before the Crosman 150. Yes, Crosman with the 150 took the lead in 1954 and never looked back. The Rocket was Benjamin trying to compete with the 150 in 1956.

I was a bit worried when I bought this Benjamin 150 as it appeared that it was intended for .177 BBs, but thankfully it quite happily shoots .177 pellets with no problems. Although the larger CO2 capsules are more readily available, you can still get the smaller ones from home brew shops etc.



Brian

I’ve always liked the compactness and look of those Benjis. Very nice.

[Benelli B76]

I find the Benjamin Rocket one of the hardest CO2 pistols to keep leak free due to the way it is designed and assembled. Lawrie Amatruda repairs the Benjamin 422 semi autos and says the choice of O rings is the main criteria to get the feed mechanism working correctly.

Baz

[IMG][/IMG]

[gingernut]

That's mine
Which for a short period behaved itself

But now leaks between the barrel and tube where you can see the silver coloured bit joining.

Even when working it seems to be designed for very short pellets more like the slugs we had as kids.
177

[45flint]

I had a lot of fun yesterday firing the 2620 and loading in 22 balls through its gravity feed magazine. It is a very accurate pistol with a lot of pop. Your comments on reliability make me question whether I should just put it away as a rare collectible or just enjoy it. Always the question with CO2’s especially for me. Think I’ll ask my trusted repair guy his experience sealing these. Part of the joy of collecting is shooting them. The genius of Crosman was simplicity and thus easier reseal.

[Farsight]

I had a lot of fun yesterday firing the 2620 and loading in 22 balls through its gravity feed magazine. It is a very accurate pistol with a lot of pop. Your comments on reliability make me question whether I should just put it away as a rare collectible or just enjoy it. Always the question with CO2’s especially for me. Think I’ll ask my trusted repair guy his experience sealing these. Part of the joy of collecting is shooting them. The genius of Crosman was simplicity and thus easier reseal.

It has a very similar appearance to the back end of my "Benjamin 100 shot bb" rifle. Of course, it's .22 and may differ significantly but as I recall I didn't find much difficulty in sealing between receiver and barrel on the rifle.
Atb Mark

[45flint]

I find the Benjamin Rocket one of the hardest CO2 pistols to keep leak free due to the way it is designed and assembled. Lawrie Amatruda repairs the Benjamin 422 semi autos and says the choice of O rings is the main criteria to get the feed mechanism working correctly.

Baz

[IMG][/IMG]

Have you ever owned a Schimel Model GP-22 CO-2? These have to take the prize for reseal nightmare? You need to make a Utube on stripping the Rocket, very little out there on this? I assume the long scissor tool removes the C ring? Then does the valve come out?

[gingernut]

Asking Baz if he has Schimels is a bear in the woods question

[Jerry Cornelius]

Have you ever owned a Schimel Model GP-22 CO-2? These have to take the prize for reseal nightmare? You need to make a Utube on stripping the Rocket, very little out there on this? I assume the long scissor tool removes the C ring? Then does the valve come out?

Or the crosman 451? When I got mine I gingerly put a few capsules through it and it’s been a drawer queen ever since. I gather even lawrie won’t work on them.

[Abasmajor]

I believe the Schimel GP-22 was the first commercially produced pistol to use self contained CO2 capsules as the power source. It's a pity there wasn't sufficient time during the relatively short production period to fully develop the design. One of the main issues for the first time user is to forget to push the little reset button forward both on initial charging and prior to operating the charging lever for each subsequent shot resulting in the complete discharge of the CO2 capsule. It would have been nice to have had some sort of linkage between the charging lever and the reset catch to prevent this happening. The early production materials were also a bit fragile, but still rugged enough for regular use with reasonable care. I came across this leaflet suggesting that an air powered variant (AP-22) was made available, but have never seen or heard of an actual example coming to light in the UK anyway.



I have a nice boxed GP-22 which shoots well and provides a nice Luger like action to open the breech and insert the pellet.

Every home should have one.



Brian

[Lawrie Amatruda]

Have you ever owned a Schimel Model GP-22 CO-2? These have to take the prize for reseal nightmare? You need to make a Utube on stripping the Rocket, very little out there on this? I assume the long scissor tool removes the C ring? Then does the valve come out?

I have resealed many Schimels over the years, I did one just last week, they are very easy to do if you you know how, and like Baz said there are 2 seals that are standard, but I have to make one or the internal seals, other than that no problem, I have had a couple of mishaps due to the fragile metal that was used in the manufacture, but when working they are great pistols.
Cheers,
Lawrie.

[cinedux]

I'd just like to point out that there have been some great illustrated articles dealing with the service of CO2 pistols in AIRGUN HOBBYIST magazine.