crosman 451 valuation

[Mark D]

Dennis Baker had a few for sale sold as non working at around $275 and I was tempted but never bought one

Who might Dennis Baker be? - $275 USD sounds cheap even for a non runner

[JimmieDee]

Remember folks, this is "boxed". That is "very" rare.

Pictures are important for a proper valuation. However, minimum price for an unboxed 451 in full working condition would be £400. Boxed you are looking at £500 to £600. As you have all the manuals and original crosman caplets you are looking at £550 perhaps as you said the box is tatty.

[JimmieDee]

Who might Dennis Baker be? - $275 USD sounds cheap even for a non runner

Denis Baker is a US dealer.

[harvey_s]

He had that up for sale for ages - with a note saying that he wouldn't repair it either...

I assume because the parts it needed were unobtainable and/or too expensive to make.

[DT Fletcher]

The 451 was a great idea that just wasn't properly executed by Crosman. At that point in time, Crosman as a company was having internal problems; the President, PY Hahn, was really only interested in selling the company and maximizing his gains (which is why Rudy Merz was no longer around) the Engineering department was run by an incompetent. It was the head of Crosman Marketing/Sales who had the idea of making a replica of the venerable Colt 1911, he was an ex USAF officer and an avid competitive pistol shooter and he knew that a good replica of the 45 semi auto would be very popular. However, his idea was sabotaged by the engineering department who went ahead and made what they made, even though Marketing/Sales went to every effort to make the gun a true replica of the original.

Of course what they got was a gun that did look the part but had added bits not true to the original; which greatly offended the Marketing/Sales department. Add to that the gun jams so easily and then breaks, well, Crosman Marketing/Sales just wasn't interested in selling the gun. In fact, you will be very hard pressed to find any mention of the 451 model in any US Crosman literature. It does not appear in any Crosman US catalog of the time. Interestingly, it does appear in the 1968-1970 Canadian Crosman catalogs.

As I recall, MAC-1 in the US can still service these. There are certainly some breakable parts (hammer) that are no longer available but a complete gun should be serviceable.

One shooting note: the real shame about the poor reliability of these guns is that when shooting the gun it really does mimic the recoil of the original. It's great fun.

[cinedux]

Amazingly(evidently),my original(first) 451 still holds CO2 and cycles. It has not had much use.Way back,I recall getting some spare hammers from Mr Robert Lutter-havn't had to use them yet.I bang off a Powerlet of gas then put the gun away.So,not a 'typical' shooter by a long way.The 451 is NOT a fragile item.It's components are hard-wearing.There really is no reason it shouldn't work for decades after I've gone. Best $34 I ever spent! ;-)Trev

[DT Fletcher]

Amazingly(evidently),my original(first) 451 still holds CO2 and cycles. It has not had much use.Way back,I recall getting some spare hammers from Mr Robert Lutter-havn't had to use them yet.I bang off a Powerlet of gas then put the gun away.So,not a 'typical' shooter by a long way.The 451 is NOT a fragile item.It's components are hard-wearing.There really is no reason it shouldn't work for decades after I've gone. Best $34 I ever spent! ;-)Trev

I vividly remember the first time I got to fire a 451 and was amazed at how it cycles and simulates the recoil of the original. My first thought was, "I have to get one of these." They're great fun.

[PaulR]

Why not put a 12g cylinder (not one of the original ones!) in and see whether it works?

If it does - top price as stated ^^ if not price accordingly or get it fixed - Lawrie?

Either way you and any potential buyer will know exactly what you are selling. If it doesn't work it will not be as if you broke it!