GEM Air Rifle

[Arminius]

Has anyone got any experience of how to strip and clean a GEM air rifle? I would really love to hear from anyone who has.

I acquired one recently, and it shoots - which is a start. I unscrewed the stock, and removed the spring, which is a bit knackered, but still all there. I could not remove the piston however not sure how this is done.

After shooting around 20 pellets, the rifle did something quite disturbing... it began to snap shut when cocked. Not all the time.

I will post some pics when I get time, but would love to talk to anyone who knows these rifles.

Best regards to all

Will

[DCL_dave]

Has anyone got any experience of how to strip and clean a GEM air rifle? I would really love to hear from anyone who has.

I acquired one recently, and it shoots - which is a start. I unscrewed the stock, and removed the spring, which is a bit knackered, but still all there. I could not remove the piston however not sure how this is done.

After shooting around 20 pellets, the rifle did something quite disturbing... it began to snap shut when cocked. Not all the time.

I will post some pics when I get time, but would love to talk to anyone who knows these rifles.

Best regards to all

Will

Hi Will,

Failure to cock in an old Gem pattern is usually down to wear in the sear or the piston groove, or a bent cocking link and/or pins (trigger guard buckles in on itself from years of compression)

You will need a straight pin punch of the correct size to remove the cocking link from the barrel by knocking out the front pin in the breech block and withdrawing the cocking link backwards out of its cocking slot in the the comp tube - the cocking link will likely have a cocking shoe pinned to the end that rides in two milled slots in comp tube. The piston will pull out with the cocking link, note or better still take a picture of it to aide you in putting it back together.

Have a look on Danny's excellent site for (hopefully) more info about your Gem pattern - https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....-airguns-talk/

EDIT: Forgot to say that you will have to either pull the trigger to ease the piston past the sear or just remove the sear but watch out for the little spring underneath it (sear pin is the rear pin nearest the stock in the trigger group)

HTH,
Dave

[Garvin]

Has anyone got any experience of how to strip and clean a GEM air rifle? I would really love to hear from anyone who has.

I acquired one recently, and it shoots - which is a start. I unscrewed the stock, and removed the spring, which is a bit knackered, but still all there. I could not remove the piston however not sure how this is done.

After shooting around 20 pellets, the rifle did something quite disturbing... it began to snap shut when cocked. Not all the time.

I will post some pics when I get time, but would love to talk to anyone who knows these rifles.

Best regards to all

Will

Will, since DCL_Dave (above) is 'Mr Gem' and you have his attention, if you need more help than he has given already, it's probably best to post pics here for him and others to see. (Email the pics to me if you can't post them and I'll put them on this thread).

[Arminius]

Thanks Garvin,

I'm in London this week for business, but next week I will photograph this air rifle and post pictures. It is a slight and light little rifle, with 'made in Germany' stamped into one side of the octagonal barrel, along with 'GEM' and a crossed rifle logo.

I am very grateful to you both for looking at this. I am looking forward to restoring this air rifle.

Best regards

Will

[Arminius]

Thank you Dave, am glad to meet you, so to speak. Will be in touch next week.

Hi Will,

Failure to cock in an old Gem pattern is usually down to wear in the sear or the piston groove, or a bent cocking link and/or pins (trigger guard buckles in on itself from years of compression)

You will need a straight pin punch of the correct size to remove the cocking link from the barrel by knocking out the front pin in the breech block and withdrawing the cocking link backwards out of its cocking slot in the the comp tube - the cocking link will likely have a cocking shoe pinned to the end that rides in two milled slots in comp tube. The piston will pull out with the cocking link, note or better still take a picture of it to aide you in putting it back together.

Have a look on Danny's excellent site for (hopefully) more info about your Gem pattern - https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....-airguns-talk/

EDIT: Forgot to say that you will have to either pull the trigger to ease the piston past the sear or just remove the sear but watch out for the little spring underneath it (sear pin is the rear pin nearest the stock in the trigger group)

HTH,
Dave

[DCL_dave]

Thanks Garvin,

I'm in London this week for business, but next week I will photograph this air rifle and post pictures. It is a slight and light little rifle, with 'made in Germany' stamped into one side of the octagonal barrel, along with 'GEM' and a crossed rifle logo.

I am very grateful to you both for looking at this. I am looking forward to restoring this air rifle.

Best regards

Will

The crossed rifles (LZ) mark would indicate that your Gem was made by Friedrich Langenhan of Zella-Mehlis

[Arminius]

Hi gents,

Just managed to get to the little rifle and take a few photos.

https://imgur.com/a/YRUu1PX

Points I noted:

1. "GEM stamped on the top of the octagonal portion of the barrel
2. Crossed muskets with L and Z either side stamped next to GEM
3. 'Manufactured in Germany' stamped on the underside of the barrel
4. Barrel face stamped with 19629. Also 'FLZ' logo
5. 19629 also stamped on other face of the pellet gate
6. 42 rings in the spring... I think
7. I tried to photograph inside the piston

The rifle is in .177 cal. I think it is smooth bore, but am not sure as there looks like rifling, but very shiny and faint.

I would love opinions on this rifle, its age etc.

I shoots fine, and thanks to a member here, I realised that I had adjusted the trigger adjustment screw and the sear was slipping, I turned it anti clockwise a few turns, and now it doesn't slip.

Looks like two tiny holes on the stock, and I want to make sure there is no wood worm.

Thanks for looking

[WebleyWombler]

A furniture restorer friend of mine bakes small bits of wood in a microwave oven for a couple of minutes if he thinks there might be woodworm present. Then treats the wood as normal

[DCL_dave]

Hi gents,

Just managed to get to the little rifle and take a few photos.

https://imgur.com/a/YRUu1PX

Points I noted:

1. "GEM stamped on the top of the octagonal portion of the barrel
2. Crossed muskets with L and Z either side stamped next to GEM
3. 'Manufactured in Germany' stamped on the underside of the barrel
4. Barrel face stamped with 19629. Also 'FLZ' logo
5. 19629 also stamped on other face of the pellet gate
6. 42 rings in the spring... I think
7. I tried to photograph inside the piston

The rifle is in .177 cal. I think it is smooth bore, but am not sure as there looks like rifling, but very shiny and faint.

I would love opinions on this rifle, its age etc.

I shoots fine, and thanks to a member here, I realised that I had adjusted the trigger adjustment screw and the sear was slipping, I turned it anti clockwise a few turns, and now it doesn't slip.

Looks like two tiny holes on the stock, and I want to make sure there is no wood worm.

Thanks for looking

Your gun is most likely post WW1 maybe 1920's to 1930's, made by Fritz Langenhan (The son of Freidrich...i believe?)

It is what is known as a composite type Gem (because the later production techniques meant the compression tube/cylinder was no longer a single casting/forging as in earlier Gem types but is made of composite parts, compression tube, endplug with breech jaws, cocking slide, all separate parts screwed together.There are twos screw front and rear in the cocking slot, undo them and the cocking slot and trigger mech pulls away from the compression cylinder with the cocking slide, the piston should have a leather seal?...These can be nice shooters if not too loose.

[Arminius]

Dear Dave,

A while back you gave me some advice on stripping down a GEM air rifle, in order to access the sear and see why it is slipping.

Well, I finally got round to it today, and have encountered a problem.

I remove the stock screw and unscrewed the stock.
Then I knocked out the front pin in the breech block, and then have been trying to remove the cocking link for the past hour.

I moved the piston back past the sear, but just cannot find a way to pull the cocking link out!

Do you have any advice?

Best regards

Will

Hi Will,

Failure to cock in an old Gem pattern is usually down to wear in the sear or the piston groove, or a bent cocking link and/or pins (trigger guard buckles in on itself from years of compression)

You will need a straight pin punch of the correct size to remove the cocking link from the barrel by knocking out the front pin in the breech block and withdrawing the cocking link backwards out of its cocking slot in the the comp tube - the cocking link will likely have a cocking shoe pinned to the end that rides in two milled slots in comp tube. The piston will pull out with the cocking link, note or better still take a picture of it to aide you in putting it back together.

Have a look on Danny's excellent site for (hopefully) more info about your Gem pattern - https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....-airguns-talk/

EDIT: Forgot to say that you will have to either pull the trigger to ease the piston past the sear or just remove the sear but watch out for the little spring underneath it (sear pin is the rear pin nearest the stock in the trigger group)

HTH,
Dave

[DCL_dave]

Dear Dave,

A while back you gave me some advice on stripping down a GEM air rifle, in order to access the sear and see why it is slipping.

Well, I finally got round to it today, and have encountered a problem.

I remove the stock screw and unscrewed the stock.
Then I knocked out the front pin in the breech block, and then have been trying to remove the cocking link for the past hour.

I moved the piston back past the sear, but just cannot find a way to pull the cocking link out!

Do you have any advice?

Best regards

Will

The piston, cocking shoe and cocking link should just pull all the way out of the rear of the cylinder if the piston is clear of the sear?...(if not, pull trigger whilst pulling the link, shoe and piston backwards to clear it)...and make sure you remove the pinchbolt from rear of cylinder too.

[Arminius]

Thanks Dave for getting back to me.

https://imgur.com/a/24jR9WX

Attached you will see the disassembled parts. I cannot see how it is possible to remove the cocking link with the piston.

[DCL_dave]

Thanks Dave for getting back to me.

https://imgur.com/a/24jR9WX

Attached you will see the disassembled parts. I cannot see how it is possible to remove the cocking link with the piston.

Aha...it is a composite model Gem pattern made by Fritz langanhan and strips slightly differntly to most gem patterns...there are screws front and back inside the cocking slot to remove the whole cocking slot mechanism with the cocking shoe etc, (look at the underside of the cylinder) once you have remove them the front of the cylinder /breech jaws will disassemble too.

Hope this helps.

[Arminius]

Ive spent hours on it Dave. Removed both screws front and rear. The cocking mechanism has a t-shaped end, and that is inside the slot of the cylinder. So it can't be removed. Logically, there must be a way to remove it, otherwise I can't see how it could have been assembled in the first place. Ive taken apart and rebuilt many things, but this is beating me!

[micky2]

Hi looking at it to me. you might have to take the sear out and maybe the trigger as well and pull the cocking arm back to where the sear is fitted has there looks like there is a resess on both sides which it might pull through. just a thought.