paulleve
NES Member
Yesterday I shot the Crosman 766 my dad gave me for Christmnas in 1980 - for the first time in over 30 years! It was my "big present" that year, and although I wasn't quite as obsessed as Ralphie Parker, I knew this was the exact rifle I wanted. I wish I knew how many thousands of BBs and pellets I put through this thing before moving on to a Marlin 60. Even after I got the .22, I still shot the 766 occasionally in the back yard, but eventually the seals gave out and it wouldn't hold any pressure.
The old Crosman stuck with me for all the years since it stopped working, occupying a place on my "I'll get around to fixing it someday, maybe" list. Well, this month I finally set aside some time to thoroughly clean the rifle, reseal it, and replace some broken and missing parts. (More detailed description of the process below.) Sure I could have bought a new one for the money I have into it, but this is the one I carried for countless hours as I walked through the woods and along the railroad tracks with my dad. And shooting it again on Christmas 42 years after receiving it for Christmas was a true gift!
And now for the technical part of the post:
Seal kits are available for most common bb/pellet guns from this time period, and thanks to Youtube there are video tutorials for many of them. Reseal kits can cost between about $10-$40, depending on the parts included and the material the seals are made of. A set of just plain rubber seals is at the low end, and a set of urethane seals and new valve parts at the upper.
This valve body is the heart of the Crosman multiple pump design. From left to right are the valve body, exhaust valve, spring, check valve, and air inlet. (All parts except for the brass valve body were new in the kit I picked up.) Pressurized air enters the inlet when the rifle is pumped up. This passes the check valve which then closes to retain the pressure. When the trigger is pressed, a metal hammer hits the stem on the exhaust valve, pushing it into the valve body and releasing air into the rifle's chamber. After replacing these parts an reassembling the rifle, I pumped it up 5x and let it sit over night. There was a very satisfying sound of released air when I pulled the trigger the next morning!
The old Crosman stuck with me for all the years since it stopped working, occupying a place on my "I'll get around to fixing it someday, maybe" list. Well, this month I finally set aside some time to thoroughly clean the rifle, reseal it, and replace some broken and missing parts. (More detailed description of the process below.) Sure I could have bought a new one for the money I have into it, but this is the one I carried for countless hours as I walked through the woods and along the railroad tracks with my dad. And shooting it again on Christmas 42 years after receiving it for Christmas was a true gift!
And now for the technical part of the post:
Seal kits are available for most common bb/pellet guns from this time period, and thanks to Youtube there are video tutorials for many of them. Reseal kits can cost between about $10-$40, depending on the parts included and the material the seals are made of. A set of just plain rubber seals is at the low end, and a set of urethane seals and new valve parts at the upper.
This valve body is the heart of the Crosman multiple pump design. From left to right are the valve body, exhaust valve, spring, check valve, and air inlet. (All parts except for the brass valve body were new in the kit I picked up.) Pressurized air enters the inlet when the rifle is pumped up. This passes the check valve which then closes to retain the pressure. When the trigger is pressed, a metal hammer hits the stem on the exhaust valve, pushing it into the valve body and releasing air into the rifle's chamber. After replacing these parts an reassembling the rifle, I pumped it up 5x and let it sit over night. There was a very satisfying sound of released air when I pulled the trigger the next morning!
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