Daisy 901 Questions

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Cobrakaifan

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May 11, 2023
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Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Hello Everyone-I'm new to Airgun Nation. Last weekend I was "gifted" a new in the box Daisy 901 Duck Commander. The box is date May of 2013. I in turn will be giving it to my daughter for her birthday later this month. I have several questions about this rifle. Keep in mind it is still zip tied in the box. The instruction Manuel is sitting underneath the gun and I'm not pulling it out until she opens the package on her birthday (I'm old fashioned that way).

First, I'm not new to Airguns per say. I grew up with them as a kid but shot BB's only....I lost interest in my High School and College years but became a firearms and hunting enthusiast when I became an adult. My guns growing up were the Daisy Youth Model 105 and the Crossman AIR 17 both of which I've already passed down to my daughter. She loves them.

Here are my questions about the Daisy 901

1. While this gun has been sitting brand new in the box for 10 years in a climate controlled room, I've got to believe that it's still going to need to be oiled before we shoot it on her birthday...right? Or am am I wrong. If the gun needs to be re-oiled what would you recommend? I "think"I read that it needs to be 30 weight non detergent oil...any recommendations on brand etc.

2. Do they make a bore rod or bore snake that you would recommend for initial cleaning of the barrel? Also what do you guys use for cleaning the barrel of an airgun?

3. Due to the rifled barrel, this will be strictly a pellet gun. Can anyone suggest a brand and grain size of pellet that seems to perform best in the 901. We will be shooting lots of paper along with soup cans etc. I want something that flies straight but still has enough umph to zip through a soup can at 10-25+ yards.

4. I have relatively good size hands . Any tips on getting those little .177's to load properly and efficiently?

I still have time to order the pellets before her birthday. I'm not opposed to going to Wall Mart or Accademy etc. but if there is a better place with a better selection, I would love to know. Thanks in advance for your guidance!
 
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Empty Tin- I owe you a reply to not only this message but the one prior to...I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. The company that I work for is approaching Fiscal Year end which means reports, reports and you guessed it...MORE REPORTS. Empty Tin-As a side note, it kinda makes a 20+ year sales guy wonder "just how many sales get missed due to all the time it takes to draft more reports?"....LOL! At any rate I need to read through your last commentary and get back to you. If it's anything like the previous comments...I'm going to need to digest it as I make this decision on my next purchase. I will tell you that I missed the GAMO sale. I was bummed at first but then I said to mysel "You've got mor research to do." I've got to dig into Crossman/Benjamin, and I've got to figure out if I should even go gas piston or just traditional Springer....I never knew that there was so much to know about air rifles....Anyhow, I was up to 2am last night and and nearly 2am the night before with year end stuff so I've got some catching up to do. I'm Chompin at the bit to give my girl this 901for her B-Day but I've still got to get to Wally World to get the Pelgun oil....AND I've got to snag that Pellet Pin we were discussing. If I owe anyone else a reply....Please be patient and believe me, I'm enjoying this group. Thank you all for generously sharing all of this info with me.
 
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I am in accounting so I definitely understand the push for getting a year end wrapped up!

Bummer you missed the Gamo sale.

Luckily you can catch the Crosman 20% sale for a few more hours! Not 100% sure Benjamin counts but would be worth looking up a model. Also CenterPoint is a Crosman brand of scope that's supposed to be springer rated and they may count for the 20% off too.

Pyramydair.com "Fine Print: *CROSMAN20 expires 5/20/2023 at 3 a.m. ET. "

If you notice a lot of Benjamin/ Crosman use the same action just have a different stock and they call it a different name.

My guns are Nitro piston and work just fine and have worked for years. Just don't dry fire and it'll be okay.
 
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EmptyTin_Tim said:
Any update? How did your daughter like the 901? Did it leak or was it fine?
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Empty Tin- So glad you asked. She LOVES it. I got the patchworm and some Balistol and let her help me swab the barrel. I'm glad we did because there was so much gunk in there. We haven't had the chance to shoot yet because she's in sports camp all day and our weekends have been pretty crammed. The other issue is a place to shoot. We have a field out back behind the house but it is surrounded by houses. I've looked and looked but can't seem to find an area designed for Airguns. I wonder what State Parks would allow. I'm so used to seeing indoor PB ranges in my area but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want Airguns on the range. There is one relative that I'm waiting to hear from who might agree to let us come out.

Power loss: Since it's a pump and not a break barrel, I have dry fired it a few times....It is loud and builds in resistance with every pump. When I dry fire at 10 pumps at point blank range into a piece of balled up tissue paper the force of the air begins to pull some of the issue paper apart. When I first dry fired it there was plenty of mist coming out of the barrel. Now that the barrel is has been cleaned, there is very little of that.

I have pelgun oil on hand but haven't oiled the sponge yet because I Don't want to over oil it....but maybe I should give it a dab on the sponge and on the hinges as specified in the owners manual....I've been debating it...should I? Shouldn't I? I would love to hear an opinion on it. The manual says every 1,000 shots....but my situation is a little odd I'll admit.
 
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That's great!!! Glad the patchworm and Ballistol worked well to get that manufacturers gunk out. They put gunk in the barrel at the factory so it doesn't rust while it ships and sits on a shelf.

That is good to be conscious of the neighborhood. "Always know your target and what's behind it". What's your distance in yards to them? If you shoot at a decline into a trap that has a great backstop you will be okay if those houses are really far off. You said "field" so my Midwest mind thinks corn field. Lol They make Pellet Traps that catch the pellet. Or you can put cinder blocks around and that will for sure stop a pellet. The thing with wood (plywood) backstop is you want to hit the bullseye and if you do a lot then that wood gets splintered and damaged so it doesn't stop the pellet eventually. Cinder block will be good forever with a 901.

I know some state parks in TN let you shoot PB so I'm not sure why you couldn't shoot a 901 there besides it may have 50 yard targets and if there are others shooting you'll have to wear ear protection. I guess give them a call and ask if your field or relative's doesn't work.

Sounds like there is no power loss from all that time sitting! Yay! The mist was probably more manufacturers gunk just in the air tube or somewhere else. Mine also rips a tissue or napkin when it's placed over the muzzle with full pumps. You can see now why I say I've never had a Q Tip tip stuck in there. They shoot out like darts into the cardboard box I shoot at lol

You can't really over oil. I mean you can but like you noticed earlier the excess just shoots out. I would recommend you oil it heavier than normal now but then get on a normal schedule later. Kinda similar to a brand new car you change the oil in it sooner than 3k or 5k normal mileage because the parts are wearing together to mesh up and the tiny bits that are smoothed out come off in the pan so you change earlier to get that out. Well in your case you're starting out with old stuff so you'd wanna put excess good new stuff in so the old stuff comes out with lots of shooting and you're good to go.

Hope you figure out a place to shoot!
 
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EmptyTin_Tim said:
That's great!!! Glad the patchworm and Ballistol worked well to get that manufacturers gunk out. They put gunk in the barrel at the factory so it doesn't rust while it ships and sits on a shelf.

That is good to be conscious of the neighborhood. "Always know your target and what's behind it". What's your distance in yards to them? If you shoot at a decline into a trap that has a great backstop you will be okay if those houses are really far off. You said "field" so my Midwest mind thinks corn field. Lol They make Pellet Traps that catch the pellet. Or you can put cinder blocks around and that will for sure stop a pellet. The thing with wood (plywood) backstop is you want to hit the bullseye and if you do a lot then that wood gets splintered and damaged so it doesn't stop the pellet eventually. Cinder block will be good forever with a 901.

I know some state parks in TN let you shoot PB so I'm not sure why you couldn't shoot a 901 there besides it may have 50 yard targets and if there are others shooting you'll have to wear ear protection. I guess give them a call and ask if your field or relative's doesn't work.

Sounds like there is no power loss from all that time sitting! Yay! The mist was probably more manufacturers gunk just in the air tube or somewhere else. Mine also rips a tissue or napkin when it's placed over the muzzle with full pumps. You can see now why I say I've never had a Q Tip tip stuck in there. They shoot out like darts into the cardboard box I shoot at lol

You can't really over oil. I mean you can but like you noticed earlier the excess just shoots out. I would recommend you oil it heavier than normal now but then get on a normal schedule later. Kinda similar to a brand new car you change the oil in it sooner than 3k or 5k normal mileage because the parts are wearing together to mesh up and the tiny bits that are smoothed out come off in the pan so you change earlier to get that out. Well in your case you're starting out with old stuff so you'd wanna put excess good new stuff in so the old stuff comes out with lots of shooting and you're good to go.

Hope you figure out a place to shoot!
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Well-I figured out a short term place to shoot today. We were both shooting free hand (no bench available). Anyhow, she did really well for her first day. I went with the Crossman Piranha 10.5 and the R10 Match in 8.2 grain. Here's what I noticed....The 8.2 grain struck the vegetable cans more "violently" than the piranhas ...It knocked the cans over forcefully but only put an entrance hole. The piranhas on the other hand would knock the can over with less force but I was finding an entrance hole AND an exit hole...of course we hit them so many times that the 8.2's might have done a through and through as well. All shots were taken with 10 pumps....and that little rascal snookered me into doing most of the pumping!

The Pellet Pen was well worth the money and I'm glad I got it. Although we both got pretty adept at rolling them into the breech with our fingers.

I can tell you this, I think there will be a couple Break barrels added to the collection soon. Most likely a .22 for her and either the .22 or .25 for me. I can't get over just how tiny a .177 caliber pellet is....MY GOODNESS those things are so small but I've got to say that those pellets hit harder than any bb I've ever fired.

I'm still trying to decide between the Gamo and the Hatsan.....If I go Hatsan it will definitely be the spring version...not the gas piston. The Gamo Magnums only come in gas so I really don't have a choice there.

I was all set to get the Gamo and then I saw one of the YouTube reviewers mention that the Iron sites on the Gen 2 Magnums are not usable due to the cheek rest being so high and not being adjustable. They seem built for scope only shooting.....at least according to her and she does a lot of reviews and seems to be very knowledgeable.

My daughter has no need for a magnum. Just something that doesn't keep her pumping 10 times per shot lol.

The 901 is very accurate at 15 yards. I called the indoor range near me and they said that I could bring my daughter out to bench fire her rifle....I won't know how precise the irons are until I can shoot from the bench at 20, 30, 40 and 50 yards. This particular range has that capability so I should be good. I was shocked when he told me that they would allow a pellet rifle out there. I can see why people like this 901 rifle for backyard plinking and pesting. Once you figure out the trigger the pellets seem to go right where you want them to go. It is a nice little rifle. I'm going to play with a few more pellet brands to see what kind truly shoots the best....This stuff is addictive.
 
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Glad to hear you were able to take it out and shoot it with your daughter even though she convinced you to do all the pumping haha

The pellet choices you used show perfectly the variety of results you can get from ammo selection in the airgun world. You saw the heavy pellets carry more energy and punch through the can, and you also saw the flat faced, wadcutter style, pellet dump all its energy on the front side of the can. That's why a lot of people use wadcutters at close range for pesting. It cuts a clean circular hole in the hide and also dumps the energy in and doesn't have as many pass through shots, which is safer for when shooting a squirrel up in a tree.

I'm glad the pellet pen worked! I love mine, and believe it will benefit you more with a break barrel if you go that route.

I've heard that even though the .22 is typically more powerful so you have to be extra cautious and teach youngsters especially well about having a good backstop and trigger discipline, people choose to teach kids with a .22 pellet gun because like you found out... the .177 is tiny! .22 is way easier to load.

Pellet guns are better in basically every way over a BB gun, especially because the risk of ricochet is very low compared to a round BB. Pellet guns are also typically more accurate, too, especially at distances over 15 yards.

I definitely understand wanting to get away from the 10 pumps per one shot! If you are just hitting cans at close range, though, you don't actually have to pump all 10, you can do any amount, that's why they call the 901 and similar guns "variable pump".

You should check out CO2 powered guns if you don't want to pump that much but get similar power to a 901. They make some that are single shot like your 901, the Beeman QB78 which uses 2 CO2 for more shots in .22, and they also make "semi auto" ones like the Crosman 1077 that has a double action revolver magazine holding 12 that can shoot as fast as you pull the trigger. I love my 1077 but I would tell you it is not as powerful as a 901.

However if you want simplicity, no extra stuff to make it work, they make youth oriented break barrels, seen them at Walmart. I have no idea anything about them but I know they exist. Umarex Ruger Explorer .177 and Crosman Tyro. The Tyro is cool because it has adjustable length of pull with thicker or thinner buttpads.

I'm glad you can take your 901 to a real range, that should help get her used to what that's like, like range courtesy. I think 50 yards is pushing it for the 901 in terms of groups, but that will teach her that the pellet goes a long ways and it is important to know every time the trigger is pulled the pellet has a chance to zip out really far so again backstops and trigger discipline are key.

Yeah I'd recommend trying out other pellets, I haven't heard a whole lot of good things about the Piranha pellets cause their design doesn't cut through the air smoothly, but if you find more pellets that are a normal diabolo shape they will fly further, flatter, and group better. The 10.5 gr Crosman Domed Heavy are good alternative to the piranhas. There is a balance of speed and accuracy, like if you use heavy pellets it will arc/rainbow out to the target more but if they are more accurate then that's what you should use. This sport is more about accuracy than it is power. If you want power then get a PB lol.

They do make powerful airguns but the saying is, if you have a fast pellet but can't hit anything with it, you're just missing faster!

Let us know what you come up with if you get a break barrel. I hope you find one you like with the iron/fiber sights, but it seems a lot of airguns are set up for scopes these days.
 
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EmptyTin-Thank you for the reply. I'm just now seeing it so my apologies for the late reply! Yea, There is much to consider on a break barrel and I'll bet you and quite a few others can provide guidance.

1. Quality Iron sights: I like having this because...well...scopes break...Lose their zero etc. If I ever had to depend on the gun for food or best control etc. Scopes are a must to do any real long range shooting (at least with theses eyes) but hunting/pest eradication at say 30 yards iron sights make that possible IF your scope fails.

2. Hatsan/ Gamo: I'm still undecided because their are attributes to both rifles that I like and others that (if true) that I don't. For Hatsan I've heard most say that the 125 "Spring" Sniper is the way to go as others have let's just say mixed opinionson the Vortex gas piston. . It's just a question of do I go .22 or .25...The testing appears to indicate that the .22 as you suggest might be slightly more powerful in terms of FPE...It just seems so counter intuitive to me. You would think the .25 would have a little more punch downrange.

Gamo: Excellent customer service and apparently their gas piston is as advertised for reliability etc. From what I can see their .25 seems to be more powerful than their .22 (which is a very nice rifle itself). I like the idea of a repeater but as you mentioned previously they can be pellet picky etc. The Gen 3's don't even come with iron sites so that's kind of a deal killer for me. I've heard they may start adding them later but that's only coming from a YouTube video so who knows...As I mentioned earlier another YouTuber stated that she couldn't use the iron sites on the Gen 2 because she couldn't get a proper cheek weld because she found the buttstock to be too high and unadjustable for irons...Frankly if I could find evidence to the contrary I would definitely get a Gen 2 or their .25 caliber with iron sites....even though my pellet choices are limited in .25.

3. Why so much FPE: We've got plenty of Racoons in the neighborhood and my parents get some massive raccoons and groundhogs because their lot backs up to a heavily wooded area so it might be an opportunity to do some pest removal. They also see some massive turkey's out their way as well. If I get a break barrel I will definitely have these things in mind. Rumor has it that people are also hearing hogs in the outlying areas. If a small hog, I think any of the guns mentioned could dispatch one with good shot placement at appropriate range....but I wouldn't even try it on a larger one....that is for PB's only.

4. Pumping the 901: It's good for her. Ha! You know what else I noticed? When she pumped the gun she TOOK HER TIME and didn't rush the shot. You gotta make sure the justifies the squeeze right?

EmptyTin it's great to hear from you. Sorry to take so long to get back but I had no idea that you had replied because I didn't get the normal email prompt...I hope someone can weigh in on that Gamo .25 cal to let me know if the iron sites can truly be used or if they find them difficult to use the way that youtube reviewer did.
 
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Cobrakaifan said:
EmptyTin-Thank you for the reply. I'm just now seeing it so my apologies for the late reply! Yea, There is much to consider on a break barrel and I'll bet you and quite a few others can provide guidance.

1. Quality Iron sights: I like having this because...well...scopes break...Lose their zero etc. If I ever had to depend on the gun for food or best control etc. Scopes are a must to do any real long range shooting (at least with theses eyes) but hunting/pest eradication at say 30 yards iron sights make that possible IF your scope fails.

2. Hatsan/ Gamo: I'm still undecided because their are attributes to both rifles that I like and others that (if true) that I don't. For Hatsan I've heard most say that the 125 "Spring" Sniper is the way to go as others have let's just say mixed opinionson the Vortex gas piston. . It's just a question of do I go .22 or .25...The testing appears to indicate that the .22 as you suggest might be slightly more powerful in terms of FPE...It just seems so counter intuitive to me. You would think the .25 would have a little more punch downrange.

Gamo: Excellent customer service and apparently their gas piston is as advertised for reliability etc. From what I can see their .25 seems to be more powerful than their .22 (which is a very nice rifle itself). I like the idea of a repeater but as you mentioned previously they can be pellet picky etc. The Gen 3's don't even come with iron sites so that's kind of a deal killer for me. I've heard they may start adding them later but that's only coming from a YouTube video so who knows...As I mentioned earlier another YouTuber stated that she couldn't use the iron sites on the Gen 2 because she couldn't get a proper cheek weld because she found the buttstock to be too high and unadjustable for irons...Frankly if I could find evidence to the contrary I would definitely get a Gen 2 or their .25 caliber with iron sites....even though my pellet choices are limited in .25.

3. Why so much FPE: We've got plenty of Racoons in the neighborhood and my parents get some massive raccoons and groundhogs because their lot backs up to a heavily wooded area so it might be an opportunity to do some pest removal. They also see some massive turkey's out their way as well. If I get a break barrel I will definitely have these things in mind. Rumor has it that people are also hearing hogs in the outlying areas. If a small hog, I think any of the guns mentioned could dispatch one with good shot placement at appropriate range....but I wouldn't even try it on a larger one....that is for PB's only.

4. Pumping the 901: It's good for her. Ha! You know what else I noticed? When she pumped the gun she TOOK HER TIME and didn't rush the shot. You gotta make sure the justifies the squeeze right?

EmptyTin it's great to hear from you. Sorry to take so long to get back but I had no idea that you had replied because I didn't get the normal email prompt...I hope someone can weigh in on that Gamo .25 cal to let me know if the iron sites can truly be used or if they find them difficult to use the way that youtube reviewer did.
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No worries, its summer and everyone is busy.

I don't know anything about it besides what the website says, but looks like Gamo is having "Black Friday in July" sales right now and one of the 1st one I clicked on was this one: https://gamousa.com/product/hunter-extreme-pro-22-break-barrel-air-rifle/

It has iron sights with fiber optic, is pretty powerful, no magazine, a 5 year warranty, and is on sale. If you sit there on the website it may pop up asking if you want it and offer a 10% coupon if you give them your email. I don't know if it can stack on top of the current sale or not, you'd have to find out.

That model seems to be only found on Gamo's website, but they do have a video review of it on the "description" part of the website listing.

You'd have to ask around if people prefer Gamo over Hatsan or the other way around. I have heard the same about avoiding Hatsan gas pistons though.

My Crosman Nitro gas pistons have worked perfectly and my Crosman Fire is from like... 2015. Still rings steel at 50 yards. However those are definitely not as powerful as the Gamo mentioned before.

Most people do not plink with .25 cal they get that for hunting. It's not that you can't its just the ammo is more expensive, for .22 cal you could plink with Crosman Premier hollow point pellets from Walmart, 500 pellets for about $8. The .25 hold energy better and isn't affected by wind as much. It arcs/rainbows more once shot since it is heavier, but it'll be a predicable arc.

A .22 takes raccoons and other things but if you have a .25 there is more room for aiming or wind error. If you intend to hunt I would recommend the .25. Especially if you would try getting rid of hogs. It'll punch a bigger hole than .22 and just generally have more FPE.

There are good options for .25 out there like JSB makes the Hades pellet in .25 which would be devastating on anything. It just dumps the energy so well.

4. I love hearing that she is learning about shooting and also about some life lessons like "you gotta put in the hard work to have fun" as you saw where when she pumped up the gun it meant more she put in the effort and wanted it to count!

I haven't shot a Gamo besides my friends that had the magazine and a scope, so I'm sorry I can't comment on sight picture on it.
 
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Nordic Norm said:
Bbs will not damage the barrel. They are a loose fit, drop one down the barrel, it will free fall thru. When fired the pressure escaping around the bb floats it in the bore. The bb never even touches the barrel.
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I would think it'd be more like a novice bowler with the gutters up. If they end up not throwing it completely straight sure, it'll make it down the lane, but will bounce off the gutters left right left right down the lane. Like the bb in the barrel.

Would be interesting to see a cutaway or xray bb gun in slow motion! Cause for airsoft they have hop up which backspins the bb so it "floats" up and arc to the target so id think it would ride on the top of the barrel if anywhere but a bb gun doesn't have that and I'd think it rolls out on the bottom of the barrel when shot or bounces around in there til it gets out
 
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Hey guys. I hope all is well. It's been a while since my last post. So I'm still in the market for a magnum break barrel hunting air rifle. I'm really wanting it to be a break barrel and It needs to have fiber optic iron sites with an optional scope mount. I've been doing lots of research as time allows and the rifle's that have gotten my attention (in my $ range) are the 1. Gamo G-Magnum in .25 caliber, 2. the new Gamo Hunter Extreme in .25 caliber, 3. Hatsan 125 SPRING Sniper in .25 caliber 4. The Hatsan 135 QE in .30 caliber.

Based on what I've seen on this forum the general consensus seems to be to go with the spring over any gas ram system...if you want the rifle to last. It seems that replacing a gas ram system is not easy. The power with heavy lead Pellets on both the 135 QE and Gamo Hunter Extreme are IMPRESSIVE to say the least but given that they are both gas rams, let's just say I'm hesitant. So that leaves me with a decision to make between the Hatsan 125 Spring Sniper in .25 caliber vs. the Gamo G-Magnum in .25 caliber.
Given that I strongly prefer open fiber optic sites, my budget etc. I was hoping someone could weigh in. I've heard that the high cheek piece renders the G-Magnum's open sights virtually unusable. Is that true? If so, is there a fix (get new after market fiber optic sights installed etc.)? OR is there a .25 caliber in the Gamo line that uses the exact same internals as the G-Magnum springer but does not incorporate the high sitting cheek rest?

I'm not at all concerned about cocking effort and I really might like to do some raccoon hunting with this rifle so I'm interested in hearing opinions. Again, my apologies for being gone so long.
 
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