The Crosman 105 Pistol 177 cal.
Excerpt from my CD “Old Airguns and Memories.”
Excerpt from my CD “Old Airguns and Memories.”
Hello to all,
The Crosman 105 .177 cal./106.22cal. Pump pistols were made from 1947 -1953; during their production time frame there were several names allotted to the pistol; “Bullseye”/ “Target” and finally, “Pneumatic Single Shot” all essentially the same pistol except for calibers as I recall.
The 105/106 series all utilized a unique slotted pump lever, the first series had two openings in the pump lever, the final versions had only one open grip area on the pump lever. I am not sure when the change was made in this area but I suspect it had to do with broken pump arm levers, so Crosman eliminated the front opening, close to the pivot pin, in favor of a more solid pump lever to address this weakness (*this is just my thoughts I have no documentation to prove it!)
The pistol has an OAL of 11 3/8 inch, weighed right at 2 lbs, barrel length 8 3/8 inches, rear sight adjustable for windage and elevation, safety is a trigger blocking push type located on frame, bolt cocking design, plastic single molded grip panel. Overall, a very sleek looking pistol, with the unique open slotted pump lever! This was Crosman’s first venture into the pump-up pneumatic pistol field as I understand it.
I have never seen any factory velocity quotes for these pistols, just a recommendation of 4-6 pumps, but we will have a look at that as well as accuracy; there is plenty of historic info available on the net regarding these pistols, I am not a historian, so we will move on.
I picked up my C -105.177 caliber at a gun show a few years ago (non-working) thought it was time to give it a fresh rebuild, so after completion of the rebuild I set out to Chrono and test for accuracy. A few notes on the rebuild that some may find of interest, or maybe not! The exhaust valve seal was literally crumbled dust as was the check valve seal, and the valve body gasket. Consequently, it appears that the seals were original, however it was clear that the pump piston cup had been replaced previously, as there were scratch marks on the pump lock nut and there was some real suction pulling the pump from the tube. I think someone had replaced the pump piston cup hoping that would fix it and when it did not; decided not to go any further, just conjecture on my part, never know for sure?
I set up and Chronograph the M-105 with Benjamin 7.9 grain HP; the factory literature I read stated 4-6 pumps, so I ran a series using 4 – 6 – 8 -10 and 12 pumps the velocities were as follows 269 fps, 323 fps, 354 fps, 374 fps and 397 fps. The 10-12 pump series was a pretty good strain on the pump linkage, so I settled on an 8-pump max @ 354 fps 2.2 ft. lbs, not too bad for a 70-year-old pneumatic pump pistol!!
Accuracy was tested at 30 ft. using the Benjamin 7.9 gr. pellets, I tried several others but the Benjamin delivered the most consistent accuracy results, 5 shots were always inside 1 inch (unless I jerked as in the target photo!), the target photo was 5 shots in .985” center to center, I was able to occasionally achieve .750” center to center 5 shot groups, this 70 year old air pistol is capable of consistently less than I inch 5 shot-center-center groups at 30 ft., which is certainly acceptable to me.
I subsequently wrote an article; on the Crosman M-130 self-cocking pistol that replaced the M -105/106 series. After having firsthand reviewed both now; in my opinion, the M-105/106 series were far superior pistols in almost all categories, better sights, more power etc. I have read that the self-cocking M-130 series eliminated an over pumping/valve lock problem and was heavily touted as a major improvement; I don’t think so; I KNOW IT IS POSSIBLE (valve lock), but it is something that never happened in my experience, course I did not try 30 pumps either!! I never met any sensible person who had this problem or experienced such in all my years of handling these type of old air guns if used properly. The M-130 was simply a cost cutting effort in my view; others of course may disagree!!!
Anyhow glad I have my 105.
Garey;
