Mine was the Benjamin Discovery.
I'd fiddled with some cheapos prior to this one (1377) but this was the gun that made me realize just how cool this silly airgun hobby is. I'd waited and lusted for this one for a few years before finally buying it, and maybe that was why it was everything I dreamt it would be and more (oh, how easily satisfied we are at the beginning of the addiction). It was a .22 and it'd get 25 shots with the same point of impact at 50 yards. It took 50 strokes on a Benjamin pump to get me back up to 1900 psi and 25 shots later I'd be at 1100 and start it over again. It kept me satisfied for 2 or 3 years and oh man did I shoot a lot of pellets out of it.
Since then it's been a .177. It had the stock cut down to fit my boy, had a SSG device on it, been a .177 at 12, 16, and 19 fpe, been a .22 at 16, 18, and 21 fpe, it was even a .22 at 28 fpe for a while but I didn't like the stiff cocking. It's had every reasonable drill bit size of transfer port, and accompanying hammer springs to match. It's had a Marauder trigger added. The stock has been oem, and then blond, and now back to a stained sort of color. And that little TKO moderator has been on there since the beginning. The stock was cut down in a way that it could be added back. My son has since decided he likes the Veteran Short a little better so I added it bac in 6 or 8 months ago.
Just tonight I got the bug to tinker a bit after everybody else went to bed. I realized I've got a decent supply of 13.43gr and 14.35 gr JSBs in my stash, and nothing to shoot them now that the Vet Short is a .20. The OEM Crosman barrel was a sweetie with those two pellets, slightly preferring the 13.43s so I decided it was time to convert back from a 16fpe .177 to a .22 so it can handle those light JSBs in the collection.
I pulled out all the Crosman lego parts and tried to decide which spring and transfer port I was going to use by going off my little note slips of paper in each ziploc baggie. I even contemplated going back to the SSG but decided against it, remembering that fps didn't like to stay put with that contraption. Considered putting a 1377 hammer spring in there and did a little research on old forum posts to realize the 1377 hammer spring that I have, while being the same 0.035in wire, had 23 coils versus the 17 of the OEM spring (more coils with same diam wire = weaker spring.....I think). Decided to aim for about 18-20 or so fpe and I think that's where it was when I got it (no chronograph back in those days, oh the enjoyable simplicity). So, if I hit my mark when I do chrono testing tomorrow, I will have come full circle with this little gateway drug, I'll be back at the original hammer spring, the original 0.14 inch transfer port, and back to the original barrel.
During the planning stages I remembered that sometimes the bolt/cocking on this gun seems to want to bind so a little more research on OLD airgun forum postings led me to this:
Yep, those are JM glue on buttons. I found somebody saying this solved their stiff cocking Disco. I've tried all sorts of combinations of cocking pins (made the one that is currently in the gun but it never helped a bit), bolts from various places, and types of lube, to no avail. It's always had a binding feel upon cocking. So, I inspected it for where there seemed to be the most wear (considered gluing them on in 90 degree increments) and found all the evidence of rubbing was where I glued those two buttons. And yes, I realize the rubbing is likely the sear. Put it all back together, with the striker bone dry. Prelim testing seems to suggest the binding upon cocking may be gone?
So, if it wasn't 2am and 18 degrees outside, I'd run this baby over the chrono and see where I'm at, but I think I'll wait til tomorrow. Hopefully I end up in that 800ish fps range with the aforementioned 13.34grainers. (If not, I slipped a screw inside the back of the spring during reassembly so that I can thread in a 10/32 bolt (If I remember the size right) through the back of the tube cap and give it a bit more hammer tension).
Lots to like with these little Discos: just about the perfect size and weight for carrying, Marauder trigger upgrade gave it a 4-5ounce trigger that is dang good, low fill pressure and low volume makes it a pump filling dream.
Gateway drug to PCPs for me for sure. Which gun was yours?
I'd fiddled with some cheapos prior to this one (1377) but this was the gun that made me realize just how cool this silly airgun hobby is. I'd waited and lusted for this one for a few years before finally buying it, and maybe that was why it was everything I dreamt it would be and more (oh, how easily satisfied we are at the beginning of the addiction). It was a .22 and it'd get 25 shots with the same point of impact at 50 yards. It took 50 strokes on a Benjamin pump to get me back up to 1900 psi and 25 shots later I'd be at 1100 and start it over again. It kept me satisfied for 2 or 3 years and oh man did I shoot a lot of pellets out of it.
Since then it's been a .177. It had the stock cut down to fit my boy, had a SSG device on it, been a .177 at 12, 16, and 19 fpe, been a .22 at 16, 18, and 21 fpe, it was even a .22 at 28 fpe for a while but I didn't like the stiff cocking. It's had every reasonable drill bit size of transfer port, and accompanying hammer springs to match. It's had a Marauder trigger added. The stock has been oem, and then blond, and now back to a stained sort of color. And that little TKO moderator has been on there since the beginning. The stock was cut down in a way that it could be added back. My son has since decided he likes the Veteran Short a little better so I added it bac in 6 or 8 months ago.
Just tonight I got the bug to tinker a bit after everybody else went to bed. I realized I've got a decent supply of 13.43gr and 14.35 gr JSBs in my stash, and nothing to shoot them now that the Vet Short is a .20. The OEM Crosman barrel was a sweetie with those two pellets, slightly preferring the 13.43s so I decided it was time to convert back from a 16fpe .177 to a .22 so it can handle those light JSBs in the collection.
I pulled out all the Crosman lego parts and tried to decide which spring and transfer port I was going to use by going off my little note slips of paper in each ziploc baggie. I even contemplated going back to the SSG but decided against it, remembering that fps didn't like to stay put with that contraption. Considered putting a 1377 hammer spring in there and did a little research on old forum posts to realize the 1377 hammer spring that I have, while being the same 0.035in wire, had 23 coils versus the 17 of the OEM spring (more coils with same diam wire = weaker spring.....I think). Decided to aim for about 18-20 or so fpe and I think that's where it was when I got it (no chronograph back in those days, oh the enjoyable simplicity). So, if I hit my mark when I do chrono testing tomorrow, I will have come full circle with this little gateway drug, I'll be back at the original hammer spring, the original 0.14 inch transfer port, and back to the original barrel.
During the planning stages I remembered that sometimes the bolt/cocking on this gun seems to want to bind so a little more research on OLD airgun forum postings led me to this:
Yep, those are JM glue on buttons. I found somebody saying this solved their stiff cocking Disco. I've tried all sorts of combinations of cocking pins (made the one that is currently in the gun but it never helped a bit), bolts from various places, and types of lube, to no avail. It's always had a binding feel upon cocking. So, I inspected it for where there seemed to be the most wear (considered gluing them on in 90 degree increments) and found all the evidence of rubbing was where I glued those two buttons. And yes, I realize the rubbing is likely the sear. Put it all back together, with the striker bone dry. Prelim testing seems to suggest the binding upon cocking may be gone?
So, if it wasn't 2am and 18 degrees outside, I'd run this baby over the chrono and see where I'm at, but I think I'll wait til tomorrow. Hopefully I end up in that 800ish fps range with the aforementioned 13.34grainers. (If not, I slipped a screw inside the back of the spring during reassembly so that I can thread in a 10/32 bolt (If I remember the size right) through the back of the tube cap and give it a bit more hammer tension).
Lots to like with these little Discos: just about the perfect size and weight for carrying, Marauder trigger upgrade gave it a 4-5ounce trigger that is dang good, low fill pressure and low volume makes it a pump filling dream.
Gateway drug to PCPs for me for sure. Which gun was yours?
the 177 has a custom reg setup and gets 50 shots at 650fps. Impressive for ~36cc
