(Custom Candy Apple Red Crosman Mod. 114 Co2 .22 CAL.)
(“Excerpt from my “CD “(“Old Airguns and Memories”)Hello to all;
In 2017, I picked up a Crosman M- 114.22 cal. off of the internet at a very reasonable price, $25(and there was a reason for this low price) the Breech assembly had come completely unsoldered, I could lift it up and see daylight!!! It was also missing a few minor screws, filling head screw plug, rear sight, stock was pretty dinged up, and this was all pointed out in the ad, ““A Classic Basket Case.” I knew I could get any parts I might need, or could not make, from Rick @ Precision Pellet, the rest I could take care of! Rick is one of the real “Gentlemen” in the parts industry for old Airguns. He of course also does repairs; there are a few of these folks. Those of us who dabble in restoring/repairing old Air Guns owe them all a debt of gratitude for their efforts in making parts available for these old units!
After receiving the 114 and evaluating the rifle I knew the first work at hand had to be the re-soldering and re-attachment of the breech to the tube, if this could not be achieved the rest was mute. After a complete disassembly I started the process. I have re- soldered breech separations in the past with success, but never one which had separated so completely! Firstly, I used low temp Solder; with flux and plenty of heat sink in the appropriate place; (one has to be careful in this step to not loosen the internal soldered in-valve component). I cleaned both attachment surfaces really well, placed the tube/ barrel in my mill vice and using c-clamps positioned the breech with a few small pieces of solder placed strategically in between breech and tube and began heating/ slowly tightening the C-clamps until the breech and tube were flush. I then soldered the exterior joint on both sides of the breech and the front and rear. After some cleanup it looked to be good!
I had already decided to paint the tube and barrel assembly, so after reassembling and installing new valve components, this was set aside until I decided on the color and I turned my attention to the stock. The stock had a number of dents and dings but no cracks etc. I started out scraping off all the old finish using a tool with a mount for a single edge razor blade. I covered this before on a post so won’t go into that, it works for me! Anyhow after removing the finish and sanding down the wood I used a heating iron and wet cloth to raise the dent areas and after final sanding left the wood natural and applied two coats of clear Polyurethane. Re-blued all the small metal parts, trigger guard, small screws, polished others etc. and at this point all that was left was to paint the barrel / tube and reassemble.
I was perusing the net one day looking at some old “Custom 38 Buick coupes”, another interest of mine and came across one painted “Candy Apple Red” as soon as I saw it I immediately knew, this was the color for the Crosman 114 I was working on!!! Why was it “THE” color for the 114? I dunno just liked the idea, and so it is! I cleaned and prepped the barrel tube assembly using crocus cloth and after paint prepping set up; used 1 coat of self-etching primer 2 coats of ‘Candy Apple Red” and one coat of Clear Coat (I let it set 1 hour between coats) and let set for 48 hours to cure. Afterwards I reassembled, and charged the unit with CO2, it held with no leaks at breech or anywhere else, Success!!!!!! I ordered a Winchester 4x32 AO scope and an IA scope mount, (I had originally planned on using a peep sight) and at this time installed both. With a fresh charge I set up for a velocity check. I am not looking for “Shot Count” but rather a “Usable shot count” that will produce an average of 600 fps+ or about 11- 12.ft lbs. usually this is in a range of 25-35 shots are there about. The teen series rifles will get 60-70 shots or more on a good charge of course, but the velocity range that interest me is as stated above!! Power adjuster was turned all the way in and backed out 1 turn. I used Crosman14.3 gr pellets.
Well, the “Candy Apple Red” 114 did not disappoint; in fact it surpassed my expectations, delivering a High of 655 FPS. With a low of 545 FPS across 45 shots for an average of 600 FPS and 11.5 ft. lbs. This is the best performance velocity string wise I have seen on the M-114s I that have, (13 and counting)! Now this is of course a 110 fps spread across 45 shots which some may scoff at, but I contend the AVERAGE OF 600 FPS is what’s important, at least for me, course others may disagree. Well enough of that, on to the Accuracy Testing. One final note, after installing the scope I installed a cheek rest as I could not quite get the cheek weld (higher) that I wanted, so used, 1’ ID X3” OD foam pipe insulation cut and attached with 1” strips of double side tape, may not look appealing but works well, and can be replaced or removed easily; and as I have said before “Function” over “Form” for me in most cases!
Target set up at 25 yards, all shots from bench rest with 5 shot groups. I used Crosman 14.3 grain pellet. PMHP and JSB Exacts 15.9 grains. The Crosman PMHP managed 1.400” Center to Center with 5 shot groups; this is pretty typical in the M-114s that I have, 1 to 1.5 inch groups with the Crosman PMHP being the norm, perfectly adequate for plinking etc. The JSB Exacts delivered .670” Center to Center, 5 shot groups; I have found this pellet to be the most accurate pellet for all my M-114s, consistently producing .625”-.750” 5 shot groups at 25 yards. And the Pellet of choice for HUNTING/PESTING, at least that’s been my experience, others may have different results?
I don’t know why Crosman doesn’t put forth a little better effort manufacturing their pellets, it wouldn’t take much effort, but I guess they sell enough as is so no need to bother? They have certainly made other advances with their line of PCP/HPA rifles for example??
The Crosman TEEN SERIES 113/114/118 are favorites of mine, as I have mentioned before got my first one when I was twelve years old; M-113, (geesh 70 years ago) compared to my BB rifle at the time it was like having a “Bazooka”, it made an impression on me that still remains to this day!!! “Of note I use only new 10 – 20 ounce Co2 bottles with adaptor for filling”
Garey
