I got to shoot this rifle I have never heard of until this week. For those who don’t know it’s a 22 cal rifle made by Daisy around 1968. They only made them for about a year as the ATF deemed they were in fact a firearm and didn’t have the proper paperwork to make them. It uses a nitrocellulose based propellant. I put one next to a 22lr for scale. I wish I brought my chronograph. The manual says 1150fps. This is my buddy’s rifle and I really enjoyed shooting it. I found it interesting and all the threads about it were too old to post on.
Daisy .22 VL “Rifle”
- Thread starter dodo bird
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22250Rem
Member
Very interesting...... I've heard that Daisy once made a .22 rifle but have never seen one. Also thought that they used standard 22 rimfire ammo and not that nitrocellulose based propellant. Can you elaborate on that ammo? That must be a rare gun if they were only made for about a year.
Omaha-BeenGlockin
Member
Pretty sure they made actual .22 rifles in the '80's.
I didn’t know that. This was an odd ball for sure. My buddy said ammo was $100 for 1000 rounds. We had no misfires and reasonably accurate. Very unique gun. Like like a poor mans gyro jet?
https://www.range365.com/daisys-one-and-only-firearm
Found an article about it. The gun nerd in me found it interesting.
22250Rem
Member
Wow...... That's fascinating and thanks for the link. Whenever I heard that Daisy built a .22 I never heard mention of that special ammo and of course I just figured it was a conventional .22 rimfire. Still have never seen one and I'm sure I'd recall it if I did. Even though it's believed that fewer than 23,000 were produced I'm surprised I've never come across one on a used rack someplace or on a gun show table after all these years.
.....If they did could these be the ones I was thinking of ? I've still never seen one...... Only heard of "Daisy .22's".
22250Rem
Member
Just Googled " Daisy 22 rifles" and Omaha-BeenGlockin has a good memory because Daisy actually did produce guns in 22lr in the 80's. Wow; and I've STILL never seen one as I'm sure I'd remember it. That's a real piece of obscure but interesting firearms history. Only problem now is that if I ever come across a decent one and the price is right I may just have to buy it to satisfy my curiosity. As long as it's in 22lr....... dodo bird said his buddy quoted the caseless 22 ammo at about $100. for 1000 rounds but is it still available ? That stuff must be SCARCE........... ETA - Went back and Googled "Daisy 22 Ammunition" and that stuff is still out there and available.... Except it's apparently not produced anymore and the stuff being sold is just old stock. Sounds as though it's getting too collectible to just shoot it all up. Can't imagine there being much demand for it. But a very interesting chapter in firearms history nonetheless.
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Scooter22
Member
Yes Daisy did make several .22LR guns in the 80s. I bought one at Service Merchandise. I think it was on sale for 49.00 so I thought what the heck for a truck gun.. Plastic stocks and pot metal receiver. Pretty crappy. I don't remember it being very accurate and I traded it. Now they are collectable but ugly and crappy to me. Heres a web pic.(not mine)
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Yup the Daisy VL really was ahead of it's time...unfortunately too far ahead. The one pictured in the OP has the original plastic, not polymer, stock, while the one in the linked article has the optional walnut stock.
It came out to take advantage of the caseless ammo that S&W was using in their electrically ignited 9mm sub-machine gun. In the VL, the ammo was ignited by compressed air being forced through a small port. The cocking handle under the barrel compressed the spring that cocked the piston that drove the gas through the port. Since the ammo lacked a rim, the round "headspaced" on the shoulder of the bullet's "grease rings".
I had one for a couple of years, took it in trade at a gun show, but sold it when ammo got rare and too expensive. It came with about two hundred rounds and I shot 50-60 through it before selling it...I still have a package of 100 rounds somewhere in the garage. It had a horrible trigger, gritty and heavy, but was otherwise fairly accurate
It came out to take advantage of the caseless ammo that S&W was using in their electrically ignited 9mm sub-machine gun. In the VL, the ammo was ignited by compressed air being forced through a small port. The cocking handle under the barrel compressed the spring that cocked the piston that drove the gas through the port. Since the ammo lacked a rim, the round "headspaced" on the shoulder of the bullet's "grease rings".
I had one for a couple of years, took it in trade at a gun show, but sold it when ammo got rare and too expensive. It came with about two hundred rounds and I shot 50-60 through it before selling it...I still have a package of 100 rounds somewhere in the garage. It had a horrible trigger, gritty and heavy, but was otherwise fairly accurate
NIGHTLORD40K
Member
The caseless VL was pretty cool, kinda surprised the ignition system hasnt been copied by anyone else since. You would think their patents would have expired by now. At least it was well made-
Then you had the Legacy. Ugh. My dad has a minty one, dont think hes ever shot it, but its pretty clunky-
Then you had the Legacy. Ugh. My dad has a minty one, dont think hes ever shot it, but its pretty clunky-
DM~
Member
I had one of the very first VL's made, as I followed the development of it through correspondence with Daisey ...
The problem was, the ammo was NOT very accurate, and that was because the powder would flake off the bullet and that hurt accuracy a lot. The ammo came in tubes and took a beating before it got to you to use!
DM
The problem was, the ammo was NOT very accurate, and that was because the powder would flake off the bullet and that hurt accuracy a lot. The ammo came in tubes and took a beating before it got to you to use!
DM
Gordon
Member
Reinvention of Volcanic rocket ball , using dieseling to ignite propellant.
d2wing
Member
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I have one of the 22LR Daisy's made in the late 1980's. At the time I was the county director for 4-H shooting sports and also taught gun training. They had a deal for instructors to buy various BB guns and the .22 rifles and shooting supplies. I have a bolt action repeater It is also a take down version. It also an optional target trigger. As I recall they made a semi auto and single shot as well. The stock extends and retracts, it is pretty small. Great for kids to learn with but it is on the fragile side.
Interesting rifle and ammo, I hadn't heard of this before. Thanks!
At the last auction that rock island had they had a lot with an example of each of the 22's that daisy made, as well as the VL rifles....they went for a bit more then I wanted to pay, but you can usually find the 22lr versions for under $500 if you look hard. The stocks are all plastic (you glock guys should like that) 
And they feel very BB gun-ish. They do not feel like a Nylon series of guns, but more hollow feeling....much more BB gun feeling.
The thought process behind this was....well you start off with a BB gun, the next thing is a 22....so why not a daisy 22 to go along with your daisy BB gun....sound process.
I have looked pretty hard at these in the past, other makers offered the same kind of things as well Sheridan offered a 22 hand gun, and there are a few others out there....but Daisy is the best known.
The VL worked by using the heated air to set off the gun....I guess I will say a little like diesel....in fact dieseling is a term used in the air gun world when you have oil in the gun that will actually cook off due to the temps made.....the VL ammo used this same type of system.
They are very interesting items....and I am really looking hard at the different daisy 22 LR rifles.
And they feel very BB gun-ish. They do not feel like a Nylon series of guns, but more hollow feeling....much more BB gun feeling.The thought process behind this was....well you start off with a BB gun, the next thing is a 22....so why not a daisy 22 to go along with your daisy BB gun....sound process.
I have looked pretty hard at these in the past, other makers offered the same kind of things as well Sheridan offered a 22 hand gun, and there are a few others out there....but Daisy is the best known.
The VL worked by using the heated air to set off the gun....I guess I will say a little like diesel....in fact dieseling is a term used in the air gun world when you have oil in the gun that will actually cook off due to the temps made.....the VL ammo used this same type of system.
They are very interesting items....and I am really looking hard at the different daisy 22 LR rifles.
theotherwaldo
Member
Some years ago I was working on a story that included a number of erzatz firearms, including one that was produced as a legal low-powered repeating air rifle that could be illegally converted to a Diesel-ignited higher-powered single shot that used ammo based on hollow copper rivets and explosive sheet-metal forming compound but functioning similarly to the Volcanic pistol ammo.
Not the favored weapon in the story but cheap and available,
Not the favored weapon in the story but cheap and available,
RedlegRick
Member
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- Nov 6, 2017
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I owned one of the Daisy .22lr semi-automatic rifles. Shot okay, looked and felt like, well, a Daisy. Sold it only because I couldn't find spare magazines for it.
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