The older Daisy BB guns definitely were harder hitters than the new models, there's no doubt about it!
I recently bought a rusty basket case 1940-'41 Red Ryder. There's no way to tell the two years apart, but it's the first type Red Ryder that Daisy made. These first variation Red Ryders are distinctive in that they have copper plated barrel and forearm bands (my gun came missing the forearm band but the front barrel band is there and copper plating can be seen on it). The barrel band on the V1 was peened to hold it in place instead of spot welding because the welding process would have ruined the copper plating. Another feature is the elevation adjustable rear sight and the cast iron cocking lever. I got the gun for a song, it was advertised on eBay as being a 1938B! Total cost to my door was a whopping $20.55. This ~78 year old BB gun- after being soaked in 30w ND motor oil for several days to get the leather seals pliable again- is now the hardest hitting unmodified Daisy BB gun I own! The last string I shot with it was a very respectable 325 fps average and there's very little shot to shot variation.
These old Daisys used a high-effort cocking lever leverage. It gives a short throw to the lever but the effort is higher. After shooting the old RR, I thought I almost broke the lever of the new gun because of how hard I whipped the lever to cock it!. Makes me wonder how a 6 y/o managed to cock this gun, then I remembered seeing kids when I was a kid stick the muzzle into the ground, grab the lever and the butt end of the stock then pry the two apart to cock the gun- and that's why so many old RR'ers have broken stocks- mine being one of them! I'll eventually get some photos of it up after being cleaned some but for now...
Auction photo:
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