Vintage Daisy Model 25 slide bar anchor

[atomicbee]

Hello All, New member here with a question about a newly acquired Model 25 air rifle regarding the year this style of anchor was added to find an approximate assembly year. I know it can be tricky because of the mix and match factor of barrel and receiver swap outs so I was hoping the anchor style would provide some clue to its age- Thank you for looking!

 

[teerex.otw]

That one looks to be in pretty good shape !
I’m not an expert on these by any means, but judging by what I see it should be a Plymouth, Mi. gun.
Does it have a reg. number by the roll stamp ?
If it does, you can track it through the Daisy museum (I think they started using these in the late 40’s)
If not, you can narrow it down some by other features.
The very early ones had the clamp-on bracket which was used at least thru 1926, they also had straight stocks (or so I’ve been told). In the early 50’s they went to plastic furniture and eliminated the carrier that the wood forend mounts on, so somewhere between those two.
Without a reg. number, best guess would be 30’s, possibly 40’s (they discontinued production during the war). With a reg number, could be late 40’s, possibly very early 50’s.
Hoping someone with a lot more knowledge taps in here…
You can also check out the drawings and descriptions on JG Airguns site, they do have approx. dates listed on several of the parts.
Good luck !

 

[atomicbee]

Hi and Thank you for your reply! Based on that information above I think it might have been produced from 1936 to 42 or maybe 1945 to 1952. The barrel claw changed in 1936 and the plastic gun and pump stock, reg numbers were added in 1952 and I think the plant moved to Arkansas also. The only difference I notice by looking at other versions in that 1936 to 52 date range would be the way the claw was attached to the bottom on barrel and maybe the 4-dent staking pattern. I sent a evaluation form to the Daisy Museum with some pictures and hopefully they can zero in on a date range and I will also look on the JG site for more clues on this little gem. Happy Easter to everyone if you celebrate this holiday today!

 

[teerex.otw]

Hi and Thank you for your reply! Based on that information above I think it might have been produced from 1936 to 42 or maybe 1945 to 1952. The barrel claw changed in 1936 and the plastic gun and pump stock, reg numbers were added in 1952 and I think the plant moved to Arkansas also. The only difference I notice by looking at other versions in that 1936 to 52 date range would be the way the claw was attached to the bottom on barrel and maybe the 4-dent staking pattern. I sent a evaluation form to the Daisy Museum with some pictures and hopefully they can zero in on a date range and I will also look on the JG site for more clues on this little gem. Happy Easter to everyone if you celebrate this holiday today!

I just noticed this on Ebay…one that looks identical to yours, stock, forend, engraving (item number 126184346360) with date claimed to be 1936

 

[atomicbee]

Yes it looks very similar, and you can clearly see the spot welds on the barrel claw which leads me to the think that the barrel claw on my air rifle was repaired at some point in its life.

 

[atomicbee]

My Daisy No#25 mystery was resolved with this very informative reply from the Daisy Musuem curator in Rogers Arkansas. I hope to visit this museum this year and hopefully meet and thank Joe for his timely reply and insight.

Hi Bill
Register Numbers didn't appear on Daisy guns until 1952, so we have to
rely on combinations of features to date the older guns. Gary Garber
does an outstanding job in his book "An Encyclopedia of Daisy Plymouth
Guns".
The five patent numbers appeared in 1930 but unfortunately continued to
appear on the guns into the 50s so that doesn't help us much.
The 6 grooves on the pump grip were a 1930 change. So, on a wood gun,
that narrows it to 1930 to 1952.
The pistol grip shape of the stock occurred first in 1933.
The welded claw was a 1933 change.
The engraving (originally gold-tone-filled) was added in 1936.
So, now we have narrowed the production dates to 1936 to 1952.
The key to narrowing this down any further is the style of weld on the
claw anchor. Pre WWII, 1933 to 1942, there were four circular welds -
two on each side. *****Post war, 1945 to 1952, there were two oblong welds -
one of each side.**** This puts my #25 45-1952****
So, if you'll take a look at those welds, we'll know if it's a pre- or
post-war gun. Regardless, as far as value is concerned, the "Blue Book
of Airguns" refers to it as a Variant 7 and calls it a "1936 style"
because that is the first year these combinations of features existed.
The values, in the following percentages of condition and originality, are:
20% $70 40% $105 60% $160 80% $205 90% $245 95% $300
100% $350

Joe C. Murfin
Daisy Airgun Museum