Would pitting in a smoothbore barrel noticeably degrade accuracy?

[TTv2]

I was helping clean out a friend's garage and found a Daisy Red Ryder in decent shape, but also a Crossman 760 Pump that has some rust forming on the outside. They don't care about anything in the garage, so I took both home.

Can't see too well inside the bore, but I'd have to think there's some going on there too. I'm not too familiar with air rifles, let alone smoothbore ones, so I'm wondering would this 760 still be a decent shooter? I assume the scope that's on it is trashed, so any recommendations for a replacement?

 

[JohnKSa]

It will probably shoot as well as it did before unless things have really gotten bad in there. The nice thing is, it won't cost much to find out.

 

[TTv2]

I mean, it was free so I don't really care how it shoots and considering I would only even want to buy .22 air guns, this being a .17 gives me a little variety for the future.

 

[Remington1911]

The thing no one ever thinks about is just what a steel BB does to a brass/bronze/any kind of barrel. Usually not a good thing. Add to that on MOST BB guns you could just drop a BB in the nose and it will fall all the way down to the end. They are not tight. So I would bet that both are likely pretty rough.

One thing I suggest is using lead BB's on any gun you value. They don't bounce like steel, and they don't tear up the barrel.

I have two "new" 2100's and they shoot very well inside of 25 yards. I would stack them up against anything and they would not fall too far short. They have only seen lead. Really fun guns to shoot.

All the same rules apply to shooting a pumper, but you can do it inside your garage or basement in the winter. They will keep you sharp, and if you can do will with those crappy triggers you will do well when you get back to your "real" guns. It is also a good workout.

 

[AK Hunter]

If the scope on it is trashed you will need to replace it with another air rifle scope because a firearm scope won't work. The recoil on an air rifle goes forward & the firearm scopes are made for recoil to go backwards. With some scopes it will rip the guts out of a firearm scope if you put it on a air rifle.

 

[mindbent]

Clean it up and see if it works. I have a couple 760's with the metal receiver. They're fun to shoot at around 20-30 ft. I wouldn't worry about a scope though, they aren't that accurate. Although if you feel inclined as to challenge yourself I think any cheap scope will work. There really isn't any recoil with a 760. Springers and other high powered air rifles do need a properly rated scope, they will destroy a regular rifle or pistol scope. Besides, a 760 is a good starter for a youngster.

 

[JohnKSa]

One thing I suggest is using lead BB's on any gun you value. They don't bounce like steel, and they don't tear up the barrel.

Just check the dimensions. Steel BBs are pretty undersized compared to standard lead BBs. You want the larger lead BBs so they engage the rifling properly--but they can jam the feed mechanisms in some airguns.