The rifle Rudy Merz gave me, by Bob Holtz

The rifle Rudy Merz gave me, by Bob Holtz 

Crosman .21 cal hose-fed CO2 gallery rifle (prototype?) 

With thanks to Bob Holtz, who worked at Crosman from February 1956 to January 1995. 

He says:

Pictured below is the rifle Dean Fletcher writes of that Rudy Merz gave me. Dean believed this to be the elusive Model 117 (see page 84, CO2 Models 113,114,118 by D. T. Fletcher). Rudy did not tell me anything specific about this rifle and I assumed because it was marked CROSMAN “22” that it was .22 caliber. Dean asked to see it when he visited and questioned the caliber. Lacking a set of plug gages I used the shank end of a drill. Measuring approximately .001" smaller than the drill end a 7/32" (.2187 diameter) would not enter and a #4 (.2090 diameter) would enter. Thank you Dean for asking.

 

Basically, this rifle is a Model 118 with a .21 caliber barrel and a few other modifications intended for use as a CO2 hose fed shooting gallery rifle.

Visible modifications include a hole drilled into the stock to align with a 1/8 - 27 NPT nipple attached to the gas tube. This hole appears to have been enlarged with a file as only a trace of original finish remans.

 

Both breech bolt screw heads are drilled to accept a wire lock, I suspect, to discourage removal and tampering with the bolt adjusting nut. Lacking a power adjustment screw, as you can see in the photo, the velocity no doubt was set to remain consistent for shooting gallery application. A 30” piece of sash chain is attached to the filling head plug by a screw with its lead end prick punched to discourage or prevent removal. At the butt end of the trigger slot there is a metal insert that has no apparent function (see last photo).

 

There may also be more internal differences but other than removing the stock for photos, I have not, nor will I disassemble it further. 

 

And now you know the rest of the story.