Cooey Model 75 Project

[303Guy]

I was given a Cooey mod 75 barrel and naked action a number of years ago. Yesterday on the off chance I decided yo look online for a bolt a there one was. I wasn't able to check the action in time and the auction has now expired but in any event, the seller did not specify the model.

The thing is, it might make an accurate target rifle OR I could build a 22 caliber air rifle on it. I could even make a bolt for it, it being a single shot. But on the air rifle option, the bore is tight enough to ride a pellet head so it should in fact work. I could also build it into a primer powered pellet rifle which might actually be easier. I would not use the action for that if I did.

So, what would you folks suggest? Should I take a chance on an un-specified bolt model (that looks like it could fit) and then still have to make the trigger mechanism or go pellet rifle with either an air or CO2 tank or primer powered. With primer power one could add a small powder charge making it usable for clandestine pest control where a 22 is a bit too powerful with too much range.

[Tatume]

Numrich Gun Parts has a couple of bolts, but I have no idea how to get the to NZ.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/281000

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/1223440

These photos might help you to identify the correct bolt in a local auction though.

Good luck, Tom

[303Guy]

Thank you. I had just identified the bolt on sale locally as a model 60 and had developed a good idea what the model 75 bolt looked like.

Shipping gun parts from the US would be problematic, I'm afraid.

Looking at this action and the bolt picture, it would be quite easy to make a bolt. It's a really simple set up and I could do it all on a lathe. Might take some time though. Then again, I might find one in Europe or Australia that can be shipped to me.

This barrel is in really good condition and has micro-grooves. It does look as though the chamber is misaligned. That might make it not a good shooter and could explain why it was discarded with all the removable parts removed. That could render it as a barrel blank that would suite my pellet rifle idea. It looks like the action is press fitted onto the barrel.

[Drm50]

I will give you a 100% slam bang method to find a bolt fast and cheap. Sell the rifle or tear it up to make something else. Next day one will fall off a truck and bounce into your yard. Never fails. It also works with shotguns & pistols.

[leebuilder]

The barrels are indeed pressed in, some will have a pin locking the barrels in. The bolts are easy to get up here, but only if you aren't looking for one. I'm sure I have one around. The models 60 & 600 bolt won't work in the 75. The 39, 82 have bolts that are compatible, be aware the headspace can vary greatly from rifle to rifle. If the screw heads on the trigger guard are slotted I'd hang on to it, the are older and better.
Be well

[leebuilder]

Cooeys

This is to good not to share,found it on another forum
Some Things I Have Learned About Old Cooeys


In putting together a match at our club over the last few weeks I have spent a lot of time thinking about old Cooey .22's. I put together a few thoughts that I'd like to share.

If it says H.W. Cooey on the barrel, it was made before 1961.

If it says anything about Winchester, it was made after 1961.

The long barreled ones shoot better with standard velocity ammo.

The shorter barreled ones shoot better with higher velocity ammo.

Once you get a second Cooey, they start to multiply...kinda like hamsters.

Old rusty ones shoot better than those that you have lovingly preserved for your whole life.

If you have spent hours sighting in a Cooey and then notice that the front sight is bent, its OK, don't straighten it and start over, leave it for the next generation. You've done your part.

If there is a strong wind blowing you will need to use Kentucky windage. If you lose your rear sight elevator, you can slip a dime under your rear sight. This is known as Canuck elevation. Proper Canadian etiquette and protocol requires that the Queen's head be facing up when using Canuck elevation....... unless you are from Nova Scotia, in which case having the Bluenose facing up is also permitted.

If your single shot Cooey doesn't extract fired cases, don't be disappointed. This is part of its "character and charm". If it takes two extra seconds to pick the case out with your fingernail, remember a Cooey 39 was never intended for bear defense.

If you have a perfect shot lined up in the sights of your Cooey, you probably forgot to cock it.

If you have cocked it, it will probably misfire due to the cheap bulk ammo you are using.

You never see anyone using Lapua or Eley match ammo in their Cooey.

A Cooey can be a perfectly viable canoe paddle. They can also grind coffee.

A long boot lace makes a perfectly acceptable sling for a Cooey.

A Cooey single shot can shoot .22 short, long, long rifle, BB cap, CB cap, .22 shotshells, .22 acorn blanks, acorn blanks with .22 airgun pellets and probably nail gun blanks, (but I haven't tried those yet).

A Cooey doesn't need batteries. There is also no USB port. I think they must be solar powered.............although they also work fine in the rain........hmmmmmm...

Most of the old Cooeys never had serial numbers. No wonder the long gun registry never worked. Thank you Mr Cooey!

The Cooey I got 43 years ago will be with me 'til I die.

When you see a beat up old Cooey at a gun show, treat it with respect, someone probably had to die for it to be there.

If you are thinking of turning your Cooey into a Tacticool Cooey, consider your actions carefully. We don't want any previous owners turning over in their graves.

If you miss what you thought was a perfect shot, it's not the cheap bulk ammo. It is just the ghost of the previous owner playing tricks on you.

If you think Cooeys won't ever be valuable, then don't read old magazines that had ads for cheap surplus Lee Enfields and Garands.

Colt Pythons easily sell for 4 or 5 times their original price today.

So do Cooeys.

If your Cooey could talk to future generations, what would it say about you?

Don't forget to hug your Cooey today

[303Guy]

I enjoyed that!

One thing I noticed about this Cooey is the ring of the steel. It sounds like a tough steel with a high pitch ring. This got my interest because I had a cast 22 hornet in mind for it. Then I thought a 22 air rifle shooter would be great, running on a compressor for cheap target practice. Then I thought of a supersonic air rifle shooter powered by a hornet case for shooting rabbits and possums in semi-rural areas. Then I wondered whether it would be accurate enough for target use since I don't have any small game hunting opportunities at the moment. Then I saw the misaligned chamber so now I'm thinking of cutting off the chamber and doing something with it. The idea there is to not touch the leade and just mate a chamber to it or use it as a pellet rifle.

I found that if I insert the pellet past the leade, ordinary workshop air pressure will fire it. Velocity is low but will it shoot straight? Well, that would be not too hard to find out. Before I do any time consuming work on it that is.

[abunaitoo]

Friend has one of those.
Military trainer.
All kinds of marking on it.
Shoots OK, but not great.

[leebuilder]

They can be quite accurate and are made from good steel. I have recut a few chambers and put the rear sight back on backwards. I've never seen a misaligned chamber but see one with no rifling on one side of the barrel, still a mystery why.
Be well

[303Guy]

So I had a closer look. This one is made in Canada and has no military markings. Cutting off the 'chamber' would render it an air rifle pellet shooter. The 'chamber' includes the free bore so it is the free bore that misaligns with the bore. Well, the freebore is part of the chamber but surely the chamber reamer includes the leade? Anyway, I pushed a Gamo pellet through it and the pellet head band actually engages the rifling. The skirt does too obviously but what struck me is the trailing edge feathering on the skirt. No problem if they are all identical, specially since there are so many of them but the skirt cannot be relied on to be symmetrical.

I pushed a pellet through a Toz barrel and there were 4 trailing edges but less pronounced and no visible head band rifling engagement. My Gecado barrel did the same although I was able to tell that the head band was at least bore riding. What I did find is that a 22 chamber would make a great pellet rifle breach if the pellet can be pushed up to the leade with the skirt up against the leade. I could breach seat pellets and shoot them off with a de-bulleted case. Maybe even a small charge of powder to get some speed up. This could be done with a Slazenger single shot. I have may just happen to have one or two (or more). Oh yeah - I checked a Slazenger barrel off-cut for air rifle pellet fit ant it was positive bore-ride.

P.S. Anyone know of a Gecado single shot bolt needing a rifle?

[303Guy]

Can anyone tell me what air pressure I would need to use with a 22 air rifle?

I know shop air will work once the pellet has been forced into the rifling but what will it take to fire in normal pellet seating mode?

[725]

Bella Twin used her Cooey to kill her 1953 world record brown bear. And she shot .22 longs! For those unfamiliar, bing or google "Bella Twin world record bear 1953". What a story.

[Tatume]

Can anyone tell me what air pressure I would need to use with a 22 air rifle?

My Anschutz air rifle carries 2500 psi and I fill the reservoir from a 4500 psi scuba tank.

[longbow]

A good read leebuilder! I am mostly in agreement except for the range or cartridges... my Cooey model 60 pooped out at BB caps if memory serves. It handles everything down to shorts very reliably but shorter than short was a no go and one does not single load the repeaters as forcing the extractor over the rim causes damage... ask me how I know.

I have two Cooey model 60's and four or five Cooey break action 12 ga. shotguns both pre-Winchester and post Winchester. The pre-Winchester are model 84 and post Winchester are model 840.

I managed to damage my .22 model 60 stock and would like to replace it with an original style but I have to buy another rifle to get the stock as they are not produced anymore. There are Cooey collectors out there! My old Cooey I got when I was 6 has been passed down to my son but it has a replacement stock on it. One day it may be original again. I'll have to check but it was old when I was 6 (1960) so pretty old.

Very simple and plain Jane guns but seemingly accurate and dependable. I like all mine! And yes, all my Cooeys will be with me until I die!

Longbow