NEW to me Daisy 880

[sparky45]

Went to a flea market this morning and came across a little Daisy 880 BB/Pellet rifle. Fella had a $20 price tag on it and I bought it without even seeing if it would fire. This is a older 880 as evidenced by the lack of screws holding the buttstock in place (only one screw). Brought her home cleaned her up a bit and test fired to see if it held air. She will sink a pellet about half way through a 2x4 with 10 pumps which will be plenty enough for the Sparrows that are pooping on my car at night. Accuracy seems to be fairly good and it's much easier to charge than the one pump Ruger I have.
One question; will (if I ever have to get into the workings) the parts for the newer 880's interchange?

[sparky45]

No Daisy folks out there?

[Multigunner]

I used the cast metal receiver frame to upgrade a new version 880 which came with plastic receiver. I had to file a bit here and there to get it to fit. IIRC theres an area on the metal innards near the loading port that has more metal on the new models.

Near as I can tell the other metal parts of the new versions are exactly the same as on the old versions.

These are greatly under appreciated air guns, very accurate and more powerful than one would expect.

The new versions are supposed to be safer in avoiding it having a BB stuck in the feedway without noticing, a flaw of the old model which lead to a dozen of so fatal injuries to kids.

A steel BB from an 880 can penetrate the skull or vertebrae of a child and possibly an adult at some points like the temple.

[jh45gun]

You can buy them new for about 40 bucks at Wal-Mart. They are well thought of by guys who like Pump guns. Nice thing is pump guns don't eat up scopes. I am going to buy one. Another thing is the way they are designed you don't need to keep one pump in them to preserve the seals. Want to see something cool check the you tube video's of guys converting these to air bottles or co2 and making air bows out of them and still be able to shoot pellets.

[Multigunner]

The appeal of the 880 to me is that its more powerful than a CO2 rifle and I don't have to buy cartridges or mess with the cylinders. Its always ready to go.
I can fire a few shots then put it away indefinitely without worry of CO2 leaking out or ruining the seals.

The slim inner barrel I still have from the old non working cast receiver version I stripped to upgrade the plastic receiver model did suggest to me the possibility of an arrow shooter, but I'd want a lot more power than the tiny probe and o-ring seal of the 880 is likely to stand up to.

[Multigunner]

A ps to this

I've often heard of people pumping up their 880 to insane levels, 30-50 pumps in some cases.
These guns are tougher than they appear but abusing them will result in damage that's hard to repair.

Since I have a donor rifle if I need more parts I did a little in scientific experimenting with pumping the gun up to 15 strokes.
I was very pleased with the penetration at that power level. A pointed pellet consistently zipped right through a scrap 3/8" treated board from a privacy fence panel. The wood was fairly old and dry but not rotten. The same Crosman Premier 7.4 gr pellets walked right through two tinned steel food cans punching cleanly through both sides of each.

I had long ago gotten into the habit of pumping the gun at least 12 times, and was surprised that it could handle 15 strokes and show some increase in velocity, since the law of diminishing returns is often quoted when people talk of extra pumps for this sort of airgun.

The rifle is accurate at close ranges with as little as three strokes, but I seldom use less than six which expands the skirt well. Accuracy does improve with ten to twelve pumps especially at longer ranges (25 yards is the limit for my back yard shooting) and doesn't drop off or change point of impact when pumped up to 15 strokes.

BBs do not shoot to the same point of aim, but print fairly tight groups for a projectile that doesn't benefit from the rifling even out to 25 yards.

I suspect that the rifling grooves allow air to wash around the steel BBs preventing or limiting contact with the interior of the bore which reduces the under spin that shortens the range of round ball projectiles fired from a smoothbore barrel.

[sparky45]

My brother "borrowed" my 880 to do a little urban Squirrel control. I gave him a large box of Crosman Pellets and a pdf owners manual to consult. I expect to hear about some varmint eradication(s).

[mfraser264]

Daisy has made these for years. The receiver was die cast zinc originally. Options were rifled or smooth barrel. Shot my old one for years and years as a kid. Great rifle. Wish the newer ones were as good as the old. Either way still pretty good. Used true lead balls at .177", hit harder then most any other pellet and the penetration was the best.

[Multigunner]

The cast metal receiver offered much more stability than the plastic receiver and the plastic pump handle has way too much flex for my tastes.

I've used the Gamo .177 Lead ball in a Gamo CO2 pistol, but these didn't work in its feed mechanism reliably. They should work okay in the 800, but wouldn't be held by the magnetized steel probe.
The lead ball weighs 8.18 gr, heavier than most waisted pellets.
The Russian lead BBs have a rep for inconsistent diameter and/or being out of the round.

I've read that Daisy steel BBs actually mike at .175. I'll try measuring some to find out for sure.
I may have some of those GAMO lead BBs left over, they were not accurate in the GAMO pistol, most likely due to the limited power and short barrel. Its likely that low impulse contributed to the feeding problems as well. I had to ream out the rubber bushing the riser used to hold the BBs before it would feed.
It has a tip up barrel for single loading pellets and despite the rifling did not show any better accuracy with pellets or lead BBs than it does with steel BBs.

Lead BB shot for shotshells is nominally .18.
I expect the greater impulse of a multi pump airgun would force these into the rifling okay. If not perhaps they could be force fitted with a ram rod from the muzzle.
Probably not worth the effort since these are seldom seen in LGS. If they did work buying lead shot by the 25 pound bag would probably be cheaper than even steel BBs.

IIRC the original BB air rifles did use lead .18 size shot.

The older Daisy parlor pistols used a .118 sized shot.

[lathesmith]

I've got one of these in .22, it's also got a wood stock, which I thought was a nice touch. I forget the model #, I picked it up in the late '90's and still get it out to shoot occasionally. It still shoots as good as ever, IIRC 14.3 grain pellets will hit around 520 fps with 8-10 pumps, which is more than enough punch for dispatching the occasional back yard pest, or punching paper up to around 25 yards or so. A great old classic, if you treat it with care it should last you a good long time.

[Multigunner]

I'd seen the wooden stocked .22 version of this system advertised years ago. A single loader rather than with the repeater option of the .177 of course.

I'd like to hear more about your rifle, such as whether it uses metal or plastic parts for receiver and pump handle.

Umarex is making an updated version of the 880, but changes appear to be only cosmetic. The basic action is also being marketed by another company in a lower velocity kid's rifle dolled up like a sniper rifle.

[lathesmith]

Mg, my 822 Daisy has a metal receiver and metal pump handle, and like you surmised it's a single-loader. I'd had one of the 880's when I was younger, a .177 version that had a plastic stock. I thought the wood stock was a nice upgrade, the rifle has a pretty nice feel even though the barrel is the thin metal shroud over a thin steel tube. I'll try and get a few pics for you, and shoot a group or two with it, just to see what it will do. It's been a long while since I've shot it much, I mostly shoot PCP's these days so it don't get much use. It's a pretty good basic pellet gun though, it has decent punch and is reasonably accurate.

[Multigunner]

While the 880 itself is super cool for what it is I'd like to see this basic design brought up to its full potential. Not that 700+ FPS with .177 pellets is something to sneeze at.
A more sturdy metal receiver, nice wooden stock and upgraded internals to handle more pressure safely might add to the retail cost but it would be worth it.

Your .22 version is certainly on the right track. The same basic upgrades for the .177 would greatly increase the utility and durability of this fine design.
Some sort of double set trigger to improve trigger pull would be neat.

perhaps Umarex will come up with something along these lines now that they are manufacturing what looks to be a licensed copy.

[Plastikosmd]

When I was young the 880 was what the rich kids had. Below that was the 760 and for me it was just a single pump pistol

[Remmy4477]

Me and my son picked up a 880 at an estate sale Friday for a whole dollar. Dirty inside and out. Gave it a good cleaning and it came back to life! Rifled barrel and cheap plastic receiver but it shoots as good as you can hold it!

[jh45gun]

About shooting arrows check on you tube.they convert from a pump gun to co2 or an air bottle a full dump valve.

[Multigunner]

I've been looking over my upgraded 880 and was reminded of some minor differences in parts between the cast receiver and the plastic receiver version.

The butt stock extension of the later model is thinner than that of the older stock. Not so much that you can't make it work but a wrap of tape would help it seat tightly. If not you have to tighten the rear screw extra tight indenting the surface of the receiver, and if not careful it might crack.

The cylinder of the old one is made of brass. The newer cylinder looks to be stainless steel or perhaps plated brass.

I used the barrel jacket and rear sight of the old gun, and the fiber optic front sight of the new one, so they interchange. IIRC the older rear sight is better made and it does have windage adjustment. I don't remember anything about the newer sight except that it wasn't as well made.

[jh45gun]

I was surprised how powerful these are for a inexpensive gun. Impressive. Have not shot mine enough yet to get it sighted in or shoot a group yet. Just shot a couple shots inside.

[mac1911]

if you need parts just call daisy and tell them you need a 880 over haul kit. most of the parts are interchangeable... although lots of the new parts are plastic.
They are not the most accurate and the trigger design sucks...if you slow squeeze the trigger you bleed air off. Once you open it up you will see how poorly the barrel is attached. I made a breach seal and glued my barrel in place as to eliminate the wobble....

[Multigunner]

I've considered wrapping tape around the barrel liner to give it a tight fit in the barrel jacket,If I find a proper sized O-Ring that would work better and allow me to experiment with placing and spacing of contact points, but so far I've had no problem with accuracy that wasn't pellet brand related. The Beeman coated wadcutter seems to give the best groups while the Crosman Premier gives the best penetration but not such tight groups.

I'm more than pleased with the accuracy as is, but when spring rolls around I'll be doing some experimenting.

"if you slow squeeze the trigger you bleed air off"
That's good to know. Yesterday I noticed that when I squeezed the trigger slowly the velocity seemed to drop compared to my normal snapshooting method. Due to a injury my left shoulder sometimes gets weak after a few moments in the offhand position so I have to align my sights and fire quickly or the muzzle starts weaving sideways. Not a problem when shooting from a bench or when using a tree for stability so I was squeezing slow that day.

I may step up with a Benjamin or Crosman .22 soon. I'm hoping to find a good used older model I can refurbish. Only ten years ago I saw plenty of older beat up air rifles in local shops at fair prices, but now days they think everything is a valuable antique if its ten years old. Sometimes they are right and the real collectors items are priced out of sight. Airguns seem to be gaining in popularity, probably a side effect of the proliferation of airsoft guns. Some airsoft guns are very good shooters at closer ranges and some of the faux sniper types can hold their own with low end pellet rifles when it comes to punching holes in paper out to 25 yards if there's no wind, but in the end the impact of the plastic BBs is less satisfying than that of a serious pellet rifle suitable for pests and small game if need be.

[sparky45]

UPDATE - My brother wound up with my Daisy 880 (for now), he needed to clear out some pesky tree rats around his house. But, I felt a sense of "nakedness" with it's loss so I just purchased a Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk .22 to make me whole again. I love/hate the waiting, but it does bring back some childhood memories.