Vintage Pellet Rifle - ATOM "Rocket"

My grandson got a pellet rifle from his maternal great-grandfather who has since passed and asked if I would try to restore it for a keepsake even if it didn't shoot again. It was obtained in Germany when the giver was in the Air Force there. Over time the rear trigger guard screw was lost and the stock bolt had loosened allowing the stock to freely rotate and the hanging guard had rubbed it removing the finish completely around the stock at that location. It had more than a bit of surface rust and once disassembled quite a bit of internal rust as well. While cleaning up the rust I oiled the leather seals and and those seemed to expand enough to possibly develop pressure again. I then cleaned up the stock damage and stained and refinished that portion with TruOil reduced 50/50 with mineral spirits and then applied a few thin coats over the rest of the stock to get a consistent shine. There was quite a bit of bluing remaining so I just applied cold blue over all the metal to help fill in the lighter spots. Also had to replace the missing trigger return spring. Once reassembled it did shoot again although there was no way to tell how close to original power. When my grandson came over to see the finished restoration he fired it about ten times and said he would retire it at that point. Hopefully some day he will have an heir to take a few more shots with before passing it on.

The markings showed it was an ATOM "Rocket" and is .177 caliber. In all my years I had never seen anything like it and when googled only one hit came up showing a picture of an identical one with a similar looking one with another brand name someone on an air rifle forum had but no info about it's age or origin could be found. An unusual design for sure and the buttstock even has a considerable amount of "cast on" so appears to have been built for a left handed shooter, something my grandson commented on while shooting it as he tried to line up the sights.

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This is similar to what happened to me as I just "inherited" a FeinWerkBau or FWB 300s that had hung on a wall for 20 years or so. the walnut stock had dried out badly but no cracks, surface rust in the barrel and external mechanical parts. I refinished the stock with a wet sand and 4 coats of rubbed oil so it looks pretty darn nice. I test fired the rifle at 20 feet and it shoots very accurately but needs new seals and such. There is a small crack in the front globe sight so I tracked down the company in Germany and the rifle was sold in December 1976. I called them at 7:15 their time today and the fellow on the phone said the last one of those cast aluminum globe sight castings was sold in 2012 so the best chance is to find a used one that don't shoot and use it's front sight.

If your rifle was made in Germany I'd give the FWB company a call even though it is not theirs they might have info on the manufacture company since they were great to talk with. There are several air rifle sellers here in the states so they might have some info also? I called at 11:15 our time as Germany is 8 hours ahead of us but they start early I guess and only for 3 days a week.
John

Oldracer. Your FWB300s has an action life of 6 million cycles. All it needs is lubrication. It has steel piston rings. You could never wear it out! There is a plastic breach seal which is readily available from American Suppliers for about $1.

As far as the Front Sight is concerned If I couldn't find another one I'd heat it slightly to get the crack to open a little and work some JB Weld into it. JB Weld is being used to glue Front Sights on High Power Rifle Barrels so it must be good stuff.

The OP's gun looks alot like a BSA made gun from the past. (Nice looking clean up on that one!) It is in good enough condition to shoot regularly. It just needs to be taken care of like any firearm or other nice thing. Point being don't be afraid of shooting it. Letting it sit unattended will cause more deterioration than shooting it. Do not use petroleum based oils on the piston seals,,, Synthetic oils only! Dieseling will harm the gun!

All of these European made Airguns are designed to be used. Many countries didn't or don't allow private ownership of firearms, so as a result European Airguns have progressed far beyond the Daisy BB guns we all grew up with. Germany wasn't allowed to manufacture Firearms after WW1 and again after WW2, so Airguns were focused on and some of the best are still made there. The Weihrauch HW35 is a perfect example, and has been in continuous production since 1951!!! They are available from several outlets in this country from around $550-600! Both of the ones I have were made in 1976-8 and both have leather piston seals. I have always used synthetic oils on the piston seals.

My first gun was a Weihrauch HW35EB (Export/Beeman)purchased in 1978 for $189. I found another two years ago (HW 35E "Export") and got it for $60 and it cleaned up and looks as good as your Atom.

All of these guns were made to the same standards as firearms. It is logical to assume that if taken care of, they should last for generations, or a long time, which ever comes first.

Randy

Yes, looking up BSA their pre-WW2 models look exactly the same except for a slightly different buttstock configuration so it would appear they made these for an entity that marketed them as ATOM air rifles. Thanks for the insight.

I watched the few videos on YouTube that cover working on this model air rifle. When I pulled it apart the little bit of lube was dry as can be. The two parts I ordered are numbered as 1500.121.3 the seal and 1500.127.3 the buffer. The metal seal ring feels fine once I got things cleaned and a slight bit of synthetic grease on any moving parts. The two parts mentioned should be here this Wednesday as will a spring compressor. The test fires got what appeared to be ground up cork in the breech each time and the fellow in Germany said that was the original buffer crumbling away. When it gets back together I post a couple pictures.
John

The Hot tip for Airgun Lube, and all guns for that matter, is Amsoil 20-50 "Racing Oil." This is a full synthetic lubricant which is second to none. I use it as way lube on all my machines in my shop and have for the last 30+ years.

I have been using this on all my guns for as long. Using it in the pump on an Air Compressor eliminates all rust on the inside of the tank forever.

Randy