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Air Gun Home Forum Index » Antique, Collector and Novelty Airguns » UMC Pioner 2 Goto page 1, 2  Next
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UMC Pioner 2 
PostPosted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:58 pm Reply with quote
Slavia
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I was recently given a "UMC Pioner 2" by a gunsmith friend. (The spelling is correct - it is "Pioner.") It is a .177 break barrel, very small, mostly stamped sheet metal, with a two-piece plastic stock. All I've been able to find out is that it is a Romanian military trainer.

Anybody know anything about it?
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:20 pm Reply with quote
AirGunEric
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? I thought UMC was a model name of some Remington ammunition.

There is/was a UMC that made some low-end pellet guns in the recent past- but I think the name "UMC" was just that of the distributor, not the actual manufacturer (i.e. like SMK and Xisico are for BAM). Probably not the same organization as made your gun in any event.

Can you post some pictures of this gun?

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Romanian Mystery Gun 
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:03 am Reply with quote
Slavia
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I know what you mean about the ammunition - that was my first reaction. I think UMC (the ammunition) stands for "Union Metallic Cartridge."

About a year ago a gunsmith friend gave me a Hakim stock in three pieces. It has taken this long to graft them together. Last Saturday he gave me the Hakim action, and when I opened the package I found this little gun. It is as wimpy as the Hakim is massive. See photos.

Regarding the Hakim: No trigger guard. No mounting screws. No barrel band. No sling swivels. No butt plate. No stock end cap. No retaining wedge. No front sight hood. No cocking lever latch hook. No rear sight. It's probably going to take me another year to fabricate all the missing parts.
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Romanian Mystery Gun 
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:16 am Reply with quote
Slavia
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Here is the top of the receiver.

The guy that gave it to me was the one that said it was a Romanian trainer. I did find a photo of two Romanian female soldiers training with it, so he must be correct. At first glance it seems improbable that this gun would contribute to military proficiency, but then I have read that we (U.S.) used Daisy lever-actions to teach instinct shooting during the Vietnam war.
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:26 am Reply with quote
AirGunEric
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tough to dig up anything on this little thing!

http://www.network54.com/Forum/405945/thread/1128969524/UMC+177+cal+Military+training+rifle

http://www.network54.com/Forum/405945/thread/1199854330/Old+springer+identification

Those guys didn't find much useful- in fact they seem have posts of it being called an "IMC" and more than once that is was made in Romania as you had noted. Following that idea, I came across this, with pictures: http://www.bbairguns.com/cgi-bin/item.pl?item=6178

It is the same gun- but they have it labeled incorrectly- it is definitely a UMC Pioner.

That auction is still current- maybe buy it for parts/spare?

I 'borrowed' those pictures so they don't disappear too quickly:















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UMC Pioner 
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:10 am Reply with quote
Slavia
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Many thanks for your legwork. I guess this "tomato stake" gun won't finiance my next trip to Tahiti, but then the guns I own are not for investment. I have them because I find them interesting. So, I'll enter it in my queue of projects and keep it away from my wife (she doesn't like guns, but she does like tomatoes).

Thanks again.
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UMC Pioner 
PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 10:56 pm Reply with quote
Slavia
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Just in case someone else might happen by looking for information about this gun:


http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?s=8835f14fdc6bbd50245ecd0d1e0a567f&showtopic=4266

http://www.centuryarms.biz/products.asp?cat=62
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:00 am Reply with quote
AirGunEric
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Holy Sh!t Batman- can't anyone copy a simple name/number from an airgun these days. We've got "IMC", "Pioneer", "Pionier" and "Pionr" so far. Is the whole world become unable to copy simple text or something. Or maybe it's just me... Mr. Green

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:26 am Reply with quote
Slavia
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Just got the thing apart. This is easy once you've done it, but even this simple mechanism gave me and my son fits Sunday afternoon. Leather seal is intact, so I'll shoot it once I get it cleaned up. The spring is smaller than the one in my Daisy 99, so Century Arms' claim about making pop cans "beg for mercy" might be a fantasy. Pictures to follow.

Having trouble spelling names correctly is a patriotic tradition. We paid the folks at Ellis Island to do this for years. It's as American as appel pye.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:42 am Reply with quote
Slavia
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Of course, I got the main tube reversed for the picture. The trigger and sear share the same pivot point, so there's no mechanical advantage.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 4:56 pm Reply with quote
Slavia
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Is this ever cool. I got to cleaning the UMC, and there were some rough spots in the bore. So I inspect, and sure enough, there are scratches. Except they are perpendicular to the rifling. And, oh my! The bore is bent. But wait, what's this? The breech end of the bore is not concentric with the "O" ring, nor is it centered on the breech block face. Like way off.

I calculate that in 1974 the Romanians figured out how to make a gun drill go crooked, leave chatter marks, and thus create a "hop-up" system like modern airsoft guns!

All this technology in a $25 U.S. gun (that I got for free). Can't beat it.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:34 pm Reply with quote
AirGunEric
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You're killing me here! Point & Laugh

Nuthin' like good "old world" engineering, huh? Razz

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:35 am Reply with quote
Slavia
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Due to the already fine craftsmanship evident in this gun, I decided to forego a full tune. I cleaned and lubricated, of course. I deburred on some of the most obvious spots, and fixed the mangled screw heads in the butt. Otherwise it went back together as-is.

Out of the frame, the trigger felt like a pseudo two-stage (lots of arc without doing anything, followed by a short arc contacting the sear). The safety was working, where before it did not. (The safety is an end cap on the compression tube with a slot to permit trigger movement.) In the frame, the safety ceased to work and the trigger became a single stage. Oh, I see! The slot in the frame wasn't cut far enough to let the trigger swing clear of the safety. Fixed that.

The parts go back together, and everything is fine (without the stock). With the stock, no safety again. So back apart it comes, and I relieve the spots on the stock that were rubbing against the safety. Now we're cooking.

The target dot in the ten-shot group photo is two inches in diameter. The group was shot from a rest at 10 meters. Muzzle velocity is as shown. Pellets were 8.2 grain Meisterkugeln's.

Did you know that flash photography of a device that uses photocells gives strange results?

Magnum power, match accuracy, and European craftsmanship - what more could a guy want?

Except I've grown fond of this little gun.








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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:16 am Reply with quote
23ib0d0n
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I'm thinking lighter pellets would be a good idea. D&N {RWS} Basic or Hobby and H&N {Beeman} Laser are probably more effective at that power level.

I have some spring pistols and 'youth' rifles that do better with the lightest pellets.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 8:04 am Reply with quote
cw
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What youth rifles do you have?
I'm curious as I am looking for a rifle
for my ten year old daughter. Thanks.


CW
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UMC Pioner 2 
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