Air Gun Home :: View topic - Daisy 880 .177 to .22 with power mods and wood stock.

midnightsniper · Member

Here is what I learned can be done to the older Daisy 880 with the metal receiver,pump,and rifled barrel.I don't know exactly when they stopped producing the all metal units.Mine is from the late 80's.The plastic guns can't take the added stress from these mods,or so I am told.Supposedly it can reach 800 to 900 fps after mods.I haven't seen any data to back this up.Here's the break down.

Power mods.
Machined flat top pump piston,usually brass or aluminum
Different length piston or adjustable piston.
Lighter trigger spring for easier pull.
Trigger roller for smoother pull
Machined custom trigger for lighter smoother pull and just because it's cool.
Reshaped valve.
Longer thinner steel bolt.
Port and polish to open up the ports and smooth out air flow.Larger air dump.
High quality O rings for a better longer lasting seal.I prefer the square O rings when I can find them and they fit correctly.

Now for the big kick.
An SG22 barrel,bolt, and receiver will work in an 880.This is counter productive unless you just happen to have the parts or a broken SG22.Also the 880 receiver can be drilled to accept the .22 barrel but the barrel band gets really thin.You will also need a custom barrel shroud or a custom band to support the barrel.

Stock and forearm.Well guess what?An SG22 wood stock and forearm will fit the 880 and can be ordered from Daisy last I looked.

Everything else in an SG22 is pretty much the same thing that is in the 880 with the metal receiver.

I have an 880 and my friend has an 880.Both need seal a reseal.I am trying to talk my friend into letting me mod his so I'll know for sure what works when I do mine.We have machining tools and metal so our builds won't cost very much.All the stuff I have mentioned here can be done to most pumpers.Don't confuse spring guns with pumpers.

I've included a parts diagram of the 880 with the metal receiver and pump.

donwalk · Veteran Member

would these mods apply for a model 853?

i have the 853 avanti and might like to undertake the mods.

midnightsniper · Member

I am not familiar with the 853 internals,but most of what I posted is usually universal.All that needs to be done is to angle the air passages and open them up slightly.Then polish the ports.Just pay attention to the area that the seals seal against.Those areas will need to be left untouched for the best air seal.The receivers are different so I doubt the SG22 barrel will fit

Slavia · Moderator

The 853 is a single stroke pneumatic that shoots at about 500 FPS in .177. It has no intake valve on the air chamber - the piston holds the pressure. Converting to .22 is going to make it even slower.

The 853 is a great gun for its intended purpose, which is an entry level 10 meter sporter. Trying to make it into something else might be frustrating.

midnightsniper · Member

donwalk · Veteran Member

I'll just leave it "as is"...

DavidSaunders · Veteran Member

Nice to see another Daisy 880 Modder.

How much of that is done, and what are your results?

midnightsniper · Member

DavidSaunders · Veteran Member

midnightsniper · Member

DougInAZ · New Member

The nice thing about Daisy Customer Service is that you can do most of your order via email if you know what you want to order.
What I have done is first call Customer Service and ask them to email the parts breakdown sheets for whatever you need. At the same time, ask them where to email the completed order form. I've found it's the address your received the parts breakdown data from.

Once you have the .PDF order form on your computer, you may want to make a copy before going any further. I use Foxit reader for my PDF reader, and it has the ability to write text onto the PDF document you are viewing.

I fill in the order with the parts I want, along with a note to call for credit card info. In a short time after emailing the request, you will get a call from a nice lady and get the order going. I've received the parts in as little as about 4 days after placing the order.

You could also fill in the order by hand, photograph or scan it if you can't write on the PDF file. I like transactions like this it because it eliminates at least part of the chances for human error during the process.

Another thing I have noticed is that Daisy, like any good manufacturing company, likes to re-use parts in as many applications as they can. The part you need (either whole part or part of an assembly) that is no longer available for the gun you are working on might be available in another product that does have spare parts available.

DougInAZ · New Member

I forgot to mention my observations on the Daisy 822 I recently got to tinker with. It belongs to a friend's son. This .22 metal frame 880 variant is from the late 70s or early 80s. I was surprised to see that it had a brass barrel. The diameter of the barrel was turned down at both ends to something smaller. I assume it was reduced to the diameter of the .177 barrel. With that change, no other mods are necessary to the valve-end where it attaches or to the barrel shroud.

It appears that the only change other than the barrel from a .177 gun is a larger bolt probe to handle the .22 pellet. I was surprised to see that the probe has an opening in the bottom half to enhance the flow from the valve port into the barrel. The downside of this part was that there was no O-ring to seal the breech. I tried to fit one, but it got hung up on the metal of the receiver. Maybe that could have been solved by removing some of the metal where the probe retracts into the receiver, but I didn't want to do anything to reduce the value as a collectible, 'cause it is in Excellent++ condition.

I don't know much about non-current production items, but I was floored to see such a high quality piece, along with its brass barrel and aged brass finished receiver and pump handle. If I was a collector, I would want this one in my collection.

DavidSaunders · Veteran Member

One thing to note:
You want a stronger trigger spring. I note that you mentioned a weaker trigger spring, wrong way as the hammer spring is also the trigger spring.

You can put a shim between the portion of the trigger that comes below the metal inside the receiver to improve the trigger pull.