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Greetings those of great knowledge,

I obtained an ABT Challenger Shooting Gallery dated 1946. I have seen a variety of these and am familiar with the side graphics change and head unit changing to plastic, to my knowledge 1952 or thereabouts. At least that's what I have been advised.

Can anyone tell me what the metal head unit looked like when it left the factory in '46? Was it painted or left silver, and what color were the "challenger" letters and numbers as well as the creases in the top portion? I've seen them red, red and black, head unit painted gold, and any variety of obviously non original paint jobs. Paint has been in the crease, on top of the crease, and none at all. There's a common theme among those that claim originality but nothing concrete that I can say with confidence is the right one.

Also I know its only original once - to that end the red paint on the head unit (only painted letters and numbers red) looks amateurishly done and I'd like to restore that head part only. Any thoughts on that? Side graphics are good, instruction decals inside the glass show a lot of age, but legible.

Thanks again to all. I know one of you knows the answer! Or probably a bunch of you.........

md171:
Here is a pic of a totally original, early model "Challenger", with the low head-casting.
Hope this helps.


Here is a pic of another original, with the higher head-casting. I don't particularly care
for the all-red paint theme, but I have seen them in other colors as well.


The plastic head came after these two versions.

That's it! Mine has the high head casting and actually the paint scene looks the same. I don't care for the red either. Thank you!!!!

I have one that has a blue head.
It takes the penny and resets but the balls do not enter the gun. Does any one have a suggestion on how to correct this?
I also have another US Marshall gun by Tratson which does not work. Any idea or help?

Thanks,
Bill

Crowriver.com has everything you need to rebuild or repair the gun yourself, or they offer rebuild services. I haven't used them but I've heard nothing but praise for their products and work.

+1 for Roger at Crow River. He's a great resource. I have rebuilt a number of guns over the years, and often rely on his knowledge (and parts!)

In terms of the other question asked:
If the gun is "not taking in the balls" - a few things to check:
- make sure the pellets are the correct size. I've seen people (erroneously) try to use pellets that are too large for the gun.
- check to see if a screw or something small has gone into the trough / gun pellet feed area.

One way to check the gun is to hand-load a pellet into the barrel. It won't fire on the first pull because the pellet lifter will keep it from going all the way back to the firing pin. After the first pull, the second pull should have the pellet flying out. (make sure you cover the barrel - they can shoot far!)

Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. If you want to see a range of machine types you can go to YouTube and search for ABT Challenger. There are about a dozen videos I've posted over the years.

Good luck.

Hi,
I just recently redid one I bought at a flea market. The graphics and shell on the original were damaged beyond repair. I hired a graphic artist to reproduce the graphics, then had vinyl reproductions made. I still have the graphics files is someone is interested. Just PM me. While my "Reproduction" is not as nice as the original, I saved all the original parts, and was able to put together a halfway decent reproduction. Crow River is a great place for parts.

Challenger when I bought it....


My Reproduction job....

pb4sc wrote:Hi,
I just recently redid one I bought at a flea market. The graphics and shell on the original were damaged beyond repair. I hired a graphic artist to reproduce the graphics, then had vinyl reproductions made. I still have the graphics files is someone is interested. Just PM me. While my "Reproduction" is not as nice as the original, I saved all the original parts, and was able to put together a halfway decent reproduction. Crow River is a great place for parts.

Challenger when I bought it....

DSC05648.JPG

My Reproduction job....

DSC05929.JPG

I don't know why you are Poo-Pooing your job on the reproduction graphics. I think they turned out great,
and would graciously pay for a set, if I ever need them. You should list them here on the Forum, as I am
sure there are several of our members that need them.

Hi Everyone,
That sounds like a great idea. Here are the graphic files for the ABT Challenger. I hope someone can use them....

Thanks for the gun info. As I have never taken one apart, is there some instructional on how to do it?
The pellets are original. I've owned the gun for over 40 years and it did work until recently.
Thanks again, Bill