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Nel-Spot 707 Resto

History and Restoration a Nel-Spot "707" Pellet Pistol

A WHAT?!??  While most paintball players who have been around the sport for any length of time have heard of Nelson, their 007s and derivatives, but not a lot of folks have heard of a 707.  The 707 was the VERY FIRST paintball marker EVER.  Notice I said "MARKER".... These were designed to mark cattle and trees.  They were used for selective marking of the best trees for seedling purposes or selective thinning by the forestry service and by ranchers to mark livestock for sale, transfer to another area or whatever.

 

Nelson Paint Company was asked by the US Forestry Service for a reliable way of marking trees from a distance.   Paintball "Marking" was born. Livestock ranchers also used them to mark livestock.  Supposedly, the first paintballs were made in wooden molds with wax shells and oil based paint. I have heard rumors it just happened that the mold was approximately .68 cal because that's the size of ball-end mill he had sitting in the tool box.  After the ball was developed, a reliable delivery system had to be derived.  Nelson approached Crosman with the idea and a deal was made.  Crosman build the 707 for a short period of time.  There is speculation from 1 to 4 years in the mid to late 60s.  Crosman ceased to manufacture them because of the low demand.  No one has hard and fast numbers as to how many were manufactured as  Crosman, Sheridan and Benjamin are all merged into one company now, so we may never know.

 

There is much speculation about exactly when the 707 was built, but there are a couple of clues. One of the best and most reliable clues I have found so far is finding the pellet pistol it was based on.  The Crosman 150/157-.22/.177 caliber CO2 pistol is IDENTICAL to the 707 with the exception of the barrel and feed assembly.  You can take the top-end off of a 707 and put it directly on a 150 and vice-versa.  There are two distinct build dates for the Crosman 150. The gen 1 with a two piece barrel/breech assembly built from 54 to 56 and the gen 2 with one piece barrel/breech built from 1956 to 1967.  The gen 2 is the one that is the closest to the 707 as the front sight will interchange between this model 150/157 and a 707. 

Everything from the pressure tube down and the front sight will interchange. The rear sight will have to have a 7/8" diameter cutaway under the sight to fit the 707's rounded barrel. There are other minor differences that I will point out in the following photos.

Looking from the back, you can see the similarities.  The back of the 150 barrel where the sight is sitting is milled flat. The back of the 707 barrel is round so if you need a replacement sight for your 707, you can use a 150 model but you will have to mill the bottom of the sight so it sits down on the barrel.

Looking straight down, you can still see some blue OIL BASED paint in the breech area of this 707.

Here is a left side shot. This side shows the marking difference and location. See the following photos.

The Crosman 150 says Crosman "150" on the top line and "22 Cal." PELLGUN on the bottom line.  This is stamped on the lower or pressure tube where the 12 gram goes.  There may have been some 707's with this tube, but every 707 I have seen and/or rebuilt is blank.

The 707 has NEL-SPOT "707", The Nelson Paint Co. and IRON MOUNTAIN, MICH. on the barrel directly in front of the feed tube and nothing on the pressure tube.

Looking from the back, you can see the similarities.  The back of the 150 barrel where the sight is sitting is milled flat. The back of the 707 barrel is round so if you need a replacement sight for your 707, you can use a 150 model but you will have to mill the bottom of the sight so it sits down on the barrel.

Looking straight down, you can still see some blue OIL BASED paint in the breech area of this 707.

Here is a left side shot. This side shows the marking difference and location. See the following photos.

The Crosman 150 says Crosman "150" on the top line and "22 Cal." PELLGUN on the bottom line.  This is stamped on the lower or pressure tube where the 12 gram goes.  There may have been some 707's with this tube, but every 707 I have seen and/or rebuilt is blank.

The 707 has NEL-SPOT "707", The Nelson Paint Co. and IRON MOUNTAIN, MICH. on the barrel directly in front of the feed tube and nothing on the pressure tube.

To load and shoot the 150, you rotate and pull back the bolt cover and put in a pellet, then slide forward and turn to the right to lock it.  Then you pull back the Cocking Device 1, 2 or 3 clicks. 1 click is the parking position so the hammer is not resting on the back of the valve pin. 2 clicks low power.  3 clicks is high power and about 400 FPS on the 22 cal pellet version.  

To load and shoot the 707, first you load up the feed tube with 6 paintballs. Then you raise the bolt lever and pull the bolt back, point the marker slightly down and to the right to allow a paintball to roll into the barrel and push the bolt forward and then down to lock it in place.  You have to pull the Cocking Device back just like the 150.  1 click is parking position, 2 clicks is about 190 FPS and 3 clicks is right about 290 FPS but you should always chrono.

This raises the question about the ever ongoing debate of Nelson vs Sheridan valve assembly.  Crosman got it's first patent in 1921 for the stacked tube which has become one of the mainstays in modern paintball.  Sheridan started doing business in 1941 AFTER? the initial Crosman patent ran out making brass guns with a similar stacked tube design. 

Should the debate be Crosman OR Sheridan vs Nelson OR Daisy as to valve assembly? 

Next stop: some info you may use....

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Last modified: May 11, 2009