Toy Cork Rifles Recalled by F.J. Strauss
Kids’ product recall 79-037. Announced by CPSC on Aug 9, 1979.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Aug 9, 1979. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
Laceration
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
The notice gives no remedy in a field of its own.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Which ones are recalled?
Toy Cork Rifles Recalled by F.J. Strauss NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 9, 1979 Release # 79-037 Toy Cork Rifles Recalled WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 9) -- The F. J. Strauss Company, Inc., an importer and distributor with headquarters in New York City, is voluntarily recalling approximately 3,600 toy cork rifles because they may injure children’s eyes. The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to CPSC staff, children run the risk of serious eye injuries if they remove the gun’s muzzle and fire toward their faces, an action which could drive two interior metal rods into their eyes. These “pushrods,” which serve to expel the cork from the toy I normally are protected from extending to their full 8-inch length by small plastic barriers. However, some barriers may be positioned improperly, allowing the metal rods to project completely when the trigger is pulled. While F. J. Strauss never has received a complaint about the toy, CPSC received a report earlier this year that a 3+year-old boy suffered eye injuries from an identically constructed toy cork gun made by another manufacturer; all of these models have since been recalled. Strauss has told CPSC that other firms also have distributed identical toy guns. The cork guns have been marketed since 1977 in cardboard boxes which are labeled “F. J. Strauss Co., Inc., New York, New York, 10010.” The cartons also are labeled with the trademark “Straco,” and with “Western Double-Barrel Cork Rifle.” They sold for approximately $1.99 at various retail outlets. Consumers should return the guns to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Straco Western Double-Barrel Cork Rifles.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by Straco.
- Made by F.J. Strauss.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
The notice doesn’t say whether anyone was hurt.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
-
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.