GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Vintage Air Gun Gate => Topic started by: TerryM on August 20, 2017, 10:01:18 AM
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My Blue Streak is 50 years old this month. Sure wouldn't know it to look at it, this one still looks practically new. Hard to believe I was only 13 when it was made. It's sure weathered the last 50 years better than I have. I have several other old pumpers, one or two may be just as accurate as this one. But for power, accuracy, craftsmanship and overall quality in a classic airgun, you just can't beat a Sheridan!
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But for power, accuracy, craftsmanship and overall quality in a classic airgun, you just can't beat a Sheridan!
I agree 100% . My oldest Sheridan is a 1949.
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My Blue Streak is 50 years old this month. Sure wouldn't know it to look at it, this one still looks practically new. Hard to believe I was only 13 when it was made. It's sure weathered the last 50 years better than I have. I have several other old pumpers, one or two may be just as accurate as this one. But for power, accuracy, craftsmanship and overall quality in a classic airgun, you just can't beat a Sheridan!
You sure can't beat them, at least mine leaves me with no reason to try.
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My original Sheridan was over 50 years old, had been used a LOT, when it needed servicing for the first time !
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If my Sylvia isn't older than me sure is close to it.
I can't remember if she's early 50s or late 50s.
But she is prettier than me and functions better than me.
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If my Sylvia isn't older than me sure is close to it.
I can't remember if she's early 50s or late 50s.
But she is prettier than me and functions better than me.
Sylvia's Poppa said that she was about a 59.
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Well... I knew better than to ask her.
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LOL. She is just about a twin to my 59, that I have scoped.
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We are down to three..
'59 SS
'68 Copper
'69 BS
I don't have a need for anymore and I certainly don't plan to have any less.
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Amen to all the above. Luv all of my streaks, '65 being the oldest. Something about their sleek design, incredible performance & timeless beauty sets them apart from all the rest.
Given the title I say this with caution but I think worth mentioning; although the Benji 392 (P being my favorite) is only 20 something, it too has a special place in my collection. I liken it to the Streak but for those who haven't tried it I highly recommend you add one to your collection. The only way I can explain it is a male version of the Streak with the same performance & little more umpf.
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Yes, there is something special about the sheridans.
My oldest one (1951) is 66 years old this year (one year older than my parents!!!). Still shoots 625 with cylindricals, and like most sheridans, is very accurate. As far as I can tell, it has never been worked on. Impressive.
The squirrels don't really like it though ;)
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Makes my oldest seem young at 43
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Yes, there is something special about the sheridans.
My oldest one (1951) is 66 years old this year (one year older than my parents!!!). Still shoots 625 with cylindricals, and like most sheridans, is very accurate. As far as I can tell, it has never been worked on. Impressive.
The squirrels don't really like it though ;)
Billy....Nice Rifle !!!!!!! Best Wishes - Tom
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Been plinking away today with my 93 year old English BSA Standard, those Sheridans are just babes. Lol
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While a Benjamin 392 is a decent rifle, it pales in comparison to a Sheridan.
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oldest Sheridan is 53 yrs old my 312 is an early 50's? one and my oldest crosman is late 20's
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While a Benjamin 392 is a decent rifle, it pales in comparison to a Sheridan.
I respect your opinion Steve but I'm not sure I'd go that far. It's true that bullet placement is key with any air gun or firearm. Proper pellet placement with a Dan is deadly. I was a dedicated Dan owner & remain so to this day. Then I hunted with the 392. There is a distinct difference in knock down power between the two. The bunnies do the dance with my Dan's. Little dancing if any with the Benji.
In addition; Dan's are everywhere to be found. Try finding a 392. ;)
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That's OK Marty. More 392s for us then. ;)
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I heard that Billy. :)
I'm not tooting the 392's horn but another case in point. Took quite a few bull frogs with my Dan's. Instant floaters everyone of them, but where the Dan floated the green toasty treats, the 392 drove them into the mud.
But again fella's. No doubt about it, the Dan is in a league all its own.
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While a Benjamin 392 is a decent rifle, it pales in comparison to a Sheridan.
I respect your opinion Steve but I'm not sure I'd go that far. It's true that bullet placement is key with any air gun or firearm. Proper pellet placement with a Dan is deadly. I was a dedicated Dan owner & remain so to this day. Then I hunted with the 392. There is a distinct difference in knock down power between the two. The bunnies do the dance with my Dan's. Little dancing if any with the Benji.
In addition; Dan's are everywhere to be found. Try finding a 392. ;)
Pretty sure some Walmarts still carry the 392 so they're definitely easier to find than a nice vintage Dan.
Now as far as which is better, I have no experience with the Benjamin 392, but I've had a little experience with a '77 342 and wile it wasn't 'ol blue it sure seemed like a nice little rifle and was as fun as any pumper is.
I'll always prefer my blue streak over everything, but from what I here the Benjamin's can be just as solid of a choice.
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The topic of this thread is about old Sheridans , not about other rifles that may be better or worse than Dans. I will stay on the topic, respecting the original poster..
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I wasn't lucky enough to have a Sheridan when I was a kid. I remember a kid down the road had one and we made the mistake of saying how ugly it was. Sure didn't take long for it's beauty to shine through. My best friend whopped my Daisy 25's butt with his Crosman 760 and this kid blew every one away with the Dan. Wasn't no over pumping back then. Our skinny butts would be lucky to get 5 pumps in the Dan.
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While a Benjamin 392 is a decent rifle, it pales in comparison to a Sheridan.
I respect your opinion Steve but I'm not sure I'd go that far. It's true that bullet placement is key with any air gun or firearm. Proper pellet placement with a Dan is deadly. I was a dedicated Dan owner & remain so to this day. Then I hunted with the 392. There is a distinct difference in knock down power between the two. The bunnies do the dance with my Dan's. Little dancing if any with the Benji.
In addition; Dan's are everywhere to be found. Try finding a 392. ;)
Pretty sure some Walmarts still carry the 392 so they're definitely easier to find than a nice vintage Dan.
Now as far as which is better, I have no experience with the Benjamin 392, but I've had a little experience with a '77 342 and wile it wasn't 'ol blue it sure seemed like a nice little rifle and was as fun as any pumper is.
I'll always prefer my blue streak over everything, but from what I here the Benjamin's can be just as solid of a choice.
Last comment on the 392P; No you cannot find a 392P at wally world or any other store for that matter. They were only manufactured for three years, '91-'93.
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The Sheridan C was made for how many years? Wonder if that's why they are easier to find.
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I wasn't lucky enough to have a Sheridan when I was a kid. I remember a kid down the road had one and we made the mistake of saying how ugly it was. Sure didn't take long for it's beauty to shine through. My best friend whopped my Daisy 25's butt with his Crosman 760 and this kid blew every one away with the Dan. Wasn't no over pumping back then. Our skinny butts would be lucky to get 5 pumps in the Dan.
yeah, ditto. when I first got my 1377 I couldn't pump it more than twice. my older cousin had a sheridan and he was always bringing home game with it. and those old cylindricals would blast through the thickest metal cans. The sheridan was definitely king back in those days. my friends dad had a sheridan that must have been pretty old, because he had had it since he was young, and we would sneak peaks at it as if it were mystical. it was forbidden for us to touch it.
I think the fact that so many old ones are still in great shape and shooting today says something about their quality.
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My Sheridan was over 50 years old when it needed servicing for the very first time. I spent $50 on it & it was like new !! I am not exaggerating when I say that it has been shot at least 10,000 times &&& t has also taken enough game to fill the bed of a pick- up truck !
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I think the only Sheridan to need reseal is the one that don't get shot.. Maybe that's why so many have never been resealed.... they always get shot. You can tell the ones that you get on classifieds and the like have been neglected. The seals are all dried up n junk. And as with any pumper. If you stay within the maximum recommended number of strokes you won't wear holes and pins out. And if you use the gun as intended... you won't be needing any steroids.
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I think the only Sheridan to need reseal is the one that don't get shot.. Maybe that's why so many have never been resealed.... they always get shot. You can tell the ones that you get on classifieds and the like have been neglected. The seals are all dried up n junk. And as with any pumper. If you stay within the maximum recommended number of strokes you won't wear holes and pins out. And if you use the gun as intended... you won't be needing any steroids.
& a few drops of oil every now & then.
Seems like almost all that I see for sale are what I call, " Closet Queens ." They have not been shot in 20 years, so you might as well plan on spending the money to have it re-sealed.
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My Sheridan was over 50 years old when it needed servicing for the very first time. I spent $50 on it & it was like new !! I am not exaggerating when I say that it has been shot at least 10,000 times &&& t has also taken enough game to fill the bed of a pick- up truck !
My 1979 made it to about 36 years before it needed servicing, and that's probably because my dad used to use the wrong kind of oil in it.
I may only have experience with my blue streak, but I will always consider them the best pumper I could ever own.
I don't want to throw around any debatable statements, but when shooting ol' blue I don't think about shooting anything else or wish his power and accuracy were any different.
He always hits with authority exactly where I'm aiming, even on 2 pumps.
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Yes, I will say the Sheridans are really nice pumpers, wished I had known about them back in the younger years, I only picked up a '69 Blue Streak a couple of months back, had to re-adjust windage that was off, only shot maybe 75 shots through it testing and getting used to the open sight., only tested up to 35 feet indoors, but at that distance I can't hardly see the target, the front sight blocks it completely, I guess I need to get proper paper targets like the Gamo.
The seller resealed it, change the springs on it, and did a good job on the stock and metal, but I find it a bit hard to cock, he told me cocking will soften up with use, I use my shoulder to rest the stock when cocking (or my leg when seating), need to find a place to go plinking with it, because it is kind of noisy :o
Shoots great both the Sheridans and the JSBs, yet to test the Barracudas.
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Octavio, just a hint...
if you are covering the target with the front sight adjust your elevation "up" so the sight picture it stacked at 6-7 pumps. You should not loose sight of the target but the front blade be precisely under it.
When you shoot closer use less pumps and she should be darn close.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d5/ef/25/d5ef25ef234f8e43ce160885994b7974.jpg)
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since we are adding target pictures.......
here are a couple targets shot by my '77 silver streak using polymags. shot at 53' or 17.5 yards. 10 shots. the second group was shot 3 weeks after the first. each group had one either a flyer or I pulled or something. not bad for just a peep sight and using the back of a chair as a rest. The red circle is the size of a quarter.
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Octavio, the cocking isn't gonna get easier any time soon, if ever. Considering it's only cocked a couple seconds to an hour before you plan on shooting it. You can leave it cocked over night or swap the spring out for a lighter one. I'm guessing you rifle has no problems dumping 8+ pumps if it's that hard to cock.
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Octavio, the cocking isn't gonna get easier any time soon, if ever. Considering it's only cocked a couple seconds to an hour before you plan on shooting it. You can leave it cocked over night or swap the spring out for a lighter one. I'm guessing you rifle has no problems dumping 8+ pumps if it's that hard to cock.
Free standing is hard to cock and was worry about excessive force(s) placed on the barrel/receiver :( but now that I know what to expect I'm fine with it and is fairly fast and easy once I lean the stock against my shoulder to cock it, when I first got it I thought there was something wrong, and seller recommended loosing up the locating screw/stud just a tad, it was extremely tight.
Need to do more shooting and check with the chrony , never pumped more than 6 pumps yet, ???
Octavio, just a hint...
if you are covering the target with the front sight adjust your elevation "up" so the sight picture it stacked at 6-7 pumps. You should not loose sight of the target but the front blade be precisely under it.
When you shoot closer use less pumps and she should be darn close.
That's a good tip Scott, never knew that ::) I'll be testing it this week, never did much paper target practice before, so I never had this problem, with my old crosman pumper and old wadcutter pellets never shot anything beyond 30' I'll bet, certainly not the size of dime :D
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since we are adding target pictures.......
here are a couple targets shot by my '77 silver streak using polymags. shot at 53' or 17.5 yards. 10 shots. the second group was shot 3 weeks after the first. each group had one either a flyer or I pulled or something. not bad for just a peep sight and using the back of a chair as a rest. The red circle is the size of a quarter.
I would be very pleased with results like that off a bench. The fact that those were from the back of a chair is impressive! Makes me want to try polymags.
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I have run across a few that were harder to cock than others. I live in Florida, so we have plenty of sand & grit. Sometimes, removing & cleaning the bolt and housing solves this.[ BE CAREFUL not to lose tiny parts. Another thing to try is cocking it, & putting a drop of oil in at the bolt & leave it standing upright, so the oil can seep down beside the bolt.
NEVER over-pump these rifles !