My 1st Son's 1st gun...

[FamilyMan811]

My first born, my Son Brock is 9 working on 10 years old. I wanted to get him his first Air rifle. I wanted something he could work on his marksmanship with as well as hunt when he is ready. I grew up on the 760 pumpmaster, as many know the little gun was hit or miss with mediocre power and accuracy. Although to be fair all I shot were local pellets.. little choices so I'm sure it could have done better given the chance.

To shorten a lengthy story I wanted something better. Something rock solid... Something with outstanding reliability, substantial power and above all known accuracy. I remembered the old Benjamin pumpers on the top shelf as a kid for $120+ ..  The classy all wood stock full metal.. etc.
Well things have changed some and I know polymers are amazing and all but... I was disappointed with the overall look and reports on the 397/392 Benjis...

I went on eBay and found what I was missing... a minty 1982 Sheridan C series "Blue Streak" ... the unique .20 cal

The polished brass ..the metal..the wood... the trigger.. the quality folks was once there... sad what it has become.

Brock is tickled... he's totally enamored with this rifle as am I.
Shots hard with 14.3 gr Benji cylindrical 8 pumps nets 630-640 fps repeatedly. Hits hard. This will do folks ...this will do just fine. May even send her to Timmy @Mac1 to bathe in his foutian of youth... maybe get the steroid treatment.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/152356942@N04/shares/Xm66V5

[HunterWhite]

That's a very nice gift, he will enjoy it. My younger brother had a Sheridan about 1967, he traded it for a motor scooter to commute to work. He still misses that gun.

[mobilehomer]

The question is - what are you going to get for him?

[FamilyMan811]

That's a very nice gift, he will enjoy it. My younger brother had a Sheridan about 1967, he traded it for a motor scooter to commute to work. He still misses that gun.

I am surprised at the number of functioning Blue and silver streaks still around. Amazing quality.

The question is - what are you going to get for him?

Lol! Too true tho, I can not deny I was very excited as well. As of now he can only manage 3-4 pumps anyway lol.

[screwwork]

Nice looking gun Jeremy! Your son will be able to grow into the Sheridan have many good years shooting it.
I had .20 cal blue streak Sheridan many years ago, it had taken rabbits, squirrels, and birds with it over the years.
I ended up getting divorced and the gun was lost in moving around a few times.. That still haunts me to this day and that was 20+ years ago.

[FamilyMan811]

Nice looking gun Jeremy! Your son will be able to grow into the Sheridan have many good years shooting it.
I had .20 cal blue streak Sheridan many years ago, it had taken rabbits, squirrels, and birds with it over the years.
I ended up getting divorced and the gun was lost in moving around a few times.. That still haunts me to this day and that was 20+ years ago.

Thanks Randy!! I am sure you're right about the fun filled years of shooting the ol Dan to come! I have heard of its stopping power as a kid and Brock and I are eager to see what kind of wallop it packs. Busts thru 1/4 in plywood no problem esp with those cylindrical Benjis @14.3 just as heavy as your basic .22  I am going to grab some original Sheridan cylindrical. 20 in the yellow as well. I have a Baker airguns mount coming that will keep it safe in the event Brock wants to mount the Newest Bug Buster (side focus, thinner reticle). I told him once he could hold nickels at 10yd he could scope it.

I'm sorry to hear about your Sheridan man that's a tear jerker for sure. I feel my self buying another there well worth the 200ish the seem to draw on eBay imo. I plan to flip a particular rabbit over in the next day or two if all goes well. 

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Jeremy:

That Gun is the Gift of a Lifetime.      If your son takes care of it well... he will still have it when he retires as an old man.     Wow.. What a Great Gift for Him !       You Did REAL GOOD with that gift.

I was given a Sheridan Blue Streak in 1958.    Quite a gun !     I wound up loosing mine in 1967, but I'll never ever forget the one that I had.    While I was away in the Army, my gun went missing.               

Best Wishes - Tom

 

[Rob112o]

Great to hear. I personally grew up with the Daisy 880 and couldn't imagine the excitement if I had a Dan or Benji back then. Unless you plan on getting the steroid, shooting at 630-640 is on the high end of the average. You have 1 fine shooting rifle as is.

[19Sheridan57]

  That is great ! I know he is happy. I got my first Sheridan at that age & still have it. It has been resealed one time , which was about 6 years ago.  No need to " steroid " it. It would not accomplish anything for a boy his age.

[Yng@hrt]

I wish I could have seen the look in your son’s eyes. That’s a beautiful Dan. Congrats to both of you.

I agree with Steve. These guns have plenty of power w/o the steroid treatment.

[Habanero69er]

Congratulations on your & your son's 'Dan.

Since Brock is building his "pumping" muscles", you might try some lighter ammo for him. The 13.73g JSB & 11.42g H&N FFT both work very well in most 'Dans. I haven't heard very many good reports on the Sheridan "trash cans" in the yellow box. Maybe others have had better luck with them.

[19Sheridan57]

  Three pumps are all I use for plinking , setting sights at 10 yds, etc. He may feel the " macho urge " to pump it to the maximum, 8 pumps , but doubt he will be able too. Five pumps is all I ever use for squirrels, unless shooting at long distances.
 About any pellet works well with these guns. Although yellow box " trash cans " don't have the greatest reputation , I have put a lot of dinners on the table with them, back when that was all I could find. I like JSB Exacts for accuracy , & Benjamin Sheridan for hunting, since they penetrate a bit more.

[Hoosier Daddy]

You had me concerned when you said "polished brass"... Thought someone had stripped the finish down to the base metal and polished it.
Then I looked at your photos.... WOW! She is a BEAUTY!!
Congrats on a good one, your son is very lucky... And probably your 1st Grandson too!

[Habanero69er]

Very nice indeed!

[FamilyMan811]

Thanks a ton guys! Brock certainly did light up, he has been watching me tinker for his entire childhood and seen his fair share of airguns for a little feller, it was as if he could just tell how well it was built. The jump from his red rider bb gun to a solid hitter like this seems to have fired him up lol.

He's at his Moms for spring break so I took back to the basement range to master this peep sight and re shoot 5s with my available pellet choices.

  Three pumps are all I use for plinking , setting sights at 10 yds, etc. He may feel the " macho urge " to pump it to the maximum, 8 pumps , but doubt he will be able too. Five pumps is all I ever use for squirrels, unless shooting at long distances.
 About any pellet works well with these guns. Although yellow box " trash cans " don't have the greatest reputation , I have put a lot of dinners on the table with them, back when that was all I could find. I like JSB Exacts for accuracy , & Benjamin Sheridan for hunting, since they penetrate a bit more.

The JSBs seem to be the one for now but as stated those Benjis are great too and really pack a wallop to boot.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/152356942@N04/rT40yA

[Habanero69er]

If the Benjamin pellets are accurate in your ‘Dan, then stick to what works. Just didn’t want you to shell out top dollar for the Sheridan pellets with their so so accuracy record.
There isn’t a very big selection of .20 pellets these days.

[Yng@hrt]

If the Benjamin pellets are accurate in your ‘Dan, then stick to what works. Just didn’t want you to shell out top dollar for the Sheridan pellets with their so so accuracy record.
There isn’t a very big selection of .20 pellets these days.

To take this one step further; it takes a lot of practice for a shooter to be efficient in doing his/her part on the other end of that trigger. Only then will you recognize the full potential of these guns. There are many great tips over on the Match Gates that you might find useful.
 
Every one of my Dan’s is capable of this accuracy at 10M & I use only JSB’s.

[Longbow]

That's a sweet looking gun ! 

[FamilyMan811]

If the Benjamin pellets are accurate in your ‘Dan, then stick to what works. Just didn’t want you to shell out top dollar for the Sheridan pellets with their so so accuracy record.
There isn’t a very big selection of .20 pellets these days.

To take this one step further; it takes a lot of practice for a shooter to be efficient in doing his/her part on the other end of that trigger. Only then will you recognize the full potential of these guns. There are many great tips over on the Match Gates that you might find useful.
 Every one of my Dan’s is capable of this accuracy at 10M & I use only JSB’s.

Thank you I will definitely check that out. That my friend is some lights out shooting! I can only hope my son and myself form that kind of bond with this old gem.

[bantam5s]

Perfect Choice for a first air rifle.
lightweight, accurate, plenty of power, compact, and built to last.
I really wish my dad had just given his to me instead of buying me a mostly plastic crosman powermaster 66, but I'm glad to have it now.

They can be difficult to pump up to 8, but 4 is plenty of power anyways.
Since it takes a bit of force to cock and pump he wont have an easy time trying to shoot when nobody is around, and that's a great thing.


Btw my gun loves the Benjamin branded pellets just fine and I can pick them up at BIG5 so that's what I use, maybe something else would shoot even better but I haven't felt the need to try anything else.