Given this is a vintage area the lack of love for vintage springers amazes me

[19Sheridan57]

   I grew up in the 50's & 60's & don't remember seeing a " Twanger " back then. Daisy was the standard, with Crosman/Benji's/Sheridans available for the more serious air rifle shooter. I have owned Sheridans since the 1950's, hence my username. Probably the first springer I ever tried was a cheap Chinese import. I was not impressed at all ! Just in the last few years have I fired & owned some spring rifles. I do like the quality of old , well made springers , much better than MOST newer ones, which seem to be focused on maximum fps more than anything else.

[TerryM]

  Got my first BB gun at 7.  Carried a Crosman 140 as a teen.  For 20 some years my only air gun was an RWS Diana 34, bought new in '92 or so.  When I got back into air guns, I was drawn to the American pump and CO2 guns.  Sold my old Diana, was not using it anymore.  I never handled a fine quality springer, so they don't do so much for me. 

  The rear end cap on The BSA was the inspiration for the design on the Streak, I'll betcha.


  Saw a Scottish Daisy at a show last weekend, a break Barrel.  It was 25 bucks, should I have got it?

[19Sheridan57]

  Got my first BB gun at 7.  Carried a Crosman 140 as a teen.  For 20 some years my only air gun was an RWS Diana 34, bought new in '92 or so.  When I got back into air guns, I was drawn to the American pump and CO2 guns.  Sold my old Diana, was not using it anymore.  I never handled a fine quality springer, so they don't do so much for me. 

  The rear end cap on The BSA was the inspiration for the design on the Streak, I'll betcha.


  Saw a Scottish Daisy at a show last weekend, a break Barrel.  It was 25 bucks, should I have got it?

Yes, if it was in halfway decent condition. I had one in .22 for quite awhile, but recently sold it to a fellow member.

[Wolverineshooter]

Very nice collection Steve, beautiful stock. I have been looking around for nice old guns when going garage sale but found none so far. What other venues to find nice old air rifles?

[TerryM]

  I've found a few at gun shows, estate sales, antique/second-hand stores.  Done quite well on gunbroker.

[Wolverineshooter]

  I've found a few at gun shows, estate sales, antique/second-hand stores.  Done quite well on gunbroker.

Pawn shops I guess. Maybe people just give their old stock to them

[longhunter]

Love my old springers, but posting on them here doesn’t get much response.
I get kinda’ bored reading the same, recycled Benjy/Sheridan posts here. Good guns, small question, but there were other manufacturers...

If MORE people posted their old twangers, in this gate, there would, undoubtedly, be more responses. Most of the vintage springer posts are usually in the European gate. Just sayin'.

[45flint]

Very nice collection Steve, beautiful stock. I have been looking around for nice old guns when going garage sale but found none so far. What other venues to find nice old air rifles?

Finding vintage springers can be very tuff.  Two of the ones in the pic were bought at airgun shows on OldAirs table.  The other BSA Airsporter was a great find on Gunbroker.  Like said above few dealers imported them as they tended to be higher ticket items and little marketing.  At gunshows it’s an event to see a quality older springer.  (Pre 1960s). I have never found bargains but I’m after pretty prestine guns, that’s just me.  That said the prices do compare to some of the in the boxed prestine pumpers?  I’m almost always in the $300’s, but they are always in excellent condition shooting as new.

[45flint]

I think in the US the gateway to appreciating fine vintage springers is almost always closed by experiences with the hyper strung current Chinese or “Walmart” guns.  Nothing wrong with these guns for what they are but that’s what we see and experience.  My first airgun I bought back in the 1980s was a Beeman R-1.  Massive gun with quite a kick and was the start of “let’s see how powerful we can make them”.  Never shot the R-1 that much but as I retire I started to collect prewar blued milled Air pistols.  Loved the quality. That lead to my first vintage spring BSA rifle, totally different from the R-1, just sweet to shoot and so well made.  Got hooked. You can’t apprecite what you never held in your hands? That true of every new gun I pick up. The Webley Mark 3 just looked a little odd till I experienced it.  Fun part of collecting new experiences.

[Wolverineshooter]

I think the airgun market is pretty small, as can be seen from local craigslist ads going on forever without a sale. So the vintage market is even smaller.

[eeler1]

Geez, you guys have my ancient memory banks firing away. 

I can recall the first springer I ever saw, maybe 1960-ish?  One of the kids in our neighborhood had it, and he took a few of us other kids out in the hills behind the house to show it off.  I don't recall the make or model or where he got it or really anything about it other than it took .177 pellets. 

So the kid hands it to me to try out, I break the barrel, load a pellet, then close the barrel.  Then break the barrel again in order to pump it up, as was required in every other air gun I had seen to that point.  Doh!!!  They all got a good laugh at my expense.

Can't say that I wanted one, and even if I did, wouldn't know where to get one.  Wasn't until the 1980's that I owned a springer myself.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I have smacked the barrel on a Pumper to "break it open" more than once. 

[MDriskill]

If MORE people posted their old twangers, in this gate, there would, undoubtedly, be more responses. Most of the vintage springer posts are usually in the European gate. Just sayin'.

Agreed! For example, last week there was a very interesting thread on an old ARH-imported HW 30 on the German gate, that really should have been here. Oh well, think of it as an excuse to do more looking around on this site, nothing wrong with that, LOL...

 

[Eddie Howard]

I'm also like some here that didn't know about any Springer until the early to mid 80's. I only heard of one a man down the street had then but never seen one until the mid 90's and did not get the chance to see It shoot,only was told of how good It was.l purchased one a couple of years ago at the local flea market for 10.00 bucks to find out It was a cheap china pellet gun but I will say compared to the old Grossman that I had for years It did pretty good. I was lucky enough to have found a few Benjamin's and now my Intrest has been revived to get back Into air rifles. I am not so much leaning to spring or pump as long as the gun does a good job. I do hope to purchase a large cal PcP In the near future and would gladly purchase a better Springer If the occasion arises.
 I will say that I am more partial to the older virgins because of the quality of the workmanship that went Into most of them.

[lizzie]

I think in the US the gateway to appreciating fine vintage springers is almost always closed by experiences with the hyper strung current Chinese or “Walmart” guns.  Nothing wrong with these guns for what they are but that’s what we see and experience.  My first airgun I bought back in the 1980s was a Beeman R-1.  Massive gun with quite a kick and was the start of “let’s see how powerful we can make them”.  Never shot the R-1 that much but as I retire I started to collect prewar blued milled Air pistols.  Loved the quality. That lead to my first vintage spring BSA rifle, totally different from the R-1, just sweet to shoot and so well made.  Got hooked. You can’t apprecite what you never held in your hands? That true of every new gun I pick up. The Webley Mark 3 just looked a little odd till I experienced it.  Fun part of collecting new experiences.

I bought my first R1 about a year and a half ago. I was shocked at how accurate it is, especially in light of the size and "power". It's really a little too big for me, but it's currently my favorite pesting gun for Starlings and house sparrows.

[Motorhead]

While owning a few, simply don't shoot them because the PCP's out perform them at EVERY turn !!!
A Diana 75, Pair of HW-35's, FWB 124, Webley tempest as well a pair of sheridan's have become safe queens.
While having no need or want in selling them ... after 40 or so years OF SHOOTING them my love and fascination / challenging myself to shoot them well has expired. 

[Tofer34]

I love vintage and although I don’t have a springer I do have my Crosman 101 pump.

[45flint]

While owning a few, simply don't shoot them because the PCP's out perform them at EVERY turn !!!
A Diana 75, Pair of HW-35's, FWB 124, Webley tempest as well a pair of sheridan's have become safe queens.
While having no need or want in selling them ... after 40 or so years OF SHOOTING them my love and fascination / challenging myself to shoot them well has expired.

There no question for the shooter the modern PCP is superior.  But often vintage guns aren’t about winning a shooting contest it’s about appreciating a different time and place. Especially the craftsmanship and ingenuity of a time gone by.  There’s shooting at its highest precision and there’s collecting and appreciating fine machinery for what it is.  It’s all good.

[45flint]

I think in the US the gateway to appreciating fine vintage springers is almost always closed by experiences with the hyper strung current Chinese or “Walmart” guns.  Nothing wrong with these guns for what they are but that’s what we see and experience.  My first airgun I bought back in the 1980s was a Beeman R-1.  Massive gun with quite a kick and was the start of “let’s see how powerful we can make them”.  Never shot the R-1 that much but as I retire I started to collect prewar blued milled Air pistols.  Loved the quality. That lead to my first vintage spring BSA rifle, totally different from the R-1, just sweet to shoot and so well made.  Got hooked. You can’t apprecite what you never held in your hands? That true of every new gun I pick up. The Webley Mark 3 just looked a little odd till I experienced it.  Fun part of collecting new experiences.

I bought my first R1 about a year and a half ago. I was shocked at how accurate it is, especially in light of the size and "power". It's really a little too big for me, but it's currently my favorite pesting gun for Starlings and house sparrows.

HW/WEIHRAUCH never made a bad gun.  If I were pesting I’d be getting the R-1 out of the case for sure.

[TerryM]

There no question for the shooter the modern PCP is superior.  But often vintage guns aren’t about winning a shooting contest it’s about appreciating a different time and place. Especially the craftsmanship and ingenuity of a time gone by.  There’s shooting at its highest precision and there’s collecting and appreciating fine machinery for what it is.  It’s all good.
[/quote]


  When I really got into airguns a few years ago, one of my first purchases was a Benjamin Discovery.  Very nice gun, I shot it quite a bit.  Then I found a Crosman 160 at a gun show and my vintage collecting was off and running.  I haven't shot my Discovery in two years or more.