Need help with an older Sheridan Blue Streak

[oldair]

I think you'll find the stamp is actually "5691G" - to be read from right to left (i.e., backward) this is G for  for 7th month of 1965.  This format was used from '64 to '72.

Don R.

[Pelle]

  I figured out how to get my peep sight as low as it needs and shot mine today. It has been oiled up really well, with the sauce, without any problems, beforehand. Man that Williams peep is great. I need all I got to get it to eight pumps thou. Good luck with yours.

[Smoketown]

Ya know, you are right! Today I pulled real hard and sure enough it cocked. When it ran into metal the first few times I cocked it I thought it was all the way back, but no. Pull real hard past that and it cocks.

But it still leaks even when cocked. So a seal job is in order. Might be a winter project. However, Tom Gaylord wrote a 2 part piece on the Blue Streak and several items in there made me question whether or not I still want to bother with it. https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2019/07/sheridan-blue-streak-part-1-2/

1) You have to pump up to 8 times for each shot. Whether or not that's interesting to you is something each person has to decide.

2) Not as accurate as an RWS 34 and I have one of those that was professionally tuned by a tuner on GTA.

So....a marginally accurate rifle that you have to pump a bunch of times for each pellet........hmmm...I'll think about it.

Gaylord like any politician, priest, or rabbi has been known to be 'talking out of his arse' ... He is NOT the end all and be all guru of airguns.

1.) You do NOT have to pump it 8 times to shoot it. Quite often 2 pumps will do, making it more versatile than many airguns currently on the market.

2.) My Sheridan does NOT shoot as well as my TX200 and the TX200 does NOT shoot as well as my S510 ... Please do not compare apples to oranges.

You might also try this - https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=178363.msg156023229#msg156023229

Cheers,
Smoketown

[19Sheridan57]

   I have a stable full of Sheridans .
3 pumps is fine for killing cardboard. 5 pumps for most small game. Maximum 8 pumps for larger game or longer distance shooting. Cock it, then put 1-2 drops of oil on the tip of the bolts & stand it in a corner, overnight, with a rag/newspaper under it. See if it is easier to cock the next day.
  Raise the pump arm & put several drops of non detergent motor oil, transmission fluid, around the pump cup, inside. Let it soak overnight. Cock & pump it twice the next day & see if there is any resistance.

[Nvreloader]

JD
Here is some info on Sheridan's that might help, gives approximate time line on the changes to Dan's etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheridan_Products

Hth's

Don

[JD]

I tried the oiling suggestions and it still leaks. There's resistance but enough leakage that it probably needs a rebuild. Maybe I'll try the alcohol thing, we'll see.

I get really antsy and lethargic in the winter with no projects lined up so rebuilding it might be the key. When the weather turns nasty and I don't want to go out the front door, that'll be the time.

[19Sheridan57]

If it has a little pumping pressure, cock it , oil it gain & quickly dry fire it . Let it sit overnight & try it tomorrow. If that doesn’t help, overhaul.

[JD]

Maybe I'm oiling in the wrong spot. I originally oiled at A. But there's a little hole at B which looks like a possibility. Or is it somewhere else

[eeler1]

Yes, 1905 would be an extremely early rifle.

[19Sheridan57]

 "" Maybe I'm oiling in the wrong spot. I originally oiled at A. But there's a little hole at B which looks like a possibility. Or is it somewhere else ""

   Since you don't have anything to lose,, put some in both places.

[JD]

I think you'll find the stamp is actually "5691G" - to be read from right to left (i.e., backward) this is G for  for 7th month of 1965.  This format was used from '64 to '72.

Don R.

I'm sure you're right. I looked again, extremely hard to see and poorly stamped. The circle part of the 6 is there but not the stem. However, that circle part is smaller than a 0 so what you say must be correct. So July of 1965.

[JD]

This is odd. I just now got an email from Crossman. I'd given them the number I posted above with the "0" not the "6" and Crossman said that according to their records my rifle was made in 1973. Now there's a mystery.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Here is some key changes to help narrow yours down.

Because your receiver has the grooves, I would say Pre 68

1964 - Two changes

• Inspection dates now stamped (backwards and alphabetically) on the left side of the receiver. (Jan 1964 - Apr 1972)

• Front sight changed to a large forward serrated ramp style 1964 - 1977)

1965 - No changes

1966 - No changes

1967 - One change

• Trigger guard now attached by two rivets

1968 - Two change

• Grooves removed from the Receiver (now smooth flattop receiver). (Mar 1968 - Feb 1978)

• Curved bolt handle now welded to bolt.

1969 - No changes

1970 - No changes

1971 - Two changes

• Left-handed version introduced (Jul 1971) ( Approx 400 made)

• Rear sight now clip-on attachment. (April 1971)

1972 - Two changes

• Stamped Serial numbers introduced ( 000001 - 025650). (Apr 1972)

• Hole in bolt handle made shallow (1972–1974)

1973 - No changes. Serial numbers ( 025651 - 060550)

1974 - No changes. Serial numbers ( 060551 - 100780)

1975 - One change. Serial numbers ( 100780 - 141460)

• Hole in bolt handle eliminated.

1976 - No changes. Serial numbers ( 141461 - 175840)

[oldair]

Whoever is answering such questions at Crosman should be reassigned.  "5691G" =  July '65, no further details needed. 
The facts as noted by Hoosier Daddy are well established, and even Crosman's web page on Sheridan dating states the 6-digit serial #'s started in '72:  https://www.crosman.com/discover/crosman/benjamin-product-dates

It's usually better to not answer vs supply wrong info.

Don R.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Agreed Don... I was just trying to clear the "air"
OP admitted he gave Mother Crosman a "0" for a "G".
Bad data in = Bad data out.

[JD]

This photo was real difficult to get but it clears things up. The "6" was stamped so indistinctly that it looked like a "0", I couldn't see the upper tail on the 6 so it just looked like a 0. So July 1965 it is.

[JD]

I sure wish we could edit our posts!! Anyway, click on the image and you'll see it pretty clearly.

[JD]

   Since you don't have anything to lose,, put some in both places.

I did it and let it sit overnight. Still leaking so re-sealing it is.

[19Sheridan57]

I sure wish we could edit our posts!! Anyway, click on the image and you'll see it pretty clearly.

    You can edit your posts, you just have to do it soon after posting.

I have several  1965-1966 rifles & the numbers are like that.

   I just sold a 1968 & the number 6 looked much different than that.

[19Sheridan57]

  YEP. She is D.O.A.