Benjamin 3100

[lonr5667]

I think that I may have gotten a little carried away with this latest obsession...

So my latest package arrived this morning, Benjamin 3100 in fantastic shape with both the "v" type rear sight and the factory peep site. Other than a good clean, it doesn't need a thing. Pumps and holds air, hits what I point it at, feeds BB's well... Now here's the snag, I have been using the Benjamin site to approximately date my guns so that I kinda know what I've got, but this one has a serial number that doesn't match anything there.

The site say's that the 3100 was manufactured from 1958 to 1984, there is no serial number ranges for years of manufacture and the website doesn't even have my serial number range listed. At first I thought maybe it was just a "light strike" on the serial number, so I got out the big desk mount magnifier with built in lamp and nope, it was still "F29344" not even listed on the Benjamin page that I have. There are no serials that even start with "F".

Anyone got any ideas...?

[MDriskill]

This is not helpful at all (!), but the serial number list in DT Fletcher's Benjamin book likewise has nothing starting with "F."
 

[MDriskill]

Lucky coincidence - there is a 3100 for sale on the AA Classifieds today. The seller lists the serial as "F184xx." Yep...another "F."

The serial lists on Benjamin's site actually cover only the main single-shot models. You may have discovered the repeaters were different!

https://blog.benjaminairguns.com/benjamin-sheridan-product-dates-of-manufacture

Neither here nore there...but I used to have a 3120 (.22 ball repeater), which - as its name implies - was originally based on the old 310 series action. Mine was clearly done on the newer 340 architecture but they didn't bother to change the designation (i.e., there was never a "3420?"). Given the range of production dates for the 3100, I'd speculate the same thing happened. It would be interesting to know how that affected serial numbers.

[xcalibur]

The Model 3100 was manufactured between 1958-'84 and used three serial prefixes over that time span. F, H, and T
The "F" prefix came first and, as Mike stated, is not listed on the online Benjamin serials chart. I've personally charted the repeaters serials and can tell you that serial F29344 was built between 1963-66. Not many changes happened in that time period, so that's as close as can be estimated at this time.

[lonr5667]

Thanks for the input, I wasn't sure because of the "F" prefix. I have noticed something though, the later air guns don't seem to have the silver finish under the black outer coating. They seem to just weather to a bronze/brass finish. Maybe we should start a record of the prefix and serial numbers for the various models not listed. Cheers

[xcalibur]

Thanks for the input, I wasn't sure because of the "F" prefix. I have noticed something though, the later air guns don't seem to have the silver finish under the black outer coating. They seem to just weather to a bronze/brass finish. Maybe we should start a record of the prefix and serial numbers for the various models not listed. Cheers

Little known fact: Benjamin used every letter of the alphabet as a prefix on different models except U,V,W,X,Y,Z