Here are the airguns Bill and I shot at our 30 yard backyard range, this afternoon. Bit of breeze and plenty of mosquitoes, but otherwise a nice afternoon to put the pump up air rifles though their paces. All shooting was at a measured 30 yards from the bench.
Bill is a bit new to shooting pump ups, so after giving him some tips on working these pump air rifles, I started him with a well-used 1970s Sheridan Bluestreak with a 4x scope. Sheridan Bluestreaks, of course, shoot 20 cal pellets.
In a matter of a few targets, he was stacking those 20 cal pellets dead in the bullseye.
For myself, I chose a mid 90s vintage Benjamin 397P. A few years earlier, Crosman had bought out Benjamin and was still using walnut stocks and some old Benjamin parts. This, then, was the last of the 397s with a walnut stock and tang safety. The following year, Crosman built the Benjamin 397s with hardwood stocks and moved the safety to the trigger guard. This one wears a 3-9x scope and is mint shape.
This Benjamin loves Crosman pellets, so no need to feed it the pricey European pellets.
And my best target of the day
A word about shopping for these vintage classic American pump up air rifles. These pump airguns have been going up steadily in price for the last ten years, especially the Sheridans, and now we're seeing the same kind of demand growing for the vintage Benjamins. The pandemic has has added fuel to the fire on pricing, so if you find one of these at a good price, locally, better grab it (and locally is your best bet for finding one at a reasonable price, now, since pricing online has now reached the point of insanity in some cases).
