sheridan air rifles- a couple questions about the brass barrel and some other stuff

R

redneck

New member
I'm thinking of buying a new air rifle for plinking and light pest control around the barn. I've got a cheap daisy that was surprisingly powerful/accurate for $30, that I shot all summer, but it didn't hold up at all. The barrel occasionally flies out the end because its press fit with just a press fit plastic muzzle to hold it in. Not a big deal to get it back together but its annoying as hell and it doesn't shoot too good anymore.
I've been eyeing a benjamin sheridan (397 I think ? ) at Gander mountain for $127, still want to check the price at walmart. Its gotten all good remarks in the searches I ran here at TFL, but I'm still kind of worried about the brass barrel getting fouled up. How likely is it for a pellet to jam? I've been shooting crosman and RWS pellets, and try to check for any major defeects before loading. If it was to jam, how likely would it be for the rifling to get damaged either from the jam or from getting it out? From all the posts I read on the gun, it doesn't sound like normal shooting will wear the barrel out so I'm not too worried about that.
Would it need to be cleaned very often because of buildup in the barrel?
Its only real job in terms of pest control would be shooting sparrows, mainly to kill tham after I shoot them out of the rafters with .22 birdshot. But its fun to pick them off as they sit on the fence row too. It would be pretty accurate out to 100ft or so right?

Any other guns I should look into that are similar in price and would be fairly easy to find? I'd prefer pneumatic so I can vary the power for different shots.

Thanks alot. TFL's a great resource. Its even managed to draw me away from bladeforums for small periods of time ;)
 
I can field this one...

It is very unlikely a pneumatic pellet rifle in good condition will jam with a lead pellet of proper caliber.

Many years ago, I bought a .20 Sheridan Blue Streak at a flea market for $20- it was a dog... I polished the stock with cordovan shoe polish and tried to reblack the brass (actually phosphorus red bronze- harder than brass). Cleaned up OK but not great... I have never regretted that purchase.

I sent it off to Tim McMurray at Mac1 airguns for a 14 pump tune and I was not disappointed with his Sheridan technician's work- claims near 900 fps with the light pellets and 700+ with the heavy pellets seem about right and you will get an upper body workout pumping the thing but it's a sturdy lightweight hard hitting field rifle and is the death on pidgeons...

I've since switched to my pet Winchester 52 with CBee Caps for such work. I'd stick to .20 or .22 for pest control which are available in the new Benjamin/Sheridan rifles. Even these newer rifles far outclass the Daisy...
 
I have an older Sheridan Blue Streak. I sent it to MAC-1 for the steroid treatment & to have the receiver grooved and bolt handle modified for scope use. To be honest I didn't need the steroid tune but the bolt mod & receiver grooved was a good investment. I have tried alot of the expensive European spring piston airrifle and by far the Sheridan is the best hunting airrile I have owned.
 
I have a Silver Streak and love it. I put the Williams peep sight on mine and it is very accurate. I like being able to regulate the power with more/less pumps and it reminds me of the one I shot when I was a kid. If you call Crossman they will send you a new updated bolt and trigger parts that really lower the trigger pull, at least they would about a year ago. Good luck, Mike...
 
I have 2 Sheridans--both were made before Benjamin took them over.

The first one--a Blue Streak---I've had for 30 years-since I was a kid--its never been over-pumped or abused at all----the stock has taken quite a beating from my younger days---it still shoots straight and has never had a problem.

The second one---a Silver Streak----I bought 10 years ago and is still in the box and has NEVER been fired----the owners manual is still attached to the trigger guard. I was intending to give it to one of my kids---only problem is no boy child has come along and my girls show no interest---<sigh> oh well---maybe for a grandkid someday.

If you have the .20 cal/5mm Sheridan--you really should use the Sheridan pellets---they are a lot harder than anything else and will punch through stuff like you would'nt believe.
 
Pest control and more

DeeBee,
CB longs are a staple around my place, especially in my Model 52 with speedlock from 1929. Not just pest control either; I shoot a lot of 'em for indoor target in rifle and long guns.

If you have a good .22 rifle, you could save the cost of an airgun just by getting a bunch of CB longs. I like the CCI but have used Remington CeeBee also. A case (5000 rds) of CCI last month cost me about $180, and should hold me for awhile.

Great to hear there are some other CB fans around!
 
Thanks guys
I have a .22 for real varmints, and stuff like that along with a 12 gauge for anything serious. I like CB's real well for use in the haymow and stuff like that but they're a little much for some stuff and are more expensive and harder to find locally than pellets.
Thats why I was thinking .177 instead of.20 for the sheridan. Its supposed to shoot a little flatter. Which might make it better for knocking sparrows off the fence, and just plinking. I would go with .20 if there was any advantage to it besides knockdown power, is there? I'm not sure if they have them in that caliber at the store I was looking at though.
I'll probably get the scope mount for it too, although the peep sight looks pretty cool.

Thanks for clearing things up on the barrel. I'll probably go and pick one up soon now.
 
I've got a Silver Streak that's about 14 years old. I've never had a pellet jam. These guns have a decent amount of power (to keep pellets from getting stuck in the barrel), and the only companies making 5mm (.20 caliber) pellets seem to do a good job of not turning out defective pellets.

I keep meaning to send mine to Tim for a Steroid job, but somehow I just never have. Anyway, it shoots great as it is. I'm not really interested in the extra power--I'll probably never pump it past the normal 8 strokes recommended for a stock Sheridan. As an engineer, I like the idea of the reinforced pumping linkage and the other improvements he makes to the gun.

I have the Williams receiver peep on mine. If you're not a scope person, this is a must have accessory.

If you ARE a scope person, you need to have the receiver grooved. The rear sight, and any scope mounts that clamp to the barrel can eventually put enough pressure on the solder holding the barrel in place to break it.

Also, I've done some work on the front sight--filed off the nickel and put some brass-blackening solution on it. I got tired of the glare from the shiny nickel.
 
I still have my Blue Streak after over 40 years. Granted, I haven't shot it much for the last 30, but I take it out every couple of years. It still works, and still shoots slightly left, which was as annoying when I was 12 as it is now (no windage adjustment). Still, I store it with two pumps, and it works every time.

I would swear the literature at the time (1959?) specified a max of 10 pumps, even though most of the time it was a max of 8. If it hurt mine, it's hard to see where.

Jaywalker
 
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