Really Fine pellet guns

[RPKESQ]

For such an supposed gun "expert", you would think you would know that olympic class airguns are the most accurate guns in the world. Another example of snowedmans "more money than brains" lifestyle. Man up and sell the Dillon to Joeska as you agreed.

[alf]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

One of the best deals going in air rifles is still the old Sheridan line of 5mm (.20 caliber) pneumatic rifles. Mac1 Air Guns in L.A. will either upgrade your own, or sell you a brand new Sheridan with their proprietary valves and pump mechanism. A brand new one will only set you back about $250. They completely rebuilt and upgraded my 1962 vintage Blue Streak for only about $150.

A standard Sheridan will shoot its 5mm, 14.3 grain pellet at about 670 fps. Mac1's "Steroid" conversion approaches 900 fps with that pellet. Any Sheridan will shoot cloverleafs at the standard air rifle match range of 10 meters. Not the one hole groups of the $3000 match rifles, but certainly all shots overlapping. Where they really come into their own is at extended ranges, outdoors, in the real world. The 14.3 grain .20 caliber pellet is heavier than most .22 caliber pellets and has the highest ballistic coefficient of any air rifle pellet. This translates into far less wind drift when shot outdoors at longer range. Those expensive .177 caliber match guns simply fall apart in the wind at extended ranges. There is a reason air rifle matches are fired at 10 meters, indoors.

I've had a lot of fun over the years, whipping out my Sheridan and mopping up on the guys with the $3000 match rifles, in friendly matches. I just take them outside, and put the targets up at, say, 50 yards. At that range, they're done. Those little .177's blow around like badmitton birdies. At that range, the Sheridan still groups well under an inch. And will shoot clear through a rat, or even still kill a possum. There is not a .177 on earth that will do that. Plus, the Sheridan is light and handy, and can actually be carried afield like a real rifle. Here is my '62 vintage, along with a mid '80's vintage Sheridan pistol (sadly, no longer made):

I have to get me, um i mean my boys one of those!

[scottmandue]

When I was picking up my 870 at Big 5 Thursday they had some cool looking Walther pellet guns. Are they really made by Walther?

They had a very neat looking automatic pistol and a break action rifle.

I already have a .22 crossman pump hand gun that is scary accurate.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I've got a reloading press for sale for that pellet gun. Wanna' buy it?


Psyche!


Man up and make good on your deal. The little credibility you had to begin with is gone until you do.

[looneybin]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

One of the best deals going in air rifles is still the old Sheridan line of 5mm (.20 caliber) pneumatic rifles. Mac1 Air Guns in L.A. will either upgrade your own, or sell you a brand new Sheridan with their proprietary valves and pump mechanism. A brand new one will only set you back about $250. They completely rebuilt and upgraded my 1962 vintage Blue Streak for only about $150.

A standard Sheridan will shoot its 5mm, 14.3 grain pellet at about 670 fps. Mac1's "Steroid" conversion approaches 900 fps with that pellet. Any Sheridan will shoot cloverleafs at the standard air rifle match range of 10 meters. Not the one hole groups of the $3000 match rifles, but certainly all shots overlapping. Where they really come into their own is at extended ranges, outdoors, in the real world. The 14.3 grain .20 caliber pellet is heavier than most .22 caliber pellets and has the highest ballistic coefficient of any air rifle pellet. This translates into far less wind drift when shot outdoors at longer range. Those expensive .177 caliber match guns simply fall apart in the wind at extended ranges. There is a reason air rifle matches are fired at 10 meters, indoors.

I've had a lot of fun over the years, whipping out my Sheridan and mopping up on the guys with the $3000 match rifles, in friendly matches. I just take them outside, and put the targets up at, say, 50 yards. At that range, they're done. Those little .177's blow around like badmitton birdies. At that range, the Sheridan still groups well under an inch. And will shoot clear through a rat, or even still kill a possum. There is not a .177 on earth that will do that. Plus, the Sheridan is light and handy, and can actually be carried afield like a real rifle. Here is my '62 vintage, along with a mid '80's vintage Sheridan pistol (sadly, no longer made):

I have the exact same Sheridan air rifle, I've had it for about 25 years.
I had the seals replaced about 10 years ago.
It's great for plinking squarrels from about 25 yards & is VERY accurate

[arerrac]

This is the Beeman my brother and I have used for about 10 years now.

Beeman R1
Velocity fps 950

http://www.beeman.com/r1.htm

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

When I was picking up my 870 at Big 5 Thursday they had some cool looking Walther pellet guns. Are they really made by Walther?

They had a very neat looking automatic pistol and a break action rifle.

I already have a .22 crossman pump hand gun that is scary accurate.

I have the Walther CO2 pistol....not very accurate, but it is pretty neat. My wife bought it for me as a christmas gift a couple years ago to play with in the shop on cold winter days. I shoot it into a cardboard box with a shredded old truck inner tube draped over the opening.

[Joeaksa]

You guys have me missing my old Sheridan that went by the wayside years ago!

[alf]

Sooo I am thinking of getting the Sheridan would y'all recommend a .177, .20 or .22? Mostly for plinking cans and paper targets and teaching the boys how to shoot.

The Webley pistol and crossman rifle i have is a .177 which would make ammo management easier. But seems like the Sheridan was made for the .20

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by alf

Sooo I am thinking of getting the Sheridan would y'all recommend a .177, .20 or .22? Mostly for plinking cans and paper targets and teaching the boys how to shoot.

The Webley pistol and crossman rifle i have is a .177 which would make ammo management easier. But seems like the Sheridan was made for the .20

And the next question is where to find a nice older Sheridan? Gunbroker?

Would not mind finding one and having MAC overhaul it to top condition.

[berettafan]

how is it SOME people think a .22 caliber air rifle is somehow more suitable for children than a std. 22 caliber rifle?

or a 35 Remington?

or a .223 Bushmaster?

once loaded (and charged) all are deadly weapons.

Before i get blasted for being an anti i should point out that my son had a 20ga with his name on it before he was born and i anxiously await the day i teach him to use it. i'm just not going to kid myself that he's more safe with a 800fps air rifle because 'more safe' is not good enough to treat the firearm any differently.

Not trying to be a dick here but it's a point that should be made as no doubt there may be one or two folks reading this thinking about getting Jr. a nice air rifle. When people get lax in their firearm handling we ALL suffer.

[Jeff Higgins]

The Sheridan only comes in .20 caliber. The Benjamin is virtually the same gun, but comes in .177 and .22 calibers. The .177 is by far the cheapest to shoot, and will do just fine for plinking. .20 caliber is kind of an oddball, with the only pellets available being the proprietary Sheridans or some of the Beeman variety, like their Silver Jet and whatnot. There are no "bargain" brands of cheap .20 caliber pellets. That said, however, they are still dirt cheap to shoot compared to even the cheapest .22 rim fires.

Benjamin and Sheridan merged something like 20 years ago after being competitors for years. Both are quality, American made pneumatic air rifles. The distinguishing features of the two makes started to blur after the merger. Then, in the last decade or so, Crossman bought them. The only difference between the Benjamin and Sheridan lines today is the caliber. The .20 caliber is traditional for the Sheridan. It never caught on with anyone else, save for a few European (mainly German) manufacturers that recognized its superiority as a hunting caliber. It really does hit noticably harder than a .177, and has better range than a .22 caliber. It's the perfect compromise for most air rifles power plants.

Air rifles are obviously extremely limited in the power they can produce. At least the fully self contained ones; the pre-charged (from a scuba tank) pneumatics are a whole different kettle of fish. So, when restricted by a mainspring a man can actually cock by himself or a pneumatic he can actually pump up, maximum air rifle power is limited. Like anything else in this world, that power can be used in a number of ways. High velocity, in the form of .177's, is one way. High power, in the form of the .22 caliber (and even .25 caliber now). Or somewhere inbetween. That's kind of where the .20 lies. It does shoot a very heavy for caliber pellet (like I said, heavier than most .22 pellets) so it ranges better and penetrates better than the .22. Other than the highly specialized (and expensive) .25 caliber spring piston guns, that makes the .20 caliber Sheridan the best "everyman's" hunting air rifle.

Anyway, if you don't need that, the .177 is a better choice. Every bit as accurate (with similar quality pellets) at short range, and somewhat cheaper to feed. And, like I said, the Benjamin is essentially the same rifle as the Sheridan these days.

Joe - just buy a new one from Mac1; they have them in stock, ready to ship. Either factory original or their Steroid tuned version. Airguns of Arizona has them as well, as does Pyramid Air, and many others. I bought my son a Sheridan locally at a Big 5 Sporting Goods. Look around and you'll find one fairly easily.

[Joeaksa]

Jeff,

Good info and thanks much!

Need to keep an eye on the Cabelas and Big-5 adverts more often.

Joe

[kmhemi]

I've got a .177 rifle, single pump, break barrel. 1000 fps
That one Snowman posted is awesome. I'd love to have one of those.

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by berettafan

how is it SOME people think a .22 caliber air rifle is somehow more suitable for children than a std. 22 caliber rifle?

or a 35 Remington?

or a .223 Bushmaster?

once loaded (and charged) all are deadly weapons.

Before i get blasted for being an anti i should point out that my son had a 20ga with his name on it before he was born and i anxiously await the day i teach him to use it. i'm just not going to kid myself that he's more safe with a 800fps air rifle because 'more safe' is not good enough to treat the firearm any differently.

Not trying to be a dick here but it's a point that should be made as no doubt there may be one or two folks reading this thinking about getting Jr. a nice air rifle. When people get lax in their firearm handling we ALL suffer.

Berrata Fan,

I Have 4 sons, They all started with Daisy Red Ridders.
2 of them now have decent .22 air riffles, 1 doesn't show interest in it, and the 4th one I wouldn't turn my back on him a rubber band.

[FOG]

I can vouch for Tim McMurray of MAC airguns. Very good work and very honorable. I had one of his Sheridan conversions years ago but sold it to someone who needed it more.

The only “Match” air rifle I have is an old FWB 150 recoilless. Still accurate enough for training. Also use a RWS 6M (shot a little after work with my son, hit the 1” square .22 spinner 1st shot 45 yards so…). Both kind of fall off accuracy after a bit, especially with the match pellets. Heavier pellets help.

My RWS 54 is accurate but doesn’t get much use, it keeps eating scopes (even L or B brand good scopes that are airgun rated), is relatively loud, and takes consistent shooting to remain effective due to being very sensitive to how you hold it during recoil.

I have a couple of Crossman 600s. .22 caliber CO2 powered semi-auto pellet pistols also gone over by Tim. Kind of fun but with current prices about the same to shoot as .22LR and not as accurate as the RWS.

S/F, FOG

[Dana Norris]

Hey guys next time you pick up some more of those nice RWS pellets remember to get a tin of barrel cleaner pellets, these high power pellet rifles lead up quickly, ask me how I know!
just my 0.02

[alf]

Thanks Jeff, great insight. I might just get the .177.

BerrettaFan
I do not think it is safer. I was taught to shoot (by a foreign govt) at 12 with a pellet gun, then .22 at 13 and M16 at 14. National marksman champion in all 3 for my age group.

Recoil management, good sight and trigger control is easier to learn on air rifles than M16s, particular for kids. Range and safety precautions the same on all 3 with a staff sargent willing to literally kick you in the ass while you are in a prone position if you mess up.

[mattdavis11]

I just bought a Benjamin .22 892 model. It's a nice shooting pellet gun. Max velocity is 685. I'm a bit skeptical of the quality, but that is only because crossman has something to do with them now. I couldn't find an older one, but I didn't look real hard either. We shall see how it holds up. For $135, I bet I'll get my monies worth. So far it's been great for wiping out the squirrel population, and is especially nice with a 6x Zeiss scope on it. It's overkill I know, but it's been fun these last few weeks.

[Rob Channell]

+1 on the Sheridan.

I would still like a nice multishot pistol one day. I kinda like the LP50 on this page.
http://www.pilkguns.com/worldclassap.shtml