DIYbanter - View Single Post - Sorta OT-advice please for pellet rifles

wrote:
Eric R Snow wrote:
I usta have a nice, accurate pump pellet rifle. I can't be sure, but I
think it was a Sheridan. Anyway, it took several pumps for full
velocity and fired .177 cal pellets (I think). It was quite accurate
and would put pellets right through a 2x4 when pumped enough. On the
other hand, just a couple pumps would send pellets out slow enough
that they wouldn't go through heavy paper at about 40 feet away. Is
there a pellet rifle available today that matches my old one? I have
looked and can only find the ones that take just one pump and it's the
barrel that's the pump lever, not the fore stock like my old one. I
want the variable velocity.
Thanks,
eric

As others have pointed out, Sheridans are still made, although probably
not as well as the old ones. By today's standards, they're not
particularly powerful.

And I can tell you those 10 pumps are a lot more work than they were
when I was a kid!

The ones you've see that use the barrel for
cocking are spring-air rifles and probably get more velocity from that
one cocking movement than 10 pumps on the Sheridan. Most will be more
accurate as well.

Yep, lots of good choices in the $100 - $200 range.
Even the $40 Chinese stuff seems to be a good starting point if you want
to try tuning (metalwork related)

There's also sidelever cockers and underlever
cockers in spring-air guns, those will have fixed barrels, tend to be
more accurate and handle scoping better. For real power, precharged
pneumatics that use scuba tanks for air pressure are top of the heap
for power and cost.

Up to 50 caliber and bigger!
Pricey too. The Lewis and Clark rifle was a PCB as were most airguns
before the 20th century.

In my experience, you need pellet velocities of at least 650-700 fps to
reliably kill vermin like pigeons, the pump-ups generally land on the
lower edge of this. You can get some lucky shots that will take them
out with lesser velocities, but anything below this isn't going to be
that reliable. There's some import spring air guns that will exceed
this velocity and don't cost and arm and a leg to own. You just don't
leave them cocked.

And a few U.S.made ones. Benjamin is one, may be the only 100% U.S. gun
- if that matters to you. Did for me.