Unbelievable - Pellet Gun from 50 years ago

[gitano]

As I mentioned in another thread (http://thehunterslife.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15862) I have recently been in California taking care of some details of my Dad's estate. While there I made the final 'walk-through' of his house before is gets cleaned out and sold. I was stunned to find this pellet gun:



The reason I was stunned is that it is the pellet gun that my Dad got for me when I was 10 years old! I really, REALLY thought it was long gone! You can imagine my surprise and pleasure at finding it. I did remember it wrong as being a "Crossman" when in fact it is a "Sears" - a Crossman knock-off. Other than the fact that it's bluing is almost completely gone, it works like it did the day I killed the last rabbit with it. It is a .22 caliber, and hits like the proverbial "ton o' bricks". As you can see, it is a pump, and still holds good air at only two pumps. My Dad took really good care of it. Not surprising for a man that started a 32-year military career as an infantryman.

Here are a couple of more pictures.




I'll run it through the chronograph soon and see just how fast it is at various pumps.

50 years old. I don't know... do they still make 'em like they used to?

Paul

[RatherBHuntin]

Very cool Paul. A real treasure.

[gitano]

That's absolutely right, GLenn.

Good to see you around.

Paul

[22hornet]

Outstanding find Paul. You must be very pleased to have your rifle back again! :grin:

So how do you remember it shooting and how does it shoot now?

[drinksgin (deceased)]

I still have my Sheridan SS,5mm, it still shoots 6 pumps at 580fps, factory claimed 600fps, so it is not far off after almost 50 years. Seems a good one will last about forever with a few drops of oil now and then.
Now you have an appropriate weapon to defend your self against attacking grouse.

[crowkiller]

A company in Finland started selling Benjamin 392 recently, I want to buy one but the price is sky-high 280€!

[gitano]

Some corrections are in order.

First, the title to the thread is wrong. It should read 50 years ago, not 60 years ago.

Second, it DOESN'T work "like it did the day I killed the last rabbit with it."

22hornet - I needed to kill some squirrels that were digging my potted plants up so I thought I'd get the pellet gun out and harken back to the halcyon days of my youth. Since the squirrel was only about 12 ft away I just gave it three pumps, lined up and squeezed the trigger. Nuthin. Hmmm. Must have safety on. Cycle the safety, and no, safety is not on. Pull trigger again. Nuthin. No gas. Hmmm... I pumped it up again - this time 10 pumps - and lined up and pulled trigger. Phhhttt. Pellet BOUNCED OFF OF THE SQUIRREL! It knocked it off the deck railing, but literally bounced off!

The squirrel high-tailed it to the nearest tree and commenced cussing me out from a lower branch. Hmmm... The pellet gun was certainly not going to get the job done, so I reached for a 'real' gun, my little Savage Model 1903 pump. .

I had just purchased some CB LONGS that j0e_bl0ggs had pointed out, and I thought they would be the closest thing to a 'pellet gun'.

So armed, I walked out to the continued and incessant berating of the squirrel. Anger and arrogance, (the likes of "you can't touch me, you *%*%&*%"), often lead to outcomes other than those expected. (For humans as well as squirrels.) Surprisingly, his buddy - another potted plant digger - took up 'the cause' when the first one fell. He died  too.

In the 12 years I have lived in this house, I have never had problems with squirrels digging up my potted plants. This year there were more squirrels around than there have ever been, and I assume some 'thugs' came into the neighborhood. After the lesson in humility, there were still two squirrels that continued coming to the feeder. However, I have had no more potted plant digging since the demise of the two that chose to give me 'what for' even AFTER I knocked the first one off the deck with the anemic pellet gun.

Which brings me back on topic. Obviously I need new washers for the pressure chamber in the pellet gun. I'm not too worried about getting my hands on some. I THINK that if I can't find them retail, I will be able to make them. I'll keep ya posted.

Paul

[drinksgin (deceased)]

Pretty sure you can find just about any parts for it, Pyramid Air might be a good place to start.
my sheridan calls for 2 drops of non detergent oil in the cylinder once a year, so far [with the occasional miss on annual], it keeps on after a lot of years, I believe I bought it in 1958.

[j0e_bl0ggs (deceased)]

CCI have brought out a new low velocity 40grain cartridge called 'quiet'.
(Obviously thought long and hard over that one)
Still waiting to get my paws on some but the good thing is it is a Long Rifle case, not just a Long case. This will improve accuracy no end! and the 40 grain should not bounce off short range squibbles!
Linky for spec.

[drinksgin (deceased)]

Paul, you could have use the 60gr Aguila SSS, that should not bounce off!

[JaDub]

Pretty little Savage..........   I`d hang that on my wall anytime !

[gitano]

That is indeed a sweet little rifle, JaDub. I like it very much. It has a little hang-up with magazine on the next-to-last round, but it's not a big deal. I'm looking for another magazine for it.

Paul