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Other Are pump action air rifles good now?

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MadCowCrazy2

MadCowCrazy2

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Sep 11, 2021
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Jomala, Åland, Finland
When I was around 10 years old (33 years ago, turned 43 last week) pump airguns were horrible. You would need to pump them 10-20 times and they were still bad compared to my Gamo break barrel I had at the time.

In this thread about airsoft for pest control Berserkeley Mike says:
Berserkeley Mike said:
+1 on the multi-pump, like a Daisy 880 or similar. I have the others, springers, CO2, rifles and pistols, but the multi-pump is the one I go for at 3 am when there is a mouse or rat in the house or backyard. The reason is it is as accurate as anything else, is easy to shoot accurately and I can adjust the power! Nobody wants an uneccessary hole in the wall.
Somebody on another channel was asking about those Gamo PBA pellets. That might be a good in-home choice as they don't ricochet as much as a BB, but won't freak out mom if a toddler eats one.
Outside the house, unless you have a _lot_ of mice and rats, sniping one here and there with the multipump is easy.
Click to expand...

My own suggestion in the thread was "Pump = Basically a PCP that you handpump for each shot, depending on rifle it might be 5-10 pumps per shot - I'd never recommend these to anyone unless there has been some sort of mechanical advancement that has revolutionized these compared to the ones I had as a kid 30 years ago."

So my question is how good are pump airguns nowdays.
Any recommendations to research? How do they compare to break barrels? I'm guessing they are easier to pump but you need several pumps compared to 1 harder cock from a breaker? Hmm, that sounds wrong but English is my 3rd language so I'll blame that :p

Edit: I'm talking about rifles, not hand pumps or compressors for filling pcp rifles.
 
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The Sheridan Blue streak gets my vote. They are perfect.

www.pyramydair.com

Sheridan Blue Streak: Part -1 | Blog | Pyramyd AIR

by Tom Gaylord Writing as B.B. Pelletier My Sheridan Blue Streak was purchased new in 1978. A history of airguns This report covers: Not a shooter You’ve got mice! The problem grows The rifle Thumb safety Rocker safety Why so different? Twenty caliber Multi-pump Accuracy Trigger Sights Goodbye...
www.pyramydair.com
 
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In the guns there are at least one maybe 2 that are, for lack of a better description, Hybrids. basically you use the built in pump to reach full charge of the cylinder, then after ea shot a few pumps to maintain full velocity. Unlike a Sheridan/Benjamin/Daisy you are not fully discharging the full cylinder/ compression chamber. Can't remember the mfgs right now. Up side is that they are capable of the same velocities as the pcp units with out the added expense of a out board pump of any type, and even better they are reasonably priced. They fill the gap between a springer and a full fledged PCP. i could get into a full detailed description of operation , but you can dig a little and find the units. pyramid air does carry at least one.
This concept was first put forth by a gentleman ( with patents) some where in the southern western states back in the late 90's - and then it just vanished.
As far as inexpensive compressor or hand pumps ( bicycle style), yes they have improved. Back 20 + years ago it would take a 100 or more to reach apx 3k psi on a rifle tank quite the cardio vascular work out.
 
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Multi stroke pneumatics are sort a niche item. The early Sheridans up through the beginnings of the Benjamin take over were fairly well built and flocks of them are still around. Either shooting well or only needing a reseal after many years of hard use. Then the linkages started to get cost effective (for the vendor, not the user). A multi stroke pneumatic taunts every young person and many (old farts) into over pumping and wrecking them. I am very nostalgic about the Sheridan but haven't been too impressed with recent productions of multi strokes. I may try a dragonfly 2 just to see how wrong I might be.
 
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maxtrouble said:
The Sheridan Blue streak gets my vote. They are perfect.

www.pyramydair.com

Sheridan Blue Streak: Part -1 | Blog | Pyramyd AIR

by Tom Gaylord Writing as B.B. Pelletier My Sheridan Blue Streak was purchased new in 1978. A history of airguns This report covers: Not a shooter You’ve got mice! The problem grows The rifle Thumb safety Rocker safety Why so different? Twenty caliber Multi-pump Accuracy Trigger Sights Goodbye...
www.pyramydair.com
Click to expand...
Blue streak
Silver streak
77A
All get my vote
 
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Bought a Crossman 760 (which is smooth bore) recently from Walmart for $38. Having a lot of fun with it shooting BBs although it looks like toy compared to my Crossman 761XL rifled all wood and metal gun. Reasonably accurate at close range. It is the lightest gun I got so easy to plink in the woods and who cares if it gets banged up. I think BB Pellitor's review was fairly good for the price point. I remember the scope did not add anything to accuracy. I had the Daisy 880 but got rid of it. Wish I still had it.
 
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MadCowCrazy2 said:
When I was around 10 years old (33 years ago, turned 43 last week) pump airguns were horrible. You would need to pump them 10-20 times and they were still bad compared to my Gamo break barrel I had at the time.

In this thread about airsoft for pest control Berserkeley Mike says:


My own suggestion in the thread was "Pump = Basically a PCP that you handpump for each shot, depending on rifle it might be 5-10 pumps per shot - I'd never recommend these to anyone unless there has been some sort of mechanical advancement that has revolutionized these compared to the ones I had as a kid 30 years ago."

So my question is how good are pump airguns nowdays.
Any recommendations to research? How do they compare to break barrels? I'm guessing they are easier to pump but you need several pumps compared to 1 harder cock from a breaker? Hmm, that sounds wrong but English is my 3rd language so I'll blame that :p

Edit: I'm talking about rifles, not hand pumps or compressors for filling pcp rifles.
Click to expand...
I have a pumper from 30 years ago, its a Benjamin. I also have three Sheridans from 68, 58, and 51 years ago. The Sheridans are in a completely different league, shooting tight groups with good power. The Benjamin from 30 or so years ago shoots about five inch groups, like a improved cylinder shotgun. Its also big and clumsy in comparison.
A forth Sheridan project gun is also pictured.

20230714_191447.jpg
 
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I started with a Daisy 880 fourty+years ago, so when I recently got back into airguns, I opted for another pumper.

I got on the waiting list for a Dragonfly2 in .22 when it first came out. This is about as modern a multi-pump there is today. It has a threaded barrel, 7shot magazine, low pumping effort, all wood & steel... Very powerful- 750fps w/14.3g pellet @12pumps. Its light too.

At a recent gun show, I picked up an older Sheridan Blue Streak .20cal. To compare this to the modern Dragonfly2...
Two totally different animals. Quality & build goes to the Blue Streak. But performance, fun to shoot, ease to pump, etc goes to Dragonfly2.

Biggest Dragonfly2 negatives; rubber-like barrel (needs barrel band) & minimalist pump linkage. Maybe a Dragonfly3 will come out & have some improvements.

The older Sheridan, biggest complaints I have are it is a beast to pump, its heavy, and no scope rail. Also pellet selection for .20cal is not good.

The perfect pumper would be a quality, German-made, 3-5 pump(easy pump) 750-800fps in .22, with a threaded barrel & quality magazine. Wood & steel, no plastic...
 
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I have two multi-pump pneumatics in my collection. A Benjamin/Crosman 392PA .22, and a Crosman 1377. Bought them both around 20 years ago. Always consistent, reliable, and accurate. Had to re-seal them both once, very easy to work on. Crank them anywhere from 2 to 8 times depending on your target and use. The 392 pumps easily due to the length and leverage of the forend. The 1377 is an especially good shooter with the optional carbine stock. Both are great guns.

pumpguns-1.JPG
 
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HPP-Mechanic said:
The perfect pumper would be a quality, German-made, 3-5 pump(easy pump) 750-800fps in .22, with a threaded barrel & quality magazine. Wood & steel, no plastic...
Click to expand...
The perfect woman would be....., ........, ........... & would .... like crazy. You can fill in the dots as you see fit. Anyway I think the my perfect woman and your perfect pumper have about the same chances of existence 😉
 
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.20calguy said:
I have a pumper from 30 years ago, its a Benjamin. I also have three Sheridans from 68, 58, and 51 years ago. The Sheridans are in a completely different league, shooting tight groups with good power. The Benjamin from 30 or so years ago shoots about five inch groups, like a improved cylinder shotgun. Its also big and clumsy in comparison.
A forth Sheridan project gun is also pictured.

View attachment 392665
Click to expand...
Sigh …. Those were the days
 
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