Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: swanny on December 24, 2010, 04:36:08 PM

Title: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: swanny on December 24, 2010, 04:36:08 PM: My grandpa gave me his Bengamin air rifle years ago, he bought it when he lived in Alaska. It is a .22 pump, solid wood stock and made in the USA. Does anyone know of a source for finding out when it may have been made?
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: NWBREW on December 24, 2010, 04:57:56 PM: Not sure how you would find out........my friend had one when I was a kid. I've always wanted one just not sure why. :chuckle:
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: FC on December 24, 2010, 04:58:32 PM: http://www.ehow.com/how_6130894_identify-benjamin-air-rifle.html (http://www.ehow.com/how_6130894_identify-benjamin-air-rifle.html)

http://www.bradwood.com/airrifle/ (http://www.bradwood.com/airrifle/)

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/service/benjamin (http://www.crosman.com/airguns/service/benjamin)

If you didn't already know, Crosman owns and controls Benjamin as well as a few other air rifle manufacturers now. Show us some pics! I recently got myself a new air rifle and it's been a lot of fun although I suppose the crows would disagree with that statement..
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: swanny on December 24, 2010, 05:58:31 PM: Quote from: FC on December 24, 2010, 04:58:32 PM
http://www.ehow.com/how_6130894_identify-benjamin-air-rifle.html (http://www.ehow.com/how_6130894_identify-benjamin-air-rifle.html)

http://www.bradwood.com/airrifle/ (http://www.bradwood.com/airrifle/)

http://www.crosman.com/airguns/service/benjamin (http://www.crosman.com/airguns/service/benjamin)

If you didn't already know, Crosman owns and controls Benjamin as well as a few other air rifle manufacturers now. Show us some pics! I recently got myself a new air rifle and it's been a lot of fun although I suppose the crows would disagree with that statement..

thanks for the links! The Crosman site showed me it's from 1961, model 312. I've always loved this thing, it a tack driver! Hopefully one day I'll be passing it on to either my kid or my own grandkids (way down the road there).

And since you asked here are a couple of pictures.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: FC on December 24, 2010, 06:15:58 PM: Very cool, that would be a great one to refinish!
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: 724wd on December 25, 2010, 12:11:24 PM: i killed my first sparrow with the same gun when i was 3 or 4. my dad put the hurt on many a cat and starling with it. i have it now, but the seals are wiped out in it. someone gave me a link on time about a place to fix it, but havent done it yet.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: jdb on December 25, 2010, 03:32:58 PM: I have a .20 caliber and its hell on sage rats! its also killed a magpie or two and one stringy old jack rabbit.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: swanny on December 27, 2010, 07:43:31 AM: Quote from: FC on December 24, 2010, 06:15:58 PM
Very cool, that would be a great one to refinish!

Yea, I'm thinking the same thing, sand it down and re stain it. Not sure what to do about the barrel though it has some sort of oxidization on it or something going on.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: krout81 on December 27, 2010, 07:51:40 AM: I have .177 and .22 neither have a groved out pump handle. interesting
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: J Snow73 on December 27, 2010, 10:05:00 AM: I have the .177 and it looks just like that. The best air rifle ive ever shot. When you were down range of it sounded almost like a .22 rifle being fired pretty loud
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: Bofire on December 27, 2010, 10:09:49 AM: :)I have my old sheridan 5mm I bought at 12 from money I made thinning sugar beets. I got it rebuilt at Ollie Damon store in Portland Oregon. They repair reels also.
Carl
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on December 27, 2010, 10:29:42 AM: never knew how much of my childhood I missed! I went from BB gun to .22 rimfire. Recently I got a Benjamin Discovery .177 PCP, with the big "tire pump" to recharge it. And, to my surprise, it is almost as loud as a .22 rimfire. Airguns have come a long way, even being made in .50 caliber. "Predator Xtreme" magazine always has an airgun article in each issue. I'm outside the city limits, and when my neighbors are off to work, the Starlings catch hell!
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: swanny on December 27, 2010, 11:00:47 AM: Quote from: Bofire on December 27, 2010, 10:09:49 AM
:)I have my old sheridan 5mm I bought at 12 from money I made thinning sugar beets. I got it rebuilt at Ollie Damon store in Portland Oregon. They repair reels also.
Carl

I'll have to check that place out. The pump doesn't stay put very well, it pumps fine, it just doesn't stay put. Was the repair price fairly reasonable?
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: Bofire on December 27, 2010, 11:29:15 AM: :) as I remember it was like $35.00, that was 20 years ago and it still works great. I bought the gun in 1963 in Moses Lake. I think it was $34.50. Bought the first Ruger 10-22 I ever saw that summer also.
Carl
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: Kain on December 27, 2010, 12:48:21 PM: +1 for Ollie Damons. Always had great service there but it has been a loooong time since I had anything repaired.
http://www.olliedamons.com/airgun.html (http://www.olliedamons.com/airgun.html)

I have the model 397P in .177 that I got when I was probably 12. It has a nickel plated finish that is still in great condition but the stock needs to be refinished.

Killed 1000's of starling and sparrows, a couple of opossums and squirrels also. I still use it to dispatch my rabbits. My pump is getting a little loose. Doesnt fall open by itself but only take a little jolt to open it up. great guns.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: YoungBuck on December 28, 2010, 12:19:03 AM: I have the .22 cal. ASHQUACK has it in .20 cal which i havent ever seen other than his.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: demontang on December 28, 2010, 07:26:15 AM: Man I've never seen one with a pump handle like that. My dad has one he got as a kid and it looks nothing like that handle wise. I got one when I was 11 for chirstmas and it's kill countless birds and a few snakes
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: high country on December 28, 2010, 07:35:24 AM: Quote from: YoungBuck on December 28, 2010, 12:19:03 AM
I have the .22 cal. ASHQUACK has it in .20 cal which i havent ever seen other than his.

there is a 20 cal sheridan in my dads safe.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: swanny on December 28, 2010, 08:14:50 AM: You guys are all killing this thread without some more pictures! ;)

Feel free to throw em up, it doesn't always have to be about the big guns right? I'm sure for most of us these were some of the first guns that were our "own" or what you learned to shoot with even.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: 400out on December 28, 2010, 08:47:06 AM: I killed my first duck with my dads... It was my job to try and kill the ducks when they were winged. Great gun I will have to get his from him I miss shooting it.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: YoungBuck on December 28, 2010, 08:54:23 AM: Quote from: 400out on December 28, 2010, 08:47:06 AM
I killed my first duck with my dads... It was my job to try and kill the ducks when they were winged. Great gun I will have to get his from him I miss shooting it.

I've never acctualy shot my dads. I got a Red Ryder at 7, my .243 at 10, my Benjamin at 12, and my 25-06 at 13.
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: Kain on December 28, 2010, 11:30:30 AM: My Benjamin 397P .177 Might not be as powerful as some of the new airguns out there but is crazy accurate. I have been wanting to refinish it for a long time and this thread has really got me feeling bad for not doing it yet. :chuckle:

(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi406.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp150%2FNaithankain%2FBenjamin397P.jpg&hash=0607ac84d22aae2980a3322b1e900f2e33eccdd8)
Title: Re: Benjamin Air Rifle
Post by: krout81 on December 29, 2010, 06:21:20 AM: mine are all on the rack at home :'( same style as the one above but blued