by B.B. Pelletier
Photos and tests by Earl “Mac” McDonald
The Benjamin 397C (right) is smaller than the 397 long gun.
We’re continuing our look at the Benjamin 397C that we started recently. It seems this model caught a lot of people off their guard, as the responses agree that not many people were aware it had even been made. In Part 1, I made reference to a comparison between this carbine and the 397 long gun, but I hope you understand that Mac is testing just this one gun. I’ll refer to the 397’s performance through the published specs and what I know of the gun. I invite any readers to add their comments as well.
Beautiful wood
Milan commented on the fine wood of the 397 rifle shown in Part 1, and I guess I should have said more than I did about it. Benjamin traditionally bought the wood for their rifle stocks from Stover, Missouri, and lucky owners often got beautiful stocks through the luck of the draw. The factory never made any attempt to segregate the wood by grain pattern.
I owned one Sheridan Silver Streak with a gorgeous crotch grain stock that would have added 50 percent to the price of any firearm it had been on. The wood on my current Blue Streak is pretty nice, too. So, good wood goes hand-in-hand with both the Benjamin and Sheridan names.
Velocity day
Today is velocity day, and it’s when we find out what has been sacrificed to shorten this carbine. Mac did several tests to help us understand how the multi-pump powerplant works. For starters, he pumped the gun different numbers of strokes and obtained the average velocity for each set between 2 pumps and 8. Let’s begin there.
The pump lever must be pulled down and forward like this for every pump.
All the following shooting was done with 7.9-grain Crosman Premier pellets in .177 caliber.
|
Pumps
|
Velocity
|
Low
|
High
|
Spread
|
|
2
|
325
|
318
|
331
|
13
|
|
3
|
407
|
401
|
412
|
11
|
|
4
|
466
|
462
|
471
|
9
|
|
5
|
511
|
509
|
513
|
4
|
|
6
|
544
|
538
|
549
|
11
|
|
7
|
576
|
573
|
582
|
9
|
|
8
|
596
|
593
|
598
|
5
|
We can learn some things from this data. First, notice that as the number of pumps increases, the velocity jumps get smaller. This demonstrates the diminishing returns that are common to all multi-pump pneumatics.
Another thing to take away from this is that the rifle is more stable at certain numbers of pumps than at others. Five pumps, for example, vary by only four feet per second across all ten shots, while six pumps vary by almost three times as much. What you can learn from this is that each rifle is very particular in how it behaves and you really need to know your rifle well. However, I’ll let you in on a little secret. In all the testing of both Benjamin and Sheridan multi-pumps that I’ve done over the years, I’ve found that five pumps is sort of a magic number for all guns. Fo some reason, they all seem to do well with five pump strokes.
And another thing. If Mac didn’t have a chronograph, none of this testing would be possible. Just one more useful thing you can do with them.
The last thing we can learn from this data is that a ninth pump stroke is probably not going to give any more velocity than eight strokes. In fact, it’s more than likely that the ninth stroke will actually make the rifle shoot slower than it does on eight. You can see that coming by looking at how close the average velocities are between seven strokes and eight. There’s an increase of only 20 f.p.s., while the difference between three and four pump strokes is 59 f.p.s.
What about nine pumps?
So, should you even try a ninth stroke? The answer depends on the gun. Most guns will not shoot any faster on nine pumps than they do on eight, but a few will. The gain might only be five f.p.s., but it will be a gain, nevertheless.
Most rifles will not increase, though, and after the shot when they’re cocked and fired again without pumping any additional times, you’ll hear some air exhaust. So, the ninth pump stroke was a waste of energy.
Bear in mind that the higher number pump strokes put a greater strain on the pump mechanism of the earlier ones because of the additional effort that’s needed. These guns have been designed to last virtually forever on eight pump strokes, but as you exceed that number the additional wear will cause them to wear out. When I was a kid, I used to hear adults brag about how they pumped their old Benjamin rifles up 30 times and they shot just as hard as a .22 rimfire. That’s hogwash! I can prove they won’t work that way, and if they really did pump their guns 30 times, which is next to impossible, they probably broke them.
Mac did pump his gun nine times for this test and he found that the velocity did go down by a few f.p.s. He didn’t keep a record of how much it dropped, so I can’t tell you that, but the rifle did exhaust air when it was cocked and fired again without pumping it again.
Velocity test
For this test, Mac started all over again. He didn’t re-use the velocity from the first test. This test was done at 8 pumps for every shot.
This time, Crosman 7.9-grain Premiers averaged 595 f.p.s. and ranged from 593 to 598, for a spread of five f.p.s. At the average velocity, the muzzle energy is 6.22 foot-pounds.
RWS Hobby pellets averaged 631 f.p.s., ranging from 626 to 638 f.p.s. That’s a spread of 12 f.p.s. The average muzzle energy was 6.19 foot-pounds.
RWS Superdomes averaged 596 f.p.s., with a spread from 592 to 602 f.p.s. The average energy was 6.54 foot-pounds.
Well, that should settle the question of what happens when a pneumatic is shortened. The velocity drops as the barrel gets shorter. The longer 397 rifle would get between 725 f.p.s. and 775 f.p.s. with 7.9-grain Crosman Premier pellets; and at an average of 750 f.p.s., the energy would be 9.87 foot-pounds. That gives you a good comparison between the long gun and the carbine.
Some readers have commented that the Benjamin 397 is already a smallish air rifle and wondered if it is really necessary to make a carbine out of it? I guess that’s a good question, because the longer gun has been in production for almost two full decades while the carbine lasted only four years. But Mac insists this is a very handy airgun, so I guess it’s one of those personal taste choices. If you look at the photo at the top of this report, you’ll note that even the pull length has been scaled back by an inch, so the carbine is undoubtedly best suited to shooters who either want or don’t mind a short-pull rifle.
B.B.
My 397 showed a marked increase in MV with stroke #5 as compared to any other pump strokes (397PA). Instead of a diminishing return it was a significant gain.
It fell flat on additional strokes, with greatly diminished returns . Not worth the effort to pump beyond 5.
My old Sheridan behaves like expected with gradually diminishing returns , but does not show a sudden decrease after any stroke like the 397 does. Based on MV gain/stroke it is more difficult to decide where to quit. I settled on 6.
twotalon
I bought a new Blue Streak, .20 cal, which has the “Air Hole Do Not Oil” stamped on it.
I read the complete owners manual where the words and pics in it show oiling only the pivot points and rivets (3 points to oil total) of the pumping arm.
I thought perhaps they’re using some new technology with the piston seal; new technology abounds: containing anti-matter for more than 15 minutes, two new elements on the periodic table; its certainly possible to have new technology in air guns.
So I shot it with no oil at all per the owners manual. After about twenty shots the velocity started becoming erratic,,,very erratic, with as much as 150 fps extreme deviation. The accuracy suffered as well.
Reasoning that this just can’t be correct, I used Pelgun Oil with immediate gratification. My velocities are in line with the findings of this report. And I found 5 pumps to be the best for me also.
Confusion? I was irritated. The information Crosman provides on the gun and in the owners manual is clear. It is also just wrong. Clearly wrong.
All three of my Daisy pumpers have a felt washer in the pump mechanism which seem the best place to put oil. A few drops here will repeatedly swab the compression tube and keep the piston lubed.
My Benji and Sheridan do not have this washer. What seems best to me is to oil (only a couple drops) into the compression tube ahead (forward) of the piston. This lets the piston and seal spread the oil around in the compression chamber without forcing a bunch of oil through the valve to the pressure holding chamber.
On both kinds of rifles there will be a bit of oil work it’s way around the piston seal and lube the air valves, but the valves and holding chamber will not be swamped with oil.
twotalon
Eric,
What you have discovered is one of the reasons I got into writing about airguns in the first place. There was so much wrong information coming out of manufactures through their manuals. Like always removing a CO2 cartridge if you don’t plan to shoot the gun for awhile. Rubbish!
I researched the vintage manuals and found that the old Benjamin company had always recommended oiling their pneumatics. Then a guy who ran a repair station told me that it was impossible to over-oil a gun with Pellgunoil and my writing career was on its way.
If airgun manufacturers would only tell the truth about their guns (if any of them actually know it) I would be out of business.
Job security.
B.B.
It’s not just the manufacturers of the guns spreading the contradictory info that you find on oiling MSP’s, as far as the why , when, and with what. It’s also the ones that are in the business of repairing these guns, and make a lot of noise about it on the popular forums. One respected mechanic uses only his own mixture(which of course ONLY he sells) and says pellgun oil is crap. He refers to it as pellgum oil, and generally has a bad opinion of the manufacturers that make the guns he’s made a living out of repairing and modifying. Something I personally, find contradictory .Another guy whom I respect uses copious amounts of pellgun oil when he rebuilds the guns. There seems to be a lot of agenda’s and huge ego’s involved in this airgun trade. I can’t believe how mean spirited some of these folks are? It is hard for someone to make sense of the information if they’ve had no previous experience.I’m glad that there is a blog like this one to make sense of some of it!
Well, you do THE best job I’ve ever come across. I’ve learned so much and ended up spending way more on air guns than I ever intended in the beginning thanks to your making it so clear and fascinating at the same time. And I’m not complaining about spending a lot more money,,,its a LOT of fun.
In my mind,,you job is secure.
BB,
that was my first thought when the peep sight couldn’t be lowered enought to bring POI to POA. I had put a straightedge on top of the barrel, resting on where the rear sight would go, since it’s flat. I only “eyeballed” it and the barrel seemed level but then again, I wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s shifted upwards by a couple fractions of an inch.
I remember a whole series of blogs on straightening a bent barrel and I believe there’s even something on the article page of PA so perhaps I’ll pull the barrel off the action and put it in a vise and give it a bit of friendly persuasion. You’re supposed to feel the barrel actually spring back into tru if it’s bent, correct?
Fred PRoNJ
Fred,
Here is the way I am going to try to do it. Obviously the barrel has to be out of the action.
I’m going to stick a steel pin through the pivot bolt hole in the barrel base block. The best set of “pins” I can think of are drill bits and I own a set that’s graduated in 64ths, so I can find something pretty close.
I will chuck the bit vertically in the vise and protect the base block with a heavy cloth laid over the vise jaws. Then the base block will go over the pin and the base block will be laying flat on top of the vise.
Next, I’ll put a second “pin” in the vise jaws to prevent the base block from moving toward me when I pull down on the barrel. By “down” I mean toward myself, because the barrel will be laying on its side.
The barrel is bent up at the exact place where it exits the base block, because that’s what happens when the barrel snaps shut suddenly. As far off as my S70 barrel is (3.5 to 4.5 inches at 10 meters), I cannot see a bend in it using any of the prescribed techniques. But I know it’s there by how it is acting.
And even if it isn’t there, I’m going to bend it downward so I can use the sights again.
That’s my plan. It doesn’t take a lot of tooling or technique. I may not even measure the barrel beforehand, because I think the bend will be so small that it might be impossible to see the change.
When I blog this I will explain how I know how to do this, from my days as a steelworker when I was in college.
B.B.
The timing of this is perfect. I also have a springer with a bent barrel. I’m not sure that I’m going to try to bend it back, but I will definitely pay attention to what you do for future reference in case I do. Can you please confirm one thing for me? Logic tells me that the spring of the erector tube will get tighter and tighter in this situation (barrel bent up) and that as long as the scope can adjust, the erector tube will be held tight. The scope is almost at it’s maximum adjustment down and I can feel the adjustment screw getting tighter. Should this be ok?
Fused,
Yes, adjusting a scope down, like you are doing, is never a problem. It’s only when you have to go too far up that there is a problem. You can go all the way to coil-bound and the scope will still function just fine.
B.B.
Guy’s;
I hope I won’t apear to be a smart alec, but please don’t bend those fine barrels if ther’e not allready bent. It won’t change anything because the rear sight is on the receiver not on the barrel. I have a FWB 124 that also shoots high. Iv’e had it since new in early eighties and barrel is not bent, just needs higher front sight. If I bend it I’ ll just have a drooped barrel that won’t work scoped.
Hope no one takes this the wrong way I’m just trying to help.
Loren
Loren,
You just gave a circular argument. “Don’t bend the barrel because it will then shoot low.”
That’s what I want!
Please understand that the amount of bending I plan to do will be imperceptible. I would not intentionally harm this fine vintage gun.
Also, once a barrel is bent, as I’m sure mine is, it returns to straight easily. But past that point it is very hard to bend. That’s another way you know how far to go.
Also, are you aware that Holland & Holland, and Weihrauch both have barrel-bending machines in their shops and that ALL barrels get bent to straighten them out before they are put on the gun?
B.B.
Fused,
unless you know for sure that your barrel is bent, I would chalk this up to the scope or the scope mounts. Try this first – swap scope mounts (assuming they’re two piece) to see if that makes a difference. Next, shim the rear scope mount (making the scope see lower so you have to raise the elevation within the scope). You see, I dont know if my barrel is truly bent from exactly what BB suggested – someone squeezing the trigger while the barrel was cocked and in the open position.
On the other hand, Loren just gave me some very good information as that is what I had also arrived at – either a higher sight is needed at the muzzle or my peepsight is too high to begin with and can’t be adjusted low enough. That was the question I asked last night – how can you tell if you have a high peep or low peep sight. But with Loren coming forward and saying he has an FWB bought new that shoots high out of the box, then it brings to question if there is no bent barrel here. Loren, my FWB has no rear sight – it came with a Beeman/Williams peep sight installed on the dovetail on the receiver.
Actually, I’m not very fond of looking through a peep sight through a hooded sight. I’d rather have a notched blade and I’m going to try that first before doing the AlanL routine of bending steel with my bare hands. Actually, with the tools available to AlanL (millwright), I wish I lived closer as he could probably tell easily if the barrel is bent, right AlanL?
Fred PRoNJ
Fred
Actually my 124 didn’t shoot high out of the box, it was fine with the stock open notched rear sight.
The problem came about when I mounted the Williams peep,too high. Now I use a BSA 4-12 with BKL mounts. I will have to switch to the one piece BKL because I have detected some movement with the two piece mounts. I installed the Macari stainless triger,that was quite an improvement. It’s an easy rifle to work on if you take you’re time and watch how it comes apart.
Loren
Fred,Hi…..what about a slight extention of the front sight blade?? The post inserts are cheap enough to screw one up without loosing too much.You may have entirely different luck,but I found used 124
sights to be crazy in price.I bought a custom stock….and the first time I cocked the action it grenaded the rear sight.I wish I knew You were going to need one….I wouldn’t have broken mine.LOL
Hi Frank!
I have thought about a higher front sight and they are available through Midway USA. I’m not sure if PA sells them also but I’ll check there first. However, I have two paths I’m going to pursue. First, I’ll remove the peep and put on a notched, target blade rear sight also by Williams. It appears to sit much lower than the peep. I’ll see how that does. If no joy, I had an epiphany while at lunch just now. My son has moved out and left behind his cheap laser pointer. What I’ll do is tape the pointer to the flat spot on the barrel block and take measurements with my vernier at the muzzle and where the barrel exits from the breech block and see if I can measure a difference indicating my barrel is indeed bent, as BB suspects. Then we’ll go from there. I tell you, this is much better than stripping off the wallpaper in one of the bathrooms!
Fred PRoNJ
Fred,I’e been meaning to ask…..what is the aprox. SN# of the 124 that you found? Metal or plastic trigger? Has it been tuned? I’m just jealous I haven’t been to an airgun show yet!! (I would need to rent a big rig,there AND back.
Frank,
I don’t know the s/n as it’s hiding under that pesky Williams peep sight. I’ll take it off and look tonight. In fact, I think I’ll put on the red dot sight that was on the IZH 46 and see what that does! Back to the 124, yes it’s been taken apart and tuned. It’s shooting around 750 fps but I don’t know what pellets the seller used, but very consistent – I think a spread of 7 fps over 10 pellets on the Chrony ticket that was taped to the butt of the stock. There’s grease or tar (whatever you want to call it) on the spring and it has a metal trigger – may be an aftermarket job – silver in color – perhaps a JM stainless steel job. Very smooth shooting and very accurate, er, precise, at least at 28′. I get one hole groups through the iron sights even if they are 1″ above my POA.
You should make plans for Roanoke this October, Frank. Only bring enough money to buy one nice gun – I won’t tell you what to look for but I have something in mind and I don’t need the competition…… Or, you can bring a bunch to sell! I might try again to sell my RWS 350, the Crosman 99 and I’m bringing that Diana 5V with the circle D trademark and see what that will generate.
Fred PRoNJ
It sounds like it has a nice tune.JM’s trigger is very nice.The 124 is the pinnacle of the breakbarrel format IMHO.I might just come with NO money,to meet the friends who have kept me sane these last 5 years.I have enough “gotta have it’s” for a lifetime.I need to sell 20+ airguns just to make room here.
If we were neighbors,you would have a “revvolving” loaner,it sucks to have nobody to share with.
Fred, you are right. I only have a feeling that the barrel is bent because I had the trigger release on it’s own after cocking. On this particular rifle the safety and sear are directly related to each other and I had unknowingly damaged the safety on re assembly and on the first cock the trigger released itself. I fixed the trigger and safety, I can be both dumb and resourceful at the same time, the rifle now shoots high, but I don’t want to change much because it’s also very accurate (er, precise – dont want to get that one started again!). It was a new gun to me and I never took the time to scope and sight in before I tore into it to clean and lubricate properly. So it’s true I don’t know for sure.
It is interesting that five pumps is the “Sweet Spot” for the Sheridan. When I was 14, I found that my then new Sheridan Blue Streak was most accurate at five pumps. So, that is mostly what I have used all these years. After 40 years I had it resealed but five pumps is still the way to go.
I also shot my Diana 34 this weekend. I was getting one inch to half inch groups at 30 yards with both RWS .22 cal Super Points and Super H Points. I didn’t expect these pellets to shoot this well but they did. I used them since I got them with the gun. I’ll try some others soon. I probably will be more consistent when I set up a better rest.
I agree on the five pumps also. I have two blue streaks .one a rocker I’ve had for over 30 years, and another I bought last summer, that is a hold down version made in 1959-60. The rocker safety one shoots everything well for the most part. The hold down version will only shoot JSB’s well. when I got that one. I tried some old vintage ammo in it and it shot 3-4 ” groups at 50 feet. The JSB’s went into less that an inch using the original sights. Imagine buying that gun in 1960 and having only the Sheridan pellets to use. BTW, the old hold down one needed oiling and I used some Valvoline hydraulic oil I use for my equipment as I ran out of pellgun oil. I figured if it didn’t eat the seals in the hydraulics of equipment costing thousands of dollars, it wouldn’t hurt the old gun. Wonder if I could market it ? I think I have half a 5 gallon bucket of it left.
Fun fact regarding barrel bending….FWIW. Check out the Bluebook picture of the FWB match pistol that was deliberately made with a barrel that spirals AROUND the tank…..FWB made it to prove that
a bent barrel can still be accurate.That pistol was just as accurate as any other they made.
Offtopic…ya know, I find myself having more and more respect for some of the ‘cheap’ chinese guns out there.
Out on the weekend on a windless, overcast day with the scoped Slavia and my B-3 (AK lookalike).
So I’m getting what I think are pretty good result from the Slavia. I have it scoped with the Hawke 2-7 AO and am getting .75″ 10 shot groups at 30yds. I definitely see the ‘benefit’ of 3 shot groups though. I’ll get 3 shots in nearly the same hole…then one off 1/2″ or so…then another couple into that same hole…I guess you all know the drill.
Of course I’m starting to get a bit of PCP envy…all those stories of 10 shot 1 hole groups are starting to tell on me.
But what I find surprising is the BAM. 30yds offhand with the stock open sights. No problem getting 10 shots groups that easily average just under two inches.
Quite amazed I am 😉
So what kind of wood is in the stocks of these guns, walnut?
I managed to fire up my helicopter to test my soldering and it works! The electrons are moving along the joint that created! I’ll admit to feeling pretty pleased with myself and I hope everyone else’s weekend was as successful. 🙂
Robert from Arcade, I have in mind another outdoor self-defense weapon–the combat shovel. I was trying to brighten up my patio by planting some flowers and pulled out my Cold Steel special forces combat shovel. What power when you chop into the dirt–incredible. It seems to be an unwieldy tool but when you swing it, everything aligns properly. I don’t know that this would be a better tool than a stick against a pack of aggressive dogs, but it’s highly versatile and easy to carry. Too bad that it would be kind of conspicuous outside of a forest setting.
How about this for a trapping story. A collection of Vietnam stories tells how a Special Forces soldier in the process of winning hearts and minds decided to rid a region of a tiger that was preying upon livestock. His method was to stake out a goat in the forest, then climb up a tree and lie in wait with an M3 grease gun. Sure enough in the middle of the night, the goat started going crazy. Our man waited until he saw the tiger move into the clearing to seize the goat and opened fire. But he somehow missed with the whole magazine and dropped his spare. Not only did he not get the tiger but he was stuck up in the tree the whole night and well into the morning. Ha ha. Send that man back to training. I love tigers.
Milan, thanks for the post on the 7 foot tall prehistoric pig. For some reason, the universe is a more interesting place with that knowledge and I feel gratified although I’m not sure why; I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to meet up with the pig. Maybe it is akin to the interest that young children have for dinosaurs; I certainly did. Somehow their bizarre bodies appeal to the imagination.
Chuck, great job with the Challenger. Those targets of yours are rested at 10m right?
On the subject of aperture sights and the size options, especially for the front sight, I’m intrigued with the notion of measuring white space around the bull as a means to align the sights. In the most general sense, there is undoubtedly some measuring going on. But this term to me suggests a sequential comparison around the bull to see that the amount of white is equal and I don’t know if the process really works like this. For one thing, it takes too long. I don’t see how you can have the courage to take the first shot in Pete’s terms and do this measuring process. My sense is that the alignment process takes place in a flash like a gestalt where you call on an aesthetic sense to see if the bull is off-center or not. Secondly, as a practical matter, if your white space is smaller (due to a smaller front aperture), the movement of the rifle will make it more and not less difficult to judge evenness of the white space around the bull. For these reasons, I would incline towards a larger front aperture which both David Tubb and Nancy Tompkins recommend although they don’t really explain why. Col. Jeff Cooper falls in the same camp in calling for a large ghost ring rear aperture over a smaller one. His reasoning is that the eye automatically centers the large aperture rather than making conscious adjustments and that process would seem to apply to the front aperture too. But naturally this is all a matter of personal preference. Clint Fowler told me that he likes to hold the post two-thirds of the way down the bull which makes no sense to me but you cannot argue with his results. And for the time being, I’m just glad that the dot I made on the target with my felt pen falls inside the aperture of my Anschutz rifle at my distance.
B.B. did anything ever come of Elmer Keith’s sight for long-distance pistol-shooting which consisted of a very tall front sight with marks of graduation down its length and a gold bead at the top? The marks gave you a reference for exactly how high to raise the front sight above the standard sight picture. Seems like a good idea. I was trying a bit of that with my Ruger Single Six at 50 yards, raising the front sight various amounts, and it seemed to work.
Also, on the subject of Lt. Col. Bonsall, isn’t it true that the army 1911 do not have a beavertail thumb safety so his 2 inch groups were done without the benefit of one? That would really be something.
Matt61
Matt61,if you end up needing to solder in the field,Radioshack sells a butane portable iron.I know you like gadjets.It has a catylitic burner in the head….and they work great.Best part is the cap can be put on,allowing you to set it down without worrying about burns.For wiring,I have even had good luck with tape solder.I’m a plumber by trade,so I’ve used a mile of solder in my life.Then came the bad back.:(
Frank B
I see you have a 124, did you get the custom stock from Maccari? If so how did it fit. My memory Is kind of murky but I believe I got mine in about in 1982 when I lived in Miami Fla. now I live in Talladega, not to far from you I guess. My 124 I believe was one first with metal triger ser.# 59999, but it must have been pot metal because it was broken in shiping from Beeman after a tune. That was a long time ago. I recently tuned it myself with Maccari Old School kit and stainless trigger. I’m seriously considering acustom stock. After reading B.B.’S articles I lost my fear of working on airguns built a spring compressor and dove right in
Loren
Loren,I have 3 custom stocks for the 124.A Himilayan walnut sporter,and a Tyrolean in florida walnut both of which came from JM……very good fitting stocks.The third came from Steve Corcoran(sp?) in
Bastogne walnut with rosewood grip cap.It is beautiful too,but it did break my rear sight.In Steve’s defence,usually he fits them to the customer’s action.In my case,I bought one that a customer backed out on…..so he didn’t have my action.I just wish I knew there was work to be done still,before trying it.I was actually looking at the sling hanger on the bottom for clearance when the rear sight “blew up”.Send me an email if you would like to see them.The first part of my adress is
“frankbpc”,the second part is “aol.com”…..you know what goes in between.
Frank B
Are these stocks for sale? I realy don’t care for the tyrolean style. I would love to have the Maccari sporter but unfortunatly I would probably have a tough time convincing my wife that I need a new stock at this time. But thank you Frank for offering to show me the pics.
Loren
I would part with the Bastogne walnut one,but NEVER the Himilayan walnut one.It is the most beautiful piece of wood I’ve ever held,plus just the blank was $600+ not counting the months I spent on it getting the finish just right.It’s pretty nice.
FrankB, Loren and BB,
I isolated the problem with my 124. I took the peep sight off and installed a BSA red dot sight. But because the red dot sight is for Picatinny rails, I had to mount a converter on the 124 and then the sight. This thing really sat high but the red dot sight could adjust so that I was shooting almost 2″ low! So the problem was the peep sight after all. Thank you Loren for pointing out that you had a problem with your rifle when you put a Williams peep sight on and thank you, FrankB, for jogging my memory about that red dot sight.
Probably when the seller was preparing to sell the rifle, he just slid that peep sight on the rifle and never bothered to see if he could sight the rifle in.
FrankB, the serial number on my rifle is 47219. It has the San Rafael Beeman address stamped onto the action.
Thank you all for your help sharing experiences with me.
Fred PRoNJ
Right on…..I’ve never tried a red dot on a rifle.I’ll bet it will work kinda cool with such a smooth shooter.Let us know if the groups are as good.
Frank, 7 pellets in a .7″ c to c group. I think that’s pretty darn good for me and that Red Dot. I’m sure as I get a bit more familiar with the rifle and sight, I can do better. This rifle really is neat – 30 years old – at least and easily one of the best shooters in my collection – at least at 28 feet.
Fred PRoNJ
Matt,
Yes, those targets were from benched rested shots.
I want the smaller aperture because there is a lot of room between the outer edges of the targets I’m shooting at and the 3.8mm aperture edges that I can’t judge preciseness very well. I’m not necessarily looking for a sliver of light, although I’ll certainly try it, I just want to narrow down the gap some. At 10m those targets are pretty small. I finally called ChampChoice to order the set of aps. I never did find them on their web site.
Any ideas how to fix my 1894?When it shoots its bb fly’s straight for about 30 feet and then the bb falls right to the ground and every couple shots it diesels and smoke comes out of the oil here hole