Benjamin 397

3 pumps is plenty for 10 meter shooting (dime size pattern using pistol scope as below). 8 pumps is powerful enough to assure 1 inch accuracy at 30 yards with the scope. I paired this gun with a BSA Edge pistol scope (BSA-PS2x20 mounted via UTG 1" Medium Airgun Rings (RGPM-25M2) on a set of 3/8" Benjamin dovetail Intermounts (CR-B272). (all from Pyramid) This gives perfect eye relief and accuracy if you mount the rig directly over the rear iron sight which does not have to be removed.

The wood finish is greatly improved if you give it a light rub with very fine steel wool. Finish off with any liquid furniture polish. The Williams 64 peep sight said to work with this gun does not adjust adequately for windage or height. ("bottoms out" both ways before correct settings can be made). Don't buy it unless you are shooting over 25 yards regularly. With the BSA Edge pistol scope this gun is a winner and the scope stays zeroed with no issues from the pumping vibrations. All good.

great...wanted one for years...took a minute to get it dialed in but is a great air rifle.... classic design will last the rest of my life and then some.

These guns are great airguns. I have owned several over the years and everyone of them will easily group as many shots as you shoot inside a quarter at 25 yards. They can be a little pellet fussy, the current one I own likes H&N 8.64 grn FTT or JSB 8.44 grn Diabolo Exacts. With other pellets I have tried the grouping expands. When I shot 7 pellets over my chronograph I noticed with the JSB and the H&N pellets an extreme spread of 6 fps. (8 pumps) This consistency adds to the shot grouping. If you get this gun put a good scope on it you will be impressed.

The trigger isnt what it used to be. When I first started to own this series of benjamins the trigger was all metal and was smooth and crisp. But now they put the crossman trigger on it, which effects the shot grouping. These guns will group all day long inside a quarter at 25 yards, but the old ones with the better trigger would group all day long inside a dime at 25 yards.

To put a scope on this gun you will need to order the special scope mounts. The mounts are well worth it. I feel that a better scope with higher magnification brings out the full potential of these guns.

Over the last four and a half years, I've put roughly 23,000 rounds through my 397, which I've used primarily for plinking and pest control. Overall, I am more than happy with the fit, finish, and quality of the rifle, which is definitely on par with the older Sheridans. Accuracy: Initially I could barely hold a 1.5 inch group @25 yards with Crosman ammo (7.9 grain HPs and 10.5 grain Ultras). I started experimenting with some other pellets such as H&N, Air Arms, RWS, and Predator, and while H&N looked slightly promising grouping at just over an inch, I just wasn't impressed. Fast forward six months and I notice PA has JSB Exact Diablos 8.44 grains on sale. I gave them a try and that did the trick! 6 pumps at 25 to 30 yards rested would consistently give me 1/2 inch groups. Quality: Well built to say the least. Wood stock is nice, trigger is heavy but breaks clean. Bluing (not really bluing, more like paint) isn't bad. Careful rubbing it against things because it will scrape off.

The amount of pumps you pump the rifle has a definite effect on accuracy. After 6 pumps group size starts to go south pretty quick with mine. I think it has to do with the hammer not smacking the valve hard enough to empty the air reservoir completely, because I've noticed that the groups become more strung out vertically instead of horizontally, suggesting inconsistent velocitys. If my assumptions are correct, the gun merely needs a more powerful hammer spring. Might be a potential mod. Although I'm not hugely concerned about this, iron sight shooters will be. There is no windage adjustment on the sights, so if you intend on shooting without a scope, plan on making an additional investment in something such as a William peep sight or similar. The scope mounts I bought are branded by Sheridan and can be had on Amazon for about $12. They work fine for me, but if your scope is short in length, then you will most likely have problems with proper eye relief since it sits so far forward.

Beware of the initial pump effort. Took me at least a couple hundred rounds just to get it broke in enough so I could pump it more than 5 times. For those who are shooting in residential areas with neighbors, keep in mind the noise. Nothing major, but there definitely is a little bark to it.
After about 9,000 rounds, the seals finally wore out so every time I went to pump the gun up, all the air blew out of the resvoir an through the barrel. I called Pyramydair customer service (GREAT PEOPLE) and they assured me that all I needed was a rebuild kit. I followed the instructions, punched the pins, and replaced the seals. Took me about an hour. Make sure you store the gun with one pump (I didn't, that's probably why the seals wore out so soon on mine).
Lastly, make sure you have the proper form when pumping the rifle. I always use the inside of my palm, and hold the butt of the rifle between my legs and press the pump lever closed. Also keep the gun oiled well, and always use Pellgun oil.

Owned one before and wore the brass barrel out with lead pellets. Good rifle. Accurate.

Pump mechanism is rough but I think it will wear in. Need better telescopic mounting features. Quite accurate out of the box.

design on the forearm pump.

Nothing

It has a great feel just the old .20 cal I had when I was a kid, it dose shoot great

They need to work on quality control the stock was loose when it came

It is a work out pumping it but fun

Had one of these 60 years ago and its just as I remember.

Better varnish on the stock

Very accurate out of the box. Build quality is excellent.

some of my friends had these when I was young. I made some good distance shoots with open sight using there back then. so know I bought one for myself

I would set it up for 1100 fps. like mine I bought last winter

Accuracy shooting the JSB 8.44 gr Doomed

Make the stock a bit longer