PUMP UP AIR RIFLES, ?? MAKE/MODEL/ PLINKER/HUNTER/ OLDY/ NEW/ THOUGHTS ?????

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, any PW have or used in past, was just reading about some of the classic oldies, what new models are available today, can the be tuned up ??   all replies welcome

[serrac]

I had a .177 Sharp Innova - bought it 2nd hand in the 1980's and sold it just last year.
They are a bit of a collector's item now - I got 3.5 times what I paid for it originally.

Even though it produced ~12ft lbs when fully pumped up I always thought it was build like a toy - lots of plastic and very rudimentary woodwork.
Very lightweight but the time required to pump up between shots and the resulting wobbly arms meant I eventually decided it wasn't really a good hunting tool - especially compared to the options available today. 

Webley do/did sell a chinese made "copy" of the Innova which looks better styled but is not considered to be of the same quality(which is a bit worrying...).

What I did like about it is just couple of pumps gave a low power shot suitable for plinking indoors.

Regards

Mike

[oldypigeonpopper]

17 minutes ago, serrac said:

I had a .177 Sharp Innova - bought it 2nd hand in the 1980's and sold it just last year.
They are a bit of a collector's item now - I got 3.5 times what I paid for it originally.

Even though it produced ~12ft lbs when fully pumped up I always thought it was build like a toy - lots of plastic and very rudimentary woodwork.
Very lightweight but the time required to pump up between shots and the resulting wobbly arms meant I eventually decided it wasn't really a good hunting tool - especially compared to the options available today. 

Webley do/did sell a chinese made "copy" of the Innova which looks better styled but is not considered to be of the same quality(which is a bit worrying...).

What I did like about it is just couple of pumps gave a low power shot suitable for plinking indoors.

Regards

Mike

hello, thanks to reply, yes the Innova would have been better with a steel breech and fitting mounts to the plastic rail !!!!! the Webley is a clone and use same seal kit, i was looking at getting a pumper to keep in the motor in case some rats about, my air tank will need re testing soon and i do not shoot much with the PCP

[Mice!]

1 minute ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, thanks to reply, yes the Innova would have been better with a steel breech and fitting mounts to the plastic rail !!!!! the Webley is a clone and use same seal kit, i was looking at getting a pumper to keep in the motor in case some rats about, my air tank will need re testing soon and i do not shoot much with the PCP

Any reason not to just get a springer?

I always liked the look of the Sheridon pumps, had an Innova but had trouble with it.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, thanks to reply, yes that is my next thought, i was looking at getting 2 HW 99 S in 177 and 22 and have them tuned and barrel shorter with silencers, they seem to be better value than the 95 K. my PCP is making about £650 S/H, £80 for the air bottle,  my friend has a Sheridon for sale, cheers 

Edited May 11, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[strimmer_13]

Only one i really owned was a smk b45-3 in .22. First gun I could accurately shoot with. I remember seeing it in a magazine for £70 brand new, nagging mum to buy it for me for Christmas as I had a gat gun the year before, and finding it under the bed 2 weeks before crimbo. 

Anyway back on track. In .22 it was supposed to be 12ftlb, but i reckon it was a touch hot. The .177 versions were 9ftlb. From what i remember it was 10 pumps, a mag you turned yourself (it also cracked easily, both my mates and mine broke within months). I could ragged hole at 20 yards, after calming down after pumping! 

. 22 rare as hens teeth, .177s pop up every now and again. 

Notorious for the seals failing, but easy to service. Am currently looking for a .22 to add to my ongoing collection of stuff I'd never likely use 😅

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, strimmer_13 said:

Only one i really owned was a smk b45-3 in .22. First gun I could accurately shoot with. I remember seeing it in a magazine for £70 brand new, nagging mum to buy it for me for Christmas as I had a gat gun the year before, and finding it under the bed 2 weeks before crimbo. 

Anyway back on track. In .22 it was supposed to be 12ftlb, but i reckon it was a touch hot. The .177 versions were 9ftlb. From what i remember it was 10 pumps, a mag you turned yourself (it also cracked easily, both my mates and mine broke within months). I could ragged hole at 20 yards, after calming down after pumping! 

. 22 rare as hens teeth, .177s pop up every now and again. 

Notorious for the seals failing, but easy to service. Am currently looking for a .22 to add to my ongoing collection of stuff I'd never likely use 😅

hello, i did look at those on some videos, could not find one for sale though, what sort of 22 are you after ?

[strimmer_13]

10 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, i did look at those on some videos, could not find one for sale though, what sort of 22 are you after ?

The above smk. In a smk 'custom' stock 😝 that's why it's hard to find my spec I want. If I was chasing a pumper for being nice, I always wanted a Parker hale dragon, might be a *** tho as its a single stroke to full power. You'll need arms like anvils

Edited May 12, 2019 by strimmer_13

[oldypigeonpopper]

39 minutes ago, strimmer_13 said:

The above smk. In a smk 'custom' stock 😝 that's why it's hard to find my spec I want. If I was chasing a pumper for being nice, I always wanted a Parker hale dragon, might be a *** tho as its a single stroke to full power. You'll need arms like anvils

hello, as happens i know someone selling a P H dragon sporter in .22 MK 1 1980s in as new condition serial number 124, bought from new, if your interested i could ask him to send photos, ?  

Edited May 12, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[English]

I had two in the Past - the first was a Crossman which had lots of plastic and it wasn't really powerful or accurate so, I soon fell out of love with it.

Later I hunted for a better pump up and looked at Sharp Innova and Ace, Spanish Setra, Sheridan and finally settled on a Benjamin this was the most "metal" in a rifle of this type the others (stand-fast the Sherdan) which looked great but no one local to me sold .20pellets so the Benjamin was the best compromise. This was streets ahead of the Crossman and it not bad, however I soon got bored with the several pumps to reach full power no prospect of a second shot at a bolting rabbit. In retrospect I would have preferred to have spent the money on a good springer!

In my view they are very much a novelty item? You pays your money an takes your choice - good luck whatever you do?

[oldypigeonpopper]

5 minutes ago, English said:

I had two in the Past - the first was a Crossman which had lots of plastic and it wasn't really powerful or accurate so, I soon fell out of love with it.

Later I hunted for a better pump up and looked at Sharp Innova and Ace, Spanish Setra, Sheridan and finally settled on a Benjamin this was the most "metal" in a rifle of this type the others (stand-fast the Sherdan) which looked great but no one local to me sold .20pellets so the Benjamin was the best compromise. This was streets ahead of the Crossman and it not bad, however I soon got bored with the several pumps to reach full power no prospect of a second shot at a bolting rabbit. In retrospect I would have preferred to have spent the money on a good springer!

In my view they are very much a novelty item? You pays your money an takes your choice - good luck whatever you do?

hello, thanks to reply, i had the **** webley, and  Innova so just thought of other PW members opinions, what model Benjamin ?

Edited May 15, 2019 by oldypigeonpopper

[English]

Sorry I only ever knew it as a Benjamin Pump this was nearly 40 years ago and my "interest" in pumps was short lived!

[MrPhantom]

On 11/05/2019 at 14:59, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, thanks to reply, yes that is my next thought, i was looking at getting 2 HW 99 S in 177 and 22 and have them tuned and barrel shorter with silencers, they seem to be better value than the 95 K. my PCP is making about £650 S/H, £80 for the air bottle,  my friend has a Sheridon for sale, cheers 

Sandwell Field Sports sell a tuned, customised Hw99 which they market as the ‘Imp’. Got amazing reviews online and I’ve always been tempted to buy one. Only in .22 though.

[oldypigeonpopper]

57 minutes ago, MrPhantom said:

Sandwell Field Sports sell a tuned, customised Hw99 which they market as the ‘Imp’. Got amazing reviews online and I’ve always been tempted to buy one. Only in .22 though.

hello, yes i phoned them a very very long waiting list, try putting a wanted add on the uk airgun forum or the BBS forum, cheers

[GingerCat]

I had a .22 hw99 and it was lovely. Bog standard.

Accurate as anything I've shot and nice and light. I should have kept it. I'm told the .22 is better than the. 177 but have no experience of the smaller calibre so can't comment. 

[Chaz25]

I have a Crossman 2200 magnum and find it to be pretty good, there not refined but can be made to function better with a little bit of work, they also have good power and you get fantastic arm strength from using them

Edited May 19, 2019 by Chaz25

[thedavemyster]

If you can find a nice used one, I think you would be well-pleased with a 1970s Sheridan C-model with the rocker safety. I've had this rifle since I was a teen and love it!  At one time, I had it "magnumized" into a 14-pump gun; however, it would not exhaust all the air with one shot, so I had it changed back to stock. It is supposed to be a maximum of 8 pumps, but I generally always used 6 pumps; this puts a 13.73 grain JSB pellet out at 600 fps (~ 11 fpe); and this power level has accounted for many gray squirrels.  I tried a scope on it several times, but was never happy with the way it interfered with the pumping; I even tried a pistol scope mounted farther forward.  In the end, I learned that the Williams receiver sight is the best for this rifle; it gives you a short, handy, light-weight, accurate, relatively-powerful rifle that's great for hunting and fun for plinking. Thank you.

[bruno22rf]

Had a Sheridan Blue Streak a few years back - bought it after reading all the hype about it's amazing power, what a pile of Poo - primitive would be a good word and sights akin to putting 2 fingers in front of your face with a Lollipop stick at the muzzle - you can fit a scope with an adaptor but my scope used to swing around like your Nads in the summer if you so much as looked at it. Bronze barrel I seem to recall did little for the guns shotgun quality grouping and I was real glad that it blew a seal (no gay Eskimo jokes please) shortly after I bought it and the dealer (reluctantly) took it back - good riddance. The Innova is good if you can find one.

Edited January 23, 2020 by bruno22rf

[figgy]

Forget pumps unless it's a pistol and buy a Springer.

Can't see why a test on your cylinder and keeping the PCP is problem, more accurate and quiet.

[spurs 14]

Had a crossman donkey years ago , bloody awful thing it was ! 

[oldypigeonpopper]

On 11/05/2019 at 12:32, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, any PW have or used in past, was just reading about some of the classic oldies, what new models are available today, can the be tuned up ??   all replies welcome

hello, i am hoping i have chance of a HW 95 this weekend,

[bumpy22]

41 minutes ago, spurs 14 said:

Had a crossman donkey years ago , bloody awful thing it was ! 

Those were the days. Cheap plastic but you were adamant if you pumped it up loads it would give it super powers lol

[spurs 14]

8 minutes ago, bumpy22 said:

Those were the days. Cheap plastic but you were adamant if you pumped it up loads it would give it super powers lol

Glad you added that , I thought I was the only one !!! , never did find out what the right number of pumps were , 

 had the one with the side load port for the pellet , it would have done more damage if I’d thrown it at a pigeon !!! 

[bumpy22]

45 minutes ago, spurs 14 said:

Glad you added that , I thought I was the only one !!! , never did find out what the right number of pumps were , 

 had the one with the side load port for the pellet , it would have done more damage if I’d thrown it at a pigeon !!! 

I am sure I was supposed to be doing something called homework. Rather than messing for hours with cheap tat airguns lol. Better than xbox of today though 

[Westley]

I have had a Sharp Ace and an Innova many years ago. They were both extremely accurate rifles in .177 form. I had stripped both of them and tweeked the 'dump' valve that let any 'excess' air out. The problems that followed were, anything over 12 pumps and the pumping got harder with each stroke (just mind yer eyesight though  ! ), once fully pumped (around 25 pumps) the trigger pressure increased dramatically.  If I was zeroing the gun, it paid to have an oxygen bottle available. By the time you had put 25 pumps in for each shot, it was near impossible to control your breathing. I developed a system whereby, as the cross hairs passed the target, either on the up stroke or the down, in time with your lungs, it was possible to snatch at the 8lbs trigger at just the right point and hit your target  !  Oh, and forget zeroing in groups of 5, stick with 3 or alternatively join a gym. Having said all of that they did account for a lot of vermin for me, just not a very refined way of doing it. They eventually cost me a lot of money because having used both rifles for around 18 months, I gave up and bought a Daystate Huntsman and charging kit.

When pumping the guns, I used to have the stock in my groin and my right hand did the pumping. My next door neighbour was around 80 at that time and she must have seen me from the rear when I was plinking in my garden. She never mentioned it,  but always gave me a sort of knowing smile after that, so be warned.