Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Air Guns Is a Sheridan Silver Streak worth fixing?

Like most things technology has a lot of my stuff old school. That pump up made in Racine, WI. Silver Streak looks good on the outside, but the valves don't hold air any longer. It was great rifle in my youth, but I've since discovered Aguila Super Colibri and CCI Quiet Segmented HP .22 LR ammunition that kills as well or better than that .20 caliber Sheridan with the equivalent noise level.

I had a blue streak fixed up and it was well worth it to me.

Yes there is a guy in north Carolina who fixes them. Tmac I think is the name of the place.

One of the finest airguns ever made in my humble opinion. An heirloom. Send it to Dennis Baker at Baker Airguns and he'll get it up and killing squirrels for you again.

I had two fixed, kept one and sold the other. Perfect for keeping intruders out of the hen pen. Tmac took forever. Baker Airguns was much better experience.
There are kits and diy videos too.

I did mine and it wasn't hard. Had to buy the two tools though.

Put a couple drops of oil on the seal and see if it doesn't come around.

I agree that's it's not a huge job. They're great guns, I've just gotten too old and lazy to pump them up.

That Sheridan was top of line back in the day. Nice gun. I would get it fixed.
But like Timbo, I'm to old and lazy to pump it up. A long barrel single shot 22 with CB caps gets the job done on critters around the house for me now. Its no louder than a pellet gun and no pumping involved.

That old Sheridan fed the cat for years on breast of blackbird and occupied me for days down the basement cranking through those 500 pellet cans of pellets. To say nothing of what it did for a kid's developing shoulders pumping that thing. Those original Sheridan pellets weren't the hot set up for instant kills and finding Crow Magnum pellets really grew up that rifle on anything bigger than a black bird. My buddy got a skunk with his Blue Streak albeit badly as it turned out. Even as a grownup living in my old house, the kids would open the door and a mouse would run in with them. Two pumps and a pellet was my mouse load when I caught them under the couch. Something to be said for variable power from 2 to 10 pumps. I should rebuild it for nostalgia and the great memories growing up with that pellet rifle.

Now you're talkin'! I always liked the original Sheridan cylindrical pellets, always got good penetration with them. I remember when I was 10 or 12 stalking the woodlot and taking a shot at what I thought was a red squirrel sitting in the crotch of a big oak tree. It turned out to be the head of a big 'ol coon! It stood up on its hing legs and toppled out to the ground, stone cold dead. Surprised the heck out of both of us!

I just got my 1965 Blue Streak back from Henry Ford in Myrtle Beach, S.C. It had quit pumping up and Mr. Ford had it back to me in less than a week. I had bought it in '65 or '66, when I was 13 or 14. Now 71, and I am so excited to get it going again. Been getting it sighted in. Do yourself a favor and get it fixed! Or sell it to me cheap!

Steve

Someone gave me a Silver Streak and I think it could be bettered with a good "going over" and likely new seals. Anyone do that close to Tennessee?

Not so sure it is anywhere close to precise as my "budget" PCPs, but then we are comparing open sights to scoped guns also!

Anyone make a .20/5mm to .177 or .22 conversion?

Worth the effort?

Anyone make a .20/5mm to .177 or .22 conversion?
Why?

Use some of the pellets I already have

As in A LOT

Use some of the pellets I already have

As in A LOT

I haven't sourced .20 caliber pellets in years and I'm wondering if they still make them? You know thinking about what pumping that Sheridan did for my young shoulders, I'll bet it wouldn't be a bad thing for my old shoulders now days either. It has just been too easy to reach for the .22 rim fire instead. Finding a peep sight for that Sheridan just about doubled the sighting radius and sure made pumping it easier than when I had a scope on it. A coon with that pellet rifle would be a real trophy. I remember one crow that I gunned from my bedroom window with one of those original Sheridan pellets. The darn thing flew off and made it a block away when it all of a sudden just fell out of the sky onto a neighbor's roof. That was back in the days when that West Nile virus was getting lots of publicity and I'm sure that bird's demise was more suspect than from an adolescent with a pellet gun. I sure hope that no one did a necropsy.

They do still make 5mm pellets, but nobody makes the classic Sheridan style/shape ones anymore that I'm aware of.

https://www.pyramydair.com/ammo/pellets?calibers=0_2

Benjamin makes one close to the old sheridan

That is a good price. Wonder how they shoot?

I always thought the Silver Streak was CO2. No?

No, they're a multipump pneumatic.

I had one when I was a kid... hell of a thing to pump up as a 10-12 year old. Something ended up broken in it; think it's probably still laying around my Dad's house somewhere.

Yeah, had a Blue Streak. Also had the school record for chin-ups due to pumping that thing!

I actually didn't shoot mine all that much because of the pumping effort.

I think the only other air rifle I've ever shot that holds a candle to that is the 1977XS I bought a while back. That is a stiff bugger, too. The pump handle on it is plastic, and it gets a hell of a flex in it by the time you get to 10 pumps... have the feeling it'll come unglued someday.

That is a lot of shooting for $25.00 ish dollars. Thanks for the links My buddy had the Blue Streak and that finish wore off to a pinkish color where he held his hand to pump it. The Silver Streak finish has held up perfectly.

They did make a co2 version referred to as the"F" model. I always thought they'd be pretty cool but never shot one.
Speaking of pellets, anyone see what the original plastic box ones go for nowdays?

Holy crap 🤯

I still have a couple boxes of the pellets. Mine are like the top one where they say Benjamin and Sheridan on them.... early/mid 90s era.

I wonder what a full can of those Sheridan pellets would go for? I've got some empty cans around.

Tag

Guess I'll order some H&N and JSB's and keep the Sheridans!

Just remember no more than 8 pumps or you will blow thw seals.

Mach One had a “steroid” treatment that put the Sheridan right in the 22 short realm. Valve, billet pump lever. I think 14 pumps. Thought about having mine done but didn’t. Always store pump ups with one or two pump strokes in the gun.

Is Mach 1 still in business? I can't seem to find their web sight anymore.

Never knew there was an upgrade like that, but to my way of thinking that Sheridan bridged the gap nicely between a BB gun and a .22 LR so I rather liked the variable power. Two pumps for a mouse in the house, three pumps for shooting in the basement, six pumps for birds and chipmunks, eight for a rabbit or crow and ten for a long shot. Pretty handy around the house without trying to make it into a magnum. I'm remembering that as a kid that Sheridan strained a lot of house flies through the screens with just air.

The thing about the early Sheridans was there was an elongated Button(?) on the top of the tang that had to be pushed to fire it. 1950 ish models.

Hip

I just traded for a silver streak that appears new in the box, any ideas as to what its worth

I never realized that I had a collector late 50's hold down safety Racine made model C. As a grade schooler I did covet those later rocker safety Sheridans because for a kid, I thought that hold down safety was kind of a reach, but it worked and was probably safer. I'd better keep better track of that old Silver Streak because the gun safe didn't even have a place left for it. I remember gunning a cottontail rabbit with the Sheridan and a necropsy found a .177 caliber pellet in it. Sheridan superiority for a ten year old.

Precision pellet was awesome to work with. Resealed and drilled/tapped adding a peep for $75 more. Think mine was a ‘53. Sold it here for not much over the reseal/drill/peep upfit. Bought it here too knowing it likely needed seals.

They used leather seals on piston if memory serves. Those dry out. There are a few tiny orings on the side of the piston to exhaust or something like that also. If you have it steroided, not sure MAC still does, you get a different newer piston. Same as some shops do for a rebuild to fix leaks. If you want the original you should keep that in mind.

I worked for them in Western NY after the merge. Always wanted one but couldn’t afford the employee cost of $115 with rings. Young and poor at the time. Got the one here and after a decade I finally got it fixed then sold it without firing. Hate to see stuff just sit but knew it needed to get resealed to be sellable and thought maybe I’d shoot it some.

JSB exacts are good for .20 or any cal. I’ve heard Sheridan Streaks like Jumbos too.

Always heard to store with 1 pump on them to maintain seals.

On the steroid option or parts anyway I saw Mac offered the parts a few years ago. Didn’t look like he was doing the work himself but maybe I’m wrong.

If it has the old style clamp mount it’s a good idea to remove. There’s an issue of the brass barrel separating from the tube if clamped extra tight for extended periods. I sold mine with the clamp mount most prefer. I think Mac offered a version at one time also. Can always got to yellow or gateway to air and ask around.

I think I gave the buyer all my .20 pellets but can take a look if someone is having trouble finding any. I know I bought a bunch of RWS for the kids CMP 853s but those are .22

Great old guns! Probably the cream of the multi pump pneumatic class. You should absolutely get it going again. Like kenacp says, you'll need a couple of tools, but it's not hard. Tools plus seals will probably run you less than sending it out. PM me if you need to source parts.