Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Air Guns Seeking Air Rifle Advice

My Benjamin 342 was purchased in 1972. Nearly all the finish is gone now (beautiful brass taking over all surfaces). Buttstock has been replaced once. Seals have been rebuilt about every 5-8 years. I can confidently say that as a lifetime hunter (since age 4 and "Ike" was president when I was born), this gun has killed more stuff than all my guns put together. (And I'm one of those idiots who thinks if you count your guns you might have a problem.)

The Benjamin still stands sentry at the kitchen door as I write this. Quiet, powerful, reliable, and deadly accurate. Will knock a 'coon out of a tree, or splatter a housefly dumb enough to land on a paper target.

Find one. Keep it.

I got an old Sheridan Blue Streak, a terrific rifle, that is similar in style to a 342.
Both now replaced by the 392 and 397.

BUT... These rifles aren't exactly quiet. I mean they're quieter than a .22short or lr, but not quiet compared to many other air rifles, and not completely backyard friendly. And nearly impossible to mount a scope on, if you prefer a scope.
Otherwise, lightweight and nimble, solid as a rock, and a fine addition to any collection.

Yeah, I agree with the difficulty mounting a scope on the 392/397 so I went with an aperture sight and that works very well. One of the nice features of those rifles are their size and weight and I really enjoy using mine with iron sights. Three or four pumps for target practice and 5 or 6 pumps for something more serious.

I have a Williams receiver sight on my Blue Streak too. But I don't know if I actually like it better than the barrel mounted notch.
It seems less precise to me. The hole is maybe too big, I don't know. Still works for cans and stuff.

That peep sight should be more precised than the standard sights, even with the large aperture. Just forget about the rear and focus on your front sight and target. I love the Williams mounted on the Sheridan guns.

My eyes are pretty old (not the rest of me, of course), so the Williams aperture works much better than the factory notch sight.

RWS 34, HW 30 or 95. You're grandkids, kids will be enjoying the use. With proper maintenance, of course.

Another vote for the RWS Model 34 w/ the T-06 trigger. The 34 is an excellent German made, break barrel rifle with a lifetime warranty, and it's incredibly accurate. Mine is a .22 and will knock the snot out of rabbits and other varmints. The 'combo' package comes with an RWS scope and rings, but the iron sights are great quality, fiber optic (front and rear), and are quite useable for those of us with aging eyesight.

is there a high quality 1000FPS range semi-auto out there? Like maybe a 5 or 7 shot?

Hatsan makes a semi auto PCP air rifle.
I have the Torpedo, one of their unlerlever spring guns, and it's a tank. And very powerful. Most of their stuff is overbuilt and heavy.

cool, I'll check it out

note: I just checked on the Hatsan and then stumbled on the Diana Stormrider PCP 7 shot.

That's not an autoloader. It's a Diana branded Chinese bolt action, made by Snow Peak I believe..

Any semi auto will of necessity be a PCP, which opens up a new, somewhat expensive, can of worms. You have to buy a scba or scuba tank to fill it or buy a hand pump.

Crosman has a cheap CO2 semi auto. But probably closer to 600 fps with lead pellets.

Crosman has a cheap CO2 semi auto. But probably closer to 600 fps with lead pellets.

bummer

yes and it appears those hand pumps are about $160

I own both but would put the Beeeman R9 as a superior rifle to the RWS 34. It's a more refined, but more expensive, rifle.

And the $160 Bemnjamin pumps are worthless. Constant seal rebuilds. A good FX pump is twice the price but lasts longer between rebuilds. The best bet is a used scuba tank and a nearby scuba store to fill it. Or do what I did- buy a Bauer 4500 psi compressor and a few used scba(firemen’s) bottles. But I have 6 Daystate PCP’s and use a LOT of air....