Sterling HR81 quandry

[Phil Russell]

I bought this .22 rifle at auction purely on impulse as the bidding seemed low. I had not properly examined the rifle (shame on me) so it was not really a surprise to see a hex head bolt acting as the u/l pivot. However, I fixed that by making a suitable replacement which, while not an exact match to the original, is pretty good complete with the 'locking screw head' that matches the actual pivot screw. And it does not have the pivoting action acting on the bolt threads.The rifle would not cock to engage the sears ... at this point I had memories of a previous 81 where I had to fettle the trigger to get it to work. But on inspection all that was wrong was that the stock forend bolts were too long and catching on the breech block. Two washers sorted the problem. The rifle now cocked and fired, albeit with a lot of twang. Output was c 9.5ftlbs so not too bad with Accupell. But then I noticed the absence of the sights ... no open sights at all. The front sight, fixed to the muzzle, which should be able to take elements had been cut down to a flat surface so no elements could be fitted, or maybe it was part of an early two piece design?. On another rifle the rear sight attaches to two ears on the breech block. This rifle has no ears but I have seen photos where the ears are not present. Hmmm. A scope would fit OK.Then the underlever catch showed it was in bad shape; maybe someone had tried to mend it at one point but it had a tendency to not stay in place. A shim in the catch housing has fixed that. The stock may well have been refinished but is quite acceptable with no damage I can see.
My quandry now is what to do with it. I could look for a foresight unit or somehow fix an element sight in place. I could also fit some sort of rear sight. The u/l is an issue as I doubt if I could find a replacement ... but then the shim works.
The above are my possible options to keep the rifle but I am pondering on offering it for sale as a repair project or a source of parts. As above, it works well but I have not delved inside. I am not really interested in splitting it for sale of parts bit by bit. My thought is that 'as is' it could be worth £100, this would just cover what it cost me and ignores the hours of fun (?) I had making the u/l pivot and other fettling. Do you learned gentlemen have any views?
All comments welcome but please be kind.
Cheers, Phil

[the logun-ator]

if i had the spare cash ide have had that just cos of what it is,i mean ive got a theoben fenman coming in as payment for a service on a logun,i dont think much of them...but because of what it is .it will be added to the collection.
if youve got the space,and you dont need the money...keep it.

[Phil Russell]

Fair advice ... but I already have a very good .22 HR81 so do not need another one. Do I? But a .177 would be nice.
Cheers, Phil

[the logun-ator]

ah well then
didnt realise you already had one
dont be greedy and speed the joy,lol

[Geezer]

Sounds like a bit of a dog, frankly.

The HR81 front sight/lever catch assembly was a one piece thing, when made by Sterling (at least, the one on mine is). And the rear sight had “ears”.

But, IIRC, the US-made Benjamin versions had a two-piece front sight/catch assembly, at least initially, and definitely did not have “ears”. Maybe you have one of those. A few were imported over here. If so, it should have “BENJAMIN-SHERIDAN RACINE” marked on it.

“A lot of twang” is typical. As is a slammy action.

[Phil Russell]

No Benjamin Sheridan Racine. Ser. No. 3834
Cheers, Phil

[Shed tuner]

“A lot of twang” is typical. As is a slammy action.

yup. The firing cycle is quite an experience