Benjamin 397P Phase 1

[jirushi]

Very very nice! Are the new seals in yet?
This is my 347, I really like it, although I think the Sheridan's triggers are a bit better (lighter/less creep?). There is variation between Streaks though.
How is the trigger on your 342?



This is a simple mod I did on my 347. And my Taiyo Juki Bobcat: this is a photo of the Bobcat.
Little piece of leather super glued on the trigger, to reduce sear engagement. With a scalpel blade (easy to get hold of when you're a vet lol), you can adjust the thickness.
A more sophisticated approach would be to have a screw where the leather is, to adjust sears engagement. On which gun did I see this? I forgot lol.
Another important factor is the trigger spring strength. The spring on this photo is too weak, making the gun unsafe: when I cock it, the sear doesn't always grip well.
I have now installed a stronger spring.
Collecting springs of all sizes is something I must start to do. A friend advised me to collect toys, broken umbrella's and anything that can have springs inside.

[ratbuster2240]

I didn't know you were a vet Louis? what a great profession. Do you work with large or small animals?

A friend of mine was a vet sadly he passed away at Xmas.
He was very interesting to talk to and one of the last things we discussed was Brucellosis, he said there's a lot of older moody vets out there that he thinks may have caught it in their careers.

I love the grain on your 347 stock. Does it shoot as good as it looks?

All the seals are in and it's shooting hard going from. 177 - .20 and now .22 I've felt the difference.

I'm looking forward to testing the power and accuracy, I may mount the Weaver pistol scope and Mac1 mount because the .22 barrel has the same diameter as the Sheridans. After getting good results with the peep sight I'll be keeping them on the Sheridan and 397P.

Mine doesn't have the pre-drilled breech for williams peep, I think they started doing that in the mid 80's. Is your 347 made in Racine WI or St Louis MO? I'm sure I read that on the older Benji' if you drill and tap for a peep you'll have to raise the front sight height. I think they later remedied this.

You are right about the triggers, the benjis are heavier, I will have to measure this with my guage. It's crisp enough but not as light as the Sheridan. Somebody had modified my Sheridan trigger sear allowing adjustment. It certainly does the trick but I removed the adjuster screw until I properly bump test it and thread lock it.



Great work on your trigger improvements I never thought about doing that.

[jirushi]

Great that your 342 is working again!
It will be interesting to read about the results (power, accuracy).

My 347 works well, although I must cock it first before pumping; otherwise the air goes straight through the valve. I think I should have a look at the springs in the valve, but as it works when I cock it first, and it is in such untouched condition, I have decided to leave it for now. Max power is about 8 ft/lbs iirc. That's with 8 pumps. The trigger is heavy, but a bit better with the leather sears engagement reducer thingy.
Strangely enough, I was unable to make it work with the Williams peep sight. It keeps shooting a few inches to one side (forgot if it was left or right), even at max adjustment of the peep sight. The barrel is straight. Must look into this. Must also check if it was made in St Louis or Racine.

Moody vets with brucellosis! That could explain lots of things with some of my previous employers lol.
I used to do mixed practice (all creatures great and small), now I treat mostly cats and dogs.

Cheers, Louis

Ps. The wood on these Americans is often really nice indeed

[ratbuster2240]

I've got into the habit of cocking them before pumping, just in case the hammer is resting on the valve.

The Williams peep may have shot too far to the right, I think grinding off a little on the back of the sight will allow the aperture to come over.

[ratbuster2240]

A nice day for plinking and zeroing today, a slight adjustment to the crude sights and it was bang on at 20 yards. The sights are very basic but focusing on the front blade as if using a peep sight seems to be the best way to use them.



It's the first time testing the accuracy and it grouped quite well with cheap pellets, I will try JSBs next time.

One job I did before shooting it was to replace the clunking rectangular lever rivet. So I drilled the keyed side and punched it out.



The spring lever had quite a rough spot where the lever link
has contacted it so everything got smoothed out and cleaned up.



The rivet was very ovalled but the lever holes were still nice and round thanks to the rivet being sacrificial.



I installed a new rivet from Mac1 airguns, it sat a little proud so I filed it down a little once installed.

Unlike the previous owner, I will be keeping it well lubricated. It now pumps up smoothly without sounding like an arthritic Knee joint.

[--ped--]

it's suprising how much the rivet can wear and you were looky that the lik arm hadn't worn

[ratbuster2240]

Ped, I was putting off this job because I was worried about causing more damage but now I've done it I'm confident doing it again.

Apparently having a lot of slop can cause power to be lost. It must change the lever geometry reducing the amount of air going in with each pump.