Benjamin Franklin 342...

by Wade (Login steene)

I have a Ben Franklin 342 .22 cal pumper that I bought in 1986 or 1987. It is the predecessor of the 392. It has taken Raccoon, opossum, crow, rabbit, squirrel, pigeon, and feral cats that were eating our chickens and domestic rabbits. The feral cats were far and away the toughest of all, followed by the raccoon.
Up until yesterday, I have never had a serious problem with it. My 10 year old son and I were out on a squirrel hunt and he let the muzzle end rest in the dirt when we stopped for a rest. The fresh oil on the linkage pivot points attracted the dirt into the pump tube. Being a kid he didn't know any better. I plan on cleaning the tube out and driving on.
Several years ago, I was hunting in -10 F temps and the rifle would lose power. After I got home and thawed it out it held air just fine. My theory at the time was that it had some moisture that had condensed in the reservoir and possibly a small ice chunk had been interferring with the seal in some way.
Another gem is the C9 or Blue Streak from Sheridan. The .20 caliber rifle has a slightly flatter trajectory than the .22 and has the snort to get the job done downrange. I have a 1986 model that I bought off a guy at work. He still had the original box of pellets, owners manual, and tag hanging off the trigger guard.
As I understand it, Benjamin bought out Sheridan (or maybe the other way round). Then Crosman bought them. That why the rocker and sliding safties went away and the Crosman triggers appeared. Very sad development in my opinion. I don't mind the trigger as much as the loss of the tang safeties. Quality wise they are still very good, the new trigger has aftermarket parts and mods available.
Both of these are still very good, easy to shoot rifles with power and accuracy. You can't go wrong with either one.

Wade

Posted on Sep 17, 2007, 9:54 AM
from IP address 72.2.197.79

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