The First Streaks
The first Silver Streak didn’t appear that different from the Benjamin or Crosman multi-pump air rifles already being sold. They weighed the same 6 pounds, and were just as long, at 37 inches. Sheridan had the same open sights as Benjamin. Crosman had a peep sight, but, lacking good pellets, that advantage was wasted.
Within a few years, a Blue Streak joined the Sheridan line. Both rifles shared the same features except for finish. The Blue Streak is painted black, while the Silver Streak is nickel-plated. Both guns’ major assemblies (barrel, pump tube and receiver) are solid brass.
The automatic safety originally specified for the Streaks was in the wrong place to be held down by the thumb and was routinely deactivated by comfort-minded airgunners.
The first Streaks had automatic safeties, and not just automatic—they were positive hold-down safeties similar to grip safeties! Except, where the M1911 grip safety is actually a part of the grip and difficult to bypass if you grip the gun naturally.
Sheridan placed the hold-down button on the tang, nearly an inch forward of the shooter’s thumb, resulting in an uncomfortable grip for most shooters. Most owners soon rendered it inoperable. Guns with undamaged hold-down safety buttons now command a premium.
Sheridan decided on a Mannlicher-style stock that set it apart from every other air rifle of the time. It was “the look” that was so important to marketing. In those days, nobody used anything but American walnut, so some gorgeous stocks have come down through time.
Pump Limits
The owner’s manual specified a maximum of eight pumps. Until then, nobody knew exactly how many pumps to put in a pneumatic, but everyone thought more had to be better. The manual also told the owner to always store the rifle with one pump of air in it to keep the valves closed against airborne dirt. Owners who followed those instructions were able to bequeath their airguns in operating condition to their grandkids, but most have required resealing over the years.
The New Safety
In 1963, Sheridan gave in to customers’ complaints about the thumb safety and changed it for a rocker-type manual unit. Below the stock line, the safety is a single lever that rocks from side to side, hence the name. It was the final feature that made Sheridan the world’s best multi-pump pneumatic.
This rocker-safety style of the Streak rifle continued in production until 1992. Power and accuracy remained unchanged since the beginning, but late in the 1980s the wood forearm swelled in thickness where the hand gripped it. The Mannlicher stock remains to this day.
Blue Streak with rocker safety was
the epitome of Sheridan design.
The Sheridan Name Continues
Sheridan was purchased by The Benjamin Air Rifle Company in 1977. Benjamin initially left the company alone. Sheridan made them money and was correctly perceived as the top American air rifle, so Benjamin wisely stayed in the background. As time passed, Benjamin moved their own headquarters to Racine, Wis., to join with Sheridan and began combining features of the two lines to ease the manufacturing burden.
Just as the marking “Benjamin Franklin” on the side of older Benjamins is meaningless, the Benjamin/Sheridan name that ultimately resulted from this move was equally without merit. All .20 cal. guns were Sheridans, and any other caliber was a Benjamin.
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