Sheridan 190B.
Part 6 (and all earlier parts)
This report covers:
- Shot
- Wingshot
- The 190
- Printed shot cups
- First shot
- No shot cup
- Short shot cup
- Doesn’t work
Today will be an odd one. What I did today was try to shoot the .50-caliber Sheridan 190B tranquilizer gun with birdshot. I’ll let you look over my shoulder as we go.
Shot
For today’s test I bought a 25-pound bag of birdshot. I could have just as easily gotten the shot from a couple shotgun shells, but who knows how many airguns we’ll see in the future that use shot? The Umarex Primal for instance?
I wanted to get number 8 shot but the closest I was able to come was 7-1/2. That shot is nominally 0.095-inches / 2.3mm in diameter. I say nominally because shotgun shot is not as uniform as the steel BBs we are used to. I have covered how shot is made in past reports.
Wing Shot
I have also tested air shotguns in pretty good detail. Please allow plenty of time for the photos to load on the linked report.
The most successful test I ever ran was with an Air Venturi Wing Shot that is still available. That one is a useful shotgun for close work (10-15 yards). What makes it successful are the shotshells Pyramyd AIR supplies.
Air Venturi Wing Shot.
The Wingshot shotshells come in two lengths with two different shot sizes—6s and 8s.
The Wing Shot made this pattern at 15 yards.
The Wingshot is a serious air shotgun. My first two shots after a fill to 3000 psi / 206 bar went out at 965 f.p.s. / 294.13 m/s and 887 f.p.s. / 270.36 m/s.
The 190
But today we are looking at the Sheridan 190, which is a multi-pump pneumatic air pistol that was built to launch tranquilizer darts. And yes, reader Yogi, I have not forgotten your interest in seeing how the practice darts perform.
Printed shot cups
Reader Ian McKee supplied me with several shot cups that he printed. There are long ones and short ones. Since I had no idea how the 190 might work I started with the long ones first.
10-22-25-03-shot-cups-in-shot
Ian McKeep supplied several of each of these two sizes of shot cups. They are open on one end and closed on the other.
And here is a “precision” loaded long shot cup. Yes, Yogi, that is a joke. I jammed a bit of paper towel down on the shot.
First shot
After loading the long shot cup I pumped the pistol seven times and fired at a large Shoot-N-C target about 18-20 feet / 5.49-6.1m away. The cup went out slowly (80 f.p.s. / 24.38 m/s or so) and dumped all its shot when it hit the box. Okay—that was WAY too much shot!
No shot cup
Next I tried loading the shot without a cup. First a piece of blue paper shop towel went into the breech, followed by a third of the smaller shot cup full of shot. I just used the cup as a dipper; it wasn’t loaded into the airgun. That was followed by another piece of paper towel to hold the shot in the breech, then the breech bolt was closed.
Paper goes in the breech first, then shot, then more paper.
After loading I rammed the front paper towel back down on the shot that was inside the breech with a long screwdriver. This is very much like shooting a muzzleloading shotgun.
Then I pumped the pistol ten times (I think. I know it was more than eight.) and shot. This time the shot did leave small impressions on the target that I will try to show.
At 18-20 feet the shot spread about four inches but did not penetrate the target paper.
Short shot cup
Well, that doesn’t work. So the last thing I tried was shooting a small shot cup that was one-third filled. I pumped the gun seven times and shot. This time the shot cup hit the target with all the shot inside and the wad that held the shot inside the cup embedded itself in the target box.
When the short shot cup was one-third full of shot, this is what happened on seven pumps. The shot never left the cup in flight.
Doesn’t work
The Sheridan 190 tranquilizer pistol is not an air shotgun in any way, shape or form. I guess there just isn’t enough of a push to make it work.
Tom,
At least we now know what this thing isn’t for. Hmm maybe you could have used 6mm plastic BBs instead?
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Oh no! More to test? 😉
BB
Tom,
What is weight of the dart this gun usually fires? That reinforces the idea that lead shot will not fly far.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
I looked for the oner dart that I have and can’t find it. And the companies selling the darts don’t say what they weigh. I would guess 70-90 grains.
BB
I had weighed the practice darts in part 1.
Here is the text about the practice darts.
The practice darts I have weigh 7 grams or just over 109 grains. Practice darts can be ordered in different weights to simulate the weight of the volume of chemicals you wish to inject into the animal. And that is dependent on the weight of the animal you wish to inject.
Ian
B.B.
Thanks for the review!
Now dip that blue towel in gasoline, light it, shoot it, and you have a weapon. Shooting “Balls of Fire”.
Maybe?
-Yogi
I have told this story here before but it is relevant to this test .When I still had pergola over my patio it was infested with Carpenter bees and no method to get rid of them worked. I decided to have fun in a knowingly futile endeavor of killing them one by one. OK, Crosman 2240, used as a shotgun. I cut .250″ cardboard wads and loaded into the chamber, used a small Lee dipper(can’t remember what size) of grits pored into the muzzle using a tiny funnel ,used a wooden dowel pin 1/8″-3/16″ to lightly tap the load own. I used no wad on top as I shot the enemy on wing only so I was always shooting up or level. It worked great , did not kill the enemy out right but their lifting apparatus was destroyed and the infantry could move in and mop up.
Maybe try grits or ground walnut hulls which is sold as brass polishing media or at pet shops as hamster bedding .
Scorched earth was the only method to remove the vermin, removal of the pergola to a bon fire did the trick. I built an all steel patio cover and from time to time I see the enemy fly by see the armor and fly away.
ssc,
I live in a log house and am seriously considering buying a Gamo Viper Express and loading it with small sugar pills to deal with the carpenter bees way up high this Spring.
RidgeRunner,
If you ever see a Quackenbush .410 Camp and Garden pistol for sale jump on it!
https://quackenbushairguns.com/currently_available.htm
They actually work just like Dennis describes and better patterns with some advanced loading techniques like a Mylar® wrap and fillers.
shootski
I do not need another alternate “arm” but one day I may just have to have one of Dennis’s rifles. I should have bought a “Knave” when he still made them.
singleshotcajun,
GRITS! Now why didn’t i think of that! I have a Quackenbush .410 Camp and Garden Pistol: https://quackenbushairguns.com/currently_available.htm
and have been using various things as loads. I used sugar pearls (expensive for what they are!) to shoot cicadas off of tree trunks; i can see grits as a good load at shorter ranges for flying bugs as well as crawling ones outside! I would use dried peas for Hercules Beetles.
shootski
Please buy cheap grits like Jim Damdy to use as shot. I fear it wood be a sin to use Palmetto Farms organic grits for shot 😉
singleshotcajun,
I shop at the Base Commissary.
I will ONLY use the cheapest bulk grits i can find :^)
shootski
Shootski,
That thing looks sweet. I would assume it’s a pcp. What is the fill pressure and how many shots does she get? Even though not as powerful, I often wish Daisy still had the C02 Critter Gitter into full production. It looked like something based off a Daisy 100, it was a single shot .38 shotgun pistol.
Doc
Doc Holiday,
It is a no nonsense tool just like all the other DAQ airguns. MAXIMUM Fill pressure is 3,000 to 3,600 psi driven by the way the valve/striker is set up. As with all DAQs they are overbuilt as far as the pressure vessel and failure tested by Dennis to multiples of the MAXIMUM working pressure.
I keep it to three full power shots based on penetration with Lead or steel shot and my experience with the shot count of rifled Outlaw Pistols. I suspect light shot could get a far greater count and still be effective. This Camp & Garden pistol is a close range device; ten to fifteen yards is the logical maximum distance regardless of the load.
I have tried to chronograph with both an optical and Doppler RADAR but the shot gives unreliable readings in both probably because of the plastic shot cup wad slowing down just outside of the muzzle.
shootski
PS: there is only a front Brass Bead for sighting and no provision for a rear sight, dovetails, not drilled/tapped for Weavers/PICATINNY.
Another alternative, if you have chickens is cracked corn not nearly as uniform as grits but should work well on BB’s Sheridan or your 0.410 Quackenbush and might even work on something as small as a 25 cal.
Typically only available at a farm store like Tractor Supply and only in a 50 lb bag.
Very inexpensive at about $0.23 per lb. were as the cheapest grits are about $1.45 per lb
Mike
bmwsmiley,
Mike i like that… but a 50 lb. bag will take a long time to shoot away even with the “MASSIVE” 1/2 ounce per load ;^) White hulled Millet might work as well.
“Jimmy Crack Corn,” which has any number of interpretations and could mean to work hard. The song also has historical links to slang for gossiping and a slave’s perspective after his master’s death.
But then again cracked corn is a good BAIT for many types of birds, particularly ground-feeding species like doves, jays, cardinals, sparrows, juncos and is also enjoyed by other birds such as pheasants, quail, crows, and turkeys…way cheaper than the UTZ Cheese Balls i have used in the past.
Jimmy Crack Corn and i don’t care…
shootski
shootski,
Deer and fuzzy-tailed tree rats like it also.
BB
I have neglected dart and bolt shooting for too long. My rememberer tells me that accuracy was surprisingly good but dart damage due to penetration in my sisal board was hard to manage. I forgot the number of pumps I used on my 1377 pistol. Have you or anyone determined the best velocity?
Deck
Deck,
I think 200 f.p.s. to perhaps 240 is good. I don’t know if it’s best, but I guess that depends on what the darts are shot into.
With a pistol I like 2-3 pumps, but they all differ so your mileage may vary.
BB
Deck,
I like to use my Webley Junior for dart shooting. At twenty feet, it hits the sisal board pretty hard. Unfortunately, I need a new spring for my piston catch. The old one is pretty tired and I have yet to find a good substitute.
RidgeRunner
Awhile back BB did a report on how to screet a spring. Could that help the Webley Junior spring?
Deck
B.B.,
You need skived (longitudinal sliced) shot cups that open as soon as the load departs the muzzle.
I wonder if they could be printed that way or if it would only work cutting them with something like a miniature pineapple slicer after being printed?
shootski
Shootski , that would be a winner.
When I printed the shot cups, they were printed in what is called “Vase mode” meaning they are only wall thickness (0.4mm or 0.016 inches thick.)
Also it was a continuous line, meaning once the first layer was printed, (0.02mm or 0.00079 inches) thick , it continued in a circle, adding (0.4 mm 0.016 inches) line thickness for every rotation until it reached the height I had determined.
I figured with that thin of a first layer it would break under the pressure of the air blast of the shot.
If i was printing a thicker wall, I could design the cup to be skived, but it would still have the same wall thickness at the skive point as it does with only 1 wall thickness.
A smaller diameter nozzle might help by reducing the wall thickness by half.
But its a rabbit hole that MAY not give any meaningful returns.
Ian
Ian
I should think that manual slicing of the walls with a box cutter or even a razor blade would be more efficient considering the quantities involved. Perhaps not if you wanted to make them for sale, but the recipient of the cups could do their own slicing in that case.
Ed
“The Wing Shot made this pattern at 15 yards.”
Wow BB!
That’s pretty impressive! In my younger days, I re-built a little over fifty old single-shot shotguns.
And half of those didn’t pattern that well at 15 yards; that is quite impressive for an air shotgun. 🙂
Blessings to you,
dave
thedavemyster,
P. AIR sells a 12.2mm choke for the Wing and Double Shot and claim it tightens the pattern.
“Enjoy a longer effective range, increased accuracy and a tighter pattern with your Seneca Wing Shot or Double Shot by adding this 12.2mm choke. You’ll notice an improved shot pattern in consistency and density.”
By reducing the inner barrel diameter from .494″ to .480″, this 12.2mm choke delivers a pattern approximately 10% tighter when shooting the Air Venturi #6 and #8 loaded shotshells.
I think the Wing Shot shotshells are what makes the patterning good.
it looks like the hull body is skyved and looks to me like that nose cone likely stays full of the leading part of the shot column and the rest of the shot gets sucked along to the target.
Maybe we can get B.B. to rent a high speed camera to get a sequence of images or video of the external ballistics of the Wing Shot!
I wonder if a light weight plastic cup shaped front wad would do the same for my .410 Quackenbush? Or maybe even work for powder scattergun shot shells?
shootski
shootski, that’s some cool info; thank you for sharing; blessings to you! 🙂
I would like to play with this thing some. I would even spring for the darts. I do not think I would want to own it though, because after I satisfied my curiosity about it, it would be time for it to move on. I played with a M712 once. It was fun, but fortunately I did not own it and it was easy for me to hand it back to the owner.
Now, if I was tranquilizing animals this would be the way to go. I have looked at some of the new ones and I am not really that impressed. They are also very expensive. I guess if you have a business picking up the tab…
I am also curious on how this does on shooting those .50 paintballs.
RidgeRunner of the Peeples Demakratik Republik of Virginia 🙁
P.S. If we are real lucky, we will become part of West Virginia! I doubt Spamburger will let us go though.
BB,
Nice try! It’s not a shotgun, aside from grits or crushed walnut shell. There must be a number of cool things that haven’t been considered yet for use as projectiles for this fascinating pistol. Ian’s various printed plastic ones were a great start, please keep ideas brewing. I’m thinking of a bomb shape that is larger and hollow, with relatively thin walls, maybe it would need some interior structure to make it sturdy enough without it being too heavy.
I saw one of these same pistols on eBay a few months ago and bid hard for it but lost out to the person who wanted it more. That one came with many (~30?) actual tranq darts in two or three sizes.
While bidding, I was imagining making wooden darts on the wood lathe. However, the needle shaped dart style used in blowguns, which is a rod with a with a cup at the rear might be a nice alternative. If you added a foam bead towards the front end to keep the tip centered while being fired, it might work nicely. That style of dart doesn’t need much oomph to get going.
This gun might respond well to adding a longer .50 cal barrel if possible and a Crosman butt stock to make it a carbine.
Regards,
Will
Received the .30 Hatsan Blitz 777 last night and it is a handful.
Need to be aware of your surroundings when walking around with it, it’s long. If you like Big, Black, Heavy, Select-Fire, Tach-T-Cool PCPs you will be happy. May be more at home with a bipod on a bench or removing the folding stock and replacing it with a pistol grip setup and mounting it on a tripod like an M1919 machine gun. Especially with the 33 round (in .30 Cal) optional mag.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to shoot for a while. My old shipmate just died this morning, and I need to handle his affairs, and my ex is still in the hospital with a fractured spine and a rainstorm lasting a few days is headed this way. Need to prep the property for drainage.