Benjamin HB22 pump up pistol in .22?

[His lordship.]

30 years ago my old boss told me to buy a Benjamin multi-pump air pistol, as he liked his.  I finally bought one, got it on Saturday and have shot it some in my house.  I used to own a Benjamin 392 rifle in .22, so this pistol is somewhat familiar to me.
 
The owner's manual says to pump it up to 8 pumps maximum, it is a bear to do that, even 6 is a work out.  Shoots well with 2-3 pumps for target use in my place.  My old 392 rifle could work with 2 pumps, but the owner's manual said to use at least 3.  My intention is to use this for occasional target use and varmint control, house sparrows, etc.  As these pellet pistols are not as powerful as the rifles in general, how many pumps should I use to take out small birds?  Anything special I should know about for maintenance and use?  I plan to leave one pump in it when not in use to keep some pressure on the air cylinder. 
 
Some people had complained about the sights and trigger, but so far they work fine.  I grew up shooting old military guns so narrow or odd sights are old hat.  Pellet handguns do not have a good history with me, under powered, and often of low quality.  So far this pistol seems nice, only time will tell however.
 
Thanks.   

[shooter6br]

Thinking of getting the 397 rifle. i have a Crossman 760 pump from 40 yrs ago . I like a pneumatic vs a spring. Not much choice. Use for 10 meter plinking and occassional squirell. Mount a long eye releif red dot or 4x scope Similar to my Daisy 747 set up using Crosman 453? mounts. The old Benjamia /Sheridon is a time tested machine. Can be repaired easily. There is a guy who does only Benjamin/ Sheridon work

[keith44]

30 years ago my old boss told me to buy a Benjamin multi-pump air pistol, as he liked his.  I finally bought one, got it on Saturday and have shot it some in my house.  I used to own a Benjamin 392 rifle in .22, so this pistol is somewhat familiar to me.
 
The owner's manual says to pump it up to 8 pumps maximum, it is a bear to do that, even 6 is a work out.  Shoots well with 2-3 pumps for target use in my place.  My old 392 rifle could work with 2 pumps, but the owner's manual said to use at least 3.  My intention is to use this for occasional target use and varmint control, house sparrows, etc.  As these pellet pistols are not as powerful as the rifles in general, how many pumps should I use to take out small birds?  Anything special I should know about for maintenance and use?  I plan to leave one pump in it when not in use to keep some pressure on the air cylinder. 
 
Some people had complained about the sights and trigger, but so far they work fine.  I grew up shooting old military guns so narrow or odd sights are old hat.  Pellet handguns do not have a good history with me, under powered, and often of low quality.  So far this pistol seems nice, only time will tell however.
 
Thanks.   

pistols are not recommended for taking of game animals.  However, if you can determine either the velocity or the energy output at different power levels (different number of pumps) you can get a rough idea of the range at which you can hunt with the pistol.  bare minimum I would recommend is 650 fps or 7.5 ft lbs energy.  Anything less is more likely to just wound what you are shooting at.
 
+1 on upgrading the sighting system for live targets