cinstone
12-02-2007, 05:47 PM
Last week I noticed on "Livens" (Burton on Trent) website that they had a BSA Spitfire for sale. My interest in one of these stemmed from a talk with my girlfriend who asked at the local gun shop, who also sell model aircraft, if he could get a Spitfire. He thought she was on about a gun, but she was actually refering to a flying model of the plane.
Anyway, seeing the very resonable price for the BSA Spitfire of £150, I was very interested.
There was a photograph on Livens website of the rifle & it seemed in quite good condition.
I couldn't get over to the shop as it was the weekend, so I spent a few days re-searching these rifles, mainly on this forum.
There does not seem to be much info' available on the web for these rifles, as they are no longer made by BSA, & most of the info' was found from some of you friendly & knowledgeable folk on here. Thanks to all you folk who helped me out with my questions.
I was directed to a website by "Bodkinratter", which had instruction books to download for this rifle. Thanks. This was very useful.
What I needed to do was find out if the model for sale was a high fill model, the description on the Livens website not stating which model it was.
A call first thing to Livens to find out a little more was made on the Monday morning. They wern't to up on BSA Spitfires, but he said the condition was about 7 or 8 out of ten. With the info' that I had found from this forum, it seemed it was a carbine high fill model.
I have about a fifty mile drive to Burton on Trent, but they said they would put it to one side for me.
The chaps in the shop were friendly & knowledgeable, all be it not too up on the finer points of the Spitfire models, but they let me try it out & it was very nice.
Review.
Secondhand .177" BSA Spitfire Carbine Rifle, including the standard BSA volumetric silencer (as supplied with rifle when new), & Nikko Stirling Silver Crown waterproof 4-12 x 40AO scope. £150 from Livens, Burton on Trent.
Specification;-
Overall length = 97cm/39".
Barrel length = 36cm/14".
Weight = 3.3k.g./7.25lbs.
Barrel rifling = 12 groove 1:19"
Working pressure = 232bar/3365p.s.i.
Shots per fill = approx' 35.
The rifle has about 7 small marks on the cheek piece, with a small area of slightly more deep damadge on the bottom edge of the cheek piece. The silencer has several light scratches to the paint, with just one that has been touched up with black paint. The scope has paint missing on the edges of the eye piece & a bit is missing from the edge of the AO lens which have probably been done through general ware from adjusting the scope.
The rifle feels extreamely solid & well made & due to its slightly shorter length, is very easy to handle. It is heavier than my Air Arms S410 though.
To re-charge the rifle, lie it down on its side & turn the brass cover just forward of the trigger guard to expose the filler port. The rifle came with an adapter to enable it to be pumped up with a tank or pump. I used my pump, but before doing so you have to remove the restrictor screw from the adapter. After tightening the adapter to the hose, (a lot tighter than the S410 adapter, rectified by putting a small amount of P.T.F.P. tape around the thread of the adapter), all you do is push it into the port. Make sure it is fully home & then begin to pump. Take it easy until you have equalised the pressure in the hose because you may pull out the adapter & cause it to leak. Once the pressure is balanced there is no problem.
The rifle is easier to pump up than my S410, even though the working pressure of 232bar is higher than my S410. I reckon this is because the Spitfire has less capacity than the S410 & thus gets to the maximum that much quicker.
Once up to full pressure, bleed off the pump & pull out the adapter.
Before loading, make sure the safety catch is in the "S" position. This is situated on the right of the action, above the trigger & is very nicely placed for operation by a flick of your right thumb.
To load a pellet you tap the end of the silencer to break the action & steadily pull down the barrel until you hear a click. The rifle is now cocked. You have to be careful not to pull the barrel down like you would with a break barrel springer! The maximum travel is only about 30 degrees & all you are doing is cocking the rifle & allowing access to the breech.
Insert a pellet then close the barrel. The rifle is now ready to fire, as soon as the safety catch is flicked forward to the "F" position.
The silencer works quite well, but it is not as quiet as the Air Arms one on my S410. Without the silencer, the Spitfire is fairly loud.
The scope, as you folk will no doubt know, is not one of the most expensive models on the market, but it does the job.
As for accuracy, I'm yet to take it to the range, but it does seem to be very accurate so far. Bare in mind I only have around 7-8 yards to shoot when I'm not at the range.
Using Air Arms Field 4.52s I checked the f.p.s. of the rifle last night & also made note of the amount of shots.
I shot 35 pellets & out of the 35 I got 31 readings. I messed up 4 of them.
F.P.S.
745/757/757/757/756/735/745/734/736/733/661/756/757/753/749/761/757/752/679/735/740/756/738/730/682/679/727/727/748/745/747. Average of 736.58 = 10.12lb.ft.
I then shot another 10 & took a reading on the tenth shot which was 681, followed after another ten by a reading of 706, then a final 10 which saw a reading of 667.
I think it is safe to say that you should get about 40 full, or near to full power shots from one fill of the rifle. After this I checked the pressure in the rifle & it was down to approx' 100bar.
The maximum shots I've had from the rifle using Air Arms Field 4.51s was 101, but as you can imagine, power was very low at the end.
All in all I think the rifle is very good, especially at the price I paid.
I would recommend this rifle to anyone, but especially if you are going for a PCP on a tight budget.
Out of 3 :D, I'd give it :D:D:D.
Whilst I was at Livens I got talking about the new "Webley" pistol. The chap mentioned that he had 2 Hurricanes for sale, one in .22" & one in .177", so I bought the .177" & this will be subject to a review soon.
Anyway, seeing the very resonable price for the BSA Spitfire of £150, I was very interested.
There was a photograph on Livens website of the rifle & it seemed in quite good condition.
I couldn't get over to the shop as it was the weekend, so I spent a few days re-searching these rifles, mainly on this forum.
There does not seem to be much info' available on the web for these rifles, as they are no longer made by BSA, & most of the info' was found from some of you friendly & knowledgeable folk on here. Thanks to all you folk who helped me out with my questions.
I was directed to a website by "Bodkinratter", which had instruction books to download for this rifle. Thanks. This was very useful.
What I needed to do was find out if the model for sale was a high fill model, the description on the Livens website not stating which model it was.
A call first thing to Livens to find out a little more was made on the Monday morning. They wern't to up on BSA Spitfires, but he said the condition was about 7 or 8 out of ten. With the info' that I had found from this forum, it seemed it was a carbine high fill model.
I have about a fifty mile drive to Burton on Trent, but they said they would put it to one side for me.
The chaps in the shop were friendly & knowledgeable, all be it not too up on the finer points of the Spitfire models, but they let me try it out & it was very nice.
Review.
Secondhand .177" BSA Spitfire Carbine Rifle, including the standard BSA volumetric silencer (as supplied with rifle when new), & Nikko Stirling Silver Crown waterproof 4-12 x 40AO scope. £150 from Livens, Burton on Trent.
Specification;-
Overall length = 97cm/39".
Barrel length = 36cm/14".
Weight = 3.3k.g./7.25lbs.
Barrel rifling = 12 groove 1:19"
Working pressure = 232bar/3365p.s.i.
Shots per fill = approx' 35.
The rifle has about 7 small marks on the cheek piece, with a small area of slightly more deep damadge on the bottom edge of the cheek piece. The silencer has several light scratches to the paint, with just one that has been touched up with black paint. The scope has paint missing on the edges of the eye piece & a bit is missing from the edge of the AO lens which have probably been done through general ware from adjusting the scope.
The rifle feels extreamely solid & well made & due to its slightly shorter length, is very easy to handle. It is heavier than my Air Arms S410 though.
To re-charge the rifle, lie it down on its side & turn the brass cover just forward of the trigger guard to expose the filler port. The rifle came with an adapter to enable it to be pumped up with a tank or pump. I used my pump, but before doing so you have to remove the restrictor screw from the adapter. After tightening the adapter to the hose, (a lot tighter than the S410 adapter, rectified by putting a small amount of P.T.F.P. tape around the thread of the adapter), all you do is push it into the port. Make sure it is fully home & then begin to pump. Take it easy until you have equalised the pressure in the hose because you may pull out the adapter & cause it to leak. Once the pressure is balanced there is no problem.
The rifle is easier to pump up than my S410, even though the working pressure of 232bar is higher than my S410. I reckon this is because the Spitfire has less capacity than the S410 & thus gets to the maximum that much quicker.
Once up to full pressure, bleed off the pump & pull out the adapter.
Before loading, make sure the safety catch is in the "S" position. This is situated on the right of the action, above the trigger & is very nicely placed for operation by a flick of your right thumb.
To load a pellet you tap the end of the silencer to break the action & steadily pull down the barrel until you hear a click. The rifle is now cocked. You have to be careful not to pull the barrel down like you would with a break barrel springer! The maximum travel is only about 30 degrees & all you are doing is cocking the rifle & allowing access to the breech.
Insert a pellet then close the barrel. The rifle is now ready to fire, as soon as the safety catch is flicked forward to the "F" position.
The silencer works quite well, but it is not as quiet as the Air Arms one on my S410. Without the silencer, the Spitfire is fairly loud.
The scope, as you folk will no doubt know, is not one of the most expensive models on the market, but it does the job.
As for accuracy, I'm yet to take it to the range, but it does seem to be very accurate so far. Bare in mind I only have around 7-8 yards to shoot when I'm not at the range.
Using Air Arms Field 4.52s I checked the f.p.s. of the rifle last night & also made note of the amount of shots.
I shot 35 pellets & out of the 35 I got 31 readings. I messed up 4 of them.
F.P.S.
745/757/757/757/756/735/745/734/736/733/661/756/757/753/749/761/757/752/679/735/740/756/738/730/682/679/727/727/748/745/747. Average of 736.58 = 10.12lb.ft.
I then shot another 10 & took a reading on the tenth shot which was 681, followed after another ten by a reading of 706, then a final 10 which saw a reading of 667.
I think it is safe to say that you should get about 40 full, or near to full power shots from one fill of the rifle. After this I checked the pressure in the rifle & it was down to approx' 100bar.
The maximum shots I've had from the rifle using Air Arms Field 4.51s was 101, but as you can imagine, power was very low at the end.
All in all I think the rifle is very good, especially at the price I paid.
I would recommend this rifle to anyone, but especially if you are going for a PCP on a tight budget.
Out of 3 :D, I'd give it :D:D:D.
Whilst I was at Livens I got talking about the new "Webley" pistol. The chap mentioned that he had 2 Hurricanes for sale, one in .22" & one in .177", so I bought the .177" & this will be subject to a review soon.