Jamie Norton
13-09-2009, 05:15 PM
BSA Superten Mk3
I bought this new about three years ago. It’s the non-bull barrel full-length version. I opted for this as the thicker bull barrel requires the use of high mounts when using a large objective scope.
The stock is beech and is very nicely sculpted and well finished. There is a well-placed thumb rest groove and an adjustable butt pad is fitted as standard to adjust the fit. This is very comfortable to use with decent chequering on the grip and fore stock.
It is undeniably a heavy rifle. Personally, I prefer lighter guns, especially for hunting, but I know others prefer a heavier weight. I do feel, though, that it is important that heavy rifles are well balanced and the Superten, unfortunately, isn’t. It is noticeably front-heavy.
The trigger is adjustable in various planes for fit and, of course, for pull and travel. I haven’t changed mine from the factory setting as I find it ok as is, but maybe I should as it isn’t as crisp and predictable as, say, a HW100.
Mine is a .177 and I can get over a hundred shots per buddy bottle charge (at 232 bar). This means that it doesn’t need to be recharged so often, which is just as well because this procedure is a bit of an ordeal. BSA advise unscrewing the bottle x number of turns before firing off dry shots to empty the chamber before fully removing the bottle. Unfortunately, this is a very imprecise procedure – unscrew too far and the air escapes violently risking damage to the bottle’s O ring; not far enough and you spend a lot of time dry firing for nothing. In practice, this means unscrewing a little at a time and dry firing a dozen or so shots in between (by which time everyone else has already recharged their guns). More often than not, the result is a violent discharge anyway. When you eventually remove the bottle it leaks air until you recharge it. I’ve spoken to other Superten owners who describe the same problems. Not good enough, BSA! If it is necessary to release air pressure before removing the bottle then better provision should be made for this, although other guns with removable bottles such as Gunpower’s Stealth and Weirauch’s HW100 have no such requirement.
The magazine is an all-metal enclosed type which is spring-loaded. The bolt must be locked in its rearward position to allow the magazine to be extracted from the left side. A pellet is dropped in to the first empty chamber then the drum is manually turned one click to expose the next chamber and so on. As the drum is turned the internal spring is tensioned. The magazine is then re-inserted into the gun and the bolt moved to its forward position to load the first pellet. Some jiggling of the magazine is required to get the loading prod lined up for this first round. The magazine has performed faultlessly even after leaving it in a wet field overnight!
The bolt action itself differs from other manufacturers’ in that it must be lifted from the front slot, drawn back, then lowered into a rear slot before reversing the procedure. This additional lowering and raising in the rear position means it is slightly slower and more cumbersome than the traditional ‘lift, pull back, push forward, lower’ of other bolt actions. If you don’t do it right then the trigger locks requiring you to try again.
There is a noticeable movement on firing, though hardly enough to call it recoil. Nevertheless, other PCPs I’ve shot have no discernible movement on firing.
I’m obliged to say that, despite being regulated (and BSA’s top of the range gun when I bought mine) it is not very accurate. I have tried several pellet brands, but 1.5” groups at 30 yards is about its limit. Cleaning the barrel improves things temporarily (maybe 1” groups) but this lasts less than about a hundred shots. I am told that John Bowkett can transform the Superten in this respect, but I think it fair to expect BSA to have already done this.
All in all, it has been a bit disappointing. Some of the issues appear to be the result of poor design. The air discharge problem when removing the bottle, for instance, should have been resolved. After paying over £500 for the gun, I shouldn’t have to send it to someone else to make it accurate either. On the basis of this experience, I can’t really recommend the Superten and doubt I’d buy another BSA.
I bought this new about three years ago. It’s the non-bull barrel full-length version. I opted for this as the thicker bull barrel requires the use of high mounts when using a large objective scope.
The stock is beech and is very nicely sculpted and well finished. There is a well-placed thumb rest groove and an adjustable butt pad is fitted as standard to adjust the fit. This is very comfortable to use with decent chequering on the grip and fore stock.
It is undeniably a heavy rifle. Personally, I prefer lighter guns, especially for hunting, but I know others prefer a heavier weight. I do feel, though, that it is important that heavy rifles are well balanced and the Superten, unfortunately, isn’t. It is noticeably front-heavy.
The trigger is adjustable in various planes for fit and, of course, for pull and travel. I haven’t changed mine from the factory setting as I find it ok as is, but maybe I should as it isn’t as crisp and predictable as, say, a HW100.
Mine is a .177 and I can get over a hundred shots per buddy bottle charge (at 232 bar). This means that it doesn’t need to be recharged so often, which is just as well because this procedure is a bit of an ordeal. BSA advise unscrewing the bottle x number of turns before firing off dry shots to empty the chamber before fully removing the bottle. Unfortunately, this is a very imprecise procedure – unscrew too far and the air escapes violently risking damage to the bottle’s O ring; not far enough and you spend a lot of time dry firing for nothing. In practice, this means unscrewing a little at a time and dry firing a dozen or so shots in between (by which time everyone else has already recharged their guns). More often than not, the result is a violent discharge anyway. When you eventually remove the bottle it leaks air until you recharge it. I’ve spoken to other Superten owners who describe the same problems. Not good enough, BSA! If it is necessary to release air pressure before removing the bottle then better provision should be made for this, although other guns with removable bottles such as Gunpower’s Stealth and Weirauch’s HW100 have no such requirement.
The magazine is an all-metal enclosed type which is spring-loaded. The bolt must be locked in its rearward position to allow the magazine to be extracted from the left side. A pellet is dropped in to the first empty chamber then the drum is manually turned one click to expose the next chamber and so on. As the drum is turned the internal spring is tensioned. The magazine is then re-inserted into the gun and the bolt moved to its forward position to load the first pellet. Some jiggling of the magazine is required to get the loading prod lined up for this first round. The magazine has performed faultlessly even after leaving it in a wet field overnight!
The bolt action itself differs from other manufacturers’ in that it must be lifted from the front slot, drawn back, then lowered into a rear slot before reversing the procedure. This additional lowering and raising in the rear position means it is slightly slower and more cumbersome than the traditional ‘lift, pull back, push forward, lower’ of other bolt actions. If you don’t do it right then the trigger locks requiring you to try again.
There is a noticeable movement on firing, though hardly enough to call it recoil. Nevertheless, other PCPs I’ve shot have no discernible movement on firing.
I’m obliged to say that, despite being regulated (and BSA’s top of the range gun when I bought mine) it is not very accurate. I have tried several pellet brands, but 1.5” groups at 30 yards is about its limit. Cleaning the barrel improves things temporarily (maybe 1” groups) but this lasts less than about a hundred shots. I am told that John Bowkett can transform the Superten in this respect, but I think it fair to expect BSA to have already done this.
All in all, it has been a bit disappointing. Some of the issues appear to be the result of poor design. The air discharge problem when removing the bottle, for instance, should have been resolved. After paying over £500 for the gun, I shouldn’t have to send it to someone else to make it accurate either. On the basis of this experience, I can’t really recommend the Superten and doubt I’d buy another BSA.