Webley Mk 3 - Sights & performance

[Rob M]

I have been shooting my .22 Mk3 quite a bit lately, and with practice I believe it could well be. I have tried a few different pellets, and found that Milbro TR are surprisingly good in it. At the moment I am finding my .22 Longbow more accurate but it's scoped, I am sure that if I persevere with the open sights on the Mk3 it will put in decent groups!

Loads of people have hunted successfully with Webley Mk3s in the past! I would say that, give a good lube job with modern lubricants and a new spring, they can develop 10.5, maybe 11 foot/pounds if you're lucky.

[johnbaz]

hello dumdum

the mk3 is as good as anything that you can buy today, everything was machined from billet stock, in fact, i was told that the reason the mk3 was discontinued was because they were too expensive to make!!.

on my .177 mk3, the seal is so good that, if you cock the gun then open the tap and then pull the trigger whilst holding the cocking lever, it holds the pressure within the cylinder, there arten't any other underlever rifles that i know of that will hold the piston back in this way, certainly, my mk5 airsporter won't, i believe this to be due to the fact that the loading tap is tapered in the same way that a gas tap is, it was lapped in for a gas-tight seal- quality or what!!!

john
accuracy too is excellent as long as the rifle isn't dieselling

[Prewar]

If dumdum wants hunt rabbits with the Mk3 wouldn't he be better off with something slightly more modern?
I had a lovely 60's Mk3, and agree they are very well made (gorgeous blueing and stocks!) but with the recoil, fairly heavy trigger & open sights I would have thought the range to be quite short to avoid the risk of maiming animals.
I think mine ran at about 9-10ftlbs, it didnt deisel, but it did kick! I would have been more comfortable hunting with a HW or something.
best wishes
Scott

[tjg]

[QUOTE=Leicastuff;1755961]If dumdum wants hunt rabbits with the Mk3 wouldn't he be better off with something slightly more modern?
I agree,I have loved shooting the older guns i have purchased lately,but for hunting it is obvious a scoped gun is better suited to the job,people used to hunt with the older guns because at the time they wern't older guns,things move on..i think people have hunted with a yoyo in the past...or was it a boomerang
TIM

[Prewar]

Tim,
I haven't hunted since I was a teenager, and probably wouldn't again unless I was really hungry and the shops had shut forever! I suppose its knowing that you can really hit the tiny target that counts, whether you have a scope or not, because for a clean kill with an air rifle that takes considerable skill.
best wishes
Scott

[Sam Vimes]

I have a good MKIII with the standard open sights and a Parker Hale flip out diopter fitted. I wouldn't dream of hunting with it now under any circumstances despite being capable of hitting a 40mm KZ at 35 yards 7 or 8 times out of 10. The rifle is capable of good groups even at range but the sighting system is just not reliable/good enough for hunting particularly as you get beyond 20 yards.

[wonky donky]

hello dumdum

on my .177 mk3, the seal is so good that, if you cock the gun then open the tap and then pull the trigger whilst holding the cocking lever, it holds the pressure within the cylinder, there arten't any other underlever rifles that i know of that will hold the piston back in this way, certainly, my mk5 airsporter won't, i believe this to be due to the fact that the loading tap is tapered in the same way that a gas tap is, it was lapped in for a gas-tight seal- quality or what!!!

john
accuracy too is excellent as long as the rifle isn't dieselling

Conversely, I have 2 MK3's in .22 & a MK3 Supertarget in very good condition none of which will hold the piston back in the manner you describe; but my Airsporter MK2 & Airsporter Club that are in poorer condition both will! My personal view is it's a bit of a lottery in this area with all tap loading guns due to manufacturing tolerances & W & T over the years?