Classic springer shooting-mixed feelings

[jonnyone]

Thought I might take out a couple of old springers today with a view to reminding myself of what accuracy I could achieve with a couple of classics. First off was an RWS 45 in .22 with a period 3-9x40 tv view scope and period silencer. This rifle has had a TR Robb ptfe piston seal conversion and shoots well (though it could now do with a strip and relube). I struggled a bit to gain good accuracy with this as I could not get used to the trigger over my usual trusty HW80. In fact I can never seem to get consistent good acccuracy with this combo and I though much is undoubtedly due to me- I am beginning to think I may be missing a factor on this one which is causing inconsistency. I shall chrono it tomorrow and also check the stock screws and cross bolt.

Second off was a very good condition BSF S54 in .22 with a Don Robinson altered stock. I was really looking forward to seeing what could be done with this one as I have never scoped it up and tried it in anger. All was not well however as the gun dieselled very badly first shot and by the feel of the second and third shot I was a bit worried that the piston seal may be dry and shrunk or possibly torn/disintegrated (I am not all that aware of the previous history of this gun). Anyhow, it was an interesting session and suprisingly the '45 seemed to prefer Accupels to Trophys (my personal favourite).

All in all it was an enjoyable hour or so (I also got to re-zero my nephew's FWB Sport) so between shooting the 3 guns in close sucession my marksmanship was always going to be suspect

Anyone else been out with an "oldie but goodie" this weekend (and no, the missus does not count)

Dave

[Artfull-Bodger]

a webley Victor in .177, spent the afternoon demolishing extra strong mints and popping cherry tomatoes at ranges up to 45 yards!

fitted with a nikko airking 3-9x42 and using webley mosquito's, made for a pleasant afternoon despite being a little small for my 6ft 3" frame!

[mallyally]

today i shot my
HW85
FWB sport
omega thumbhole
BSF S70
THEOBEN sirroco classic /pre HE
nothing new here

[hwvixen]

Omega in .177.....on the club range this morning....now that's accurate.

[steveyb]

I enjoyed a really pleasant morning shooting with my airsporter and HW35E
Gradually shooting better after many years lay off!

[red bob]

being in my hayday in the 70/80s,will give you some idea of where im coming from
i normally pull out the wem mk3 or a/sporter for a plinking session but recently thanks to a purchase on here from danny/garvin on here i have a super bsa std which is now always my plinking fav with open sights against one of my bell targets at 15mtrs its a great big softy of an airgun with decades of history and yet such great fun to use;my first love is and always will be is the fwb124 but thats for serious stuff ,for thrill value pulling off a tricky shot with an airifle nearly 100yrs old is up there at the tops.

[jonnyone]

Ahh,
there were some nice classics being given an airing last weekend then?

Going to do this more often- was quite enjoyable dusting off one or two "oldies".

Funny Bob should mmention the age of the rifles above. I cant match that with the RWS 45, but it was suprising to note that though this was the younger of the two rifles I took out- it was still nigh on a quarter of a century old

Where do the years go eh? Dont seem so long ago I bought it in a local second hand shop. Get a sense of satisfaction shooting these older rifles though.

Cheers,
Dave

[TopDog]

Not this last weekend due to other things but my Service Mk2 is getting a workout this week after replacing the "O" ring piston seal. (The pristine piston with new original phosphor bronze ring stays in the cabinet for originality reasons). This is smoother to shoot with the "O" ring and very consistent and better than I am using open sights at 25 yards!

Although I found the 22" barrel on the HW35E a pain (always knocking trees down with it!) the 22" barrel on the service provides the same quiet report in a shorter package. It is a real joy to shoot! Then maybe just a few minutes with the Webley Mk3!

Must do this before a start comparing recent acquisitions of "modern" springers with older counterparts; HW95 versus HW85 and it's upstart stablemate HW98. This is fun catching up with the guns introduced since my main collecting period in the mid 80's.

Best wishes to all
David

"May today be the best day of your life and all your tomorrows even better!!"

[corbett]

One of the great joys of collecting is giving these oldies an airing. Last week a .25 Webley Mk 2 that was so slow it was possible to watch the pellet lob into the target, but it still produced a fair group at 20 metres. I try to use a different rifle each week so that they all get to be cleaned in rotation. And in any case, my realy accurate target rifles only show up my poor shooting. This week an improved model D , it shoot better than I do. Cheers, Pete.

[TopDog]

One of the great joys of collecting is giving these oldies an airing. Last week a .25 Webley Mk 2 that was so slow it was possible to watch the pellet lob into the target, but it still produced a fair group at 20 metres. I try to use a different rifle each week so that they all get to be cleaned in rotation. And in any case, my realy accurate target rifles only show up my poor shooting. This week an improved model D , it shoot better than I do. Cheers, Pete.

Good point! PCP's are boring! Bl**y accurate but boring although great for bunny blatting!

ATVB
David