Bsa mercury 's' vs fwb sport

[red bob]

although aware of the fwbs weak points i feel her advantage is balance and feel and have never found on a personnel note the trigger to be as lacking as some have found,having just completed a new build on a merc and taken her out for a serious test session with some shooting friends ,i/we were all quite taken by the power and accuracy of this unassuming rifle she chronod at a tad over 11ftlbs and was grouping very nicely at 35/40 mtrs ,i have to admit i was surprised and pleased by the outcome.the merc was still sporting her original piston seal etc my beloved fwb blew hers to bits while on a hunting foray.
as an open field hunter where the ranges are often extended the fwb in most conditions seems to hold first amoungst the springers but i do feel that the w77 was a nearer challenger in the field.
ps i wondered how long the "s" and NOT std merc reminder would take to come! "o and how long before omega,longbow err challenger etc join the verbal scuffle which is about to take place ,we will see what tomorrow brings .glad i live way out in sussex away from you ruffians.

[richywilk]

I had a Bowkett tuned Merc in .22 in the mid 80's and at the time I had
a non tuned Sport also...
I can definatly say the mercury was the better gun at the time,JB totally
transformed the gun that I sent him it was a lot smoother and easy to cock,not to say the FWB wasn't,but maybe if JB had tuned my sport it may
have been a different answer!!
I still have the bill from JB ... £35 those were the day's.

[BTDT]

Question: Before the HW77 came along, the FWB 124 was one of the most popular and successful field target air rifles.

Why wasn't the Mercury S? Was it that the FT successes of Welham tuned FWBs convinced competitors it was the rifle to have, was the Mercury S simply unfashionable, or was the 124 the better of the two for FT?

[richywilk]

I think there was a fashion in the 80's for all German gun's in the whole they were better built and better looking the look's of the FWB is still the best for a springer,and for that reason I used my Bowkett tune Mercury in the field more as I wasn't bothered if I scratched the stock as it to me wasn't as nice looking and was more 'agricultural' than the sport.

[Gareth W-B]

Ah-haa! Nails, heads, and hitting Jim. The Bsa Mercury (aka all/any British air gun), was deeply unfashionable among the competition shooting fraternity at that time. To be in with the kool kids your hardware had to be not only Teutonic, but the right model, too (eg: FWB Sport, Anschutz LG 335, Original Mod.45, HW35 et al). That is my recollection of events anyway, and no amount of post-period rhetoric here, will convince me it was otherwise . Atb: G.

[mallyally]

Ah-haa! Nails, heads, and hitting Jim. The Bsa Mercury (aka all/any British air gun), was deeply unfashionable among the competition shooting fraternity at that time. To be in with the kool kids your hardware had to be not only Teutonic, but the right model, too (eg: FWB Sport, Anschutz LG 335, Original Mod.45, HW35 et al). That is my recollection of events anyway, and no amount of post-period rhetoric here, will convince me it was otherwise . Atb: G.

nothing to do with fashion mate if the british guns were any good people would have used them at the time / used to love my mercury till i shot a HW 35/ chalk and cheese comes to mind

[BTDT]

Here's an interesting point. On the Chambers web site, the Mercury S barrel part numbers are the same as Mercury Challenger's (and different from the standard Mercury).

The Mercury Challenger was the most accurate BSA we tested in SAR, and the group sizes were half those of the standard Mercury.

[I. J.]

nothing to do with fashion mate if the british guns were any good people would have used them at the time / used to love my mercury till i shot a HW 35/ chalk and cheese comes to mind

Ah! Now. Yes.

ATB
Ian

[coburn]

This is a rediculous contest arguing about a couple of also rans. neither are anywhere near as good as the products of old Herman Weihrauch, especially the 35 or 80.

However I did have a std Mercury and so probably did most people as a first rifle and BSA did offer good value for money, I think the concept lost it somewhat when they introduced the S. Not enough improvement to warrant the extra cost.

[Ulverston]

HI,
I was a lot too young too remember any of this, all my mates had BSAs, seems we shot what we or our parents could afford-I cant even remember seeing all this exotic foriegn stuff. Where there any shops in or around Preston that sold them? How did people obtain them-mail order?

[mrto]

Is a fettled (preferably Bowketted) BSA Mercury 'S' a match for the Feinwerkbau Sport? The .22 I had, once the sears were polished up, had a very acceptable trigger unit. The heavy barrel is nice too, my reservation is the 'O' ring on the piston unit. A nice parachute like that fitted to later BSAs would be the way to go.

I know IJ has both rifles, and so does RustyBuzz. Whats the score then? Much prefer the chunky breech lock-up on BSAs to the effete FWB arrangement.

I have both and the answer is yes,if anything the Mercury 'S' is the easier gun to shoot accurately at least in my hands,both are in .22 by the way.ATB.

[maximus]

Is a fettled (preferably Bowketted) BSA Mercury 'S' a match for the Feinwerkbau Sport? The .22 I had, once the sears were polished up, had a very acceptable trigger unit. The heavy barrel is nice too, my reservation is the 'O' ring on the piston unit. A nice parachute like that fitted to later BSAs would be the way to go.

I know IJ has both rifles, and so does RustyBuzz. Whats the score then? Much prefer the chunky breech lock-up on BSAs to the effete FWB arrangement.

wouldn't worry about the o ring, my mercury gives fantastic consitency with FTT 5.53 but is most accurate with super domes. I once got my hw35 luxus "super venom convereted" When I took it apart after few few years I discovered an o ring in place of the piston washer. I believe Bowkett used 2 on his conversions!

atb

Max

[Muskett]

Amac post 78; just sums up my thoughts on Sports too.

"The ORIGINAL 45 is an aesthetic masterpiece"; I sure do agree. They have a definitive purpose like a Messerschmitt BF 109e! Love the simple straight lines with a menace. Heavy, stable, a bit long but get an early one and wow can they shoot. Shame they never put anything better than a plank for the wood.
However, the Omega is the best. The stock is a really superb, probably the best sporting stock ever. Again never done in walnut, shame on them, and add insult to injury why couldn't they have put a trigger on at least, if not better, than that on the Sport. All history now but what missed chances.

Next year I've just got to find a Challenger because I think that will be good too.

The trouble with all break barrel rifles they can get bendy barrels. They are all guilty especially when you lend them out to friendly idiots I nearly gave up on the type and went fixed barrels only for a while. But fixed barrels are just so slow to load and I prefer to shoot rather than to load.

[maximus]

Muskett, you'll do well to bend a BSA barrel due to them being hammer forged, not just soft bits of mild steel like most others. Airsporters aren't slow to load either, not quite as fiddley as 77's and the like

[Amac]

Ian has an absolute refusal policy regarding selling any of his collection. The only "window of opportunity" occurs if he buys an example of something that is in better nick than the one he already has. There again, he is very generous in lending me some fine examples of his shooting hardware. I actually have a Rapid of his on a long term loan at the moment. Its an early Mk2 with the Anschutz trigger and very nice it is too.

Back on the springer front, the Omega is another gun that sneaked below my radar when I was preoccupied with attempting (and failing) to be a good husband and father. Since that battle has been lost, my intention is to now try out as many of the finest guns that I have thus far missed!

The 45's stock that I had was a classic example of "G Plan" for guns. However, the very fine .20 example that Jonse'y lent me wasn't too bad at all, and was just as accurate as it was originally described by Jim and friends in his classic mag all of those years ago. Have we really progressed with springers?

Andy