If I had FAC it'd be the first rifle I'd buy no doubts, mucho bargains in my opinion. 2nd would be a a .25 cal mk2 Huntsman thumbhole as Ive allways wanted one of them too
If I had FAC it'd be the first rifle I'd buy no doubts, mucho bargains in my opinion. 2nd would be a a .25 cal mk2 Huntsman thumbhole as Ive allways wanted one of them too
Had a few shots with a .25" set at 34lb.ft. Two arms to cock it and the vibration through the trigger blade when shot left a mark in my finger.
Quality rifle to look at and build quality seem good, but totally impractical at that lb.ft if you ask me. At the time I was shown a replacement F.A.C spring for the rifle. It was knocking on for twice the length as a standard jobbie.
Interesting experience, but not a rifle I'd change a .22" rimmie for.
Chris.
Far too many rifles & pistols to mention here.
The rifle Nick has was mine at one time and it has non std spring and piston washer, the Patriot Brian speaks of had a gas ram fitted
The usual achilles heel of the Patriot was too much spring and too little piston washer, they can run themselves in eventually and sweeten up (if you havent expired by then)
But IMO the Eliminator in .22 or .25 will beat the Patriot as far as shootability goes, once of course you have got used to it
When the Pat first came out Webley and Theoben had a back to back gruelling test (which was in AGW I believe) Ben told me about it and brute performance wise there was little in it but the Eliminator pipped the Pat in silly long range testing, I seem to remember Tony at Theoben was hitting a litre plastic bottle at around 150yds consistently, my memory may be not as sharp as it was but thats the gist of what happened
Funnily enough I saw Tony last week with Costas and we were chatting about long range use of the Eliminator. I am very pleased with this Patriot-it certainly isn't difficult to cock and shoots pretty well. 28 ft lb with 20 grain pellets gives a pretty reasonable trajectory. The rifle maybe isn't as smooth as an Eliminator but it certainly isn't the twanging beast I had heard about. You did a good job on this rifle Baz so thank you!!
'It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others'.
Glad to hear the Patriot is agreeing with you. Perhaps more owners will speak out and address its undeserved reputation. For the money you pay for them in the UK they are hard to beat.
Webley Vulcan .22, Webley Tempest .177, Beeman Kodiak .25, Beeman R9 .177, Weihrauch HW30 .177, Slavia 618 .177, Colt Commander .45ACP, Browning Hi-Power 9mm, Bushmaster AR-15 5.56/.223
After shooting nikos's .25 patiot I have changed my views on the rifle.
Easy to cock and I mean easy, lovely trigger, and deadly accurate without too much recoil, one of the best springers Ive shot in a long time, top bit of kit. You lucky man nickos from Mogador.
I'm forever blowing "Bubbles"
Are the .25 cal Webley barrels true .25 sized or undersized like BSA's .25 barrels???
I think the Patriot is the best Webley ever made too, excellent quality and far better than the other Webleys, they should have cost a little more and had decent guides, springs and piston washers from new, plus forget the 30+ftlb in .22 and set them up at cruising power
Same can be said for the Eliminator too, sweetest at around 25/26ftlb in .22 in my opinion
Same can be said for the Eliminator too, sweetest at around 25/26ftlb in .22 in my opinion[/QUOTE]
O, oh! Sounds like I have to pump up mine to above factory pressure than!
The newer Eli's all seem to settle as very low velocities, mine's around 23/24Ftp now, and its standard and not leaking..
I agree good tune is better than gasstrut. I have my Pat stock back, stockholes have bushings now, also, Maccari kit is OUT, standard spring + tight guide is IN. Welcome back!! Now replacing the bent screws and we're back in business!
Imo Pat is nót their best rifle. Longbow is more civilised design, has a nice LW barrel, no twang, no link play, and FAR better trigger..Patriot is pre-venom design, its a tool but not refined at all.., Kinda antique design..
ATB,
yana
The Longbow wont reach Patriots performance even when shortstroke rubbish is removed, nice rifle though, strange stock grip though, I have hands like JCB shovels and it still seemed designed for a giant
Tuned Longbow in a decent stock (std Walnut looks like desklid quality)
This is a cracking review and very interesting thread Nick, not sure how I missed it until now!
As you know I've been tempted by a Patriot for some time, especially in .25 calibre and think I might get round to putting in a variation soon so I can look for a decent one. Actually this thread almost makes me wish I'd gone for this option in the first place, instead of all the fannying around I've had with my HW80!
ATB
Paul
Wyrd bið ful aræd
In spite of your 'tribulations' with your HW80, I think you made the right call! As a general purpose self contained FAC air rifle a Weihrauch HW80 in .22 or .20 would be my choice based on every rifle I have owned and those I have shot. Note however my use of 'general purpose'. My problem is that I don't need a 'general purpose rifle: I need rifle dedicated to doing a particular job. That is why I use either a 30 ft lb.Rapid or a .22LR for hunting and vermin control over distance, a 17HMR for longer range work and a Falcon Lighthunter .177 for use around buildings and up into trees.. The self contained FAC rifles-Eliminator and HW80 which I had owned for ages- have been sold because of my bad shoulder and because I only ever intended them for use as backup and to use on the rare occasions when I wanted something totally different.
When Gareth's Patriot came up I used the slot I had been keeping for a .25 Rapid and the result is this review. The biggest surprise for me has been the ease of cocking and that is why I like it so much.
'It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others'.
That is an awful lot more power than mine running at 28 ft lb-and for what? It sounds like nothing but grief.
In a self contained rifle 6 ft lb more-or 21% more-power than mine means one thing: a bigger more powerful spring which twangs like the devil shouting for more sinners to feed the furnace. My conclusion is the same as yours-that your rifle was running way beyond its limits and that the spring should be changed.
'It may be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others'.