Webley Patriot-a review

[Rapidnick]

I find it ironic the Patriot tends to get its bad reputation courtesy of the British! Think about it, most UK airgunners deal with 12ft/lb weaponry, when they fire the Patriot for the first time it's a bit of a shock to the system. The transition from that to a 30ft/lb springer takes some getting used to. In the USA, the UK Patriot (or Beeman Kodiak) is revered and respected, secondhand examples still command prices that match or exceed what they cost new.

In terms of the build quality, I have not seen an air rifle or many firearms that top the superb quality and luster of the bluing. Out of the box the Patriot can be a bit twangy but it can still deliver the goods-check this target out I shot at 25yds with my Kodiak using a Hawke Airmax 3-9x40 and Dampa mount:

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...0/Target-1.jpg

Overall the Patriot easily can stand its ground with an Eliminator and should be on any persons shopping list considering an FAC springer.

I agree with most of what you have written. I am pleasantly surprised by the performance of my Patriot although mine has been tuned. For the low price it represented amazing value.
Whether it can 'stand its ground' with the Eliminator/Crow Magnum I'm not so sure. To compare the two you need to have rifles in the same calibre delivering the same power. Doing that I found the Eliminator smoother and more refined. The problem comes from the ease with which the gas ram can be pressured UP. This tempts some shooters-unwisely in my opinion-to pump the ram up to increase power. If you were to compare an 'average' Patriot with an over-pressured Eliminator then I could understand the point but properly set up, the Eliminator has the edge-to me anyway. In my view there is little worse in the shooting world than shooting an over pressured gas ram rifle and this has led to shooters condemning the system itself rather than just that individual rifle.
Anyway, as you say, the Patriot has its place and I now have no intention of selling mine.