Theoben Imperator SLR88

[master_shriller]

As title. Imperator, along with Eliminator have to be two of the best names ever for an airgun , in the manly .22 cal (as a repeater, it was only available in this cal). The walnut stock is a stunner, tiger stripes, swirly bits, black and brown stripes, it's a joy to oil and polish.

A very early example, one of the first, it has the brass safety catch in front of the trigger guard.

The manufacturing quality of these older Theobens is hard to beat, much nicer than almost all airguns made today, and the bluing is superb, it is more deep black than blue.

Overall condition is about as good as it gets, a few very small minor marks, It hasn't had much use, there isn't any wear on the cocking lever bluing, which is usually the first part to show its been used. I've seen new guns in a shop that were not in as good condition.

Complete with 2 dedicated 7 shot SLR mags, and an owners instruction sheet. (Standard Rapid 7 shot mags work ok as well).

It is a Hugh Earl (Pax Guns. London) supplied rifle, as it has an unchoked Anschutz barrel that can be used for Prometheus and Titan pellets. Barrels are choked to make them less pellet fussy, and although unchoked, I've never found it to be fussy about what its fed on, and it's very accurate.

The scope is an old school excellent quality black gloss Tasco wide angle, W 4-16 X 40 AO, duplex ret. It compliments the rifle nicely.


Lots and lots of pictures Here

SOLD to a very nice chap named John, thank you.

[master_shriller]

As I'm not an expert on these, can someone tell me, are the (50?) .177 versions of the Imperator multi-shot capable, I seem to remember they came with a fixed single shot mag, and Theoben at the time had yet to manufacture a .177 cal seven shot mag (or any multi shot .177 mag).

Also my barrel seems to measure 12 inches long, although the instruction sheet I have states they are 12 1/2 inches long, is my 88 a carbine?

A new SLR98 costs £767.25 and it will drop in value faster than a tarts knickers, as soon as you've bought it.

My 88 is priced about the same as a mint used 98, the 88 won't drop in price, and I think it would be hard to find a stock as nice on a modern rifle.

[delphinus]

Since the 0.177 was for FT I supose that they were single shoot.

There a post in the forum with the Theoben History but I can't find it.

[slug-gun]

The .177 version of the SLR-88 was designed as a FT rifle and fitted with a non removeable synthetic single shot tray together with an FT version of the thumbhole stock available on the regular .22 rifle, the only difference being the addition of a 'hamste'r on the .177.
Only about 50 .177's were made which was a shame because I think they were the best recoiling sporting rifle ever made, and that includes any of the custom spring conversions. Nobody really appreciated(s) the fact and as such ther SLR-88 is one of air guns best kept secrets!

L/H versions of the SLR-88 FT were fitted with a CS800 (Custom Stock of Sheffield) stock, and very few of these exist, probably no more than 5 or 6 I would guess.

A single shot tary and 8 shot magazine from the current 98 is available and should fit the earlier gun (according to Theoben), although I have yet to try them out on mine as once you remove the synthetic single shot tray there is no putting it back.
An SLR-88 .177 fitted with an 8 shot magazine and sporter stock would make a wonderful sporting air rifle capable of 1" groups out to beyond 60 yards with just enough of a recoil to make it interesting.
Contrary to the marketing of the day the best version is the PRE HE . Later HE guns whilst being fine to shoot were produced as a cost cutting measure, the rationale for the change being that they were easier to cock.
The new price of a .22 SLR-88 in 1988 was £575 which perhaps partially explains why no more than around 550 were made.
Great air rifle and in terms of quality miles better than almost anything made today, and certainly beats the hell out of modern Theobens.

[master_shriller]

Thank you slug-gun, very interesting.

I think I maybe hanging onto it, I don't think the price is wrong, I saw one at an arms fair in May, £650 and it was only average, lots of marks and signs of wear, not in the same ballpark as mine.

I don't want to sell it cheap, it would be hard to replace in this condition, as they're not exactly common, so we'll have to wait and see.