I am by no means any kind of expert on Webleys (or any anything else for that matter ) but Ive owned a few Tempests, a Mk1 and currently have a Premier.

The Tempests did not feel as nice to shoot as my current Premier - the recoil felt harsher and they didnt sit in the hand so well. I see no point in having a safety. I had great difficulty in shooting them accurately or consistencly. Probably says more about me then them. The .22 felt smoother - mind you, I prefer .22 in pistols anyway so Im biased.

The MK1 was awful and nearly put me off the older ones alltogether. A .22, it had not been looked after well, had a bodged welding repair to the cocking mechanism and was very low on power. It was a late 50's one I think. Even after spending money to have it fettled I couldnt shoot it at all well - it was an achievement just to hit the target at 6 yards. I guess that spending more money etc would have made it nicer but I thought that £60 was enough in addition to the purchase price of about £100. To be fair it wasnt that bad by the time I sold it but I had kind of lost faith in it if you know what I mean. Hopefully it lives on and its current owner loves it.

My Premier is a new aquisition from the sales section here. I though that it was worth one last try. A 1975 model in tip top condition - .22 again. Shooting it for the first time earlier this week was a revelation. Smooth to cock, very nice trigger and lovely to handle. I can manage to get most shots in the black at 10 yards and with some practice hope to improve in this. Ive shot about 500 pellets so far and I am very impressed by its performance. An excellent buy.

In consequence my faith is restored in the older models - I guess like most things you just have to take care when buying.

As regards the comparison the older ones appeal more to me, mainly on the basis of feel and looks - though I think the Tempest is still well worth having .

Probably an idea to have both

Im sure those with more experience (and capability) will be along to add their views soon