Registered User
The point regarding the seal of the 45 rubbing across the face is incorrect. Its actually never been known to fail.Originally Posted by Biker_Bob
Todd Coopers lasted for years as did mine and the same sealing system is used on the HW40 and all the sudo variants.... never failing in this area.
HW75 8 years old only on its second washer but could frankly have gone longer. Club FAS also sealing the same way...7 years on the same washer. The physics of such design proven beyond doubt.... period!
My own BSA Magnum failed in its first week as did some of fellows at the club. The problem is not the angled breech persay but the flexing washer design. It has the tendency to bend over slightly, either being pulled out of seating on the early models or getting slightly deformed on later models.
Getting pulled out of seat, or deforming....is much more serious than simple wear.
As regard the grip, it maybe fine for some but did not have the one size fits all tendency of the 45 ....hence the many moans.
I performed several mods to mine and other members. On a good day could get it close to a nicely tuned 45 but it didn't stay that way for long.
The cocking linkage nowhere near as robust.
Thus my memory is of a gun that was not so robust, without the staying power.....suggestions of a less well made gun.
Damn shame the 45 couldn't have looked so good though.
Guest
As I pointed out earlier, the 240 magnum breech seal is not a problem 3 blobs of superglue on the underside of the seal solves the problem. Mine has been like this for donkeys years.
I own examples of both the 240 and the 45 and they are both excellent pistols for different reasons. Can we just agree that each pistol is the best spring powered pistol that WEIHRAUCH/ BSA have ever made. Please do not mention the Scorpion as this is just a short rifle with a pistol grip.
Pete.
Registered User
Yes i could agree with that. The Scorpion just too darned big.
I think the only problem with the Magnum is it didn't run a bit longer. They could definitely have ironed out the teething troubles that blighted its rep, spoiling the novel design concepts. Also after market add ons/tune up stuff may have become available if it had been more popular.
I here you regarding the superglue but is it really what we want to be doing. I hadn't considered glue to be fair and maybe your fix solved this problem.
Fair play.
aut pax aut bellum
The Scorpion is far and away the better of the lot of magnum spring air pistols.
HW45's have no soul.
240's are awkward niggly small handfuls of difficult.
Scorpions rule.
Last edited by Minuteman; 25-09-2013 at 07:10 AM.
Guest
Stop it.....now.
Registered User
Well its certainly another point of view I suppose.The Scorpion is far and away the better of the the lot of magnum spring air pistols.
HW45's have no soul.
240's are awkward niggly small handfuls of difficult.
Scorpions rule.
My own experience was one of owning one during my miss-spent youth, where the focus was power and mammoth cylinder proportions for showing off to my mates. It was well made, robust and out lasted my teens until I sold it but I longed for something handier. Indeed I've longed for something sleek, handy and as powerful as a Scorpion all my life but nobody seems to have managed it in all this time.
The Magnum came fairly close with a compact 4.5ftlbs with a few reliability issues. The 45 managing similar power, a touch more compact but hardly sleek.....one day maybe..
As regard performance, I remember that Scorpion very slightly edging the power of my 45 but not matching it for accuracy providing the 45 is not dieseling.
Registered User
I love Scorpions as well as 240 Magnums, they may not be everyone's cup of tea but they are both great fun, to me anyway!
the HW45 breech has to fail eventually, the seal is created by the pressure of the o-ring on the metal,eventually it will lose its resilence or wear away against the metal. The 240 Magnum design shouldn't wear to the same degree but it will lose its resilience eventually if the pistol is stored closed. I store my 240s and other airguns almost, but not quite closed, uncocked of course, if I think it will help seals retain their shape.
No pistol will be all things to all people. To me the character of an airgun matters almost as much as its technical excellence, and that's where BSAs score over Weihrauchs, which to me, always seems soulless.
Let's not forget that when the 240 Magnum was on sale it went for less than £100 if I remember right, at the time the HW45 was selling for £160-£180, so in all fairness you can't expect it to be quite as good in every respect.
Lost love child of David Niven and Victoria Beckham
Having owned 2 off, HW45's in both calibres and a BSA Magnum in .177 which was a keeper until redundancy forced my hand....My vote is for the Magnum being the better of the two.
I thought the main difference twixt the Mk. I & II was the grip shape.
The Magnum was a lovely little thing... Yes, the HW was a tad easier to shoot - but alas is a big, ugly bruiser of a gun with nothing like the style & compactness of the BSA.
Just my opinion...
Registered User
Yes the HW45 seal will eventually fail but the design is such that it lasts many 1000s of rounds which is what shooters might hope for with any operating system. This and the other gun components having stood the test of time across many years...in my case 25yrs. That's good enough. Indeed you will probably grow bored of a 45 before it wears out.
The Magnum I had, and one other at the club failed several times in 2 years. One kept losing the seal after it fell out of its housing. The second variant got a bent over seal but also had one of the cocking lever (long pins) snap. The first variant had a slightly bent guide rod.
Maybe these were just bad specimens.
I agree that the 45 is an ugly mug for all its outstanding build qualities.
Registered User
I agree with you & am in the market right Now for a Mk2 Magnum .177 preferred, ...mike...Having owned 2 off, HW45's in both calibres and a BSA Magnum in .177 which was a keeper until redundancy forced my hand....My vote is for the Magnum being the better of the two.
I thought the main difference twixt the Mk. I & II was the grip shape.
The Magnum was a lovely little thing... Yes, the HW was a tad easier to shoot - but alas is a big, ugly bruiser of a gun with nothing like the style & compactness of the BSA.
Just my opinion...
Guest
Clarky,
If the seal kept falling out or bending over why did you not glue it in, as I did on mine. ?..it's a 5 minute fix.
I have owned 3 240 magnums over the years and never had any of the problems you had with yours....... must be bad luck.
I have also owned 2 hw45's and those too have been faultless. The HW is a fine pistol, but toooooooo bulky for me, oh and it had no soul.
But then I like classic British motorcycles in preference to the modern, ultra reliable Japanese offerings.
I am strange like that.
Pete.
Registered User
We agree on something at last!
Registered User
I agree entirely that the 45 is a bit of an ugly pistol.
If were designing such a gun, with a decent cylinder size to give a realistic velocities, I would not house it in a sudo automatic shroud.
Its simply going to be too big or not sleek enough, especially while trying to house the transfer port mechanics etc.
I think Webley got it right but just needed to increase the length and diameter of the cylinder. Even at 2 inches longer it could still nave been considered extremely compact and well balanced but might have realised post 500 fps velocities.
The 45 is too tall above the hand which makes it look awkward, while a 45 degree relief to the muzzle underside (like the 240) would have aided appearance.
I truly wished my 240 hadn't given me the problems I mentioned.
I did not consider glue simply because I was disappointed and a buyer wanting the gun at exactly that time.
Given I had gone to the trouble of machining a new guide rod for it.....cannot tell you why I didn't glue....maybe I should have.
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day
Like a lot of things BSA do/have done, the 240 had a lot of promise but never really lived up to its potential. If it had run a little longer or if BSA/Gamo just cared a bit more, maybe some of the issues would have been ironed out?
I think if it was an inch or two longer and was more ergonomic it could have been a serious contender rather than an also-ran.
Good deals with these members
Lost love child of David Niven and Victoria Beckham
Personally I would take a compact, well designed gun over a more powerful oversized gun any day of the week.
If the Webley's or the Magnum were fatter or 2" longer they would become monstrosities in my eyes.
400 or so fps in .177 is plenty for the purposes of almost all air pistols - more power seldom makes a better gun.
Look to the Webley Senior for inspiration - remarkably compact (much smaller than a Tempest) and beautifully made and plenty of poke for the size typically running at about 410-420fps - in fact with a better trigger and sights it would be bloody perfect IMO.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote