Bsa magnum 240

[eyebull]

It was so good, they only stopped making them after, er, a couple of years

How long has the HW45 been in production again?

[Rob M]

It was so good, they only stopped making them after, er, a couple of years

How long has the HW45 been in production again?

That could have been political. It may be that Gamo stopped them BSA producing it so as to make less competition for their own pistols. Car manufacturers that buy out other manufacturers often cancel production of cars that compete with models they are already making.

The fact that it was only made for a few years is meaningless. ABAS only made the ABAS Major for a couple of years, they turned out less than 2,000 of them but they are superb little pistols and very sought after.

[clarky]

That could have been political. It may be that Gamo stopped them BSA producing it so as to make less competition for their own pistols. Car manufacturers that buy out other manufacturers often cancel production of cars that compete with models they are already making.

The fact that it was only made for a few years is meaningless. ABAS only made the ABAS Major for a couple of years, they turned out less than 2,000 of them but they are superb little pistols and very sought after.

Sorry Rob still disagreeing here. I do not wish to sound like a 45 supporter, or someone that is anti British products....far from it if they are any good but I can only accurately report my own findings.
First price. I ran back through my old collection of airgun mags. The last 240 I could find being sold through Uttings guns was £109 with the 45 being offered at £144 on the same page. For me at least, this is a direct enough comparison given the shipping cost and exchange rates for German products. At best guess, some £20 quid between them. Similar materials, similar overlever operation etc. Its close enough!

I have just taken down a 1998 45 which is no longer a smoker but has had no special tuning additions and run the numbers.
Using Hobby, I'm getting 545 fps low and 560 fps high. A 15 fps spread not counting one poor pellet fit at 538 fps (8 shots in all)
I know the 2004 ish model at my club has chronied 565fps, while my original .22 version chronied 422 fps. The recent specimen in Airgunner ran similar.
The very first test in Airgun world ran 424fps for the .22 version. Another version 8 years later in Shooting Sports ran 557fps.
Bowkett mentioned 570 fps for the one he tested.
Its a 5.3ftlb to 5.6ftlb gun for me if NOT the 600fps mentioned in Beeman publications.
The rest of your argument I might accept but a subjective matter of course. Looks and holding in the hand...go on ill agree with you.

For anyone interested I internally modified my Magnum for a little more power and smoothness. Got highs of 522 fps and 4.7ftlbs freeing up the action but never did get past the sudden loss of 50fps which occurred annoyingly after a decent run of good shots. I put it down to a slightly undersize size pellet exasperated by the very short barrel or a leak at the breech seal.

[harvey_s]

First price. I ran back through my old collection of airgun mags. The last 240 I could find being sold through Uttings guns was £109 with the 45 being offered at £144 on the same page. For me at least, this is a direct enough comparison given the shipping cost and exchange rates for German products. At best guess, some £20 quid between them. Similar materials, similar overlever operation etc. Its close enough!

Can't quite see the closeness myself - by your own research you're comparing two items directly, one of which cost a third more at the time.
Its a bit like claiming a new BMW 320i is a direct comparison to a 1.0 Ford Focus - after they're both 4 door cars and the Beemer is just as close price-wise by your maths

[Rob M]

Again Clarky, the power of the HW45 is immaterial to this thread. As I say, I've had three and all of them were doing less than 4.5 ft/lbs. Maybe I've just been unlucky?

We'll have to disagree about the prices too, I know for a fact that the 240 Magnum was on sale in some gun shops for £95... My local gun shop back in those days had one on the shelf, I clearly remember the price as I went there one Saturday morning with £95 in my pocket to buy it, only to find that it had been sold in the previous few days. No matter, I got one eventually, liked it so much I bought another! This gun shop was not one of the cheapest by a long chalk, I bet Ramsbottom's would probably have knocked ten or fifteen quid off that price.

We're just restating our positions now... The fact is that preference in guns (like everything else in life) is different for different people, I like my 240 Magnums a lot, even though they have one or two faults. Technically great though it is, the HW45, like other Weihrauch products, it just leaves me cold somehow, but then I don't like BMWs, Mercedes or Audis either, excellent cars though they are.

[clarky]

Again Clarky, the power of the HW45 is immaterial to this thread. As I say, I've had three and all of them were doing less than 4.5 ft/lbs. Maybe I've just been unlucky?

We'll have to disagree about the prices too, I know for a fact that the 240 Magnum was on sale in some gun shops for £95... My local gun shop back in those days had one on the shelf, I clearly remember the price as I went there one Saturday morning with £95 in my pocket to buy it, only to find that it had been sold in the previous few days. No matter, I got one eventually, liked it so much I bought another! This gun shop was not one of the cheapest by a long chalk, I bet Ramsbottom's would probably have knocked ten or fifteen quid off that price.

We're just restating our positions now... The fact is that preference in guns (like everything else in life) is different for different people, I like my 240 Magnums a lot, even though they have one or two faults. Technically great though it is, the HW45, like other Weihrauch products, it just leaves me cold somehow, but then I don't like BMWs, Mercedes or Audis either, excellent cars though they are.

Well i agree we are just restating our view but there is no way the 240 is a better gun. The opinion of 1000s I shouldn't wonder.
You may like it for different reasons but it is not better by design or performance. Even the law of physics would dictate against it (smaller capacity and shorter barrel...slightly more weight to trigger) but I will accept some of your points as a partial climb down.
As regard the Audi...sorry I own one. Britain has never built a better regular production hatch....ill rest my case there if your the type that's going to argue against that. Sublime quality, finish and performance enjoyed by 1000s
As regard cost..as a teacher....20 to 30 quid has never been an issue for me I suppose it could be for lesser paid. I accept your point....you gets what you pays for I guess.

[harvey_s]

It doesn't sound much the way you're trying to present it, but it wasn't just £35 quid at the time though, the overall purchase price was 30% more.
So if todays average price of a new HW45 is £250 then the Magnum today would be £60 cheaper for example.
Please tell us you're not a maths teacher.

[Rob M]

You're a teacher? I hope you don't teach English! Your punctuation leaves a lot to be desired.

"As regard the Audi...sorry I own one. Britain has never built a better regular production hatch....ill rest my case there if your the type that's going to argue against that."

What does the fact that Britain has never built a better "regular production hatch" have to do with all this? Nothing, that's what. I'm not going to argue that, so don't make assumptions or put words into my mouth. All I said was that Audis, BMWs and Mercedes are technically very good cars, but they leave me cold, that is to say I find them a bit bland and lacking something, character, style or graceful design? Hard to say, but I find this with many German products including airguns. Take the ME109... A technically superb aeroplane, but does it have the grace or charisma of the Spitfire? No. I often write with a Rotring pen, it's a technically good, reliable pen, but it has none of the style of a classic Parker. For what it's worth I actually drive a VAG (Volkswagen Audi Group) car myself. It's a good, reliable, very practical car but it will never tug someone's heartstrings like a Jaguar or Aston Martin might. So what?

My post was not a "partial climb down" at all. I was hoping that we could agree to disagree amicably on this, since all I ever said was basically "While I accept it has its faults, and I accept that the HW45 is better in some ways, I prefer the 240 Magnum" and I maintain that. Some aspects of the 240 Magnum's design are better, you said yourself it looks better, and aesthetics are an important aspect of design. So, in some ways the 240 is the better gun... In other ways, maybe more ways, the HW45 is the better gun. Different people will choose different guns based on their differing criteria and preferences. You're happy that you made the best choice, choosing the HW45... Fine. I'm happy choosing the 240 Magnum, also fine, for me. I accept that it has some faults, so does the HW45, but I'm still happy with my choice as you can be happy with yours.

Your point about price is also specious... I am not agreeing with you that twenty or thirty quid was the price difference between the two pistols when they were both on sale new, but the fact that twenty or thirty quid may not be a lot to you is utterly immaterial. The fact is, as you concede, "you get what you pay for".

Sheesh... You're looking for an argument where there isn't one mate... Still, maybe you're "the type that's going to argue against that" and will keep on trying to get a win out of this... There's really no need. Why can't you agree to disagree amicably as I am prepared to do?