Sharp Ace to use or not to use

[FattMann]

I used my sharp Ace for years on rabbits with the lamp, it has accounted for hundreds and i can still pump it without making a row.

Agree has stated, a pump up has its uses, allways lovded using mine for ambush, one rabbit for the pot,

[FattMann]

A mint Ace might well get a premium price over £300. That would go a long way towards a PCP which would be a much better machine for hunting.
I got rid of my Sharp Innova because the pumping just gets annoying and accuracy is good but nothing to get overly excited about. A good heavy springer could equal it without the workout for every shot.

Yes a springer will equal the accuracey without the pumping no doubt on that but at the time all I had was a Meteor Mark 5 in .22 and an old Crossman 766 in .177
The heavey springers like HW,s were out of my reach due to finance or lack of it both of the guns were/ are effective hunters at short range and the fact that at that time there were a lot more rabbits. Over hunting/ poaching and hunting out of season by the great unwashed and work shy locally have decimated there numbers has well has a few deliberatly introducded cases of myxy.

[jackal1]

A mint Ace might well get a premium price over £300. That would go a long way towards a PCP which would be a much better machine for hunting.
I got rid of my Sharp Innova because the pumping just gets annoying and accuracy is good but nothing to get overly excited about. A good heavy springer could equal it without the workout for every shot.

If you think five or six pumps constitutes a workout then you must be in a poor state physically. As for heavy springers, i bought a HW 80 when Hull first imported them. That was a mistake of collosal proportions, weighed i think 8lb 10oz without a scope. It wasn't as accurate as the Ace and was a real bind to cart around, i soon got rid and stuck with the Ace which incidentally i still have.

[Muskett]

I shot, and still do, a FWB Sport 124; about 71/2lbs scoped. Every few days I do 50 pellet session to keep my eye in. Thats would equate to 2-300 pumps Deliberate shooting requires keeping ones heart beat to the minimum, pumping doesn't help.
Pneumatics have their place but have been superseded by PCP's.

I've changed my collecting behaviour, but a few years ago would have snapped up that Ace... and that Sharp.

[greasemonkey]

dont really know what to advise but i will share my experience with you. i bought 100% as new old stock webley mk 1 premier pistol allegedly unfired.i have never used it because i have other used webley pistols i shoot and enjoy.i dont enjoy the pristine unused one,i get it out of its box and look at it sometimes and thats about it,sad aint it,but i just cant bring myself to use it..cheers..greasemonkey

[FattMann]

dont really know what to advise but i will share my experience with you. i bought 100% as new old stock webley mk 1 premier pistol allegedly unfired.i have never used it because i have other used webley pistols i shoot and enjoy.i dont enjoy the pristine unused one,i get it out of its box and look at it sometimes and thats about it,sad aint it,but i just cant bring myself to use it..cheers..greasemonkey

No, different people , different ways, me I shoot all of my stuff, ok its on a rotaition basis but enjoy them all.

[Muskett]

Men just like collecting. Mint has its place and the ground rules for air rifles is not set in stone but there does seem a head of steam for mint having a premium for rifles from 1980's onwards, or with the introduction of Airgun World 1978. Before that time its on condition. Is that good or bad...? It appeals to some people and not others. Women just don't get it unless it sparkles or fits on their feet!

Modern guns have a certain appeal when new. Probably because the guns don't hold their looks well when used hard. The finishes and general quality was set for the market price rather than longevity. A mint Webley Vulcan MKI in .177 might be worth £250 or more... well I can't find one. Used £75, two a penny.

For those will large collections then not many are ever going to get used. About five or six shooters are enough for the average enthusiast to shoot regularly, just because one reaches for ones favourites.
Whatever floats your boat.

[norris]

I also no longer hunt but I remember a friend once saying on a hunting trip he shot a crow off a branch and another crow, a few feet to the side just sat there wondering what had happened to his pal. With the clack- clack - clack of re charging an Ace/Innova it would have been away. His Daystate ruined its day!

I have used my Innova for hunting and quite often re- pumped and had a second kill, a couple of times the rabbits were next to each other.

Were they crows or rooks as crows tend to be solitary birds?

[DEAN C.]

Well, as a dear old ex- mechanic friend of mine always used to advise - "Sell it and buy a Ford"!
That was his stock advice for just about anything - car related or otherwise!

Airsporterman

He might have been a car mechanic but certainly not a car lover!!! Rubbish advice IMHO. Either that or he had no soul.

[Binners]

Men just like collecting. Mint has its place and the ground rules for air rifles is not set in stone but there does seem a head of steam for mint having a premium for rifles from 1980's onwards, or with the introduction of Airgun World 1978. Before that time its on condition. Is that good or bad...? It appeals to some people and not others. Women just don't get it unless it sparkles or fits on their feet!

Modern guns have a certain appeal when new. Probably because the guns don't hold their looks well when used hard. The finishes and general quality was set for the market price rather than longevity. A mint Webley Vulcan MKI in .177 might be worth £250 or more... well I can't find one. Used £75, two a penny.

For those will large collections then not many are ever going to get used. About five or six shooters are enough for the average enthusiast to shoot regularly, just because one reaches for ones favourites.
Whatever floats your boat.

I think most of what you said there is spot on, but the term 'mint' does get abused from time to time. I have a few nice rifles, but not one of them is 'mint'

I recently offered my Ace (with some original literature) for sale at £300, now this rifle is the best condition, totally complete original Ace I have seen and nobody wanted it, however, someone paid £200 for a poor example with no sights and 50% bluing.

Like you say 'whatever floats your boat'

[I. J.]

Were they crows or rooks as crows tend to be solitary birds?

Crow or rook - it croaked.

He might have been a car mechanic but certainly not a car lover!!! Rubbish advice IMHO. Either that or he had no soul.

Perhaps he was a Ford dealer.

[Muskett]

Mint is abused often enough. Driven miles to see a mint gun, and its not... only mint is the red rust! Factory fresh might be better; that feeling you get from bringing home a new gun in its cardboard carton. Those 80's rifles do look good when fresh. Go and shoot one and they can be a disappointment!

The premium priced examples either go in a second or take some while to find a buyer. There are only so many serious collectors willing to pay a premium and many already have the example.
Sharp Innovas a while back were hitting £200. Now its nearer £140. As there are plenty out there and the fixing costs are annoyingly high the lower value probably is nearer the mark. The BSA Challenger I sold a few months back did make a premium because they are hard to find period. Then some tatty stuff sells just because someone wants one now are has the means. Not everyone wants to spend months to find a perfect one.

Hey ho, the fun of collecting.

[FattMann]

Mint is abused often enough. Driven miles to see a mint gun, and its not... only mint is the red rust! Factory fresh might be better; that feeling you get from bringing home a new gun in its cardboard carton. Those 80's rifles do look good when fresh. Go and shoot one and they can be a disappointment!

The premium priced examples either go in a second or take some while to find a buyer. There are only so many serious collectors willing to pay a premium and many already have the example.
Sharp Innovas a while back were hitting £200. Now its nearer £140. As there are plenty out there and the fixing costs are annoyingly high the lower value probably is nearer the mark. The BSA Challenger I sold a few months back did make a premium because they are hard to find period. Then some tatty stuff sells just because someone wants one now are has the means. Not everyone wants to spend months to find a perfect one.

Hey ho, the fun of collecting.

yes a lot of sense there, last year I put a mint HW 35 delux that is has you know much rarer than the E model, it was allso in the rarer .177 cal, not one person wanted it, some of the prices mind for rare stuff is scarey and I cant understand why somone would pay more than or similar to for some rifles-, the Rapid for example why, its a good rifle but hey its not that good, well the ones I have shoot have been ok, accurate, powwerful, but it agricultural and the triguer is adequate, and yet I looked at one earlier today( I am medically retired) and the asking price was £680 no I didnt get it.

[landymick]

I know what you mean on Rapids i still have two,went to look at one used a later model than mine in .177 it was very good condition.I was sold in my head until the price was mentioned £800.00 needless to say i left it there.

[FattMann]

I know what you mean on Rapids i still have two,went to look at one used a later model than mine in .177 it was very good condition.I was sold in my head until the price was mentioned £800.00 needless to say i left it there.

Yes Mick, Will Gerke aka welsh willi has some crackers but no he wont sell them, he allso has two immaculate and I mean mint immaculate Sirrocos, one in .177 and one in .22 but I cant understand the prices on the Rapids myself, maybe I am missing something