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I have been told the spares for the Webley Osprey are interchangeable with the Webley Tracker.
Firstly, is this the case?
And secondly, if so, what is the difference between the two models?
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not sure on that, from memorey the Tracker had the same internals as a Vulcan but due to the loading tap it lost a few fps as the pellet"jumped" in to the breach. I am happy for some one more savey to enlighten us both though. The Tracker was a nice gun , I have the longer version the Viscount in .22 dose 10.5 with accupels.
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And there was me thinking the Osprey was the longer barrelled version of the Tracker!Originally Posted by fat man
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No the Osprey is much earlier than the Tracker and Viscount.And there was me thinking the Osprey was the longer barrelled version of the Tracker!
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Different loading taps, and different pistons.
I guess the trigger parts are interchangeable, ther chocking arm and the rear block might interchange too.
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Look on the Chambers website. Assuming both models are on there, compare the parts list. Common items will have the same part number.
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Cunning! Never thought of that. Thanks
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The Chrono Slayer
Barrel is much thicker/heavier on the Osprey than the Tracker
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Zebedee
Did the Tracker and Viscount have PTFE piston seals, a la Vulcan?
And the Osprey piston rings, like the Hawk?
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yes just so
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The Osprey was a much earlier model from the 70s with a very inefficient but very consistent piston head unit. Essentially the seal sat further back on the piston, with a buffer unit in front, robbing around 1.5ftlbs to 2ftlbs potential head space, or about 8.3ftlbs in .177. The .22 was only a little bit better, however the shot to shot consistency was up like 4fps (one of the best ever) And the damping of the buffer allowing clover leaf groups.
An old Airgun World writer of the time reported 3/8 inch clover leafs.
The Osprey also had a fantastic Bull barrel, which is the biggest diameter barrel ever fitted to a Sporting springer to this day. HW98 being shroud not solid.
It gave the gun a great barrel heavy feel and steadiness of aim but the gun lived in the shadow of Airsporters with upto 3ftlbs more oomph.
The later Tracker version had a more efficient piston head unit typical of the modern gun of its time by basically inverting the buffer and seal to reduce the dead space, producing 10.7ftlbs
Bowkett did a tuned version at 11.2ftlbs one time but for me the gun was not nearly as nice to shoot with a barrel that was just a tad too short for nice balance even with the weight. It was also quite a bit more noisy and many chucked out the barrel weight for a silencer.
I once used the Viscount version (full length barrel version of Tracker but not Bull barrel sadly) to good effect on a Rook shoot 1989. The gun was only loaned to me but worked very nicely in .22. I considered buying it for a while but went for a Mercury S which had the edge.
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Interesting read Clarky. So if the Viscount is the longer barrel version, then the internals should be the same?
Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.
may also be employed in conjunction with a drawn reciprocation dingle arm, to reduce sinusoidal repleneration
Tracker and Viscount are exactly the same inside.
The Osprey was an odd fish (or fish-eating bird, whatever).
It had to take over from the venerated Webley Mk III underlever which filled the roles of target gun and sporting rifle.
So perhaps they designed it with 10m and 6 yard comps first - hence the massive barrel which is not that out of place on the Osprey Supertarget, but then fitted a slim shotgun-style stock to the sporting version. The Supertarget got a lighter spring as well.
Webley ended up with a rifle that could not compete either against other recoilling rifles for match shooting like the Walther 55 and Weihrauch 55, other than on price OR against the sporting competition like the Airsporter or HW35.
But the standard one handled like no other rifle, with a heavy barrel keeping you on aim and the very slight pistol grip giving a feeling of grace like a nice shotgun. It is a rifle designed for shooting rats in barns, in .22 calibre of course. And quite a looker. The Tracker was never quite as cool, the thin barrel and Vulcan stock style were a bit dull.
A standard Osprey, with an improved trigger and a Tracker powerplant would be a lovely tool. The Swedes are great fans of the Tracker, or maybe Webley dumped alot of them up there cheap. They know how to get the best from them so they say.
Also, it was a BIG mistake to name it after a breakfast cereal bar. Would have been so much better to call it the Viscount (named after the nuclear bomber of the 60s?) from the beginning.
I've always fancied a Viscount Delux, the one with the walnut stock. Oh no, another thing to collect... and I thought I was done.
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Just in case it's of interest the Osprey barrel unscrews in seconds. If they are that good may be a useful mod.
Like the chat so far but clarky can you clarify, for me, the buffer bit in front of the piston.
I've got one in bits given to play at bluing with. When I stripped it the first land on the piston had bent and pinched the plastic ring. Looking down the chamber something is embedded into the end around the port.
I have another complete one to play with
Optimisic Pessimist Fella
I acquired a .22 Osprey years ago, it was not that powerful but boy was it consistent. A proper tack driver, one of the guns i most regret selling.
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