BSA Lightning Tuning

[markkeogh]

Hi,
just got back into a rifle and I've just got a BSA Lightning XL.
Don't know much about the gun yet but as I've had a few rifles over the decades this was just the right price in .177 for doing a bit of bunny hunting and target shooting with my daughter without worrying about the finish like I used to with my Air Arms 200.
I want to tune it to the legal limit and am looking at a V-Mach kit having done a bit of research into the best available.
Considered gas ram but it doesn't hold as much promise from the comments I've seen although it does appeal still if someone has a good experience with one to offer in its defence.
Looking at porting as well having played with many a cylinder head and high power engine over the years so if this is feasible any advice would be gratefully received.
Also what is with the silencer/shroud?
It will get a Weihrauch Moderator soon enough but I took the shroud apart to see what's in there and found nothing apart from a very hacked up looking plate of lead wrapped around the barrel between the barrel fitting and the shroud support.
I can only assume this has been done by the previous owner to help with recoil but cannot see how it really helped and reducing the chamber space would have made it louder.
Going to use H&N FTT for hunting with looking a what is most consistent and reliable.
All advice gratefully received and if you know any bunny or pest control opportunities in the Redditch direction please let me know.
Thanks
Mark

[markkeogh]

Any help anyone?

[junglie]

Any help anyone?

join the BSOG some good tips on there, I've tuned a few lightnings & their triggers, the triggers can be improved a fair bit with shimming out the side play with little nylon washers & careful polishing of the sides & sear.But I must say in all fairness some still were not accurate guns. The best was the brum built supersport the lightning evolved from. Best of luck with it, you'll need a spring compressor & a 2" bit off the end of a broomshank to strip it.

[Trumpetier]

No offence matey and I don't want to sound rude but, your really up against it with that rifle. My advice would be to move it on and get something else.

[Rob M]

Mark, don't listen to the nay-sayers, if you want to go ahead with it, you do it. I've got a Lightning and it's a cracking rifle, I've got no issues with build quality, it's also more accurate than my Birmingham-made Webley Longbows which have Walther barrels. I'm not saying it's perfect, some careful tuning would improve it but, while a few on here have had bad experiences (mostly from when Lightning production was moved out to Spain I think) there are plenty of people that have had Lightnings and like me and been pleased with them. If you've got one and like it, you enjoy it and tune it if you wish.

[PCPShooter]

Hi,
just got back into a rifle and I've just got a BSA Lightning XL.
Don't know much about the gun yet but as I've had a few rifles over the decades this was just the right price in .177 for doing a bit of bunny hunting and target shooting with my daughter without worrying about the finish like I used to with my Air Arms 200.
I want to tune it to the legal limit and am looking at a V-Mach kit having done a bit of research into the best available.
Considered gas ram but it doesn't hold as much promise from the comments I've seen although it does appeal still if someone has a good experience with one to offer in its defence.
Looking at porting as well having played with many a cylinder head and high power engine over the years so if this is feasible any advice would be gratefully received.
Also what is with the silencer/shroud?
It will get a Weihrauch Moderator soon enough but I took the shroud apart to see what's in there and found nothing apart from a very hacked up looking plate of lead wrapped around the barrel between the barrel fitting and the shroud support.
I can only assume this has been done by the previous owner to help with recoil but cannot see how it really helped and reducing the chamber space would have made it louder.
Going to use H&N FTT for hunting with looking a what is most consistent and reliable.
All advice gratefully received and if you know any bunny or pest control opportunities in the Redditch direction please let me know.
Thanks
Mark

They are hit and miss, not great in 177. If you want to put in a V Mach kit , it's the best bet. Better idea, sell it and get something else. Cometa 400, UK Webley (if you know what faults to be aware of pre purchase), HW95, Diana 31/34 ....

[PCPShooter]

Mark, don't listen to the nay-sayers, if you want to go ahead with it, you do it. I've got a Lightning and it's a cracking rifle, I've got no issues with build quality, it's also more accurate than my Birmingham-made Webley Longbows which have Walther barrels. I'm not saying it's perfect, some careful tuning would improve it but, while a few on here have had bad experiences (mostly from when Lightning production was moved out to Spain I think) there are plenty of people that have had Lightnings and like me and been pleased with them. If you've got one and like it, you enjoy it and tune it if you wish.

Some are great, some are not, that's the problem - if you have one that shoots accurate great. Some folk have ones that don't and then hope a tune kit will fix that - nope !
Bit small sweep for 177 imo , good ones fine in 22

[bigtoe01]

The big problem with any BSA break barrel springer is the brazed on barrel, it tightens the barrel at the breech so you end up with a barrel that is choked at both ends and slack in the middle...what happens then is you get blow by on the pellet in the mid section of the barrel with the air being wasted instead of it accelerating the pellet down the barrel.

A mate of mine has a lightening xl, he tried everything to get it shooting well but nothing would work, out of desperation he removed the barrel and bored it to 10mm right thru, he then pressed in with loctite a crossman barrel...so he essentially re barrelled it by sleeving the one he had already. End result was a gain from 10fpe to 14fpe with no changes to the power plant within the action, he was then able to re spring etc and he has now one of the best BSA springers I have ever shot (he even worked some magic on the trigger)

All it would take is for BSA to redesign the barrels to fit much the same as say a HW springer and they would have awesome guns...its a real shame a manufacturing defect is ruining them.

[PCPShooter]

Nice post above that explains the 'pot luckiness' of some current BSA's ......

[oliver13]

The big problem with any BSA break barrel springer is the brazed on barrel, it tightens the barrel at the breech so you end up with a barrel that is choked at both ends and slack in the middle...what happens then is you get blow by on the pellet in the mid section of the barrel with the air being wasted instead of it accelerating the pellet down the barrel.

A mate of mine has a lightening xl, he tried everything to get it shooting well but nothing would work, out of desperation he removed the barrel and bored it to 10mm right thru, he then pressed in with loctite a crossman barrel...so he essentially re barrelled it by sleeving the one he had already. End result was a gain from 10fpe to 14fpe with no changes to the power plant within the action, he was then able to re spring etc and he has now one of the best BSA springers I have ever shot (he even worked some magic on the trigger)

All it would take is for BSA to redesign the barrels to fit much the same as say a HW springer and they would have awesome guns...its a real shame a manufacturing defect is ruining them.

I've got an XL barrel with a double choke, I heard it was something to do with worn mandrels being used in the barrel machine, but the brazing process is still a contender.
I cured it by swapping it for a Mk5 Meteor barrel - so now I've got a tactical stocked Supersport...

[markkeogh]

So apart from the range of dislike for this gun and I'm getting that from reading carefully between the lines, I get the feeling this is not the best gun.
How come then as I wanted a budget rifle, everywhere on the web says it's a great little gun more than it is rubbish?
Anyway thanks for all that as it would appear I need to plan a little.
Forget the upgrade initially, get to a range to see if it is a good one or bad.
If it's as bad as you all think I'll possibly move it on.
If it's good then I'll tune it (and possibly try a gas ram as I like the idea) along with a bit of porting, polishing and shimming. (I SAID SHIMMING)
I like this little gun as it has potential, especially to an engineer like me such as developing a proper silencer in that empty shroud as well.
(See separate post begging for an old shroud and end thread adapter if anyone has one)
How did this happen though?
I always heard BSA were the best budget gun to have, bullet proof and field friendly when I was looking some years ago.
I grew up with guns way back when (70's) in the country and my first rifle was a Vulcan with a 4x32 Nikko Sterling scope and I never missed as far as I recall.
I could hit a sparrow at 25 metres and rat head shots were always commonplace so how much worse can a Lightning be?
I was always taught you can shoot anything as long as you know its quirks but it sounds like the Lightning is just plain unpredictable!
Thanks for all the input.
Regards
Mark
Previous guns - Vulcan, TX200, S200, HW40 & 45 and now a Lighting??

[Gunfun]

Mark, I have the BSA XL Lightning in .177 and its a cracking little gun, light, fast aiming and accurate enough for 30 yard hunting, it just depends if you get a good one.
I brought one second hand and it shot with a metalic "clack", I realised it would be difficult to tune properly due to its bore/stroke ratio so took it to an expert tuner (The Airgun Doctor). After tuning it was a different gun, the shot cycle was a lot smoother and the previous shot cycle noise replaced with a nice "thwok", this closed up my five shot groups to 20mm ctc at 28 meters (31 yards).
Some guns may have been badly assembled at the factory, many more by home tuners, but the basics are there for a great little springer for medium range springer hunting if its set up correctly.
I have a Prosport and like HW97 and TX200 its more accurate than the lightning but when shooting for pleasure I pick up the lightning, its so light I can plink with it all day or you could carry it hunting over long distances with no effort.

[DT]

I have read this thread with interest. There seems to be a lot of unhappy lightning owners.
Heres my input..... i got my son a .22 lightning years ago when they first came out. At the time i shot a hw90 and by comparison the lightning was a bit graunchy but was more than accurate enough for shooting rabbits etc at realistic airgun ranges.
We purchased a gas ram for the little gun and it transformed it. Over the years it accounted for hundreds of vermin and it still gets an airing now and again for dealing with ferals in barns and a bit of lamping.
So to sum up, in my opinion they are a good small light rifle.

Pernod

[markkeogh]

Thanks to Gunfun and DT for their comments.
Main reason for this is my daughter wants to shoot as I did and hopefully next year we'll find somewhere to hunt locally so a light gun that does not break the bank is the ideal.
I was getting a bit worried with all the negatives as I just want to go out and enjoy a bit of hunting with my daughter but you need an accurate gun to avoid any suffering (I got a rabbit wrong once just in the eye being cocky when I was a kid, never ever did it again as it's a noise you don't forget).
One last question is how do I tell the difference between an English gun and a Spanish one?
It has 'BSA Guns UK England' on the barrel and it also has a 'Sandwell Fields Sports' Sticker on the main tube instead of the BSA logo.
This thing is mint in the metalwork apart from the silencer adapter cover and one little mark by the barrel end of the main tube.
The stock has one good bruise in the cheek piece so that's out of the way!!
I got it from Shooting Supplies for a favourable trade in against my HW45 and they had fully serviced it.
Thanks for the advice all.
Once I get my hands onto this at Christmas I should start posting some results in the new year for anyone that's interested.

[Gunfun]

If its got a SFS sticker on it there is a very good chance its been tuned by a master (Tony Wall I think) ! You lucky sod !
Just get out and test some pellets at long range, mine likes AA Field Diabolo 4.52mm, and get a reasonable scope to do it justice.
Let us know your results, I think you'll be impressed.