BSA Scorpion or HW 45 ?

[clarky]

unquestionably a Scorpion.
The 45 might seem a better idea on paper but the forward moving recoil of the Scorpion is much easier to control which is the opposite of what one might think....

They compacted a lot in to the 45 for better compactness but the compression ratios/transfer set up is a shocker. Real difficult to tune even if you can get into it easier.
On the otherhand, the Scorpion has the most ideal of harmonics and needs down tuning to keep it legal.
Benched it trounces a 45 for fun..
Hand held we have size and trigger differences to get use to more with a Scorpion but once mastered its not even close...
I shoot with a whole raft load of club shooters that never choose 45s for springer selection.
Gamo Centers, Scorpions walther 53s so much more potential once mastered.
I can shoot a group inside the group i make with a 45 with a LP53 on the same target to save cards....ive also done similar with an Original 5
It just aint an accurate pistol.
The Scorpion isnt hard to cock unless your toy armed.

[tikkapaul]

When the Scorpion pistol first came out and me loving all things BSA I , bought one I recall somewhere around £89 pounds , after a good few years of ratting and the odd rabbit and squirrel , I took it to Scotland to use with my two young nephews who had so much fun with it that I decided to leave it there with them and I got to use it again on my many trips north.
As the years went by I missed it ,on many occasions it would have been to tool to go to for dispatching the odd rat etc, so when seeing one for sale in my local gun shop at a very good price I purchased it .
Then Scotland decided to implement a licence for air weapons and my nephews are now married with sons of their own who do not shoot yet ,so it was decided that the pistol should come home south of the border until they are old enough to shoot .
So now I have two and am having lots of fun with both, accurate and powerful enough for dispatching cage caught vermin, they are easy to cock and have a very good safety button, brilliant piece of kit.

[les allam]

I have both, but much prefer the Scorpion , I find the Hw to be more hold sensitive and I am in smug mode when I get it right, but the Scorpion always puts a smile on my face. I had U.K Neil make me a brass cocking aid to replace the plastic one and it feels better balanced for me.
Les..

[ETCHY]

When the Scorpion pistol first came out and me loving all things BSA I , bought one I recall somewhere around £89 pounds , after a good few years of ratting and the odd rabbit and squirrel , I took it to Scotland to use with my two young nephews who had so much fun with it that I decided to leave it there with them and I got to use it again on my many trips north.
As the years went by I missed it ,on many occasions it would have been to tool to go to for dispatching the odd rat etc, so when seeing one for sale in my local gun shop at a very good price I purchased it .
Then Scotland decided to implement a licence for air weapons and my nephews are now married with sons of their own who do not shoot yet ,so it was decided that the pistol should come home south of the border until they are old enough to shoot .
So now I have two and am having lots of fun with both, accurate and powerful enough for dispatching cage caught vermin, they are easy to cock and have a very good safety button, brilliant piece of kit.

You have two Scorpions , I am a jealous man

Dave

[Andy001]

I wanted to convert a couple to .20 and possibly .25. I missed a brazing machine so the only way would be to drill and rebarrel the barrel....plus small narrow barrels are hard to come by.

I'm a fan I've four or five, lol Had seven, got told it was too many I'd still have another

[derekj]

.177 Diana P5. Long sleek, powerful, accurate, nicely balanced, bright open sights with a fantastic 2 stage trigger.

[oneseven]

I have a .177 and a .22 Scorpion as well as a .22 HW45. I prefer shooting through scorpions and recently have been thinking about a buccaneer for fun. I just find the scorpions easier to shoot. The HW45 suffers from its compact layout I think, almost like a BSA magnum or Jumbo (although the jumbo is a different mechanism).

[ETCHY]

I now have a Scorpion pistol in .22. It's very cool, looks like a ray-gun & makes a hell of a bang when I manage to hit a tin can

I must admit I'm finding it difficult to be accurate with it (it's me, not the gun as Sophie is an excellent shot with it )

Having only shot Webley's before I seem to be taking a while to acclimatise to it ( I am getting better though), but any tips would be welcomed

Cheers

Dave

[scholes1965]

just bought a .22 mk1 scorpion pistol serial no ra 3772 for £65. Stripped it down had it re blued and spent
£100 on refurbing it, it was only doing 3.5 ftlbs. After new spring, metal piston head, o ring and buffer washer it was doing 5.9 ftlbs. Before that i had a hw45 better built pistol but in my opinion not as accurate and the best it would manage was 5 ftlbs

[DM80]

HW45 all day its more accurate and more powerfull than the scorpion the 45 is just better built its trigger is better the Bsa is ok but its rubbish compared to th HW45.

[peddy]

I struggled shooting either of them accurately, I prefer my premier e series, far more compact and running at just over 3fpe and much lighter makes a great plinker. As mentioned my cp1 at 5fpe beats all of them

[Benelli B76]

When this thread was started over 2 years ago it was comparing two spring pistols, at the time my CO2 Crosman 111 surpassed both of them for power and accuracy, and I don't think the CP1 was available in UK.

Baz

[Geezer]

HW45 all day its more accurate and more powerfull than the scorpion the 45 is just better built its trigger is better the Bsa is ok but its rubbish compared to th HW45.

Dave,

I’m going to politely disagree with you a bit. I have owned only one example of each, but also tracked reviews and commentary by others.

Bottom line up front: I think they are equal. But very different.

Power: Scorp is in good condition always a 5+ gun. 45 is often mid-4s in factory trim.

Accuracy: tie. I can make a case that the Scorp is easier to achieve results with, because of its conventional layout and therefore normal spring-surge characteristics, rather than the overgrown Johnstone-Fearn Webley arrangement of the HW.

Build quality: not sure. Probably HW.

Ease of servicing: HW. By miles.

Handling: tie. The Scorp is colossal and the HW is smaller, and the HW has a 1911-style grip, so ought to win, but the Scorp is not bad either.

Trigger: my Scorp has a nice one. So does my 45. Tie. Advantage overall to the 45?

Cocking effort: 45 wins.

Coolness: well, I am of the age when the Scorpion was new and dead cool and the 45 did not then exist.

As I’ve said on here before, I spent many years thinking the Scorpion was a truly silly thing. Only once I got one did I change my mind. It’s surprinsgly good. (And the 45, while good, is not as great as some suggest).

Just my opinion.

[DM80]

the bsa scorpion is ok I do like them but the 45 is just better ive owned many of both pistols and for me the Hw is more accurate better built its lighter and Ive always found the 45 is just easier to shoot the trigger and safety mech on the bsa is terrible and unreliable for me its the scorpions biggest downfall and facts are facts the 45 has been around since the early 80's and today still sells in vast numbers the bsa died a death years ago.


dave.

[ETCHY]

I now have a Scorpion & an early HW45 both in .22.

I don't know why but somehow I've never quite enjoyed either . The Scorpion I just struggle to be accurate with (although it looks damned cool) & the HW45 whilst I find accurate & solid is somehow just soulless.

To be honest for plinking I find my old Webley Tempest more fun than both