BSA Supersport tune

[Drumming Monkey]

Hi guys,

After shooting PCP at the club, I've found adjusting to a BSA Supersport difficult. I actually recently put this gun up for sale because as a beginner I just wasn't accurate enough with it, and thought a TX200 would be much easier to shoot, but it hasn't sold so I'm going to persevere. I found out it likes RWS Superdomes and at 20 meters if I try really hard I can get 5 shot half inch groups; but it always takes me time to warm up in order to acheive this and there are always some flyers. (so in other words the gun is accurate it's just Im not!)

I think the thing which most often spoils my accuracy is the trigger and the fairly strong recoil of the gun. When I shoot it well it feels great but it seems very difficult to get consistant results with. (I try very hard to maintain a consistant 'artillery' hold)

Basically, would it benefit much from a tune up? thing is I really dont want to do it myself, do gun shops perform this service, and roughly how much would it cost me? my local RFD is Thomas Turners in Reading.

I cant afford a new gun, but if a tune up would significantly improve my current one, I'd definitely go for it.

Any advice would be great
Thanks guys and gals.

[Ed J]

Tuning any spring gun would improve it. It won't make it anymore accurate but it will make it easier for you to be accurate with it, if you get what I mean. The lock-time will be improved which means that it will be less hold-sensitive so the 'artillery hold' should not be as important. I think you should definitely persevere with a spring gun, after all if you can master that there's no rifle in the world you won't be able to shoot the best out of

[Drumming Monkey]

Thanks mate. I think a tune up is certainly in order then ....do you know would most gun shops do it? or is it more of an air rifle specialist thing

[merlin]

well you could go for a bonnie and clyde tune.....biggest prob with supersports is the trigger which does benefit from a very careful polish/tune, would'nt worry about the lock time on these as they plenty quick enough already....a bit too snappy IMO

they will need alot of work to get them anywhere near a tx...i have both.

[Hsing-ee]

Try tuning it yourself, it is an easy gun to strip and fairly sturdy. This tune takes an evening and costs about £10 in materials...

http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115108

You'll be suprised how much nicer it feels and shoots.

[Ed J]

The faster the lock time the better, presuming you have the same kick. The tune will also lessen the kick therefore making it easier to shoot.

A V-mach kit should be relatively easy to fit presuming you're reasonabley competent. That should definitely make things easier for you.

Ed

[Drumming Monkey]

Thanks for the info guys. Doing it myself seems cheapest but also scariest

Those V match kits are quite expensive....may be an option though. If I got one I'd probably want a gunsmith to fit it as well.

What's this Bonnie and Clyde tune?

[Hsing-ee]

Thanks for the info guys. Doing it myself seems cheapest but also scariest

Nah, as long as you take it apart step-by-step and take care when removing the mainspring and putting it back in, it is not only quite easy but good fun and very satisfying. Give it a go!

[Gwylan]

To be honest, the Supersport, even if tuned, won't be half as good as a TX. The trigger will still be dire. It depends what you want it for, is it a .177, or .22? If a general purpose hunter, OK, but if you want to shoot targets, try something better.

Gus

[Drumming Monkey]

Yeah I use it for targets

Hsing-ee - Maybe I should try doing it myself, as if I am going to upgrade it in the future, not much point in spending much money on it.

I'd love a TX200, just can't afford it unless I sell this gun...which doesn't seem likely...its only a couple of months old, I bought it as an introduction into the sport - my first gun - and whilst it's obviously capable of hunting and plinking, i find it hard to shoot very accurately with.

[Swiss Tony]

If you do a search on the bbs there are a few good threads that take you through stripping the supersport. When I did my .22 I went for a polish up and changed the seal. I also tried a different spring but ended up putting the old one back in. It now runs at a consistent 10.2 ftlbs and I'm quite happy with it. It's still challenging to shoot accurately but I think this is down to the high recoil/light weight of the supersport.

[Hsing-ee]

Yeah I use it for targets

Hsing-ee - Maybe I should try doing it myself, as if I am going to upgrade it in the future, not much point in spending much money on it.

I'd love a TX200, just can't afford it unless I sell this gun...which doesn't seem likely...its only a couple of months old, I bought it as an introduction into the sport - my first gun - and whilst it's obviously capable of hunting and plinking, i find it hard to shoot very accurately with.

Well I think you did the right thing. The TX200, HW77/97 and Prosport are the best springers you can buy but they are more expensive and also they are very much heavier compared to the Supersport. I think you can still learn to shoot the Supersport to 75% of these top gun's performances though, so for example you could shoot an inch group at 40 yards compared to 3/4" groups with the TX.

I think if you get your rifle zero'd and then spend hours shooting at a spinner at a reasonable but testing distance - say a 20mm spinner at 30 yards, and really go for it - like 300 pellets in a session - you will get to 'know' your rifle instinctively and gradually you will stop throwing fliers. Eventually you will be able to hit it every time for 50 shots in a row. The trigger might not be the best, but once you have pressed it 4000 times you will start to work with it and you may coax some suprising accuracy from it. PCPs are so easy to shoot that a springer can seem impossible in comparison, but 'boingers' are capable of great accuracy. But you need the secret ingredient - practice! Try for a whole tin of pellets in three hours, do that once a week for a month and then come back and tell us how you are getting on. For this kind of practice, use open-sights or a low mag scope - not more than 4x, it should be deliberate but brisk load-aim-squeeze-fire, not more than a few seconds on-aim. Your body will learn how to shoot the rifle for you!

Then when you ugrade you will be stunningly accurate with the TX!

[Drumming Monkey]

Yeah it is a challenging gun to shoot accurately - it certainly is capable of accuracy when I am on form though, and being accurate with it is very satisfying. m Just adjusted the trigger and it's much better...I think I may try to sell it again...after all it's in perfect condition and virtually brand new...would be great for someone interested mainly in the odd bit of hunting or plinking...I'd just like something a bit smoother like the TX200, as I have decided I am only going to be shooting targets.

Having said that if I can't sell it I may try to tune it just to make it a little smoother for target shooting.

Thanks guys

[dave blakemore]

My brother had a .22 Supersport years ago and even though it was unbelievably smooth, it kicked like a mule. What I found really helped was to fit a heavy Webley pro system silencer. If you cant get one of these maybe one of the resident tinkerers could make you a heavy steel silencer. Another thing you could do is to drill the butt of the stock and fill it with lead. You see weight is good on a spring gun and will help it calm down.

Dave

[Silent Sniper]

hey dude cheer up steve pope is doing a step by step tune up in one of the new mags will find out which one and let you know later it starts in the june edition i think it may be a parker hale striker which is basicaly the same gun also if you only want to shoot target you can drop the power down to around 10ft lb this will reduce the recoil quite a lot as a lot of the kick is caused by trying to squeeze max power from these super little guns i think home tuning is a bit addictive and once you have taken it apart and know your way round the inside it is surprising what you can acheive and how much you can improve things .good luck