History of the airsporter?

[Shed tuner]

yeah, I think "junk" is a little strong for the others, but defo not so good. My MK6, with piston head conversion to a Diana parachute seal and a +5mm stroke as a result, is quite nice to shoot. Then again, it cost me £25 (well, plus a tenner for the seal), so great value

[look no hands]

Not all of them are "junk"

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...bine%20001.jpg

But do have to agree that the Mercury or Challenger is better.

Pete

[Shed tuner]

Not all of them are "junk"

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...bine%20001.jpg

But do have to agree that the Mercury or Challenger is better.

Pete

it does look really nice, but how does it shoot ?

[coburn]

There's quite a bit of info and diagrams in Dennis Hiller's Collectors Guide to Air Rifles, especially the enlarged fourth edition. He covers from the MK1 thru to the Centenary and the rare .177 Club variant.

[rovercoupe]

Thanks guys, so a mk1-2 as a keeper, I take it it wont be frowned upon to to actually shoot the early ones, im not in for them to sit there i want to shoot them! It wouldnt be a boxed minter that i can afford!
How about a later mk in bad nick to have as a project to renovate?

[Airsporterman]

Thanks guys, so a mk1-2 as a keeper, I take it it wont be frowned upon to to actually shoot the early ones, im not in for them to sit there i want to shoot them! It wouldnt be a boxed minter that i can afford!
How about a later mk in bad nick to have as a project to renovate?

Go for it!
(a boxed minter Mk1 would cost you a bit - if you could get one)
ASM

[Drew451]

Thanks guys, so a mk1-2 as a keeper, I take it it wont be frowned upon to to actually shoot the early ones, im not in for them to sit there i want to shoot them! It wouldnt be a boxed minter that i can afford!
How about a later mk in bad nick to have as a project to renovate?

I would agree with that sentiment. All guns are made to be used. Cabinet Queens/ wall hangings are not my thing.
I got a mk2 last week which is my first ever Airsporter. Ive not had a proper shot of it yet but I'm planning on putting at least a tin of pellets through it over the Christmas Holidays.

[Clanchief]

History ? I've had mine for 40 years so pretty know it well, if you do a search I did a strip and rebuild this year of all new internals and some new pins and screws, over £100 between Knibbs and Chambers, pics of laid out parts on the thread.

[mrto]

I don't think the rest are junk - just perhaps not as good as the Mk1 which most believed was never bettered. (including myself)
The later 'S' Mks were good rifles as were the RBs.
I like all my Airsporters - they are all different in one way or another.
As has been said - get a good Mk1!

ASM

The problem with the Airsporters from the MKIV onwards is that they had parallel taps which was just another cheapening of the production methods applied to the model.They were often misaligned and leaky from new hence my opinion of them.The Mercury offers all the aesthetic beauty of the later Airsporters such as it was,but without the potential for a problematic tap.

As later Airsporters are now decades old with the exception of the RB2 the potential for a useless tap is even higher I personally would not consider one.I do though have three or four MK1's four or five MK2's one of which is a scarce hybrid example and one RB2 and half a dozen Mercury's.

A real shame the Mercury wasn't released alongside the first Airsporter in 1948 with all the wonderful build quality that would have meant.

ATB.

[mrto]

Not all of them are "junk"

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...bine%20001.jpg

But do have to agree that the Mercury or Challenger is better.

Pete

That is a beautiful example!


I was certainly not passing judgement on how they look,just how poorly the taps seal on too many of the later MK's.

That said,even on buying a MK1 or MK2 it is far better to the buy the gun in person to be sure the tap still seals adequately.


ATB.

[look no hands]

it does look really nice, but how does it shoot ?

It's surprisingly accurate for a .22 and a tap loader and thankfully loves Air Arms pellets which saves me having to find decent 5.6 pellets, I'm sure the firing cycle could be improved upon as it's only had the usual piston head rebuild and a tuning kit chucked in, so if someone like your good self had a go at it, it would certainly be a lovely rifle to shoot afterwards.

Pete

[gingernut]

That's a great looking rifle Mr look no hands.

[mark@mbb]

I was started on a Mk11 Bsa meteor and now have a dozen you cannot beat the airsporter for
Reliability I have about 150 air rifles and 90% are Bsa with a lot of mi1 and mk11 and a few very early models

[DEAN C.]

Yes, it has tapered barrel and non flip rear site and with the GA serial number I'm certain it is a Mk1 action. I'm not entirely sure about the stock though with the absence of the pressed in logo. Your "crossover" comment makes sense though. Thank you for your reply

Hi, Just to answer your question, yes the Mk1 did sometimes come in a non BSA stamped stock. My Dads 1958 GB Mk1 was bought new with a 3 piece non stamped stock.
(This is contrary to opinions on here, but I know it has never been stripped or repaired from new when my Dad bought it).

[edbear2]

Hi, Just to answer your question, yes the Mk1 did sometimes come in a non BSA stamped stock. My Dads 1958 GB Mk1 was bought new with a 3 piece non stamped stock.
(This is contrary to opinions on here, but I know it has never been stripped or repaired from new when my Dad bought it).

Yep have seen 3 piece non stamped and one piece non stamped SILE (in fact have never seen a stamped 1 piece), In fact have owned at least 4 non stamped MK 1's thinking back as far as I can recall.

ATB, Ed