New old air pistol

[Bowler]

Hi,

Webley continued production of both the Senior and Mk1 after the war, but around 1964 decided to combine the best features of the MK1 and the Senior within a single model to be called the Premier. The retention of the trigger adjustment screw from the Mlk1 was the most noticeable difference between the Senior and the Premier, although as has already been stated, this feature is of limited value. The all steel Premier was produced up until the mid seventies when it was replaced with the alloy frame Mk2 variant. The early A or B series Premiers are probably the most sought after which means a slightly higher selling price, but any of the latter steel series are perfectly satisfactory. Expect to pay around £180 for a later steel model or nearer £200 for an earlier 4 pin model.

Great article on the Premier included in an article written by John Milewski in this free magazine download.

https://jumpshare.com/v/Nhy1lA4EKMYG...BCH25ncar8YQ0a

Regards
Brian

Thanks Brian. I'm not sure if I'm posting right. I've seen a premier at £180 supposedly great condition in a box. Late 60s. Does that sound fair? Thanks again.

[Abasmajor]

Thanks Brian. I'm not sure if I'm posting right. I've seen a premier at £180 supposedly great condition in a box. Late 60s. Does that sound fair? Thanks again.

Hello,

Even a later original box in reasonable condition can easily add £20-£30 to a pistols value. Premier's have the series denoted by an upper case letter A-F stamped below the trigger guard on the left hand side of the frame. First, determine the series and then obtain some photos to at get at least some idea of the cosmetic condition also ensuring that the pistol is complete and fully functional before going ahead with a purchase. A fragile area on all Webley air pistols is the grips which are often found chipped at the bottom corners as a result of care not being taken with aligning the locating pin before tightening the grip retaining screws.

If you are happy with the above £180 sounds like a very fair price for a boxed first series Webley Premier.

Hope this helps.

Brian

[Bowler]

Thank you again. I will let you know how I get on.

[magicesperanto]

I tend to agree that the Senior or Premier may be the easier route, but if you fancy something a little different, consider the Acvoke, mine is a great backyard plinker.

[johnbaz]

This is a transitional premier, It's steel but has a milled out section with a Premier sticker in and painted finish same as the mk2, There's no series letter on the frame too!


And a couple of Seniors..


Some more Webbo's..


BSA Scorpions can be fun too


And the 240 Magnums.


The Hi Scores came with two barrels and were pretty accurate, My mate fired a shot from this one at around 40 feet and hit the bull first time!!


Don't get suckered in to a G10- Worst thing ever made!!


Crosman made some fab fun guns but they're Co2, I get the feeling you're more in to springers..




Good luck with whatever you decide to go for


John

[Bowler]

Wow.. I've got pistol envey... I've been and bought a premier Mk1. I've been shooting in the back garden with my daughter. The gun doesn't work very well.,, I could hardly hit the target but my daughter was nailing it.! As I say it must be faulty.

[Bowler]

Hello,

Even a later original box in reasonable condition can easily add £20-£30 to a pistols value. Premier's have the series denoted by an upper case letter A-F stamped below the trigger guard on the left hand side of the frame. First, determine the series and then obtain some photos to at get at least some idea of the cosmetic condition also ensuring that the pistol is complete and fully functional before going ahead with a purchase. A fragile area on all Webley air pistols is the grips which are often found chipped at the bottom corners as a result of care not being taken with aligning the locating pin before tightening the grip retaining screws.

If you are happy with the above £180 sounds like a very fair price for a boxed first series Webley Premier.

Hope this helps.

Brian

Hi Brian and all who helped. Big thank you. I've tried posting but not sure if it worked so here's another one. I bought the premier Mk1 and its in good nick for a nearly 50 year old! I have been cleaning the outside ( mild gun oil ) just to help clean the pitting a bit. Tony at his Camo and airgun centre was a sound guy who was very knowledgeable and fair with his prices. I will hopefully post some pics when I learn how to. !! Once again big thank you to all.

[Bowler]

This is a transitional premier, It's steel but has a milled out section with a Premier sticker in and painted finish same as the mk2, There's no series letter on the frame too!


And a couple of Seniors..


Some more Webbo's..


BSA Scorpions can be fun too


And the 240 Magnums.


The Hi Scores came with two barrels and were pretty accurate, My mate fired a shot from this one at around 40 feet and hit the bull first time!!


Don't get suckered in to a G10- Worst thing ever made!!


Crosman made some fab fun guns but they're Co2, I get the feeling you're more in to springers..




Good luck with whatever you decide to go for


John

What a collection you jammy devil! I have gone for the premier Mk1 think 1969 with an F under the handle grip and 631 on the body. What does this mean. Thank you.

[micky2]

I have been quoted £180 for a great condition Mk1 premier. Boxed but no photos! Their discription not mine. What would be a ball park figure. Thanks again.

lf the pistol and the box are in very good condition l would say that's a fair price.

[Abasmajor]

Hi Brian and all who helped. Big thank you. I've tried posting but not sure if it worked so here's another one. I bought the premier Mk1 and its in good nick for a nearly 50 year old! I have been cleaning the outside ( mild gun oil ) just to help clean the pitting a bit. Tony at his Camo and airgun centre was a sound guy who was very knowledgeable and fair with his prices. I will hopefully post some pics when I learn how to. !! Once again big thank you to all.

Hi,

Posting pictures is easier to do than explain. Basically all you need to do is register to one of the on-line photo hosting sites (eg Imgur ) which is free and allows a certain amount of resizing and editing. Then upload the picture from the folder on your computer and and copy the associated link directly into your post.

Many people soon become disenchanted with compact spring powered air pistols as they are not the easiest of pistols to master, but persevere and they can provide more satisfaction when you finally start getting results. I have been lucky enough to shoot many formal and informal target air pistols over the years and although it's easier to shoot with the more expensive target oriented pistols, the fun to be had from just plinking in the garden with a springer is often just as satisfying.

What calibre is you Premier ? Iv'e found .177 to better if you are looking to shoot reasonable groups on paper targets, but for shooting tin cans etc in the garden either calibre is fine. I can also recommend RWS Hobby pellets in either calibre as being accurate and reasonably cheap to purchase.

With practice, sub 2" groups are consistently reproducible using a one handed precision hold at ranges out to 10 metres, but errors in technique are punished far more severely than with pre-charged target air pistols, so the more you practice the better you get. Although it's nice to try and get reasonable accuracy from pistol shooting, you also need to keep it fun, so informal target shooting or just plinking in the garden have their place. I also find combining shooting and collecting these older air pistols more gratifying than buying and shooting some shiny new pistol without the character and inherent build quality of the older models.

Webley stopped using Ser Nos after the war and starting using batch Nos which are not helpful when trying to accurately establish a manufacturing date. The 631 stamped on you pistol is a Batch No and could possibly have been used more than once.

Regards
Brian

[Bowler]

Hi Brian. The Premier is a .22 I did all the all the checks, handle grips ect. And 1st impression is very good. Some pitting but I'm gently cleaning. I can't hit a barn door with it but 17 year old daughter a natural! I'm running out of excuses to her....thanks again and will try sending pics. Can I not just what's app them 😀

[Abasmajor]

Hi Brian. The Premier is a .22 I did all the all the checks, handle grips ect. And 1st impression is very good. Some pitting but I'm gently cleaning. I can't hit a barn door with it but 17 year old daughter a natural! I'm running out of excuses to her....thanks again and will try sending pics. Can I not just what's app them ��

Hi,

If the pitting is confined to the right hand side of the frame, it could be what is commonly known as 'box rash' which is due to an interaction between the pistol finish and the cardboard forming the base of the box. This is often a sign of infrequent use and can be avoided by lining the bottom of the box with rust preventative paper or felt and ensuring you wipe the pistol with a soft cloth before returning to the box after each use.

A couple of pictures of my two Premiers. The top one is an early (1964) 'A' Series pistol which is boxed and has barrels in both calibres. Swapping barrels on these Webley pistols is straightforward and it's comforting to know that most spare parts are readily available from several UK sources.



The second pistol is also a fairly early (1965) 'B' Series Premier which isn't in quite as good cosmetic condition as the first one and came with a chipped grip plate. I replaced the grips with a nice pair of wooden plates and now shoot this pistol on a regular basis with excellent results out to 10 metres.



I'm not familiar with whats app, but can recommend Imgur for directly posting pictures into threads.

Regards
Brian

[Bowler]

Hi Brian. Both of the pistols look brilliant. I like the idea of being able to swap barrels, that's quite novel. My premier is the .22 version but maybe worth looking out for a .177 barrel. I have been cleaning and oiling (outside) of the premier a few times now and it has come up quite well. I will try to upload some photos if I can. I use an iPad so don't know if that makes any difference. Thanks again.

[Abasmajor]

Hi Brian. Both of the pistols look brilliant. I like the idea of being able to swap barrels, that's quite novel. My premier is the .22 version but maybe worth looking out for a .177 barrel. I have been cleaning and oiling (outside) of the premier a few times now and it has come up quite well. I will try to upload some photos if I can. I use an iPad so don't know if that makes any difference. Thanks again.

Hello,

You only need to get access to the internet to use one of the on-line photo hosting sites no matter what OS platform you use.

Some recommend using very fine wire wool soaked in oil to to remove light surface rusting, but Iv'e found using a hard bristle toothbrush to scour the surface followed by wiping with a lightly oil soaked cloth patch works well. Although this is only suitable for removing very light surface rust, there is usually a slight brown staining to the patch and an improved sheen to the finish indicating that the process has had some effect.

Brian