Quote Originally Posted by hwtyger View Post
- Iirc, some Webley taploaders already had a tapered end to the tap to do just this. I know this, because the tap on my Tracker had been installed the wrong way around some day in its life. Causing loading issues (pellet wouldnt drop into the tap completely, needed pushing. Turned it around and pellets dropped nicely all the way, just like with my other taploaders, the ospreys and mk3).
-Tapered may have a downside though. If the breech taperes it more than the barrel needs than you'll loose accuracy too because the pellet cant follow the barrels' twist accurately anymore. So there has to be very tight tolerances between breech/tap ánd barrel diameter too

-I agree that taploaders have disadvantages. Yes the early Webleys were stunningly made. Especially before 60s. No doubt tolerances were very tight.
But stíll, you dó get wear over time because of use. And therefor its possible for tap misalignment to become an issue. Tap misalignment ruins accuracy.

-You also loose power because of the 'hop' necessary from tap to barrel. To get similar power as non-taploaders you'll need to compensate for that (stronger spring etc). That makes a taploader harsher to shoot (more recoil). Allthough imo more noticeable after mk3 imo (80s guns like Osprey) allthough that may also simply be because those generate more power.

Cockingwise I like taploaders. No open breech to get yr fingers stuck
Dont think its hard for a good/new mk3 to win against a HW77 finish wise. The mk3 first models were so much more better made. HW77 is 'simple' mass production

That is an informative response, which clears up some of the issues over which there was a query. I think I have heard the same about the loading taps being very slightly tapered. Indeed, this explains why some slightly wider pellets will not drop completely into a loading tap but often sit towards the top of it. As you reflect, however, if the taper is too severe, then the pellet will not be gripped by the rifling within the barrel. I wonder if the rifling commenced at the start of the barrel or, perhaps, a mm or two into the barrel itself. In the latter situation, the rifling might have been very slightly narrower than the tapering within the tap facility, to enhance the grip and the twist effect.