Are tap loaders inheritently less efficient?

[andrewM]

Muskett: "Taps are fine, just not crazy fantastic. Some of the old rifles with them have great open sights, point really well, and can keep it all under an inch if not 1/2" to 25m. Thats all most need for critter hitting plinking good target fun."

Yes, I agree and that was quite sufficient to hit vermin at up to 30yds and over. Using open sights added to the sporting enjoyment.

Vic Thompson: “Lastly, years ago someone told me that the Tap Loader taps were bored out fitted to the gun but whether that's true or not I don't know.”

I have heard this too - perhaps from Lakey. This could be how they addressed the problem of the transfer from tap to barrel but this would then suggest/explain why replacement parts could be very slightly out of kilter. Thus, the tap loader would be cut exactly to suit the rifle and its barrel. Could wear and tear eventually compromise the factory fittings?

I wonder if the barrels were ever slightly widened at the entry point by any manufacturers, in a tapered manner.

Lakey: “The standard of the Tap in a 1920's BSA Standard is massively better than the standard of the Tap in a 1970's Airsporter. The first doesnt usually leak air, whereas the second ALWAYS leaks air in my experience.”

My 1970s tap-loading Airsporter, which I had as a teenager, was certainly greatly inferior to the 1970s Mk3 I earlier possessed and later sold (with ultimate regret). The pellets for the BSA had to be pushed into the loading chamber with an improvised rounded device (so as not to cause damage to the pellet). With the Mk3, there was never any difficulty; all the pellets dropped perfectly into the hole. Whilst Webley might have cut corners elsewhere, I considered the Webley tap loading facility first class and it far exceeded the cheap 1970s BSA engineering. I never returned to modern BSA products after that. I then discovered this site and over a year ago purchased a magnificent BSA Standard, nearly 100 years old. That rifle and design exceed the abilities of most of the air rifles post WW2, up until the late ‘70s, in my view.