Webley Supertarget chopping pellets

[series2a]

Just refurbished a supertarget and the pellets seem to be struggling to make it up the barrel,
New spring fitted with plenty of umph,so New piston seal is working,
I took loading tap/barrel out tried a jsb which dropped into the tap but it’s head was poking out,aha I thought,So I tried a wadcutter which stopped short,put it all back together but same thing happened,1 in 3 would fire ok rest either sticking or chopping,
Being into Muskets I muzzle loaded a 4.5mm lead Gamo ball,this works as I load it with the tap shut so it doesn’t go into the tap.Fires ok lol
I’ve run a cleaning rod down the barrel with the tap shut and can’t seem to find any miss match between barrel and loading tap body.
I’m now thinking if I get a dead size .177 rod to check if there is a slight miss match.Its the only thing I can think of.
Any other ideas?

It’s a webley Mk3 Supertarget

[averageplinker]

Hi is it the tap original or a replacement? If it is a replacement I suspect it is more likely to be misaligned.
Did it shoot fine before you rebuilt it? If so has a piece been lost or gone in a different way etc?
Have you established it is chopping pellets by shooting them into soft cloth and examining them? If so you probably know it is misaligned already. Rather than keep poking stuff down the barrel from the muzzle end which may damage the bore or crown I suggest removing the piston innards etc and with the tap closed have a good look through the action, tap and barrel. Is the bore through the tap perfectly circular or does it look impinged by being misaligned to the barrel?
Not sure if this is of help, it is the BBS equivalent of thinking out loud

[andrewM]

Hi is it the tap original or a replacement? If it is a replacement I suspect it is more likely to be misaligned.
Did it shoot fine before you rebuilt it? If so has a piece been lost or gone in a different way etc?
Have you established it is chopping pellets by shooting them into soft cloth and examining them? If so you probably know it is misaligned already. Rather than keep poking stuff down the barrel from the muzzle end which may damage the bore or crown I suggest removing the piston innards etc and with the tap closed have a good look through the action, tap and barrel. Is the bore through the tap perfectly circular or does it look impinged by being misaligned to the barrel?
Not sure if this is of help, it is the BBS equivalent of thinking out loud

I was about to make exactly the same suggestions. You might like to fire a pellet or two into a bucket of water, which should produce a clean pellet afterwards. Place a thin piece of paper over the bucket, to prevent the splash back, which could wet the barrel.

It is quite difficult to see what is down the cylinder with a torch because of the distance but it should produce a guide. It sounds to me as if a new tap has been introduced at some stage. Quite what to do to re-align tap with barrel is a complex question, to which I do not know the answer!

It is strange that two in three are sticking; you would think there would be consistency with all three.

I understand the taps were bored through as part of the barrel, so were a perfect fit in each instance.

A

[bill57]

Remember that the tap can be misaligned laterally or vertically. If misaligned vertically, it indicates that the tap is either being closed too much, or not enough. I put a score into the inside of the pellet skirt and check it's position in the tap before closing and firing. The recovered pellet can then be examined to see where it is being chopped, left or right, or top or bottom.

[series2a]

Remember that the tap can be misaligned laterally or vertically. If misaligned vertically, it indicates that the tap is either being closed too much, or not enough. I put a score into the inside of the pellet skirt and check it's position in the tap before closing and firing. The recovered pellet can then be examined to see where it is being chopped, left or right, or top or bottom.

Ok I’ll try that thanks

[andrewM]

Lakey might have a view on this; he knows these rifles well. It certainly sounds as if it is the tap but, if so, what is the solution, I wonder.

A

[series2a]

I was about to make exactly the same suggestions. You might like to fire a pellet or two into a bucket of water, which should produce a clean pellet afterwards. Place a thin piece of paper over the bucket, to prevent the splash back, which could wet the barrel.

It is quite difficult to see what is down the cylinder with a torch because of the distance but it should produce a guide. It sounds to me as if a new tap has been introduced at some stage. Quite what to do to re-align tap with barrel is a complex question, to which I do not know the answer!

It is strange that two in three is sticking; you would think there would be consistency with all three.

I understand the taps were bored through as part of the barrel, so were a perfect fit in each instance.

A

As to the question did it fire ok before,I don’t know as it was never fired by me,stupid really but it looked all original,It May have been left because it wasn’t shooting correctly,I did do a quick clean of the barrel before it was stripped though,I’ll try shimming it see if it makes any difference.
Thanks for the ideas though.