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Thread: Sharp Innova

  1. #1
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    Sharp Innova

    Picked one of these up last week and was wondering if there are any mods that can be done to improve it in any way?

    Looking at a silencer adaptor and making a new stock. Has anyone done this and have any pics?

    Cheers. Steve

  2. #2
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    Great little rifle. Owned the same innova for a good 30 years. The rifle really got used and abused in my younger days. As the innova went with me every time I went fishing or hunting, so got chucked from pillar to post.
    Eventually the plastic breech block cracked that stemmed from probably over tightening the scope mounts and several scope changes later.
    So after a bit of thought, I redesigned and machined up another breech block from aluminium along with changing the bolt design to similar to those on most pcp's. Also I made the silencer adaptor too.

    The stocks from new we're a bit cheap looking and a rough looking grain, they do come up well with rubbing them back and oiling them.

    Great little rifle and deadly accurate. On a calm day I could easily pick vermin off upto about 70 yards away.

  3. #3
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    I kinda like em
    As above: unbelievably accurate. I am a plinker: cans at 70 yards, my maximum range, are easy, using a 4x20 scope and 3 pumps in .177.
    In the eighties you could buy ally end blocks for them, to fit a silencer. My .22 MkII on the photo has that.
    If you want, drop me a pm, I know somebody who might be able to help you to find that.
    Making your own stock for an Innova will be relatively easy: the inletting is simple.
    The original suits me well, but the l.o.p. is quite short. Some Innova's came with a longer stock; look at the photo, it is the .22 MkII.
    According to a friend and Innova repairer, the factory in Tokyo changed certain things from batch to batch.
    For instance most MkII have a butt plate, but not all.
    You could also fit a thick recoil pad to increase l.o.p., or attach a piece of wood.



    This is the nicest custom Innova stock I've seen. In the USA. I think I'd prefer the handling and weight of the original though.


  4. #4
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    Please tell us some more about the one in the lower picture with the beautiful thumbhole mannlicher type stock.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by louisvanhovell View Post
    I kinda like em
    As above: unbelievably accurate. I am a plinker: cans at 70 yards, my maximum range, are easy, using a 4x20 scope and 3 pumps in .177.
    In the eighties you could buy ally end blocks for them, to fit a silencer. My .22 MkII on the photo has that.
    If you want, drop me a pm, I know somebody who might be able to help you to find that.
    Making your own stock for an Innova will be relatively easy: the inletting is simple.
    The original suits me well, but the l.o.p. is quite short. Some Innova's came with a longer stock; look at the photo, it is the .22 MkII.
    According to a friend and Innova repairer, the factory in Tokyo changed certain things from batch to batch.
    For instance most MkII have a butt plate, but not all.
    You could also fit a thick recoil pad to increase l.o.p., or attach a piece of wood.



    This is the nicest custom Innova stock I've seen. In the USA. I think I'd prefer the handling and weight of the original though.

    I had both Innova's and Ace, cracking guns, you have a nice little collection there Louis
    Custom BSA S10 .22 PAX Phoenix Mk 2 .22 Custom Titan Manitou .22 (JB BP) HW77 .22 FWB Sport Mk1 .22 Sharp Ace .22 Crossman 600 .22 Berretta 92 .20 Desert Eagle .177

  6. #6
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    A fine collection indeed of some very nice little rifles.

    ATB
    Ian
    Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
    www.rivington-riflemen.uk

  7. #7
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    i had an innova 15yrs ago. cracking guns but the ace was an easier gun to pump up due to the longer pump arm so i remember. the plastic breech was the Achilles heel of this gun though as impossible to find a replacement if the break. is it possible to fit an ace breech to the innova?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by WILBA View Post
    i had an innova 15yrs ago. cracking guns but the ace was an easier gun to pump up due to the longer pump arm so i remember. the plastic breech was the Achilles heel of this gun though as impossible to find a replacement if the break. is it possible to fit an ace breech to the innova?
    Agreed, the Ace was (almost all) steel, clever and neat design, shame trigger wasn't better but it could be tamed

    No, Ace breach was part of the barrel housing as in if you took barrel off it was a continuos single piece, they had a barrel liner
    Custom BSA S10 .22 PAX Phoenix Mk 2 .22 Custom Titan Manitou .22 (JB BP) HW77 .22 FWB Sport Mk1 .22 Sharp Ace .22 Crossman 600 .22 Berretta 92 .20 Desert Eagle .177

  9. #9
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    @ AllanM, I don't know anything about the Innova in that lovely stutzen stock to be honest. Ped on here thinks it might be a Steve Corcoran stock.

    I'm reading some eighties Airgun Worlds and it seems that the Innova's were very popular. Lots of adverts, and also lots of articles about them. People using them for competitions, hunting, tuning, etc.

    I've never had an Ace. For me, it's a bit too big and heavy. I like the Victory. But my favourite is still the Innova. There's something about them.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by louisvanhovell View Post
    AllanM, I don't know anything about the Innova in that lovely stutzen stock to be honest. Ped on here thinks it might be a Steve Corcoran stock.
    Thanks for that Louis -- I've seen a custom stock made by Steve Corcoran and it really was a work of art.

    I'm not really a big fan of the look of the Innova, too utilitarian for my tastes, but it just shows how much a good stock can enhance a rifle.

  11. #11
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    for what little its worth, I remember someone having a barrel adaptor (possibly slip on with a grub screw to hold it ) to allow a silencer to be fitted, and very effective it was too!
    You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned Into
    "Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement" Sir Humphry Appleby

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by kennyc View Post
    for what little its worth, I remember someone having a barrel adaptor (possibly slip on with a grub screw to hold it ) to allow a silencer to be fitted, and very effective it was too!
    Galway wasn’t it?

  13. #13
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    Pretty sure, indeed, that Galway made an Innova silencer and adaptor. I think a few others did too.

    As Louis suggests, they had a burst of popularity in the early 80s.

    Despite the rise over here of German springers, the late 70s saw a small fad for American pumpers, like the Sheridan, Crosman (including the much hyped Whaley/Marshall “customs”) and the Benjamin.

    Compared to them, when introduced in 1979 or 1980, the Innova was short (34”), light (4.5 lbs), and in U.K. form only needed four pumps to make maximum power.

    The US guns were typically a bit longer and heavier (Sheridan/Benjamin 37” and 6lbs) or much flimsier at similar weights to the Innova (Crosman 766/2200 - about 5 lbs). And they all needed 8-10 pumps to approach 12 ft-lbs.

    In those pre-PCP days, a really light, recoilless, accurate, full-power carbine had a lot going for it in many people’s eyes.

    At least one individual used an Innova a bit in early FT. I can’t recall if he developed biceps like Arnie or nearly had a heart attack, or something in between, but he did prove that a 40-shot course of fire and a pumper, even an Innova, were not the best combination.

    If you are of a certain generation (mine) you will always have a soft spot for the Innova, whether you owned one or not, and despite its shortcomings.

  14. #14
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    Air Logic used to make a nice ally foresight assembly with a female 1/2" UNF thread to take their little silencer. Despite its small size it worked well on my old Innova back then.

  15. #15
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    A bit off topic, I hope the op does not mind:

    This link was shared with me by Donovan in New Zealand who has just acquired a Sharp Super Ace.

    Warning, contains hunting photos.

    https://translate.google.com/transla...00265,15700271

    Translated from Japanese.
    There are a few tuners in Japan who do all kinds of mods with Sharp's.
    It is possible to get 26 fpe with 13 pumps, in .22

    @ Geezer, that's very interesting.
    Coincidentally I read a few days ago a report of a FT competition in the eighties where someone won using his Innova. In AGW, will try to find it.

    Lastly, I found out that Sharp is no more. I had previously heard that there was still a factory in Japan, making Ace Hunter's and Innova's for the Japanese market.
    A member on here, who I think is no longer with us, Tantomurata, visited the factory around 2010.
    But the company liquidated in 2015. Probably due to the rise of pcp's.
    However, Sharp's still have a cult status over there.
    An Ace is the gun of a popular comic book's main character.
    Good info on Sharp on this translated Wikipedia page:
    https://translate.google.com/transla...00265,15700271


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