BSA Scorpion or HW 45 ?

[Geezer]

We sure there's no rose tinted specs going on in this thread? I had a Scorpion back in the day in was very heavy, hard to cock, ugly and I couldn't hit anything with it.

That basically what I thought back in the day. Then I got one recently, and concluded it was not really too heavy, not too hard to cock, distinctively styled (er....), and very accurate.

[throdgrain]

That basically what I thought back in the day. Then I got one recently, and concluded it was not really too heavy, not too hard to cock, distinctively styled (er....), and very accurate.

Each to their own mate, reckon I'll stick with my HW45 though

[clarky]

Each to their own mate, reckon I'll stick with my HW45 though

It is a bit old fashioned i guess....all 70s pistol designs of barrel infront of the cylinder were never going to be very compact and one would have imagined the design to have long since evolved and gone by say the early 90s but they are accurate and nice to shoot.
The Scorpion is potentially very very accurate.

[lightning22]

It is a bit old fashioned i guess....all 70s pistol designs of barrel infront of the cylinder were never going to be very compact and one would have imagined the design to have long since evolved and gone by say the early 90s but they are accurate and nice to shoot.
The Scorpion is potentially very very accurate.

The Scorpion is the one pistol I have kept as can actually hit stuff with it. My .177 Mk2 has been reblued by Colin Molloy and sports a Venom Slimtech which doubles as a very useful cocking aid.

[Geezer]

Just to confuse this, if you can give up a little bit of power in exchange for cocking ease, pleasure of shooting, and milder shot cycle, then you should be looking at the good old Original/Diana model 5.

[clarky]

Just to confuse this, if you can give up a little bit of power in exchange for cocking ease, pleasure of shooting, and milder shot cycle, then you should be looking at the good old Original/Diana model 5.

The Original/RWS 5 has excellent compression/ stroke/ transfer port ratio....far and away better than the 45 and has the potential to put pellet ontop of pellet for about 3.8 ftlbs or so.

[Geezer]

The Original/RWS 5 has excellent compression/ stroke/ transfer port ratio....far and away better than the 45 and has the potential to put pellet ontop of pellet for about 3.8 ftlbs or so.

Yup. There are only 3 airguns that I own 3 of. 25mm HW77s, and Diana 5s (one wood, one grey plastic, one 5G). And two 6Gs (one in bits) and two 6Ms. The LP5 is a very fine pistol.

[Bumpsfelt]

... well the HW45 is the Black Star Version.

Both .177 and I think each great in own way.

The HW45 is beautifully engineered, a pig to master but rewarding when you start getting accurate with it. I have put many many tins of pellets through it and it still diesels like crazy and a couple of times it actually detonated with visible flame and frightened the hell out of me.

I never really fancied the Scorpion - far too huge. However the shop selling it really did not know what it was, the price was stupidly cheap, it was boxed with all the bits and the condition was 90%. I was astounded at how easy it was to shoot (shoot ... not cock!) and very accurate. I actually put a 2x scope on it for fun and it worked very well although I have reverted to open sights. I am very pleased that I bought it.

I also have a mint .177 Hurricane which also provides great pleasure and probably more civilised than the other two although lacks the accuracy.

I was never wild about pistols but now have 8 and think that I get more fun out of shooting them. They are great on the range and much more sensible in my garden.

[throdgrain]

... well the HW45 is the Black Star Version.

Both .177 and I think each great in own way.

The HW45 is beautifully engineered, a pig to master but rewarding when you start getting accurate with it. I have put many many tins of pellets through it and it still diesels like crazy and a couple of times it actually detonated with visible flame and frightened the hell out of me.

I had read about this and expected it to happen, but after only one tin of pellets mine seems fine - weird!

[clarky]

... well the HW45 is the Black Star Version.

Both .177 and I think each great in own way.

The HW45 is beautifully engineered, a pig to master but rewarding when you start getting accurate with it. I have put many many tins of pellets through it and it still diesels like crazy and a couple of times it actually detonated with visible flame and frightened the hell out of me.

I never really fancied the Scorpion - far too huge. However the shop selling it really did not know what it was, the price was stupidly cheap, it was boxed with all the bits and the condition was 90%. I was astounded at how easy it was to shoot (shoot ... not cock!) and very accurate. I actually put a 2x scope on it for fun and it worked very well although I have reverted to open sights. I am very pleased that I bought it.

I also have a mint .177 Hurricane which also provides great pleasure and probably more civilised than the other two although lacks the accuracy.

I was never wild about pistols but now have 8 and think that I get more fun out of shooting them. They are great on the range and much more sensible in my garden.

The flash over of the Hw45 is very common, with even the slightest trace of lube.
With an inefficient transfer port they had to pack out the power plant compression to a point flash over is achieved very easily.
All the other pistols mentioned with much more efficient transfer ports could afford milder compressions for similar power but remain under the flash over phaze.
Scorpions are actually nicely balanced pieces of kit.....just big.

[ETCHY]

Hello all

Great response to this thread being resurrected, all the input has really helped. I think I now want both, but the Scorpion will be first .

I've now put a WTB for a Scorpion in the Collectable airguns section

Cheers

Dave

[piggy589]

I've just used my old BSA to rough up the broad side of a barn door and a twenty five litre drum.

No reflection on the gun's accuracy,just the shooter .

[tikkapaul]

When the Scorpion pistol first came out and me loving all things BSA I , bought one I recall somewhere around £89 pounds , after a good few years of ratting and the odd rabbit and squirrel , I took it to Scotland to use with my two young nephews who had so much fun with it that I decided to leave it there with them and I got to use it again on my many trips north.
As the years went by I missed it ,on many occasions it would have been to tool to go to for dispatching the odd rat etc, so when seeing one for sale in my local gun shop at a very good price I purchased it .
Then Scotland decided to implement a licence for air weapons and my nephews are now married with sons of their own who do not shoot yet ,so it was decided that the pistol should come home south of the border until they are old enough to shoot .
So now I have two and am having lots of fun with both, accurate and powerful enough for dispatching cage caught vermin, they are easy to cock and have a very good safety button, brilliant piece of kit.

[les allam]

I have both, but much prefer the Scorpion , I find the Hw to be more hold sensitive and I am in smug mode when I get it right, but the Scorpion always puts a smile on my face. I had U.K Neil make me a brass cocking aid to replace the plastic one and it feels better balanced for me.
Les..

[ETCHY]

When the Scorpion pistol first came out and me loving all things BSA I , bought one I recall somewhere around £89 pounds , after a good few years of ratting and the odd rabbit and squirrel , I took it to Scotland to use with my two young nephews who had so much fun with it that I decided to leave it there with them and I got to use it again on my many trips north.
As the years went by I missed it ,on many occasions it would have been to tool to go to for dispatching the odd rat etc, so when seeing one for sale in my local gun shop at a very good price I purchased it .
Then Scotland decided to implement a licence for air weapons and my nephews are now married with sons of their own who do not shoot yet ,so it was decided that the pistol should come home south of the border until they are old enough to shoot .
So now I have two and am having lots of fun with both, accurate and powerful enough for dispatching cage caught vermin, they are easy to cock and have a very good safety button, brilliant piece of kit.

You have two Scorpions , I am a jealous man

Dave