Bsa Buccaneer Springer Relube ?

[silva]

Just bought an old .22 Bsa Buccaneer that requires a fettle as it seems a little dry. It was covered in dust, decades of crud and surface rust from being stashed in a shed, but no damage as such - seems tight and hardly used.

Any advice on how to go about a proper relube would be appreciated.

I was going to change the O ring and buffer washer - has anyone got experience of TR Robbs adjustable one - is it worth while ?
Its hard to guage the condition of the spring as the cocking effort is minimal with the long barrel - what springs have people tried in these. How long and how many coils, I wonder.

Haven't shot it much as want to service it first - but first impressions are of 70's kitsch - a cool looking - super handy fun rifle with a nice trigger ! Especially with the peep sight (which was missing, but fortunately had one stashed I had bought for a Meteor)

I bet if Bsa had used the same semi bull pup formula with a full length tube going back towards the butt and the thumbhole stock it would have been a good seller.

Many Thanks

[oliver13]

I've never had one, but it's based on the BSA Scorpion, & I've had a couple of those. Don't go looking for major power as it's just a big pistol at the end of the day - & don't dismantle the trigger unless you have to, trust me on that - it's complicated.
I can't see anything wrong with a piston upgrade as such, it can't make it worse but the original piston head is held in with a split ring down in the depths of the piston which is a bit of an art to take on & off. Was it GGGR or Garvin who suggested replacing it with a star washer - thanks for that lads.
Just relube it with the standard mix of Moly & grease behind the piston, & nothing in front.
I think the Scorpion I've got at the moment has a cut down Lightning or Airsporter spring in it, sorry but I forget.

[Benelli B76]

I do a lot of these BSA pistons, in fact done one this morning. To remove the old tiny locking ring I tap the piston head from behind from inside the piston with a long punch and the locking ring jumps off freeing the piston head. If you have a nylon piston head make sure it has not absorbed moisture and increased in diameter to make it too tight in the tube. If so you will have to take down the diameter a little. If it is metal you will have no problem. I replace the locking ring with an E clip but you can get a star washer from Chambers or a hardware shop. I use my own O rings as they are cheap in bulk, a few pence and you can use a standard available rubber tap washer for the buffer. As mentioned above these little rifles are basically an overgrown Scorpion and put out about 5 to 6 ft lb which is not bad. I have been using Red Rubber grease for piston and spring lube lately as it doesn't fly off the spring and also is good for rubber and synthetics.

Baz

[silva]

Hi Oliver and Benelli,

Thank you for useful info. I'm mostly used to servicing pre war underlever's - so only posess Bisley grease and Neats foot oil....should I buy some dri slide or similar for cylinder walls. A well wisher recently gave me a bottle of Archoil AR4200 CLP firearms oil - would that be suitable for cylinder and chamber lubrication - or should it be left dry ?

Cheers

[Benelli B76]

Hi Oliver and Benelli,

Thank you for useful info. I'm mostly used to servicing pre war underlever's - so only posess Bisley grease and Neats foot oil....should I buy some dri slide or similar for cylinder walls. A well wisher recently gave me a bottle of Archoil AR4200 CLP firearms oil - would that be suitable for cylinder and chamber lubrication - or should it be left dry ?

Cheers

Stick all of that stuff in the back of your cupboard. I do not put any oil in the compression cylinder as it will end up dieseling and cause erratic shooting. You do not need to lube the cylinder as grease will transfer on to it from the piston and spring. Nearly every rifle I get in is either totally bone dry or swimming in too much lubricant.

Baz

[mrto]

On BSA's with "O" ring piston seals when I reassemble I place ONE SMALL drop of SM50 on my index finger and slide the Oring between index finger and thumb.I then slip the O ring onto the piston head and again place ONE SMALL drop of SM50
on the O ring at any point around its circumference.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Abbey-SM50-.../dp/B00AZYT70A

I also lube sparingly with a sticky moly the bearing surfaces of the piston and once reinserted into the cylinder and fully home against the transfer port I will burnish the rear of the cylinder where it contacts the piston skirt,again with moly.

Like this I have never experienced dieseling with an O ring piston head and seal and know that all surfaces are lubed.

ATB.

[silva]

Thank you to everyone who posted - that's cleared up the cylinder lubrication mystery ! Just waiting to obtain some copper wool (pan scourer ??) to clean up the metal work without removing the blue, then I will strip it down and lube it.

Really looking forward to getting it on a target with the peep sights. I once had a Webley MK3 with a PH16H on and accuracy was a revelation after blade sights.

[Benelli B76]

You can use steel wool with light oil to remove rust, it will not damage the blueing if done properly. I have a huge library of renovation jobs I have one over the years, from light rust to heavy rust cleanups. A lot of the time I do not even need to reblue, the finish looks fine. If I need to blue I use a quick cold blue paste.

Baz

[silva]

You can use steel wool with light oil to remove rust, it will not damage the blueing if done properly. I have a huge library of renovation jobs I have one over the years, from light rust to heavy rust cleanups. A lot of the time I do not even need to reblue, the finish looks fine. If I need to blue I use a quick cold blue paste.

Baz

Ha they look great. I have done a lot of rusty airguns over the years and find that if they have the recent neglect type of heavy rusting - but with quite a bit of blue remaining - I like to heavily oil the effected area with a light oil - then rub hard over the rust spots with a copper coin - then finish off with copper wool or a plastic pan scourer. Some people go over the rust spots with a tiny brass brush on a dremel with good results too.

[Benelli B76]

Ha they look great. I have done a lot of rusty airguns over the years and find that if they have the recent neglect type of heavy rusting - but with quite a bit of blue remaining - I like to heavily oil the effected area with a light oil - then rub hard over the rust spots with a copper coin - then finish off with copper wool or a plastic pan scourer. Some people go over the rust spots with a tiny brass brush on a dremel with good results too.

Sounds like a lot of unnecessary time and hard work. I have been using steel wool and oil for 50 years with excellent results, very quick to remove rust and no damage to original blue. Those little brass brushes have little effect on rust in my experience. I have 3 dremel machines and loads of steel and brass brushes which I mainly only use on renovating vintage pen knives because you can get into the grip areas.
Baz