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Thread: BSA 240 Magnum modifications?

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  1. #1
    harvey_s's Avatar
    harvey_s is offline Lost love child of David Niven and Victoria Beckham
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    I had one for many years until redundancy forced me to sell it.
    I loved mine, it was light, compact, pokey and well made.
    I never had any issues with my grip as I think mine may have been a mk.II model (I was asked to sell one for a friend some time ago and his grip was noticeably more uncomfortable than mine ever was...)
    Likewise I had no issues with the breech seal either.
    Accuracy-wise, I could shoot mine as accurately as my HW45 with no-trouble, granted the gun sits somewhat higher in the hand, but this didn't seem to affect my UBC scores at the time.
    The only thing that bothered me slightly (because I was inexperienced back then and didn't know any better) was the fact that the sight rail is quite high above the bore and most optical sights run out of elevation adjustment.
    Personally I think they're far better than they're credited for - the airgun press weren't particulary complementry at the time or since which is ironic when I think about about the money I've wasted over the years on some of the tat which was well recieved....

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by harvey_s View Post
    I had one for many years until redundancy forced me to sell it.
    I loved mine, it was light, compact, pokey and well made.
    I never had any issues with my grip as I think mine may have been a mk.II model (I was asked to sell one for a friend some time ago and his grip was noticeably more uncomfortable than mine ever was...)
    Likewise I had no issues with the breech seal either.
    Accuracy-wise, I could shoot mine as accurately as my HW45 with no-trouble, granted the gun sits somewhat higher in the hand, but this didn't seem to affect my UBC scores at the time.
    The only thing that bothered me slightly (because I was inexperienced back then and didn't know any better) was the fact that the sight rail is quite high above the bore and most optical sights run out of elevation adjustment.
    Personally I think they're far better than they're credited for - the airgun press weren't particulary complementry at the time or since which is ironic when I think about about the money I've wasted over the years on some of the tat which was well recieved....
    I would flip your comments over on their head in my experience. I found the reviews for the pistol quite positive, particularly the AirgunWorld article and 2 other subsiquent articles which followed, incl one guy who had made a stock for his.. The later 2 articles agreed the breech seal was a touch suspect due to the angle of the breech. Often problematic design issue ...sealing on angles but there was big support for the novel arrangements of both the spring damper technology and the on board silencer. I have all the articles here and would be pleased if you could direct me to the negative comments you suggest. Thus my experience was suspect of the articles accuracy. It just is not as accurate as the 45. We had several through the club and all shooters would agree. The shorter sight base, inconsistant sealing, average trigger and difficulty in fitting a sighting system all lead to less performance when compared to the 45.

    As regard the excellent Center, i and a whole raft load of FT guys over on the FT post would disagree with it being nothing less than superb. The sliding breech does not leak but cannot take pointed pellets. However, very few choose pointed for FT or any other form of shooting these days....so not a problem. The sight base at 14 inches pretty much cuts it as being about the optimum before the gun starts to wander about. The underlever seems to kill muzzle flip and consistancy for the leather seal is excellent. The leather also seems unaffected by cold first shots and acts as a very nice damper. The swept volume characteristic against the port length is almot ideally set up too. Dont forget your allowed a 2 handed hold for Sillouette, where i found a gentle hold at the grip with both hands allowed me to trounce even the perfectly set up 45. Some managing to out shoot Original 5 and 6 owners.. It likes RWS Hobby and H&N Hi speed but some will have problems with those barrel in front of cylinder looks......dated is probably a good word!
    Last edited by clarky; 11-04-2013 at 03:40 PM.

  3. #3
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    Any of you lot willing to sell one of your 240's. Not fussed on cal. Ian
    beretta dt10 ,kofs 20b, ESCORT 12g semi-CAMO, 1022 ruger Volquartsen. Cz512 tactical Barton custom. 223 howa 1500 GRS stock

  4. #4
    Tony.T's Avatar
    Tony.T is offline For vicious attack Pasties, 177, 22 or 12bore?
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    Quote Originally Posted by g60bv View Post
    Any of you lot willing to sell one of your 240's. Not fussed on cal. Ian
    And I'd be happy with a Gamo Centre!

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  5. #5
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    Thumbs up

    I have a couple of 240's, One was customised to fit the original owners grip, He put car body filler on the grip and I think, Covered it with cling film, He the gripped it then let it set, He then rubbed it down smooth and painted it black..

    It must have been a really comfy ergonomic hold but alas he was a left hooker and had much less fat digits than me so I had to remove it all and refinish the bit of bland walnut..

    I have a few pieces of much nicer walnut and keep intending to make a new grip but it slips out of my mind like much other stuff these days!!

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  6. #6
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    Thread resurrection

    Just got one of these pistols and am going to have a looksee / play. Not too worried about power, just want it to be easier to cock and accurate. A new spring guide seems a basic starting point, but as it's hard to cock (well, it's not that tough in absolute physical terms, but it's just wrong that it should take that much effort) I'm going to find a more suitable spring first.

    First stage is to play with it as standard and see how it shoots...
    Always looking for any cheap, interesting, knackered "project" guns. Thanks, JB.

  7. #7
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    First impressions.. much better than I expected actually..


    The good: accuracy with hobbies. 5 shots groups ranging from 1/2" - 3/4" at 8 yards, which for a lightweight spring pistol is pretty good IMHO. trigger also quite light and fairly predictable. Weight quite light, so I will probably add some mass to aid stability. A longer barrel would achieve this perfectly, but I doubt the old one will come out easily.

    The bad: not that bad really, but a little too much cocking effort, and definitely too much recoil - it wants to take off sideways and downwards. A loose grip defo needed for accuracy. Needs a softer spring / lighter piston or both.

    The weird: huge amount of sight elevation - presumably due to the downwards recoil which must be moving the muzzle way before pellet exit. Also the grips are just stupidly weird - narrow at the top where your hands are widest


    So it's all about recoil reduction (and some new grips in the future). And maybe adding a little muzzle weight.
    Always looking for any cheap, interesting, knackered "project" guns. Thanks, JB.

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