Why was the Webley Viscount such a flop?

[MDriskill]

These were effectively long-barrelled Trackers, but while the Tracker sold in the tens of thousands I think the Viscount had a rather disappointing couple of years (?) before it was discontinued.

Did fashion at the time favour a short barrel? Did the Viscount have a place?

The rarity of them might suggest that the value among collectors would be quite healthy, but whenever one does turn up no one seems interested in it!

It's probably one of the most least-recognised Webley's ever made. I'd be interested to hear the BBS collector's opinions on them?

Cheers
Greg

That’s a really excellent question! The Viscount had to be one of the best-looking air rifles of all time...lovely lines, nice stock detailing, fantastic fit and finish on the metal bits, great size and balance. Also rather quieter to shoot that the Tracker thanks to the longer barrel, all in all one of my favorite modern Webleys. I owned a walnut-stocked one briefly and it is amongst the rifles I most regret selling!

Note that the “Viscount” name died before the long barrel did, however. I’ve seen several guns labeled “Tracker” with the long barrel at gun shows here in the US. No doubt the carbine was much more popular, yet there may be more examples of the long-barreled version of that action out there than you think.