In praise of Webley air pistols

[Abasmajor]

Just to back up my earlier defence, I've put in a link to a pic of two targets. Both shot at 20, yes 20 yards. One with a late 1940's Webley Mk1, and one with a bona fide 10m match pistol, in this case a Fwb Mod 80. Both pistols were shot "officers at revolver practice" style, one handed, with the other on the hip. The scores on the doors are Webley 80/0 ex 100, Feinwerkbau, 91/1 ex 100. I'd say the Webley didn't doo too bad.
On both targets there are 2 shots outside the main group. With the Fwb this is definately down to me. If the same is true of the Webley card you could increase the score by at least 4 points.
I will admit that I took two strings of ten to sort out a point of aim with the Webley as originally it was putting it's shots low, but once that was sorted I managed to surprise myself with how well it shot.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...psbb21a439.jpg

Hello Harry,

The attached link is to a typical group I can usually fairly easily achieve with my .22 calibre B Series Premier on the standard NSRA 10 metre target using a single handed unsupported stance. I have shot the pistol at 20 yds but found the groups open up too much to be acceptable at that distance.

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/...psc7b82c7c.jpg


Regards

Brian

[harry mac]

That's excellent shooting Brian, especially for a Webley at 10m. On a 10m target I do well to keep all my shots within th 8 ring these days, even with the Fwb 80. Your target shows a good 9 ring sized group. I'm impressed.

[Abasmajor]

That's excellent shooting Brian, especially for a Webley at 10m. On a 10m target I do well to keep all my shots within th 8 ring these days, even with the Fwb 80. Your target shows a good 9 ring sized group. I'm impressed.

Hello Harry,

I can usually compete fairly well against the PCPs at 10 metres but as I say when it comes to anything much further it becomes a lot more difficult. Having said that these pistols were never meant to shoot much beyond 10 yds with Webley themselves claiming 1" groups for all but the Junior at that range. Although the other precision techniques are obviously very important, I have found the single most vital contribution to accuracy with these pistols is "follow through" which strangely enough is probably the easiest to master.

Regards

Brian

[ggggr]

'... got into Webley pistols ...'

I'd rather watch cricket.

I once nipped my leg while cocking a long barreled (?) Wobbly pistol.



Lets us stand, back-to-back, and defend ourselves from the rose tinted, 'Ah....... but its a Webley' brigade.

Ive owned a couple but soon got rid of them for something better - which wasn't difficult.

ATB
Ian

Does not like Relums,Webleys or cricket
I can see a "wicker man" made from discarded B2 stocks being constructed in the near future
Unless someone has a better suggestion?

[mickson]

Does not like Relums,Webleys or cricket
I can see a "wicker man" made from discarded B2 stocks being constructed in the near future
Unless someone has a better suggestion?

Surely he can't be all bad if he doesn't like "wobbly Webleys" which are surely an invention of a plumber on a bad day, ...mike...

[I. J.]

Surely he can't be all bad if he doesn't like "wobbly Webleys" which are surely an invention of a plumber on a bad day, ...mike...

Classic! I'll nick that if I may.

ATB
Ian

[Rob M]

While researching for the article I've written about Hy-Score air pistols, I found that for research purposes, the designer of the Hy-Score bought a a Diana break-barrel, a Haenel that was cocked by pushing the grip towards the back of the pistol, an Em-Ge Zenit overlever, and finally a Webley Senior. The Webley was his favourite of the lot.

The Webley overlever is a classic, there are no two ways about it. It's compact, simple, reasonably safe and if looked after will last a lifetime, and was part of our heritage for getting on for seventy years. You can scoff, if you don't like it, it's your choice, and your bad taste, but you can't change the fact that hundreds of thousands of them were manufactured and the vast majority have been loved by many airgunners.

[Abasmajor]

While researching for the article I've written about Hy-Score air pistols, I found that for research purposes, the designer of the Hy-Score bought a a Diana break-barrel, a Haenel that was cocked by pushing the grip towards the back of the pistol, an Em-Ge Zenit overlever, and finally a Webley Senior. The Webley was his favourite of the lot.

The Webley overlever is a classic, there are no two ways about it. It's compact, simple, reasonably safe and if looked after will last a lifetime, and was part of our heritage for getting on for seventy years. You can scoff, if you don't like it, it's your choice, and your bad taste, but you can't change the fact that hundreds of thousands of them were manufactured and the vast majority have been loved by many airgunners.

Definitely agree with all of the above sentiments. The Webley air pistol is compact, manufactured to firearm standards and an iconic part of our airgun past. You also experience a satisfying recoil sensation when the trigger is released instead of the dead nothingness you get when you shoot a pre-charged air pistol. Finally, if you follow the normal precision shooting techniques especially "follow through" you may be surprised with the accuracy these pistols can produce.

Regards

Brian

[trevor1]

Rob,I love my pre-war Webleys,I truely do.But if I could fit them all out with .177 barrels I'd be happy. The firm eventually strengthened their .22 barrels-but not quickly enough. Design-wise,the J/F/C idea was grand.They came up with the "RR"of airpistols! As far as I can ascertain,Webley pistols are more envied than mocked.Not withstanding the fact the MkI pistol is as difficult to cock as the Senior,Junior and Premier are easy!Regards,Trev

[Abasmajor]

Rob,I love my pre-war Webleys,I truely do.But if I could fit them all out with .177 barrels I'd be happy. The firm eventually strengthened their .22 barrels-but not quickly enough. Design-wise,the J/F/C idea was grand.They came up with the "RR"of airpistols! As far as I can ascertain,Webley pistols are more envied than mocked.Not withstanding the fact the MkI pistol is as difficult to cock as the Senior,Junior and Premier are easy!Regards,Trev

Hi Trev,

Isn't that yet another advantage of owning Webley air pistols in that you can easily interchange .177 & .22 barrels ?

Regards

Brian