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Thread: Smk 19

  1. #106
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Callow End
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    Quote Originally Posted by ashf9999 View Post
    Will be interesting to see what it's like, but may be a few days before I get round to it.
    Sat here with a coffee, waiting...

    Bru
    Webley Mk3 x2, Falcon & Junior rifles, HW35x2, AirSporter x2, Gold Star, Meteors x2, Diana 25. SMK B19, Webley Senior, Premier, Hurricane x 2, Tempest, Dan Wesson 8", Crosman 3576, Legends PO8.

  2. #107
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Callow End
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    1,616
    Quote Originally Posted by laverdabru View Post
    Sat here with a coffee, waiting...

    Bru
    Well, it arrived, tracked delivery to my door - quite strange seeing a little car heading up the map on the laptop..

    Unusually for a male, the first thing I did was look at the manual. It definitely says SMK B19 on the cover, but I have so far been unable to find the 'fiber optic sights', 'attractive thumbhole stock', 'silencer situated at the front of the barrel' or 'safety catch located in the back of the cylinder'. Also, IN CAPITAL LETTERS are instructions on how to de cock it...which as it has 'an internal auto safety feature to prevent the piston from releasing when the barrel is open for loading' seems strange...I am being tongue in cheek, but in these litigious times you would think SMK would make sure the manual was accurate.

    To the gun. The stock is a pale & uninteresting looking item, ending in a hard butt pad, but even at the full RRP I don't think there will be much in the price range that's any better, Where, for me it scores, is the handling. For me it's perfect. Shouldered it a few times, with open sights it lined up with my eyeline every time. Also the balance point was just right for me.

    The metalwork is blued OK, but you can see underneath a few machining marks, especially on the barrel.

    I've put less than a dozen shots through it. Cocking is a bit graunchy, but I'll give it a few hundred shots before I decide to do anything. Triggers OK, am not a big fan of the in guard safety.
    Well, that's my first impressions. Certainly pleased for £60 + delivery. Closest comparison in feel would be my 2013 Meteor. Be interesting to shoot them back to back.

    Bru
    Webley Mk3 x2, Falcon & Junior rifles, HW35x2, AirSporter x2, Gold Star, Meteors x2, Diana 25. SMK B19, Webley Senior, Premier, Hurricane x 2, Tempest, Dan Wesson 8", Crosman 3576, Legends PO8.

  3. #108
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Cheltenham
    Posts
    2,464
    Exactly - in my case very reminiscent of my Meteor Evo, and given the trigger I guess it's a Chinese take on a historical Gamo pattern.

    Comparing my Evo side by side with it you can spot similarities for sure. Trigger, linkage, AB mechanism. That said, the Evo is about 300g lighter, but also handles far nicer. Not a huge surprise I guess.

    I won't go into things too much, as there are enough reviews out there on this SMK gun.

    I agree with the comments that cheap Chinese guns do seem to have moved on in recent years. Certainly the finish is vastly improved compared to my DB-something underlever I purchased about 15-18 years back. I'd go as far as saying the cylinder (externally, and limited to what you can see with the stock on) is as good as any mid-priced European gun. Blueing is rich, deep and even, and machining appears to be on-par. Scope grooves are even length and in the right place - better than on an early Turkish Webley Valuemax I have. Blueing on the barrel is not as good- that leaves a lot of rusty marks on the kitchen towel after oiling, and it took 10 pull-throughs prior to shooting. With the plastic muzzle/foresight, you don't get a good look at the crown. Barrel looks straight and the rifling evenly cut, even if the twist rate may be a bit tight. Open sights are 'functional'.

    As mentioned above, stock colour is odd. There is no filler (great), but the colour is like what you'd expect if you clear-varnished a bit of beech, then left it in the smoking room of an Edwardian gentlemans' club for a few months. Slightly uneven yellow-brown tobacco staining.

    I thought on first cocking it was possibly a little graunchy, but on firing about 100 shots I'd say not. Cocking is smoothish, and the firing cycle actually quite nice. I've not adjusted the trigger, but in the manual they say they set it on the heavy side. Obviously I've not pulled it apart to relube yet, but I think it's possibly 'ok' at the moment. Wonder if that's sorted in the UK by SMK or in China?

    I've not checked accuracy or velocity yet, though the way pellets have deformed hitting a backstop I'd say the power is where it should be. I thought new-style Wasps to be an appropriate-cost pellet for this gun, but as said, haven't tested accuracy/consistency yet.

    Yes you could spend £60 on a WW kit and another £30 or so on a better trigger, and on a £60 quid gun it may be worth it and would make a nice budget gun. However at full price that would then start getting close to budget European springers, like the Meteor Evo (though the factory spec Evo can of course also be improved upon). However the Evo has a far nicer barrel and stock (and balance).

    To summarise, do I have any regrets spending £60 on this gun (plus delivery). No, I don't.

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