BSA Meteor and Supersport Questions...

[Gamocfx]

Hi Chaps,

Sorry but it begins. I have several questions regarding the BSA Meteor mainly but also the Supersport. I own both but don't know much about the Supersport, how does it differ mainly from the Meteor design? My Supersport is a carbine and is of noticably better build quality than my Meteors and is probably my favourite rifle in .22 How much would a Supersport carbine be in .177?

For the Meteor is there a tuning kit? Again in .177? Woodfield guns dos not seem to sell one, is it a case of do it yourself?

Thanks for your time guys, I will be back with more questions if I get hold of a MK4 in .177

[lightning22]

From my point of view the Supersport is an enlarged Meteor made from tube rather than the folded and rolled sheet construction of the Meteor.

The SS piston is sealed with a parachute type seal rather than the o-ring of the Meteor.

So, the SS is bigger, better made and arguably better sealed, but close enough in size and design to ensure that the barrel assemblies will swap over.

[Gamocfx]

Thanks for that Lightening, I never realised that the barrels could be swapped over! What happens if one puts a .177 barrel on an action that had a .22 barrel on it? Does the power go up or down? I am attempting to gather .177 rifles in future as I have nearly all .22 at the moment.
I wonder if anyone has ever tried a parachute seal on a meteor? Not for me to try just an idle thought.

[evert]

Thanks for that Lightening, I never realised that the barrels could be swapped over! What happens if one puts a .177 barrel on an action that had a .22 barrel on it? Does the power go up or down? I am attempting to gather .177 rifles in future as I have nearly all .22 at the moment.
I wonder if anyone has ever tried a parachute seal on a meteor? Not for me to try just an idle thought.

Not all meteor and supersport barrels are directly swappable.
If you have an old mk1-4 meteor, the cocking lever is wider than on the mk5-6 meteor and Supersport.

.177 is usually less efficient than .22, unless the .22 has a really short barrel.

Putting a parachyte seal on a meteor is a good idea, you can gain some stroke and get more efficient sealing.
But it requires a new piston front, which has to be made on a lathe.

[Gamocfx]

Thanks Evert, maybe the piston seal conversion is way beyond my skills but a barrel should be manageable. Just to confirm the MK4 will not fit? I am sure that I read somewhere that a pellet is slowing down before it leaves the barrel even? As there is no propellant expanding behind the projectile the barrel length only really affects accuracy?
I could well be wrong but I am sure its in print somewhere. As you can gues where this is going I wanted to create a .177 Meteor carbine.

One last question (for now) has anyone ever stripped the paint off of a Meteor and blued the action?

What cbrand of cold blue is best to use (ie easiest and most effective?)

Sorry that was two questions.

[evert]

The barrel from a Supersport will not fit the mk1-2-3-4 meteors, as the cocking linkage on those
meteors is wider than the later articulated linkage on the Supersport and mk5-6 meteors.

I'd recommend to not use cold blue on anything, as it smells bad and does not stand well up to wear.

[evert]

But the UK is full of old meteors, why not just chop down a barrel and make your own carbine?

[lightning22]

Thanks Evert, maybe the piston seal conversion is way beyond my skills but a barrel should be manageable. Just to confirm the MK4 will not fit? I am sure that I read somewhere that a pellet is slowing down before it leaves the barrel even? As there is no propellant expanding behind the projectile the barrel length only really affects accuracy?
I could well be wrong but I am sure its in print somewhere. As you can gues where this is going I wanted to create a .177 Meteor carbine.

One last question (for now) has anyone ever stripped the paint off of a Meteor and blued the action?

What cbrand of cold blue is best to use (ie easiest and most effective?)

Sorry that was two questions.

Evert is of course right ref the cocking link, though I’m pretty sure they can be made to fit in needed with some work and a big hammer/grinder.. ;-)

There is a reason the rifles are painted, the metal isn’t particularly well finished and it isn’t a five minute job to make it presentable, though it’s far from impossible.

I’m not a fan of cold bluing either, far better and probably cheaper to rust blue.

[Gamocfx]

Hi Evert,

thanks again. Yes my cunning plan was to get hold of a MK4 and bling her up by getting a RFD/Engineer to cut the barrel down and then thread it for a bean can type silencer. I had read somewhere about people shedding the paint and bluing them but given the smell(?) I may just refinish it black. A stock finishing kit to make it look nice as well as a polish and new spring.... I have a MK4 .22 assembled from bits (thank you gggr) so wanted the full set to put in a rack. Cannot explain why.

Lightening, thanks for your input, you maybe right about the finish but whats rust blue? Is that the brown finish?

I have put a wanted ad on here but no response so far.

[lightning22]

Rust bluing is a traditional process for bluing steel and it results in a hardwearing satin/Matt blue finish. There’s a few threads on it here and loads of videos on YouTube etc.

Long story short, you allow the metal to rust lightly, then boil the component and give a light scrub with de-oiled fine wire wool and then repeat the process. After 3-4 cycles the finish starts to come together, keep going until the rust doesn’t form and then oil.

[lightning22]

If the link works there should be a pic of a 77k that I rust blued

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i4X...w?usp=drivesdk

[deejayuu]

Here's a Mk1 rust blue

[Gamocfx]

Bloody hell Lightening good skills there that looks like new!!

[lightning22]

Bloody hell Lightening good skills there that looks like new!!

Thank you, but if I can do it, anyone can. The finish is different to factory. I’ve since had that one redone by Paul Chell.

This is what it looks like now..

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18-p...w?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mo1...w?usp=drivesdk

[Gamocfx]

My days that is stunning! The finnish on that rifle-I am speachless. Your setting the benchmark pretty high there, a fantastic level for mprtals to aim for. Is all your collection like that?

I have internet access at work- the long hours suddenly have something to be filled with now.