Best air rifle back in 1950'/60's ?

[HW777]

Two answers: I shot these two and if I had one I wouldn’t give up it’s the Webley MK3!

In the US I would have to say the Crosman 160 with a Williams aperture is one of the best airguns of the era in question.
CO2 means no recoil or cocking, don’t underestimate this rifle. Here it is scoped. This example is from the 1950’s. I believe during its heyday these couldn’t be imported into the UK.

Co2 was restricted in the UK to FAC only, I can't remember when that was lifted ?

The Webley Mk3 is a well made rifle, then W&S went off in a strange direction with plinking rifles rather than high power models

[Geezer]

The Webley Mk3 is a well made rifle, then W&S went off in a strange direction with plinking rifles rather than high power models

Do you mean the Jaguar/Junior/Rangers from the 1950s onward?

Because they kept making the Mk3 until the 70s, made the 8-9 ft-lbs Falcon in the 60s, and replaced the Mk3 with the Mk3-level power Osprey and Hawk, and not long after the Vulcan/Viscount/Tracker which were proper 10-14 ft-lbs rifles.

[Powderfinger]

CO2 guns were on FAC from 1968 to 1997 IIRC.

[Lakey]

CO2 guns were on FAC from 1968 to 1997 IIRC.

I never did understand the point of that law. I dont think it made Britain a safer place. Can anyone shed any light ?

[Benelli B76]

The CO2 restriction came about mainly by the newspapers causing fear with the public as usual, my old shooting buddy was one of the first to hold a licence for a Crosman 600.
I was a regular weekly shooter/ hunter in the early 1960's and we never heard of Weihrauchs in those days. The most common rifles were BSA, (mostly prewar) and a plethora of great Dianas. Great days when you could walk around with an uncovered air rifle, .410 or 12 bore.

Baz
[IMG][/IMG]

[HW777]

HW35.

And no that's not because I'm a Weihrauch fanboy --- it's based on the HW35's Rekord trigger, sights, accuracy, build quality, ease of maintainance and potential power output.

It's no surprise that the HW35 is still on production after 71 years --- a good design is always a good design.



All the best Mick

That is some testament to a rifle Mick.

The Hw35 that has even been speculated to have been on the drawing board before the second world war.

Details are somewhat vague as to when Weihrauch's did start appearing in the UK and as some of us know, even when they did they got called Werehawks

If by some quantum leap I found myself back in the 1950's.

The first thing would be, a real pint of Ale, second, fish n chips wrapped in newspaper and then a trip to Germany to see what our Germanic cousins would let this old boy take back to blighty.

A Hw50, Falke 80 if I could find one and the third rifle, I don't really have to say it do I ?


All the best

John

[AC99]

From the mid-50's to mid-60's I owned a Cadet Major, Webley mk3 and Airsporter mk1, in that order and my mate next door had a Meteor mk1. All these satisfied the criteria in the original post for vermin control, informal target shooting and back garden plinking.

Back then in rural Essex we had never seen, let alone shot, any 'foreign' airguns including the HW35 but I am sure if I had been aware of its positive attributes - Rekord trigger etc - I may well have been tempted to buy one.

[Faerie]

I never did understand the point of that law. I dont think it made Britain a safer place. Can anyone shed any light ?

I suspect that it may have been due to the 6ft/lbs limit on air pistols & that a CO2 pistol could easily be made to exceed that.
Thirty-odd years ago, someone I worked with asked me to take a look at a pistol he had because it wasn't working properly, which turned out to be a Crossman .22 CO2 pistol. I can't remember the model number, but it had a 10 shot (if memory serves) tube magazine above the barrel.
Anyway, I found & fixed the problem, and out of curiosity I put it through my chronograph, discovering that with Eley Wasps it was turning out over 10ft/lbs ! Not only that, but I also found that a simple adjustment could make it fully automatic, though it would use a whole CO2 bulb for the 10 shots in the magazine.
Before I tested the pistol I'd been somewhat dubious about the owner's claim that he used it to kill rabbits in his vegetable patch, but clearly the gun had the power to do that.

[Benelli B76]

I suspect that it may have been due to the 6ft/lbs limit on air pistols & that a CO2 pistol could easily be made to exceed that.
Thirty-odd years ago, someone I worked with asked me to take a look at a pistol he had because it wasn't working properly, which turned out to be a Crossman .22 CO2 pistol. I can't remember the model number, but it had a 10 shot (if memory serves) tube magazine above the barrel.
Anyway, I found & fixed the problem, and out of curiosity I put it through my chronograph, discovering that with Eley Wasps it was turning out over 10ft/lbs ! Not only that, but I also found that a simple adjustment could make it fully automatic, though it would use a whole CO2 bulb for the 10 shots in the magazine.
Before I tested the pistol I'd been somewhat dubious about the owner's claim that he used it to kill rabbits in his vegetable patch, but clearly the gun had the power to do that.

Never heard of a 6ft limit on air pistols in those days nor a 12 ft lb limit on air rifles either. In the USA, some kids got the Crosman 600 a bad reputation due to its 10 shot semi auto capability. I distinctly remember a newspaper article in UK running on how deadly these pistols could be. Typical hype to wind up the anti gun population. I was a teenager at the time living in Luton, had an old boy mate who had loads of firearms including a double barrel .410 pistol. He quickly got a licence for a Crosman 600. I remember he used to fill the pellets with Polyfilla to add weight for some reason.

Baz

[Powderfinger]

Potential for rapid fire might have been reason for CO2 needing FAC, speculated John Walter in his Airgun Book. Power limits also came in with 1968 Act.

[Papa g]

The CO2 restriction came about mainly by the newspapers causing fear with the public as usual, my old shooting buddy was one of the first to hold a licence for a Crosman 600.
I was a regular weekly shooter/ hunter in the early 1960's and we never heard of Weihrauchs in those days. The most common rifles were BSA, (mostly prewar) and a plethora of great Dianas. Great days when you could walk around with an uncovered air rifle, .410 or 12 bore.

Baz
[IMG][/IMG]

Love that picture:- man gun & ferret! Cracking!
Regards Graham

[Geezer]

The Hw35 that has even been speculated to have been on the drawing board before the second world war.

I’m a little sceptical about that. HW only got into the airgun business in the 1950s. Pre-war they made rimfire, shotguns, bicycles, but no airguns.

[crowbar]

I was told FR.WILH.HEYM. made the first air rifles in the early 50's for H.W. and they were smooth bore due to restrictions
on rifled barrel manufacture.

[HW777]

I’m a little sceptical about that. HW only got into the airgun business in the 1950s. Pre-war they made rimfire, shotguns, bicycles, but no airguns.

Weihrauch were about to expand if what I've read has any foundation to it ? There were draws and a obscure one off air pistol found after the war but we can only rely on what is reported.

I doubt Hw just cobbled together the idea for the Hw50, Hw35 and Hw55 more like they fell back on what was previously in the pipe line or had ideas to make.

What they were allowed to make after the war resulted in early Hw50's with smooth bores because of restrictions.

The metal from ordnance was used to make their rifles, I wonder if that's why my Mk1 77's feel like a tank

[T 20]

I’m a little sceptical about that. HW only got into the airgun business in the 1950s. Pre-war they made rimfire, shotguns, bicycles, but no airguns.

Apparently they made some airguns before WW2 --- a pre WW2 HWZ ten shot repeating pistol is apparently in the Beeman collection.




All the best Mick