In praise of the BSA Supersport custom.

[look no hands]

Hi all,

Well I bought myself another Supersport SS Custom last week, now I have to say it's a real shame BSA didn't keep this model as their standard offering, they really are a nice rifle and a big improvement over the standard model, if BSA had of improved on the customs features then I recon they would have evolved into a well respected rifle, instead of the awful things they produce now, I'm not even going to say anything about them being able to compete with HW as even I know they would have to up their game a hell of a lot to even come close to HW quality, now luckily for me the secondhand prices of these rifles haven't gone mental just yet and they can be picked for nearly half the price of a HW95.

The two I have are just fitted with better spring guides and they are a pleasure to shoot, I really can't fault them for a sub £150 rifle, I know a lot of people will shun them and I can understand why when there are rifles like the HW99 snapping at its heels for not much more secondhand but with the prices of new and secondhand rifles going through the roof, it's nice to pick up a pretty good rifle for sensible money, so if you are fortunate enough to be able to pick one up at a good price then please do, you just might be surprised with what BSA did in the past with a humble little rifle.

[tinbum]

I love them! A proper British springer that should have been continued for much longer

[ken69]

The rifle I most regret selling

[mattyw1987]

Glad your happy with it bud and yes really is a shame what happened with bsa and even more so to me webley.

[look no hands]

Glad your happy with it bud and yes really is a shame what happened with bsa and even more so to me webley.

Yes, Webley had some excellent rifles before their demise, unfortunately their rifles have also become very collectable and prices are daft now, especially for Longbows.

[mattyw1987]

Yes, Webley had some excellent rifles before their demise, unfortunately their rifles have also become very collectable and prices are daft now, especially for Longbows.

True, I really messed up letting a couple of webleyes go, I got a mint .177 tomahawk ss with walnut stock for £100 still had tag on trigger guard about 7 year ago but swapped it and had a mint longbow I should of kept too but it won't be the last time I do it lol.

[rapidresponse1]

ive let a few good webleys go over the years

[maximus]

I agree, lots of nice features on the Supersport custom, I was tempted by the one you bought but you were in like Flint and now have two, greedy chops!!😀

[evert]

I've never seen or owned a Custom version of either the Supersport or the Lightning, so may be going out on a limb here...
But there's really not any large difference between the Customs and the normal guns except from cosmetics and the pivot bolt.

What that means to me is that the normal guns can be just as good, which is my experience with good examples of the Supersport family.
However, they need to be set up properly, with good seals and an appropriate spring on tight guides.
Setting them up also involves light stoning and proper lubrication of the trigger sears, and sometimes breech lockup and breech aw tightness should be addressed.

The Maxigrip rail of the customs, which is also present on some of the standard guns, makes mounting a scope easier. However, the Maxigrip can be a bit fiddly when it comes to servicing the gun, and with good mounts and a lightweight scope the guns without the Maxigrip can be successfully scoped too.

[look no hands]

I've never seen or owned a Custom version of either the Supersport or the Lightning, so may be going out on a limb here...
But there's really not any large difference between the Customs and the normal guns except from cosmetics and the pivot bolt.

What that means to me is that the normal guns can be just as good, which is my experience with good examples of the Supersport family.
However, they need to be set up properly, with good seals and an appropriate spring on tight guides.
Setting them up also involves light stoning and proper lubrication of the trigger sears, and sometimes breech lockup and breech aw tightness should be addressed.

The Maxigrip rail of the customs, which is also present on some of the standard guns, makes mounting a scope easier. However, the Maxigrip can be a bit fiddly when it comes to servicing the gun, and with good mounts and a lightweight scope the guns without the Maxigrip can be successfully scoped too.

Very true, the thing for me that sets them apart from the standard models is the Superstar trigger setup, admittedly it's no CD/Rekord unit and isn't a proper two stager but it has a smooth first stage and breaks crisply, the stocks shape is good as well.

[look no hands]

I agree, lots of nice features on the Supersport custom, I was tempted by the one you bought but you were in like Flint and now have two, greedy chops!!😀

I do apologise, the first one I have has the .25 Lightning barrel fitted, I just wanted a standard .22 to see if it was just as nice as my .25, which it is.

[maximus]

I do apologise, the first one I have has the .25 Lightning barrel fitted, I just wanted a standard .22 to see if it was just as nice as my .25, which it is.

I will console myself by stroking my Diana 34 anniversary 😁😁

[look no hands]

I will console myself by stroking my Diana 34 anniversary ����

I was waiting for that

If it's any help I think muzzle still has one he was selling once.

[TonyL]

Oops. Looks like I'm getting some disapproving looks and will be on the naughty step soon. I'll have a proper read of this later, Pete.

[mallyally]

I wonder who bought my Lightning with walnut superstar custom stock from BAR all those years ago ? the stock came from a box of Bargain bits in Target Sports for a fiver and needed very little alteration to fit ! that was a great looking gun everyone used to think it was some kind of theoben