Britannia

[Phil B]

I'm looking for one, please see the "wanteds".

Any advice will be gratefully read. Thanks!

[rapidresponse1]

good luck finding one

[Phil B]

All sorted now thanks. And happily bougjt from a trusted seller I have bought from before!

[trajectory]

All sorted now thanks. And happily bougjt from a trusted seller I have bought from before!

That was a quick find.

Can I ask if it's your first time of owning one, & if so what your first impressions of it are?

[Phil B]

That was a quick find.

Can I ask if it's your first time of owning one, & if so what your first impressions of it are?

Yes, not had one of these before so I expect to do some learning en route, hence asking for publications on another thread.

The rifle looks lovely in the pics sent by the seller, but won't be here until Wednesday so as to avoid being sat in the Parcelfarce warehouse getting stomped all weekend!

Not my first rodeo though, I have several old BSA underlevers and some Gems

[trajectory]

They do look an interesting design & appear to much liked by their owners. As you mentioned that you already have BSA underlevers I'd be rather intrigued to hear how you think the two makes compare to one another assuming its "ye olde BSA underlevers" you have & not more modern Airsporters. Just out of curiosity what was it about the Britannia that attracted you enough to buy one?

Bet you are looking forward to the post on Wednesday,

Atb

[Phil B]

I have got an Airsporter, and its baby brother, (the Mercury, I can't recall?), but I was referring to the older patterns, an Improved Model B, C Series etc.

What attracted me to a Britannia, well, the good press it gets, the design, and the period it is from.

I will be able to set it against my 1908 BSA Imp. Model B, for a contemporary plinking session.
I'll report back. Both are .177 cal too.

[Phil B]

Bonehill Britannia https://imgur.com/a/iFkNuL3

I'm hoping this produces pics.

I managed to get a Bonehill Britannia and it was a fair price but had a few issues.

The See-saw sight was broken and the power was low, also quite a noisy and rough shot cycle.

The front sight blade had taken a knock too, so it was straightened and dressed before blacking

I braized a small bit of sheet steel onto the sight, to restore use, filed, shaped and blacked, all good there.

The piston seal was a crude bit of hide with no shape. In my bit box was a Diana fitment, 28mm seal. Not the one shown, the dame part but used, that new one's for another job.

I made and fitted a mounting and then the seal. A PTFE sheet supports the new mainspring (Gamo I think, a bit box special). The original spring was very banana'd.

I sized the seal in the lathe, hence not using a brand new one, but forgot to take a pic.

The stock has a number inside, not quite the number of the action (1982), but within a few, close enough to convince me it was fitted at the factory.
It is humbling to me at least, to look at the writing of a person, a craftsman, who passed so long ago.

Reassemble, lubricated minimally. A little bit of dieseling and as the smoke clears it settles down to a nice shooter. Trigger is still a bit heavy but that's for another day.

Updates and pictures to follow as I progress.



Finally, a question for the hive mind.
Should I do a full refurb to the same standard as Matt's lovely example? Thoughts?


.

[Phil B]

Bonehill Britannia air rifle, made approx 1906 https://imgur.com/gallery/6emJw47

[ptdunk]

We’ll done for fixing the rearsight and getting it shooting nicely 👍

Atb,
Matt