hi, just looking at a old advert in agw from norman may for the vixen, and at the bottom of the ad it reads
"future developments to be announced firearms certificate required air rifle with muzzle velocity of 17 ft lbs !! "
bearing in mind this is 1979. does anyone know what rifle they were on about, did it ever come into being,
just curious
atb
paul
hw 80custom, , hw 35 luxus, hw35 std,
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
Dunno, but could it have been HW35 export model HW35E
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
It might have been the much sought-after 'long-stroke' version of the HW35 Export, with an modified transfer port and 'spetzial' spring. Except I just made that up.
It may have been a BSF S54 given the Vixen treatment. Normay also imported BSF, the only spring guns that could really go beyond the legal limit in those days. I do remember a guy buying an FAC version of it, along with an HW35E Vixen and I think a FWB Sport in an article in AGW. The BSF was doing over 14 ft/lbs I think, which was crazy power in those days, most guns really made about 10 ft/lbs with the exception of the Vixen and the Feinwerkbau Sport (and a few Jackals, but they weren't all that accurate).
Otherwise, might well (in fact probably) have been the now 'ordinary' HW80/R1 ubercannon which Normay caught a whisper of. No one will ever know now.
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
Founder & ex secretary of Rivington Riflemen.
www.rivington-riflemen.uk
According to the article in Airgunworld on the Vixen (Aug 1979), Normay had already got a HW35 running at 14.8ftlbs. As you probably already know the HW35 can easily be stroked to give another 7mm of piston stroke so it could have just been a longstroke 35.
The difference in power between 14.8 and 17 ftlbs is only 50 fps in .22 with wasps.
Normay were also experimenting with five other rifles at the time of the Vixen's release, three German and two English.
I'd love to know what five guns they were, and I'd especialy like to know which two english guns were looked at.
ATB Mick