BSA Lightning XL experience

[allygunn]

I found the Lightning XL i was using to be very twangy and inaccurate. Im sure in the right hands it would have placed its shots in far tighter groups but when i tried a TX200 i had no problems over the same range.

I had only borrowed the Lightning XL and i think the owner may have tinkered with the trigger so this may explain some or all of the issues i had.

[paulh1966]

I've got a Mk1 .22 Lightning & a HW97 & although the action & firing cycle is very different, the Lightning more than holds it's own for accuracy & consistency over 30yds, so the advice seems to be, by a an old one - buy British!

[mattrob1502]

In had one with a tactical stock. The stock was poorly finished and mine was hollow therefore sounding louder than a beech stocked one, also the end cap fell out after about two weeks and had to be glued back in.

The .177 version was very pellet fussy and the breech way too tight making all but impossible to seat a variety of quality pellets in it, including H&N FTTs, Air Arms etc.

I found the .177 version very "snappy" to fire.

It has an inferior trigger unit compared to say the Weirauch Rekord trigger.

I traded it back to the dealer for a .22 calibre beech stocked version, which had been fitted with a gas ram. Positive points are

Not that pellet fussy
Pellets seat in the breech as they should
The beech stock is in my opinion much nicer than the tactical stock
The gas ram makes it smoother and quieter to shoot

My only negative now is that the trigger still leaves a lot to be desired and if they could improve this then I think it would be a very good rifle in .22 calibre as it looks nice, is easy to cock, has great balance, is fairly lightweight, has the maxi rail for scope mounting and is quite quiet for a springer (gas ram) in my case and when you consider the price new it also represents good value for money.

Every rifle will convey something different to the user, be it, calibre, stock choice, weight, accuracy etc, but I do think the XL Lighting offers very good value for money compared to other makes in the same price bracket, if one was prepared to spend a bit more then I would recommend a Weirauch HW95k as the extra cost is justified in the build quality and trigger unit, but of course were do you draw the line on spend as you can keep going with a springer until you end up in Whiscombe territory at £2,000 so despite my observations and some criticisms I think that what you pay you do get a very nice all round rifle.

[Bonzo!]

I have been using my lighting recentley for taking out ferrels inside some buildings where my son runs his buisness from and found it spot on.
My only comment after using it now for some 7 months was the trigger, but after stripping this down giving it a good clean and applying some new lube to it, its seems to have lost the sticky/clicky feel it used to have.
Mine's in the beech stock which i have spent a little time making it look really polished.

[baz]

I bought a new XL in 177 when they came out a few years ago and after I had relubed it and tweaked the trigger I found it outstadning value for money, my mate managed to buy that off me and I have meant to get another ever since

Last week I got another, this time I went for the Tactical as I really like the stock, much better than an old bit of Beech IMO, not had any of the problems I have read on this thread, using JSBs no problem with the breech, the stock sounds solid and the action fits in it a treat

I have smoothed the trigger out by simply tidying the sears and sorting the springs to give a lighter let off, also added a Theoben trigger shoe which makes it really comfy using the thumb up style which I always use, and the tactical has a thumb shelf, in fact I think its one of the best synthetic stocks on any air rifle and I wish they would do one like it for rimfires such as CZ HMR

I added a little bit of damping to the spring and set it up at 11.4ftlb, its shooting JSBs into a 1p size hole at 35yds off a bench no bother, what an excellent little rifle, HW should make something as nice as this and at same sort of price

I have a ram for it but dont see any point in fitting it really as its sweet to shoot as it is

Just one question, why is the end of the silencer/cocking aid screwcut? I take it they do an add on silencer? If so is it a short one as its not that loud now

I give it ten out of ten, and I am as fussy as a very fussy thing

[ogilkes]

Are these made in Spain now? Mine has got 'Made in Birmingham England' moulded into the stock (above the trigger on the opposite side to the safety catch). But I agree about the snug fitting breech, you do have to thumb the pellets in pretty firmly.

The stock is indeed made in the UK. Most other components are UK made, but I believe (and I maybe wrong) that assembly is done in Spain (happy to be corrected)

[bear]

i have the delux version ,works well kept is power had it a few years now, only one issue was safety catch would not come of safe ,,due rubbing onto stock, bit of sanding did job ,as for the company coming back to uk ,,dose enyone think a uk goverment would want a gun maker returning to the uk ,,,,, me thinks not

[chrisdouglas]

I was looking at buying one of these but might just look around for a good second hand older model
thank for the tips guys you may have saved me a few quid.

[harvey_s]

The stock is indeed made in the UK.

If it is (and I don't think it is now, hence why it doesn't have "Made in Birmingham" on the side anymore) it's rubbish compared with the early ones with unsightly moulding imperfections around the safety catch area on the newer ones....

[harvey_s]

I was looking at buying one of these but might just look around for a good second hand older model
thank for the tips guys you may have saved me a few quid.

See post #51 on page 4 for some tips on identifying Spanish made guns...

[baz]

I always remove any mould marks from any synthetic stocks anyway, even those costing £500 plus (for firearms) some with mould lines, and they look far better with them removed and stock painted, even if its just painted black again, and harder to mark too

I think the synthetic stock on my new XL is excellent quality and far better than some on much more expensive rifles look at a Sako 85 (£1400 gun) and see what I mean, and you wouldnt get change from £600 for one of those stocks

[harvey_s]

I always remove any mould marks from any synthetic stocks anyway, even those costing £500 plus (for firearms) some with mould lines, and they look far better with them removed and stock painted, even if its just painted black again, and harder to mark too

I think the synthetic stock on my new XL is excellent quality and far better than some on much more expensive rifles look at a Sako 85 (£1400 gun) and see what I mean, and you wouldnt get change from £600 for one of those stocks

The moulding marks I've seen on at least six examples are not moulding lines, but a large depression where I think a blanking piece has been added to relocate the catch for other models such as the scorpion and what I've seen couldn't be removed only filled and painted.
The same defects are not visible on the "Made in Birmingham" stocks and if present on a wooden stock would get the manufacturer universally slated - and personally they are unacceptable and obviously avoidable in a synthetic stock as well...

[baz]

It took me about two minutes to smear a bit of P38 into the small depression where the cut out would be for the PCP models, not exactly rocket science is it

And I always remove the mould lines because any black synthetic stock looks much better painted, even if you paint it black, these stocks have all been made in same place by same people, they are same density, the only noticeable difference is the half millimetre "depression" where the safety would be


These guns are made on the same machines as before and probably by the same people as I heard a fair few moved over with the machines

Looking at two examples here I prefer the solid cocking link on the later one

Now if they could just add an adjustable breech bolt it will be nice, they have been asked that for years, its possible to machine and fit one yourself but nicer to not have to bother

[harry palmer]

It took me about two minutes to smear a bit of P38 into the small depression where the cut out would be for the PCP models, not exactly rocket science is it

And I always remove the mould lines because any black synthetic stock looks much better painted, even if you paint it black, these stocks have all been made in same place by same people, they are same density, the only noticeable difference is the half millimetre "depression" where the safety would be


These guns are made on the same machines as before and probably by the same people as I heard a fair few moved over with the machines

Looking at two examples here I prefer the solid cocking link on the later one

Now if they could just add an adjustable breech bolt it will be nice, they have been asked that for years, its possible to machine and fit one yourself but nicer to not have to bother

Baz,I don`t mean to be rude ,but can I ask you why should you have to do this on a £300 rifle?, it wouldn`t be "rocket science" for BSA to produce a nicer and better finished product in the first place.Lets face it; another 35-40 pounds would get you a well-solid HW95K screw cut with a Silencer.

regards

Palmer

[baz]

Baz,I don`t mean to be rude ,but can I ask you why should you have to do this on a £300 rifle?, it wouldn`t be "rocket science" for BSA to produce a nicer and better finished product in the first place.Lets face it; another 35-40 pounds would get you a well-solid HW95K screw cut with a Silencer.

regards

Palmer

No problem Palmer

I much prefer a well tuned XL Tactical to the HW95, they could produce a seperate stock for the XL and I expect they may well do, but I bought it for £250 brand new (I am a RFD but this wasnt the trade price) so shop around

And HWs all need fettling to make them shoot properly, in fact these days I view HW springers as good donor rifles, and they shouldnt need tuning really should they and they are over £300, AA springers are already tuned, just need better lube

If HW did a 95 that had similar stock to the XL Tactical, same short carbine length and at same price then it would be on my fav list too, but they dont , I have cut them down to 10 inch barrel and fitted reflex type overbarrel silencer which makes them a lot handier but the std Beech stocks are pretty awful

So all that said the XL Tactical is really a bit of a bargain especially if you dont mind a little work to sweeten it up, a couple of hours will make it into a really lovely little carbine with one of the best stocks around

Do they make an add on silencer for them? I have tried a cut down HW one on it which makes it almost silent but still too long, I like the look of the std version but its more of a cocking aid than silencer

I will add I have been tuning air rifles for 40 years so I aint exactly a beginner