Sussex Armoury - Panther pistols.

[Paul SE]

Reading through the October '21 issue of Airgun World, I enjoyed the article by John Milewski about the history of Panther pistols and Sussex Armoury. It bought back many memories of the late 1970's and my introduction to airguns.

I remember that Jim Johnson, 1577 London Road, Norbury, selling the Panther Artillery Carbine for £17.95, and a few friends purchased them with a tin of H&N Pointed 'Verminkiller' pellets for hours of plinking fun.

I recall buying a second-hand one for £15, with signs of 'light wear', or other wise known as chipped paint and marks to the plastic grips. The thread at the back of the action stripped, and so I wrapped the thread on the shoulder stock with cellotape to stop it wobbling about in the action. I swapped the gun for a Tasco telescope when the rear sight broke, and I had to aim it 'shotgun' style along the top of the action.

One lad bought a telescopic sight for his, I think it was a 1.5 x 15 model, possibly branded 'Sussex Armoury'.
With this piece of magnificent glass mounted on top, tin cans at 20 yards were sometimes hit, but at half that distance they did not survive the onslaught of hot H&N lead.

We would strip the guns down for a polish and relube, and apply 'Tri-Flow' lubricant or Singer sewing machine oil to the actions.
In our minds we had improved their performance and consistency, not to mention an added whiff of smoke during the firing cycle.

One lad had the RO71 pistol, and as John mentions in his historical study, the trigger pull was terrible with a hard drag before firing. The triggers on the RO72 models were better, and as I and John recall, were 'adjustable' by means of a white plastic slotted screw.

Many thanks John for an interesting article and bringing back some fine airgun memories.

[laverdabru]

Reading through the October '21 issue of Airgun World, I enjoyed the article by John Milewski about the history of Panther pistols and Sussex Armoury. It bought back many memories of the late 1970's and my introduction to airguns.

I remember that Jim Johnson, 1577 London Road, Norbury, selling the Panther Artillery Carbine for £17.95, and a few friends purchased them with a tin of H&N Pointed 'Verminkiller' pellets for hours of plinking fun.

I recall buying a second-hand one for £15, with signs of 'light wear', or other wise known as chipped paint and marks to the plastic grips. The thread at the back of the action stripped, and so I wrapped the thread on the shoulder stock with cellotape to stop it wobbling about in the action. I swapped the gun for a Tasco telescope when the rear sight broke, and I had to aim it 'shotgun' style along the top of the action.

One lad bought a telescopic sight for his, I think it was a 1.5 x 15 model, possibly branded 'Sussex Armoury'.
With this piece of magnificent glass mounted on top, tin cans at 20 yards were sometimes hit, but at half that distance they did not survive the onslaught of hot H&N lead.

We would strip the guns down for a polish and relube, and apply 'Tri-Flow' lubricant or Singer sewing machine oil to the actions.
In our minds we had improved their performance and consistency, not to mention an added whiff of smoke during the firing cycle.

One lad had the RO71 pistol, and as John mentions in his historical study, the trigger pull was terrible with a hard drag before firing. The triggers on the RO72 models were better, and as I and John recall, were 'adjustable' by means of a white plastic slotted screw.

Many thanks John for an interesting article and bringing back some fine airgun memories.

May have to buy that AW. The SA Panther was a gun I have no recollection of - but recently saw a couple on sale at the Protek site, with their usual amusing write up - which made me wonder if they were really that bad.
Anyone else got any recollections?

ATB

Bru

[rapidshot]

Memories....my cousin had new BSA Scorpion for his birthday..I was so envious as it looked like something off Star Wars, Buck Rogers or The Bionic Man ..so I persuaded my mum to take me to Stafford on the bus and I spent my savings on a brand new Panther and a tube of Jackal pellets. Now I was king of the hill ! I could actually hit the barn door at my grandparents farm...my cousin struggled to even cock his beast of a Scorpion let alone aim and fire it. Anyway the pellets soon ran out so we resorted to shooting nails. ....that's when the problems started...no idea why !! The Panther lasted another month before the grips broke, then a nail got stuck in the maintube so I decided to dismantle the pistol.....it all went FUBAR and it stayed in a shoe box until it was binned some years later...great fun while it lasted....made of monkey metal and recycled ski yoghurt pots...crap really ��
Didn't Milbro market them before Sussex Armoury ?...can't quite remember.

[Garvin]

I also had an RO72 in.177 cal. It was my first 'proper' airgun after a Harrington Gat and I bought it from a kid at school who had upgraded to a Crosman 1300 (which I eventually had off him too). But my memories of the Panther are generally not good ones. It had a little BSA 'scope with the integral mounts so it was fairly accurate with Eley Wasps. But when I got my hands on the 1300 a year or so later it was a revelation by comparison! Powerful, accurate, manly .22 calibre, blued steel metalwork...! Years later I bought a boxed RO72 just to see if it would spark any nostalgia. It didn't.

[rapidresponse1]

i also read that article

[urx]

Ah the folly of youth...i recall trading in a webley senior against an artillery carbine ...much to the horror/amazement/amusement and mirth of the dealer at the time.
The motivation was anfriend had one and at a million miles (15-20yds absolute tops) we could shoot aspirins.
How could anyone not want a gun that did that...(wince)

[Geezer]

I loved my “Artillery Carbine” as a teenager.

Shot it as:

- stocked, open sight carbine;
- open sight pistol;
- pistol-scoped pistol;
- stocked, rifle-scoped carbine.

In any configuration, was lucky to group below 2” at 10 metres with the usual cheapo rubbish pellets of the day.

They are wonderfully terrible.

The trigger is awful.

The open rear sight changes zero shot-to-shot.

The plastic gripstock breaks if you look at it.

The scope rail gives scope creep despite the low power.

The early rod-type stock gives no cheek weld, the later two-rod type makes the sights hard to see and transfers a remarkable amount of energy to your face for a 2 ft-lbs gun.

And that’s before the internals break.

Terrible, terrible gun. But whichever Italian genius at IGI/Gun Toys (the actual manufacturer) came up with it deserves his retirement in a villa by Lake Como because they sold thousands if not even millions of those things.

[Garvin]

But whichever Italian genius at IGI/Gun Toys (the actual manufacturer) came up with it deserves his retirement in a villa by Lake Como because they sold thousands if not even millions of those things.

If you ever discover his Lake Como address, please pass it on to me, because I'd iike to send him an RO72 in bits with 'CRAPOLA' wriiten in big letters on the envelope. I think he'd get the gist.

[Paul SE]

It's interesting reading the replies, it seems that everyone that either owned or used one of these SA / Panther airguns experienced the poor quality issues.

We tried all different types of pellets, including Z&S Diablo, RWS Hobby, Sussex Armoury Jackals and roundnose, Beatalls, Marksman and probably quite a few others, and I don't recall one particular brand being better than another.

Would I have another one
Yes I would, at the right price, if it was boxed and in very good condition. Purely for nostalgia and display, and preferably an 'Artillery Carbine' model.

When I joined my first gun club, I was able to see the quality difference between the Panther pistols and the much better quality guns by Original, Walther and Feinwerkbau. Quite remarkable.

I soon moved up to an Original Mod 6 recoilless pistol, which I regret selling on in later years

[Josie & John]

Thank you all for your comments and I'm pleased the article has generated some interest and recollections of years gone by.

I was due to continue the Sussex Armoury story with a look at the Jackals in the next issue but ended up having a Stop Press moment. Why was this? Well, I have found a Panther that groups - a boxed Artillery Carbine no less and thought it worthy of a stand alone review. The dilemma I now have though is should I use it or put it away in case something breaks? I even found an original Sussex Armoury 4 x 15 'scope for it (thank you Jon). The stock creeks when cocking, as they all do but the internals are surprisingly smooth.

John M

[Garvin]

They're like the Austin Morris in the late '70s/early '80s. Fine when they're working but could stop at any moment!

[bluesman]

Ive got one of these in two bits if anyone wants it but you have to pay the postage
atb Glyn

[Paul SE]

Well, I have found a Panther that groups - a boxed Artillery Carbine no less and thought it worthy of a stand alone review. The dilemma I now have though is should I use it or put it away in case something breaks?
John M

This is indeed a modern wonder of the airgun world, and should you feel the need to move it on, I would be happy to add it to my collection It would look great displayed with my SA Jackal pellets

[Josie & John]

This is indeed a modern wonder of the airgun world, and should you feel the need to move it on, I would be happy to add it to my collection It would look great displayed with my SA Jackal pellets

Hi Paul,

It is indeed a rarity as I have never come across a Panther that is consistently accurate. I'm going to hang on to it for a while but never say never!

Kind regards,

John

[TonyL]

Thank you all for your comments and I'm pleased the article has generated some interest and recollections of years gone by.

I was due to continue the Sussex Armoury story with a look at the Jackals in the next issue but ended up having a Stop Press moment. Why was this? Well, I have found a Panther that groups - a boxed Artillery Carbine no less and thought it worthy of a stand alone review. The dilemma I now have though is should I use it or put it away in case something breaks? I even found an original Sussex Armoury 4 x 15 'scope for it (thank you Jon). The stock creeks when cocking, as they all do but the internals are surprisingly smooth.

John M

Excellent article, as always, John.. Your findings and the observations above tie in with my experience of a friend's Panther pistol. It seems that many of us of a certain era came into contact with these pistols.

But......I was really looking forward to seeing your article(s) on the Jackals. I hope they're still going to come.. In the meantime I'll look forward to seeing the one on the "Wonder Panther".