Sussex Armoury - Panther pistols.

[cinedux]

I think the automatic gear box shared an oil sump with the rest of the car......I truly could put it into 'Drive' then jump out of my seat then get back in!What a party trick! To top it off it's colour was burnt orange....Trev

[Josie & John]

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".

Thank you Tony,

Yes, the Jackal piece and a follow up on the early years of Air Arms will follow after the Wonder Panther - I like that! Great description.

Kind regards,

John

[TonyL]

Excellent; I shall look forward to reading both, sir.

[Ant6568]

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.

I have a few of these pistols (72/80) and although they have faults I still think they are great. Always on the look out for a artillery carbine.

[junglie]

I had the RO71 , terrible die cast rubbish, saved up my pocket money for it at 11, trigger like a gate latch, i polished the sears & got it a bit better but still felt ripped off for the £11 i paid for it, just threw out an old litter bin from my mums house with a small dent in it put there by the pistol funnily enough......one of the few times it hit something i aimed at. best thing i could find about it was it was an improvement on the gat i had first....lol.

[twinmaster]

I had the 177 back in the day. Cheap and cheerful, lousy trigger, seem to remember you could get a skeleton shoulder stock for it.
I part exd mine in a deal for an AA SE90 deluxe,

[Shed tuner]

truly terrible... it's the only springer I've owned where the trigger pull was heavier than the cocking action...

[clueless]

I still have my Artillery Carbine and I have many a fond memory of it, I shot it for the first time in 10 years or so a few weeks ago and can confirm that is still absolutely terrible

[Ant6568]

I still have my Artillery Carbine and I have many a fond memory of it, I shot it for the first time in 10 years or so a few weeks ago and can confirm that is still absolutely terrible

Lucky person, I have been after one of these for a long time

[PCPShooter]

Fond memories of many ToyGun / (Sussex Armoury) branded airguns

[guitardan]

Ive got one of these, and its a fun garden plinker, well up to about 6 yds anyway lol.
Unfortnuately the rear sights are missing, as of yet i havent managed to track obe down.
Ive a second one that will be turned into a starwars style blaster when I get time (517 days to retirement lol)
ATB
Dan

[lodmoor]

Not been on here for a few weeks and this thread took my attention and I checked my collection.
I quote from my records;

Panther RO71 serial No 04962 4.5mm
Panther RO72 de luxe Bullseye (Phoenix Arms Co Ltd) Serial No 86589 boxed .177 (Mint, never used).
Panther RO72 de luxe with extended barrel and shoulder stock serial No. 17557 .177 (I assume this is the carbine talked of above which, incidentally, my son loves and he is 57) This model was later re-designated RO77. I bought it in 1977 from Sussex Armoury. (Still got some of their catalogues somewhere)
Panther RO72 de luxe serial No 021663 .177

I have edited out other info and 'valuations'.

As an aside, from the sublime to ridiculous (or visa-versa) the next gun on my list is a Pope Rifle Air pistol complete with original wire stock.

Not read the article as I rarely buy airgun mags but a copy emailed to me would be appreciated. I have piccys of all the guns above if anyone is interested.

[Ant6568]

Not been on here for a few weeks and this thread took my attention and I checked my collection.
I quote from my records;

Panther RO71 serial No 04962 4.5mm
Panther RO72 de luxe Bullseye (Phoenix Arms Co Ltd) Serial No 86589 boxed .177 (Mint, never used).
Panther RO72 de luxe with extended barrel and shoulder stock serial No. 17557 .177 (I assume this is the carbine talked of above which, incidentally, my son loves and he is 57) This model was later re-designated RO77. I bought it in 1977 from Sussex Armoury. (Still got some of their catalogues somewhere)
Panther RO72 de luxe serial No 021663 .177

I have edited out other info and 'valuations'.

As an aside, from the sublime to ridiculous (or visa-versa) the next gun on my list is a Pope Rifle Air pistol complete with original wire stock.

Not read the article as I rarely buy airgun mags but a copy emailed to me would be appreciated. I have piccys of all the guns above if anyone is interested.

Pictures would be great, thanks

[Josie & John]

Not been on here for a few weeks and this thread took my attention and I checked my collection.
I quote from my records;

Panther RO71 serial No 04962 4.5mm
Panther RO72 de luxe Bullseye (Phoenix Arms Co Ltd) Serial No 86589 boxed .177 (Mint, never used).
Panther RO72 de luxe with extended barrel and shoulder stock serial No. 17557 .177 (I assume this is the carbine talked of above which, incidentally, my son loves and he is 57) This model was later re-designated RO77. I bought it in 1977 from Sussex Armoury. (Still got some of their catalogues somewhere)
Panther RO72 de luxe serial No 021663 .177

I have edited out other info and 'valuations'.

As an aside, from the sublime to ridiculous (or visa-versa) the next gun on my list is a Pope Rifle Air pistol complete with original wire stock.

Not read the article as I rarely buy airgun mags but a copy emailed to me would be appreciated. I have piccys of all the guns above if anyone is interested.

I've forwarded a pdf to Danny for the Vintage Airguns Gallery.

Kind regards,

John

[lodmoor]

Having a problem with posting piccys, thought copy/paste would work but don't, suggestions?