BSA Scorpion SE vs BSA Scorpion T-10

[enfieldspares]

A bit late to the party but this may help those of us who have a budget only for secondhand banduks! So I have just part exchanged my .177" BSA Scorpion T-10 for a secondhand .22" BSA Scorpion SE.

This is for those guns in black polymer stocks.

So the differences and what I think are the better features. This will come across as "knocking copy" of the T-10 but when I got it it was the best of the rest for my pocket. So what are the differences:

The Scorpion SE has the safety catch on the left hand side (as it was on the old Lee Enfield .303) and is easy using the right hand to put ON with the ball of thumb and pull OFF with the index finger.

The Scorpion SE does not need the bolt to be manually pulled and then held back to change the magazine. The Scorpion T-10 unless you have had a post sale modification done by a third party airgun workshop has to have the bolt physically held back. On the SE you just pull it back and you can then can leave it "hands free".

The Scorpion SE has the understock pressure gauge. The T-10 does not have a pressure gauge. Having said that I managed with the T-10 like that for eleven years by simply counting magazines fired. My T-10 (which was .177") I'd had aftermarket fitted with a regulator so tank fill level wasn't important. The SE doesn't have a regulator so its gauge is useful if you use the "sweet spot" method to determine your usable shot count.

BOTH guns have the pull out and push in frontal mounted magazine retainer pin which it is worth noting the new TS does not have such but uses a magnet.

The SE has the raised cheek piece moulded to both sides of the butt. The T-10 has it moulded only to the left side of the butt (so for a right handed shooter). Myself I prefer the T-10 in that respect.

The SE stock does not have the "thumb up" sculpted recess on the rear of the stock where it meets the action body of the rifle. The T-10 does have this "thumb up" sculpted recess. I was taught to shoot on with the thumb wrapped around the butt's "wrist" so don't shoot, ever "thumb up". If you shoot "thumb up" the T-10 stock is for you. If you don't but have a conventional grip (thumb wrapped around the butt's wrist) it makes this less easy.

The bolt handle and knob on the T-10 are shiny chrome plated, the bolt handle and knob on the SE are blacked. I prefer the shiny chrome plated finish.

[angrybear]

Can I semi-correct you, the SE does have a large flat area below the bolt for those of us who shoot thumb up,
it can't have a sculpted recess because the stock is ambidextrous, hence the double sided cheek riser.
Personally I find chrome bolt handles look cheap & tacky, so for me the black looks much better.

Overall, the SE is a very nice air rifle indeed, very accurate & not in the least bit pellet fussy, the only non Rapid that I own.

[harvey_s]

How does the TS fit into the line-up?
Presumably different again in some way...