Springers that have exceeded your expectations without modifications

[ptdunk]

A Relum Tornado. Surprisingly accurate out to 30yds

[Brad3]

A Relum Tornado. Surprisingly accurate out to 30yds

Agreeing with you. An early version with grooves in the forend proved most accurate in my hands with some humble Marksman pellets (which they have improved and still making bytheway) I also got to shoot an even earlier version with very slim stock with same results.
The barrel looked pretty decent, with nice crisp rifling grooves in the pellets and no tell tale clippings coming off the loading tap. Must have been aligned quite well. The gun balanced well.
General performance better than a BSA Meteor, perhaps matching a Mercury was my assessment 35 years ago..

[foby75]

A pal bought a lovely Airsporter Carbine .22 when they came out, lovely walnut stock, rotating breech, raised scope rail with a sliding Williams rear sight on the front of the rail. From memory, it may have had a heavier profile barrel. It was extremely accurate and an absolute joy to shoot, lovely to handle and extremely docile in the firing cycle. I think he swapped it for a Sega MegaDrive console, the fandango

[Brad3]

A pal bought a lovely Airsporter Carbine .22 when they came out, lovely walnut stock, rotating breech, raised scope rail with a sliding Williams rear sight on the front of the rail. From memory, it may have had a heavier profile barrel. It was extremely accurate and an absolute joy to shoot, lovely to handle and extremely docile in the firing cycle. I think he swapped it for a Sega MegaDrive console, the fandango

I do remember those, the later version having a Williams peep screwed onto the front of the Maxi scope rail (although I preferred the profile of the first variant with machines scope grooves)
Having said all that my experience didn't quite match yours. Didn't match my Mercury whatever I tried.
You must have had a perfect fitting tap possibly.

[evert]

I have a tuned 97k and a completely standard 98k. The 98k is superb straight from the box and has become my go to for now The 97k is good but the 98 is as accurate as my pcp's if shot correctly.

The 98 benefits from the heavy barrel shroud, but sounds like yours exceeds the performance of your 97k?

[evert]

A Relum Tornado. Surprisingly accurate out to 30yds

Now that is one of the guns I'd never expect very much from!
I might be prejudiced against Hungarian guns?

[davidch]

The 98 benefits from the heavy barrel shroud, but sounds like yours exceeds the performance of your 97k?

It's at least its equal. Plus the 98 is .22, 97 is .177. Both are about 11.2 ft/lbs but the 98 is a superb looking gun and feels right in the hand as well as very accurate.

[Kuyajonathan]

A Relum Tornado. Surprisingly accurate out to 30yds

Relum Telly .177 Agricultural compared to mates Cadet, but accurate,
my first Airgun in 1968 2nd hand abused. I fitted ew spring & leather washer, still have it

[TonyL]

It looks like there's a great deal of love out there fir those older Relums.

For some time it seems that they were dirided by many and dismissed as "cheap, poor junk". And the Tornado assumed the nickname of "The Hungarian Swamp Donkey".

But they're tough and sturdy old things. Popularity seems to be rising and we see a good few Relums, especially the smaller break barrels, being brought to, and enjoyed, at the Boinger Bash events. There's actually some quite nice detailing on some of them, like the machined / rounded breech jaws.