Air Rifle, is this worth it?

[Badger90]

A friend loned me his air rifle which, after passing it over, told me it had been in a flood and underwater for several days about 24 months ago, the sight was buggered to say the least.

Anyway, stripped it down, cleaned and oiled it up, but the actual body has split ( the wooden part ) near the front and tbh the parts aren't that smooth anymore, so i'm looking to buy one for myself to use for small game in the future ( rabbits etc )

I'm limited in cost and i have a spare sight i bought for the previous one ( 4x32 SMK ) which is virtually unused.

I understand you get what you pay for and we're limited to the power of rifles these days, but i want something that combined with my own skills i can safely and humanely take out the rabbit i'm aiming at.

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/100828120104004

Any tips, thoughts or ideas on the above is much appreciated.

Cheers

Badger

 

[techworm]

save your money and buy a second hand HW 80.

 

[harrisp]

Wont be full power, I wouldnt hunt with that to be honest, they are cheap for a reason.

 

[Nonsuch]

Don't mean to add further doubts but SMK scopes get a mixed write-up. I originally got this scope for my BSA Lightning and I could never zero it. Chucked it away in the end and got a Hawke.

 

[Puddock]

My recommendation would be to look for a second hand Weihrauch HW97K

http://www.euroguns.co.uk/product/7fd90800-909b-4982-90f3-d977661862fa.aspx

 

[Hun7er]

I would say second hand Weihrauch have a look on the http://www.airgunbbs.com/ forums if the HW's arer too expensive for you there will be some BSA'a aswell, Bsa still a good gun
just not as good as the weihrauch. hope this helps

edit: If its co2 your after then a crosman ratcatcher would be your best bet very modable have a look at www.airgunartisans.com that will give you a idea of what you can get out of them.

 

[Kepis]

I have a QB78 here, not a bad gun for plinking in the garden, in fact it's excellent for garden shooting and superb fun, ive also used it at short range with new gas cylinders for rats, but it's not really a viable hunting gun, but it is great fun, the boys love it as it has a bolt and therefore looks like a proper rifle.

I also have a mod kit for it from TR Rob that has new springs, valve components, trigger upgrades that i bought and never used, i know some people have upgraded it from co2 to pcp, but tbh if you wanted a pcp id get a pcp in the 1st place, as others have said have a look on guntrader for a second hand HW if you want a good, no nonsense rifle.

 

[Badger90]

Well i just found the make of the one handed to me and after searching around it seems to be a perfect starter air rifle.

It's an Original Model 50 .22 which dates back some time, given it's dunking and age i may take some time to replace the spring and give it a real good clean and repair if possible.

 

[HeltorChasca]

My recommendation would be to look for a second hand Weihrauch HW97K

http://www.euroguns.co.uk/product/7fd90800-909b-4982-90f3-d977661862fa.aspx

I'll second this: Quite a few on the 2nd hand market amd you'll love it. As for humane: This is a full power rifle so with practice you'll be fine. Well done for respecting your quarry....hc

 

[Doc]

The original model 50 was a very good and fairly expensive West German hunting sping-piston rifle in the 80s and if you can restore it to it's former glory should be perfectly suitable for rabbits.

Not sure ehere the split is in the woodwork, but it may well be repairable. My Airsporter S developed a split forend twenty years ago. I used wood glue and clamped it until cured. The repair is near invisible and still holding.

 

[Badger90]

I have found some more information on this rifle and i'm getting more excited by it. It's stamped 08 80 which announces its production in August 1980, and as Doc has said already, it was made in W Germany.

If i remove the complete working parts so i'm left with the wooden section, the split is just along the underside near the front, this particular area is much thinner here and the catch which holds the lever is situated at this point ( on the main barrel area, not the wood itself ). I don't feel it is a particular stress point at all, as the main components are held with the swivel pin further back, so there is no ' load ' on this area. I imagine the split was caused by miss use in the past and the dunking it took perhaps weakened it around here.

Overall the rest is in surprisingly good condition, nothing that some time with sand paper and a nice coat of varnish wont cure, and the metal parts have some surface rust which i sanded down last night and gave it a quick coat of matt black to protect it for now until i get time to do a more thorough job.

Internals wise, the spring is due a replacement for sure, it doesn't feel quite right although with a quick test late last night i was able to get groupings of 4" over apprx 35 yards but i didn't have time to zero it in properly.

I have looked into replacing a few more parts with upgraded units, firstly the main spring guide and top hat as well as the spring itself. My only real concern is the possible damage to the barrel itself after being in water then left to dry without any cleaning as such, is there a way of getting the barrel or rifling checked and repaired or at least cleaned?

 

[peaks]

Try a good gunsmith for advice and components - I know you are in Devon, but Sandwell Field Sports near Birmingham are excellent and very knowledgable - I have posted guns to them + had returned by the same method. They restored an old (1960's) Benjamin Blue Streak for me. Manchester Airguns are also very helpful and have a good gunsmith. Both firms do re-blueing, restoring and tuning etc etc.
No affiliation to either firm - just a very satified customer. Might be worth giving either of them a ring.

You might be able to pick up a replacement stock and other parts if you go on to one of the UK airgun forums.

 

[Doc]

Professional reblueing would be the gold standard. You can get cold blueing kits to do it yourself but it's not as good. When new the Originals did have very glossy blueing but did need to be stored in a dry environment to prevent rust appearing.

There is a risk you could spend more than it's worth on refurbishing it. The barrel probably needs cleaning. Cleaning rods with a soft brush are available, as are felt cleaning pellets.

4" at 35 yards is not going to be sufficiently accurate but of course you've only just started work. Cleaning the barrel, trying different pellets, and and replacing spring/seals might well get it better.

 

[Badger90]

I stripped the spring and all moving parts out last night, although a collection greasy goo was around the piston seal, after a quick wipe and clean she does show a little sign of old age. Saying that, after removing all but the piston, she wouldn't slide out either ( after the clean ), my guess is this is a good thing??

The spring itself has a few bends to it, and a ball bearing is missing from the trigger housing, although easily replaced, so a new spring, piston and top hat will see those parts showing age being replaced as well as the ball bearing.

With it stripped i was able to view down the barrel and nothing scary appeared, but it's not the large damage that can cause the problems, i'll look into getting the barrel cleaned up.

TW Chambers fortunately have most spares available and an excellent exploded view of the rifle with part numbers for ease of ordering

 

[steve a]

I owned an Original 50 but that was in the 70's, three quarter stock underlever, quite a nice air rifle and it took many a rabbit on my permission. I wished I had kept some of those rifles I owned in those days, it would have been quite good fun to shoot them again.
Good luck with your project.