bsa airsporter air rifle

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commandocal

Nomad
Jul 8, 2007
425
0
UK
I personally wouldnt know too much about AIR rifles,but i wouldnt think it would need maintaining, IF any it would only need oiling in certain motion joints,trigger,maybe down the barrel etc...Is it a barrel cocking mechanism?
 

Sickboy

Nomad
Sep 12, 2005
422
0
44
London
Yeah, contact BSA and ask for a copy of the manual, may even have it as a pdf doc for you too download. My dad's airsporter is now older than i can remember (so atleast 20 spmething years old) and still going strong, he just changes the spring every few years depending on use, i believe all the spares are still available. If you need some Q's answering the pigeonwatch forum maybe able to help you out, their a good bunch :)
 
Springers will go on for years with little attention BUT they will loose power etc

teh older ones use a Leather Washer as the main piston seal this needs to haev a certain oil content ie not be dry to work
BUT do nto just pour oil down the barrel or the transfer port this can damage the rifle beyond repair as the oil will deseil ( explode)

rifles need to be stripped cleaned and relubed properly periodically for long effecint service and may need a spring change on occasion as well

its not actually that hard to do but the mainspring is under compression even when not cocked so care needs to be taken when removing it (or you could end up with a hole in your shed roof :yikes: )

if in doubt ask your local Gun shop for a quote (though for a Airsporter it may not be economically viable to pay for the work)

ATB

Duncan
 

Big Bad Stu

Nomad
Jul 18, 2006
251
0
54
Shropshire
My old mate Andy had an Airsporter when we were kids, he went on to use it when he was a gamekeeper. It is an excellent tool.

He used to use a light oil, just gun oil out of a tin to lube the trigger and loading port mechanisms, all moving parts essentially. He was careful to wipe off the excess. He used to give the gun a wipe over with an old oily rag after each session, that was it for day to day maintenance.

We changed the spring once, we managed it but I would get a gunshop to do it if I had to do one again. Springs are readily available on the web and in shops. The only problem is that in fitting a new spring you may send the rifle over the legal limit. If you get a gun shop to do the work they can ensure the gun is legal when it is returned to you, thus no problems with the plod later!

As previously mentioned a new washer would be a sensible addition to the service.

Then why not sand the stock and treat it with either danish or linseed oil, re-blue the barrel if necessary. The rifle will be as good as new.

My shooting partner, Jon, has a BSA Super ten and BSA have been excellent in helping with his enquiries.

Best of luck.

Stewey.:D
 

leon-1

Full Member
I personally wouldnt know too much about AIR rifles,but i wouldnt think it would need maintaining, IF any it would only need oiling in certain motion joints,trigger,maybe down the barrel etc...Is it a barrel cocking mechanism?

If you want to make it in the Marines you'll learn that all rifles need maintenance be they firearm or air weapon.

With the BSA Airsporter IIRC it had an underlever similar to the one that you would find on an Air Arms Prosport.

Most of the guys have covered the main points, but you may also need to replace the piston head, effectively they are plastic and over a period of time, especially if they have not been lubricated properly, they can shred which will cause a loss in performance.

You used to be able to get I think it was called dry slide for polishing the inside of the cylinder, that plus an Ox Mainspring and a decent piston head will rejuvinate the old rifle.

You'll probably have to get a barrel rod and either some small bore brushes or a jag and some flanellette for cleaning the barrel every now and again.
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
2,355
130
62
Cambridgeshire
I would strongly advise against fitting an ox spring into any air rifle you value in any way at all. I put one in my treasured old Feinwerkbau Sport and it damn near wrecked the thing. My lovely accurate sweet shooting rifle became a horibble, twangy, inaccurate beast. I subsequently fitted a kit from a company called Macari (spl) in the states, this restored the gun to normal.

Check out http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/ , you'll be overwhelmed with advise and info.

Dave
 

Big Bad Stu

Nomad
Jul 18, 2006
251
0
54
Shropshire
I agree on the Ox main spring. It mistifies me that they are sold as in 90% of cases where they are fitted they push the rifle past the legal limit. Just before I changed to my Logun I took my Weirauch HW80 in for some work and the gunshop owner was duty bound to confiscate it because it was putting out 13ftlb. The spring was at least 15 years old! God only knows what it was like when it was new. This actually devalued the gun as it required significant amounts of work to get it legal again so it could be sold on.

It is possible to get genuine BSA mainsprings to replace the original. That is whet we fitted into my mates rifle in 1988. I bet he still has the gun, unfortunately I have lost touch with him.

Stewey.:D
 

MartiniDave

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 29, 2003
2,355
130
62
Cambridgeshire
Leon,

Yes I've still got the FWB, but don't use it as much as it really deserves. I find my AirArms S400 far easier to use on bunnies, thanks to the lack of recoil (and noise!). The old FWB can still hold its own, shooting at least as well as my AirArms TX200 mk2, and has the advantage of being at least a pound and a half lighter! Its a shame they stopped making them, spares are getting to be a problem unless you send to the states.

Dave
 

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