B.S.A. Airsporter

[David Henry]

I was thrilled to find a 1959 vintage BSA Airsporter in 22 cal out in rural Alberta as I have been trying to pick one up since I was a kid in Scotland. The gun is in very good shape and shot reletivley well and chronographed just under 500 fps. I was a bit alarmed with the low velocity but put it down to an aged spring and piston etc.
I contacted John Knibbs in England who is sending me a rebuild kit for it and in conversation he mentioned that these batch of MK2 Airsporters had 5.56mm bores and not the 5.5mm that I using for pellets.
I have done a search for 5.56mm pellets but they must be hard to come by especially out here in the west. Can anyone suggest any sources for these pellets. Many Thanks David Henry.

 

[HibouAttentif]

You might want to ask on the Canadian Airgun forum. Never heard of a 5.56mm pellet.
Denis

 

[trevj]

Miked any of the pellets you have yet?

Using undersized pellets should yield higher velocities, at the cost of harsh firing, as the piston will not be 'padded' by the compression of the air.

I got much more useful life out of my half clapped air rifle when I was much youonger, doing exactly this, by switching from the cheaper pellets, to the Crosman 'trash can' ones that were a looser fit in the barrel.

If you are not getting this harsh behaviour, there should be little to worry about, other than which particular pellet you airgun prefers.

One item worth looking for (or making) is a pellet sizer that you can use to make your pellets' skirts a uniform diameter.

If the pellets are fitting tightly in the bore (OK, snugly, as they should, not too tight) then all is well and you are good to go.

http://www.photosbykev.com/wordpress/2009/01/20/air-rifle-pellet-database/ has a bunch of size data (and a comment that mentions specifically what you are looking to deal with) if you care to look through it. There are a number of mail order or brick and mortar dealers in Canada that can supply pretty much any pellet you think you may need to try.

Cheers
Trev

 

[mbogo3]

The Brits used to use Eley Wasps 5.56 as they were made for oversized bores.E-Bay has had them in the past.Most BSA's have generous bores like my Scorpion pistol.......Harold They have some now 5.6 and others.