Three old Breakbarrels

For Tinkering on the Cheap


Over a year ago before i started this blog i put an advert in the local shop, saying i would pay money for old, broken, and unwanted air rifles as a way to get cheap projects on the go. Initially some one phoned with a BSA Meteor Mk4 which was in pretty bad shape as this model usually ends up in, then after that there was nothing as the advert was only put up in a tiny local village shop.

So to my surprise i received a call on my mobile the other day from some chap who tells me that he has three air rifles for sale, he says they are old and some of the sight parts are missing. So i arrange for a time to come around and have a look at them. 


On arrival after a hand shake and greetings he shows me three rather rusty looking air rifles, though 0000 wire wool and gun oil can shift the rust it was a matter of whether the metal was pitted underneath.

Webley Hawk That's sat in a shed for a while

Stock bolts needed tightening.

First one out was a Webley and Scott break barrel in .177, at first glance the forks on the action were slack, there was a split in the stock, it had front and rear sights and the rear one was not working completely, and at some point some one had fired the rifle with the rifle cocked without returning the barrel.

Heanel Mod 1with barrel release on the breech.

Other side of the Heanel

Second up was i discovered after a quick look about was a Heneal in .177, this too had plenty of surface rust so i could not see any markings to date it. The rear sight was incomplete and the leather seals were so in need of replacing, but these can be made myself.

Relum looking rusty.

 

Even rustier on this side.

Last but not least there was a .22 air rifle which was the rustiest of all of them, it just screamed Eastern European in make. This had no rear sights at all, was extremely pitted in places, and there was rust residue on the rifling. this one had also been fired with the barrel cocked open at some point in the past, but luckily didn't suffer any damage i could see on the outside.

I really would have liked to give the gentleman a little more money for them, but at that point it was looking like i could only fix up the Heanel with the other two being used for the spares pile. I mean, to buy the parts to fix them up would cost way more the the rifles would be worth when fixed, But that won't stop me as i can make most parts myself.

So once home i cleaned up as much metal as i could with gun oil and 0000 wire wool, and with the aid of Google i was able to find out what these air rifles are.

The webley and Scott is a Hawk Mk11 produced around 1975, these were sold with .177 and .22 with interchangable barrels. 

\\\\\removable barrel with breech seal on the transfer port.

Though the stock on this one looks like it comes off a Mk 111 and has a crack that runs from the long cocking slot to the side of the trigger guard,

Mk 111 stock on Mk 11 Hawk, the safety shows it well.

Long cocking slot with split.

 but has a deep rubber butt pad with the Webley logo molded in large letters on it. 

It's a Webley alright.

The hood is missing on the front sight which is not the end of the world, and though the rear sight is mostly complete the windage adjustment needs a bit of fixing. 

Rear sight needs repairing.

The forks are loose around the breech block and the barrel bends upwards slightly, so along with the damaged stock some one has been pulling the trigger with the rifle cocked open.

The Heneal is a Mod 1 GDR and were produced from the 1920's till the 1950', looking at the rear sight base (which is incomplete), 

Rear sight with slider and sight missing.

the safety catch (which doesn't work) and the Made in Germany stamp on the bottom of the barrel leads me to believe this must be a later model. 

The safety that doesn't work.

Out of the three it is the only one not to have a scope rail, and from the information i have gathered it's supposed to be a very accurate target rifle of it's time. 

No scope rail.

It has a simple stock with a finger rail grip and a lovely brass plaque on the butt, though it is of an age not to have a rubber butt plate. 

Nice brass plate.

There is a knurled knob that slides a plate that pushes the breech lock back allowing the barrel to drop, 

More Heanel markings

and the articulated cocking linkage gives a short cocking slot on the stock. This rifle also has tell tale signs of being fired with the barrel cocked open, but due to it's solid build quality it's done very little damage, thank fuck.

Finally it would appear that the .22 is yet another Relum, now cleaned a little i could see the Made in Hungary stamp and the LG527 stamp denoting its model which i think is the Zepher. 

One piece cocking arm made of pressed steel.

These later models are a lot different than the Telly and the Tornado, and time will tell if they are any better. 

Better, nicer stock than earlier models.

The stock is a lot better looking than the older models with a nice cheek piece, 

Trigger is pressed steel but nice and wide.

however the metal is just not as good a quality as you would find on a Telly for example The rifling looks rusty, there is no rear sight, and the metal work is badly pitted, but it does feel quite solid.
 

Rear sight completely missing.

Well these should keep me busy til i can decide if it's worth pouring some funds into any of them, which i wont be able to do till after Christmas at the earliest. I can only hope there is no pit marks inside the compression chamber as they have been sitting collecting rust for many years.

TTFN

Wing Commander Sir Nigel Tetlington-Smythe.