First off I would like to thank many of you for your experiences with various makes and models of air rifles. I have only been shooting air rifles now for just over 3 years. Without the GTA and many of you well seasoned air gunners, I would have missed out on many great air rifles. I have learned it is not how cheap or expensive an air gun is but how it feels and shoots for you. With that said thank you all for your great reviews and personal objective points made about all the different air guns….J
Now for the good stuff..J … Yesterday as I mentioned in the Bargain Gate that Roger Daley had called me with a great sale at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Columbia S.C. It is about 100 miles from my houseto there. But I had called the store up and found that they had the BSA Lightning XL on sale and an additional 10% off over the weekend. So I high tailed it down there and found the air rifle that I had been wanting for almost 2 years. When Peak Chick bought hers I was very envious and cried for days.. hehe
When I got home last night I mounted an accushot one-piece medium mount on her. I put on the new BSA 3-12X44 AO TT scope. I must add that I used blue Loctite on the mounting screws on the doves tail. This morning I got up early and headed out to the shop where I do all my shooting from. I set up my first target at 20 yards and sighted the scope in. Just a few clicks up and a couple to the right and she was making one hole penetration. Now I moved my target stand back to the 45 yard zone where I do most of my paper shooting. Had to adjust scope down 6 or 8 clicks to get her on the spot again.
I am putting up a picture of the target from where I shoot and a close up of the hits. I shot 15 pellets per bulls. So my first pellet used was the JSB Exact at position #5 on the target. I then moved to CP’s at position #3. Then Beeman FTS position #6, Then Gamo Tomahawks position #2. Then Gamo Hunter’s position #4 and last RWS Superdomes position #1.
They all did well except for the RWS Superdomes and the spread was large. I was getting tired after so maybe it was just me..J .. The BSA Lightning is not as pellets sensitive as allot of my air rifles. And a few of my Gamo Air Rifles love the superdomes… So go figure..J
Before I set up for the chrony test I adjusted the trigger, tightened the stock screws along with running swabs through the barrel till they came out clean. Then I put about 100 pellets through her just shooting at trees n stuff..J…
Now I set up the chrony to determine how much BSA fudged on the projected or advertised FPS. As with the HW 50 and the CZ 634, the did a good job and did not lie one bit..J In fact they rate the BSA Lightning XL .177 at 900 fps. I used Gamo Hunters and was getting between 940 and 950. That was with a 10 shot count. I was surprised and pleased to see this, because new are rifles are generally not consistent. And numbers from a new air rifle are not always what they will be after a 1000 shots or so.
Now for the fit and finish with shot and cocking cycle and trigger. First of all the BSA Lightning has a very short cocking cycle. Second there is absolutely no spring noise what so ever. This is the first springer I have owned that did not have at least some spring twang. Firing cycle is quick and blunt. There is a bit of recoil but not much more than the HW 50 I own and less than the RWS series 34 and 36 air rifles. The trigger can be adjusted to fit your tastes. I managed to adjust the trigger to exactly how I like it by only adjusting the adjustment screw. Now for the wood..J I did not get a beauty queen..J Although the wood is very nice, does not have the quality of grain that I have seen in other BSA Lightning XL’s But I am very pleased with the fact that it had no dings or marks anywhere on the wood. The bluing is dark and deep blue and evenly applied. The barrel shroud/brake is very nice and makes for cocking much easier. The BSA Lightning XL is a very short springer and probably the shortest air rifle than I own now. The cocking cycle is very very smooth and around 35 to 40 lbs. This is mainly due to the fact that it is a very short barrel.
The BSA Lightning XL is a KEEPER..J In my opinion she is one of the most comfortable shooting springers that I now own. If I had started out with the BSA Lightning XL, as my first air rifle, I do not think I would have as many air rifles as I have now..J… But I do love all my other air rifles and they all have there own characteristics and shooting applications.
Here are some pics of her with scope and the targets I shot today for you to see the difference in pellet placement by brands.
Gene
