Good-looking springers that exist

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MDriskill

MDriskill

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Jul 17, 2018
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TN, United States
So here's a few that I like...my visual tastes run toward clean, simple, and minimally adorned.

Walther LGV. Maybe the most elegant target stock in history. Pre-war lines with modern (well, "modern" in the 60's anyhow) details, lovely wood, and nearly perfect ergonomics, at least for this old guy.

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Webley Mk 3. Kind of a weird old design - really a pre-war rifle that stubbornly persisted into the 1970's! But something about the look is great to me, in a lean, athletic, form-following-function sort of way (old architects are allowed to say dumb stuff like that).

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Weihrauch HW 55 T. FWB, Walther, Diana, and Weihrauch all offered Tyrolean stocks back in the day, but to my eye HW's rounded, tapered fore end makes it the most elegant. One of the all-time beauties.

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Webley Tracker. A more modern classic (sign of old age: calling something from the early 80's "modern"). Wonderfully clean and well-proportioned lines on this neat little sidelever, which was the last of Webley's tap-loaders.

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Weihrauch HW 35 Luxus, with classic "Bayern" (Bavarian) stock. You can't get more German than this. Beeman's version was my instant favorite from the first of his catalogs that fell into my hands.

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SO...enough of my BS...let's see YOUR favorite beauties...!!
 
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The Mk1 (1947) and 2 (1959) BSA Airsporters are beautiful guns. As well as the Mk1 BSA Meteor (1959)
Sorry, I can't do a photo shoot now...........
Borrowed pictures from the wonderful Vintageairgunsgallery !!!!!!!!!!

Mk2 Airsporter and Mk1 Meteor were the first airguns ever offered with scope dovetails.

Mk1 Airsporter. Tapered barrel! 1947 The loading tap opens automatically when cocked. Cool. First air rifle BSA produced after the war.
1946 Webley introduced the Mk3. Really just a copy of the prewar BSA with a full stock (except they put the loading tap on the wrong side). 1947 BSA releases this. Esthetically BSA wins for sure. Performance is still up for debate.

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Mk1 Meteor. 1959 Really, the only Meteor worth owning (You can't find one). British claim it's better than a Diana 27. More power, yet lighter.
Mine has a nicer stock. I also have a minty Mk2 Airsporter 1959
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Bear-of-Grayling said:
Weihrauch may be out there with their new laser designs but the metal work is wonderful. Great triggers also. We always have the option to go with a custom stock. My favorite airgun. HW95 Tyrolean. Left hand.
View attachment 275975
Click to expand...

Is that a CSS Tyrolean stock?

Out of the ordinary, and visually quite appealing. Well done sir!
 
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Chuck-in-Ohio said:
Is that a CSS Tyrolean stock?

Out of the ordinary, and visually quite appealing. Well done sir!
Click to expand...
Thank you.
It is a CS600 Tyrolean left hand from Custom Stocks Ltd. They are a very nice bunch and do great work . I wrote a thread about “how to order” from them. There is a way to upgrade the wood. It is in detail in the thread.
I do not think one has to be a vintage airgun collector to have a classic. Build your own.
Here is the CS500 left hand with wood upgrade and a HW98. My second favorite.

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Here's the sort of detail that makes me love the oldsters - the gun is a basic, unpretentious, middle-of-the-line Diana model 27 (an early post-war "Hy-Score 807").

1 - The stock fore end finishes with a nice-looking curve
2 - The front of the breech block and cocking link are blended together into a curve that matches this
3 - The finger groove is both an elegant visual accent, and a great aid to handling. It is located so its longitudinal center is right at the gun's balance point
4 - The rounded grip fits the styling nicely, and comfortably accommodates a wide variety of hand sizes and positions

9339768E-D035-4E2F-A778-6DA40560E513.jpeg



Now look at the details of its breech (this pic is a pre-war "DRP" model 27, but the Hy-Score is the same).

1 - The top of the breech block is a radiused curve that is larger than, but concentric with, the barrel
2 - This curve makes a straight line where it meets the flat sides of the breech block
3 - The top of the breech jaws have a small milled flat, making a small horizontal surface that perfectly matches this line

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It's hard to imagine any modern gun having this quality of aesthetic and ergonomic detailing in a run-of-the-mill "everyman" model.
 
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MDriskill said:
Here's the sort of detail that makes me love the oldsters - the gun is a basic, unpretentious, middle-of-the-line Diana model 27 (an early post-war "Hy-Score 807").

1 - The stock fore end finishes with an nice curve
2 - The front of the breech block and cocking link are milled together into a curve that matches this
3 - The finger groove is an elegant visual accent, and a great aid to handling located so its longitudinal center is right at the gun's balance point
4 - The rounded grip fits the styling nicely, and comfortably accommodates a wide variety of hand sizes and positions

View attachment 276102


Now look at the details of its breech (this pic is a pre-war "DRP" model 27, but the Hy-Score is the same).

1 - The top of the breech block is a radiused curve that is larger than, but concentric with, the barrel
2 - This curve makes a straight line where it meets the flat sides of the breech block
3 - The top of the breech jaws have a horizontal cut that perfectly matches this line

View attachment 276101

It's just hard to imagine any modern gun having this sort of thought put into aesthetic and ergonomic details.
Click to expand...
Not to mention the locking screws on the jaws and lever. So easy to tear down. Better than Weihrauch does. Thanks.
 
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Now look at the details of its breech (this pic is a pre-war "DRP" model 27, but the Hy-Score is the same).

1 - The top of the breech block is a radiused curve that is larger than, but concentric with, the barrel
2 - This curve makes a straight line where it meets the flat sides of the breech block
3 - The top of the breech jaws have a horizontal cut that perfectly matches this line

View attachment 276101

It's just hard to imagine any modern gun having this sort of thought put into aesthetic and ergonomic details.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for sharing. This reminds me of my old hand tool collection. Great casting and precise machining. My guns are all new and all well made, but not with the details of yours. Serious labor costs. Enjoy Crow
 
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Yikes, that 220 is a STUNNER - thanks!

Not only a beautiful gun, but easily the hugest design leap in the history of match air rifles. Fixed barrel, direct loading, sidelever cocking, highly adjustable positionable trigger, and suppressed recoil...all in one package. The day before the 220 hit the shelves (introduced 1959),the recoiling break-barrel Walther LG 55 and Weihrauch HW 55 were the best target rifles you could buy.
 
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Another personal favorite, the Diana model 50 underlever. The stock's slender, delicately curved shape looks good and handles beautifully. It's a long and heavy, but well-balanced, rifle that feels not unlike a Mauser 98 in the hand (possibly on purpose in those early post-war days). This is a "50/b" version from the late 1950's, with upgraded target sights.

Dennis Hiller's classic - and frequently tongue-in-cheek - book, The Collector's Guide to Air Rifles, describes the D50's styling as having "sexual overtones." What a great line...! 😄
 
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