Here's my take of owning all the models since the late 70s as a boy in England....
The Junior....A beautiful compact little thing that is a big step up for a youngster having owned pop out barrel plunger pistols. Twice as powerful and 3 times more accurate.
With no rifling pellets do start to tumble much above 10 yards going in sideways but perfect at 6 yards.
I once tuned one to 400 fps about the power of a modern SSP ....surprising myself..
Webley Mk1... A single cocking link version of the later improved Seniors and Premier double linkage...makes this a tough gun to cock but it's a goody.
The adjustable trigger (dropped for the Senior) can be adjusted down to almost match levels...far better than the Tempests but we warned about setting too light on this model. Easy done and can
Prove disastrous if it goes off while loading.
I played with improved design leather seals making one of these about as accurate as any Webley pistol could be. I have a tune report with chrony results on this site...
Webley Senior.....the best made and most powerful Webley. The piston ring allows a longer stroke than the other pistols allowing more power but let down by a tough trigger acting direct on the sear and no adjustment.
It was however, the peak of air pistol smithing and nothing that went before it, or after was better made and never will be again....You need to keep the piston ring lubricated. ...Constant attention...or it wears out.
The Premier....This pistol is an often mentioned favourite because on paper it offers the advantage of the double cocking linkage of the Senior paired with the adjustable trigger of the MK 1 and a modern seal but for me it never matched the Senior. The issue with the Premier is the inconsistency created by the temp senisitive Teflon or Polyurethane seal.
The seal would also tend to oversize with constant use and make the gun a bit slower than it's piston ring cousin.
I finally mastered this issue by designing a leather seal but it required permenent modification to the piston which collectors were not keen on doing.
The Tempest...
This might just be the best looking and most purposeful pistol of all time. It is somehow better fed in appearance than the better made steel variants but never quite matched them without major tuning.
The trigger is adjustable but nowhere near as good as the Mk1 or Premier unless you follow the tuning advice on line. Then it can be..
The gun gets grip options to improve its looks and handling further. The Teflon pistol seal can be erratic to temperature but can be improved with feather edging...Again I toyed with Leather seal designs and modification of the piston to get a couple of these where I wanted them for close range ratting...
The Hurricane....Not really so much for me, as I feel something is lost by having the sight extension ...added length and bulk and longer barrel barrel with shroud but many will disagree with me for the longer sight base and more precise click adjust rearsight.
I once fitted the longer barrel of a Hurricane to a Tempest. Giving an improved sight radius without spoiling the looks and compactness of the rear sight mount..... A great compromise as it turned out....shown below.
I omitted a few variants as too much to cover ....Straight grip Seniors, Mk1s and alloy Premiers/Juniors...
The Junior....A beautiful compact little thing that is a big step up for a youngster having owned pop out barrel plunger pistols. Twice as powerful and 3 times more accurate.
With no rifling pellets do start to tumble much above 10 yards going in sideways but perfect at 6 yards.
I once tuned one to 400 fps about the power of a modern SSP ....surprising myself..
Webley Mk1... A single cocking link version of the later improved Seniors and Premier double linkage...makes this a tough gun to cock but it's a goody.
The adjustable trigger (dropped for the Senior) can be adjusted down to almost match levels...far better than the Tempests but we warned about setting too light on this model. Easy done and can
Prove disastrous if it goes off while loading.
I played with improved design leather seals making one of these about as accurate as any Webley pistol could be. I have a tune report with chrony results on this site...
Webley Senior.....the best made and most powerful Webley. The piston ring allows a longer stroke than the other pistols allowing more power but let down by a tough trigger acting direct on the sear and no adjustment.
It was however, the peak of air pistol smithing and nothing that went before it, or after was better made and never will be again....You need to keep the piston ring lubricated. ...Constant attention...or it wears out.
The Premier....This pistol is an often mentioned favourite because on paper it offers the advantage of the double cocking linkage of the Senior paired with the adjustable trigger of the MK 1 and a modern seal but for me it never matched the Senior. The issue with the Premier is the inconsistency created by the temp senisitive Teflon or Polyurethane seal.
The seal would also tend to oversize with constant use and make the gun a bit slower than it's piston ring cousin.
I finally mastered this issue by designing a leather seal but it required permenent modification to the piston which collectors were not keen on doing.
The Tempest...
This might just be the best looking and most purposeful pistol of all time. It is somehow better fed in appearance than the better made steel variants but never quite matched them without major tuning.
The trigger is adjustable but nowhere near as good as the Mk1 or Premier unless you follow the tuning advice on line. Then it can be..
The gun gets grip options to improve its looks and handling further. The Teflon pistol seal can be erratic to temperature but can be improved with feather edging...Again I toyed with Leather seal designs and modification of the piston to get a couple of these where I wanted them for close range ratting...
The Hurricane....Not really so much for me, as I feel something is lost by having the sight extension ...added length and bulk and longer barrel barrel with shroud but many will disagree with me for the longer sight base and more precise click adjust rearsight.
I once fitted the longer barrel of a Hurricane to a Tempest. Giving an improved sight radius without spoiling the looks and compactness of the rear sight mount..... A great compromise as it turned out....shown below.
I omitted a few variants as too much to cover ....Straight grip Seniors, Mk1s and alloy Premiers/Juniors...
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