I know one or two people here own the Exocet in one flavor or another.
I believe this is an 11.5-12FPE gun (limited for UK use). I was wondering what you think about this gun, the shot cycle, trigger, etc. and how hard/easy is it to get parts.
Most impotantly, I would like to know if it can be tuned to get it close to 14FPE. I only see one JM kit on Maccari's web site that says "factory power". If that's all there is, then I 'll pass on this gun.
Harry, I do not know much about Webleys esp. the Exocet except for the C1 which I own. But I was doing a little surfing on the net at saw this mag. listed at 25 lbs and the 25. at
By the way, what is the rangemaster pellet rated at 29 grams? Is this for spring rifle? Just curious. By the way they have JSB pellets for 10 tins at $90.00 under the Daystate name.
Harry, I mentioned that I did not know anything about the guns, I was just basically asking your advice. I am sorry, I misunderstood you. Obviously a wrong decision.
and have owned both a .177 and .22 carbine in the past so I've
owned 3. I've also did plenty of reading on various Webley &
Scott springers. I've also owned a Webley Tomahawk .177, a
Webley Longbow .22 and a Webley Patriot .25.
The Webley Xocet and Webley Stingray are the same action but
the Stingray has a different stock and has a safety. Both have
pseudo two stage triggers that are ok as is (better than Gamo)
and can be improved with polishing, lubing, lighter spring and
adjustment. Trigger/trigger guard are metal.
Parts can be had from John Groenwold, T.W. Chambers and possibly
from Airguns Of Arizona and a few other dealers. As you know JM
has piston seals and spring/guide kits.
My Xocet .22 carbine shoots CPs (14.3) at 650-655 fps MV. It's
not pellet fussy and shoots several pellets well (accurately):
FTS, JSB Exacts, RWS Hobbies, RWS S-H-Ps, CPs, Cr Points, Cr
HPs, etc.
The .177 carbine I owned (should have kept it) shot CPLs at 850
fps MV and CPHs at 750 fps MV.
A few years ago there were some UK non-FAC Webleys that made it
over here so that may be why you have read/heard of 11-12ish FPE
Xocets/Stingrays/Longbows.
The figures I gave you on the .22 and .177 are near the top - I've
read a few that were slightly more powerful. Tuning to 15 FPE in
.22 is probably taking them (Xocet, Stingray, Longbow) to the reliable,
shootable, etc. limit. I had a Longbow .22 tuned to 680 fps MV shooting
CPs.
IMO the UK Webleys are some of the best springers in quality, workmanship,
ruggedness, reliability, etc. The Longbow/Tomahawk have triggers right up
there with Air Arms TX/Pro Sport and Weihrauch Rekords. Don't recall reading/
hearing of main spring breaks in the Webley rifles - they no doubt used
quality springs that stay strong a loooong time.
JM kit delivers factory FAC power or so. Can get more with some tweaking
including slight enlargement of t-port.
I have been shooting mostly CPs in my Xocet carbine. I have produced groups
in the 1"-1.5" at 50 yds. rested and in good conditions. At 25-30 yds. most
of the time the sparrow, starling, squirrel, etc. gets got.
At 50 yds. a CP will penetrate both sides of soup, fruit, etc. cans. So
starting out mid 600s still has a bit of punch half a football field away.
IMO the best potent Webley is the Tomahawk - especially fully tuned or
Venom tuned and best milder potent the Longbow or "Baby Tom". The trigger,
weight and size wins over the big bad Patriot.
Thanks Herb! Great post. I had read many of your post before about your love of "Carbines", but really did not appreciate them until I picked up the Webley C1. It made a believer out of me. What is your take on the Turkish guns? If Webley is mauufacturing them, I do not see what the difference would be. A lot of fine crafted products come out of Turkey and I do not see the logic of turning down a fine gun because of this. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Thanks for the informative post. By the way do you know anything of the pellet I mentioned earlier (the 28 gram rangemaster?
Herb, just thought I would mention that my C1 was tuned with a Webley Xocet, Stingray, Vulcan Tune Kit from Macarri, and it really is a great shooter and so easy to lug into the woods. Mine is 177.cal and if I ever get the chance to buy a older rifle in 22.cal, I would probably jump on it. By the way, the speed and accuracy is so nice, I really haven't bothered to do a chrony test.
You'll be closer to the 14 fpe range (a little over) if you can find a Brittish made Stingray. Or as Herb has suggested, get a Tomahawk but you'll be closer to 20 fpe. I'm not sure you'd be able to get an Exocet to 14 as aftermarket springs are going to be hard to come by. That's not to say you couldn't get one of the correct diameter and cut it to length, but off the top of my head, I couldn't tell you which ones might work for your application.
"but I'll be needin' that gun, fer squirrels and such."
I 'm a little confused though. How did you get your Xocet .22 shooting 650fps with CP's? The JM spring kit is FAC (12fpe at the most) power or I believe it says "factory power" on his web site. Did you use a different spring from those vendors you mentioned? The guy selling it is telling me it shoots "around 12fpe". It's completely stock.
Bill: I would like a Tomahawk but really want a medium powered springer 14-15fpe. Maybe it's the Stingray I want but I 've been reading that the powerplants were identical with Xocet so again I 'm confused.. Did they ship more powerful Stingrays, ie: with non FAC power to the US?
The Brittish Stingray was rated at 16 fpe. I'd throw a want ad on the Yellow and see if anyone has one. They were also available in .25 if that trips your trigger. Stingrays had a Vulcan sized spring and piston.
"but I'll be needin' that gun, fer squirrels and such."
waiting for some detailed reports on the Turkish Webleys - other than
the Patriot I've read nothing. Well actually several months ago a few
guys purchased from the first batch of Tommys and LBs from Turkey and
they weren't happy. Sent them back to PA. PA had advertised them as
UK Webleys.
years from now you'll probably appreciate it even more. A nice little
carbine springer with a fairly serious critter gitter sting and decent
enough accuracy out to 35-40 yds. is a handy dandy tool in the airsenal
toolbox
Just how do you know how much to tweek the transfer port opening?
That subject has crossed my mind for some time now and I have a couple guns which I think might benifit from more airflow. One is a .177 Diana 34 in particular. I've always wondered how anyone decides on this modification.
This is one of the upper limits of tuning and for sure not to be attempted without proper knowlege.
the article in AA e-zine by Russ Best about tuning a Webley .22 Longbow?
That was my rifle. Russ divined/decided/whatever that a little larger
t-port might be beneficial. Possibly he had read some posts by Jan Kraner
because I know Jan had did some t-port enlarging and other tweaks on LBs
as well as some nice aesthetic work too. IIRC the t-port on my LB was
.116" and Russ enlarged it to .120" - also radiussed the port from the
compression chamber side.
IIRC a Tommy t-port is around .125" and a Patriot around .150". I suppose
a fella could make a good guess by comparing a number of springers t-port
sizes, bore, stroke, power levels, etc. Also experimenting on some cheap
springers. Think the Cardews went into the subject a bit in their 'bible'.
I have all 3 calibers in my current airsenal. My .22's (Ray and Xocet) both shoot 650's with CP's. By my caclulations that equals apprx 13.5ftlbs.
My Xocet is PW tuned with JM internals. It shot the same speeds before and after the tune. The difference is the fps deviation less and very consistent on the tuned gun. Of course the gun is much smoother shooting and easier on scopes. The upgraded piston seal really makes a difference in smoothing out the factory jolt that is so hard on scopes.
My Stingray is home tuned with JM parts. It also shoots areound 13.5 ftlbs.
Webley's (UK) are known to have really stout/good springs from the factory. I have a .177 Stingray that is tuned with a customn guide/seal and the factory spring. It shoots Gamo Hunters in the low 900's.
You should get at least 13.5 ft lbs (.22cal) with the aftermarket parts. If you spring for the kit get the piston seal too. It will make all the difference.
Dave, I had my 34 detuned by MZ a few months back. I thought earlier that you were interested in how the gun performed after the detuning? I will see MZ this weekend and ask him that question for you.(transfer port Opening). The 34 shoots one hell of a lot better after the detuning. Question, are you looking to gain more speed? Please let me know. I keep a log of questions to ask as I am always eager to learn and he is a great teacher. This is a good question.
Good info. That's pretty much what Herb said, around 650fps. That's not bad. That will do It's a lot closer to 14fpe (than 12..).
Yeah the one I 'm looking at is UK made, a few years old with some minor scratches and impressions on the stock but nothing bad. Overall it looks pretty good but I 'm sure it will need a tune. The owner said everything is stock.
Is $250 a good price for an Xcocet .22 in decent (good, but not excellent) condition?
the original price at PA was $238. I have a friend/fellow forum guy with a Brimingham .22 Stingray carbine in excellent condition for sale. His asking price is not much more than the Xocet and the condition is as new.
Send me an e-mail if you're interested.
I think you will be happy with either one. Both make good power in a light, handy (especially in carbine) package.
ZVP, interesting to know you had a C1, or still do. After a MZ tune mine is very easy to cock and the shot cycle is great. I have not done a Chrony after the tune, but really do not care about that anyway.
Harry, I just log on to a website and saw that a British supplier was had discontinued the Stingray and was referring every one to the Cometa and Weilrauch website. FYI
"Due to the closure of the Webley factory, these air rifles are no longer available. Please consider the Cometa or Weihrauch ranges of air rifles for alternatives."
