Yes I've tuned and repaired a few of them--like 2 of them IIRC. It's a nice rifle. Not a big magnum in performance, but still good inside its power range. It needs a trigger tune on earlier models and you get trigger operation you might not think is possible. It's essentially a stoning of the sears and re-lubing it.
Look for a crack in the stock where the trigger enters the stock. If you have one it needs properly-repaired with epoxy to add some extra mass to the stock--as well as securing the crack--or your accuracy will never be as good as it can be. Thus, merely repairing the crack with Super Glue or wood glue won't work, because there's no way to add mass with either of the latter adhesives.
Congrats on the Longbow, Steve. Sounds like you made a good score on it. Can't help with any firsthand info but from what I've read on the British BBS forum they seem to be well thought of. They also seem to be hard to come by, which fits in with what one BBS member said about them only being made for about 3 years.
It's been a while since I've read any of this so don't know if it will help or not, but you might find it interesting nonetheless. The last few posts in this first link start the Longbow topic and it's followed up in the other link.
http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?837085-Webley-Longbow
Congrats again, Steve. And post us some pics of that Longbow so the rest of us can drool a little, lol.
I bought one from the classifieds last year. It's an awesome little rifle. Mine is now running right at 12 ft lb and very accurate. It came to me with a Maccari tune kit in it and was smooth as glass. I'm a little power hungry though, and found that TW Chambers has service kits for them that include spring, piston seal and breech seal. It's not as slick now, but makes a little more power, and i can take the paint off of my 1 1/2" 50 yard spinner at will. I have a couple of Titan springs that I want to try in it, but even with the "stock" spring it is so good at the moment I don't want to open it up.
I haven't measured group sizes, but as far as velocity it's running right at 800 FPS with CPHP, 790 with superdomes, and a tick over 900 with MK pistol (7.0 gr). I was getting about 4% less velocity with the tune kit, which, now that I put numbers to it is not very significant.
Yes I've tuned and repaired a few of them--like 2 of them IIRC. It's a nice rifle. Not a big magnum in performance, but still good inside its power range. It needs a trigger tune on earlier models and you get trigger operation you might not think is possible. It's essentially a stoning of the sears and re-lubing it.
Look for a crack in the stock where the trigger enters the stock. If you have one it needs properly-repaired with epoxy to add some extra mass to the stock--as well as securing the crack--or your accuracy will never be as good as it can be. Thus, merely repairing the crack with Super Glue or wood glue won't work, because there's no way to add mass with either of the latter adhesives.
Thanks for the info Ed, I'll check that out
Congrats on the Longbow, Steve. Sounds like you made a good score on it. Can't help with any firsthand info but from what I've read on the British BBS forum they seem to be well thought of. They also seem to be hard to come by, which fits in with what one BBS member said about them only being made for about 3 years.
It's been a while since I've read any of this so don't know if it will help or not, but you might find it interesting nonetheless. The last few posts in this first link start the Longbow topic and it's followed up in the other link.
http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.php?837085-Webley-Longbow
Congrats again, Steve. And post us some pics of that Longbow so the rest of us can drool a little, lol.
Again, thanks for the links Jim - I do appreciate your response. In fact, after reading those links, I'm anticipating Santa's gift that much more. And now I REALLY need a spring compressor -
From the pic, it appears to be a beech stock, and who knows, guess it could have possibly been assembled in Turkey, but either way it was a steal. Can you see the price tag? I hope this doesn't qualify as gloating, I don't wan't to set off a karmic after-shock, but... SCOPE INCLUDED!
I had a Turkish manufactured Longbow for a VERY short time Steve, because as quoted from Airgun Chronicles, "This great-looking carbine was the harshest-firing springer I’ve shot, and the trigger SUCKED."
Hopefully your British LB is much nicer.
Nope, not a Turkish model, at least the parts weren't made there.
So the Quatro trigger draws air? Hopefully the real deal will be a little better.
Now I'm off to the hunting forum to see if I can add a few pistol hunting pics to your post -
I bought one from the classifieds last year. It's an awesome little rifle. Mine is now running right at 12 ft lb and very accurate. It came to me with a Maccari tune kit in it and was smooth as glass. I'm a little power hungry though, and found that TW Chambers has service kits for them that include spring, piston seal and breech seal. It's not as slick now, but makes a little more power, and i can take the paint off of my 1 1/2" 50 yard spinner at will. I have a couple of Titan springs that I want to try in it, but even with the "stock" spring it is so good at the moment I don't want to open it up.
I haven't measured group sizes, but as far as velocity it's running right at 800 FPS with CPHP, 790 with superdomes, and a tick over 900 with MK pistol (7.0 gr). I was getting about 4% less velocity with the tune kit, which, now that I put numbers to it is not very significant.
Cool - Hoping this will be a sweet little, smooth shooting looker of a 12 fpe carbine in 177.
How difficult is it to work on a Longbow? Did you use a spring compressor? And if so, do you believe one can be worked on w/o a spring compressor? Thanks in advance, I do appreciate the encouraging info!
From the pic, it appears to be a beech stock, and who knows, guess it could have possibly been assembled in Turkey, but either way it was a steal. Can you see the price tag? I hope this doesn't qualify as gloating, I don't wan't to set off a karmic after-shock, but... SCOPE INCLUDED!
EDIT: Saw the sale ad with a little better pic of that price tag. That was a bargain basement price, lol. Why, WHY, can't I fall into deals like that??? LOL
From what I could see in the pic it looks like it's been well used but loved. I like that stubby "brake" it has on the barrel, too. Hope it turns out to be a shooter for you, Steve. Look forward to more pics once you've got it in hand. And yeah, after re-reading some of the links I wouldn't mind coming across one at a good price myself. Congrats again!
Doing my best to attach a couple of pics & some info -
I installed the ARH kit minus the piston seal, and the twang is gone, but she still shoots right at 750 with JSB 8.4.
No worries, I have an R9 if I need a lot of "zip"
In the top pic that's a ARH 12" shroud - the barrel is a little discolored from the bluing being somewhat worn - I prefer the way the 10" unit in the second pic looks and handles, but the 12 incher is much more backyard friendly.
Sweet little carbine that I feel fortunate to have found.
BTW, I have to e-mail my pics, then save them to my drive, otherwise the file size is always larger than permitted. Weird.
Now I just need to lighten the trigger pull. Time to google search? I'd prefer some help right here if anyone knows the secret!
Looks good, Steve. I'd have a hard time deciding between the 10" or the 12". They both look good on it. How long is the actual barrel, from front of block to muzzle? Must be shorter than the barrel on my 34 Compact because the 10" Apex doesn't fit all the way to the block on it.
Congrats again on a good find!
Looks good, Steve. I'd have a hard time deciding between the 10" or the 12". They both look good on it. How long is the actual barrel, from front of block to muzzle? Must be shorter than the barrel on my 34 Compact because the 10" Apex doesn't fit all the way to the block on it.
Congrats again on a good find!
Thanks Jim.
I'd say approximately 9" past the breech block.
I did find a link re: trigger adjustment, and the pull weight adjustment is the screw behind the trigger blade. Gotta remove the trigger guard to adjust.
That gets old fast, but I'm gonna see if I can live with the adjustments I made tonight: we'll see -
9"? That's pretty short, lol. So probably about a 12" barrel overall then?
That adjustment setup sounds similar to the Rekord. In order to adjust the "forbidden screw" for the sear overlap you have to either remove the trigger guard or pull the action out of the stock so you can access that screw. Went thru that on a couple of my HWs and yeah, it does get old fast.
I remember a post a few years ago on the old Yellow where someone made a setup that would let them keep the action secured in the stock without the trigger guard. That would make adjusting the trigger a lot easier. IIRC, it involved customizing some washers and a longer trigger guard screw. Don't know if you could rig up something like that on your Longbow or not but might be worth looking into.
How did you come by the shrouds? I haven't seen those on the ARH site.
If you google Longbow or Tomahawk trigger adjustement several pop up on UK forums, and Brad Troyer's site has a procedure for adjustment of a TX200 trigger which is similar to the Webley.
You have to periodically check the ARH website - they come in and out of stock. In fact, when I purchased the 10" unit, JM also sold "AA style shroud spacer cups" and I'm sure you can figure out what those really were -
Yeah, I ended up doing a google search on the trigger, and have adjusted for a lighter pull weight, gonna see how that pans out.
Now I need to source some breech seals, so guess I'm off to Harbor Freight -
PeaceOut
I don't have them in the 12" unit because its ID is slightly smaller for the last inch or so, but I plan on taking care of that with the right size dowel and some sandpaper. They do fit in the 10" unit, and they are more effective than just dead air space, no doubt about that!
Bummer about the 12" getting smaller/tighter at the end like that. I'd still like to have a 12" to cover the last 1.5" or so of barrel on my 34 compact that the 10" doesn't cover. I keep checking and hoping but haven't seen the 12" (or the spacers) listed since about the time you got yours.
Anyway, enjoy that Longbow. And I'll be waiting to hear how that R9 turns out when you're done with it, too.
