bsa hornet review

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Average Ratings

Accuracy	9/10
Handling	9.2/10
Value for Money	8.1/10
Reviewer Rating	8.1/10
Overall Rating	8/10

77% Recommended27 out of 35 Reviews

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By urabus on 26th Sep 2004

urabus's Ratings

Accuracy	10/10
Handling	10/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	10/10
urabus's recommendation

Good Points

Accuracy
Consistency
User-friendly
Safety

Bad Points

Weight (for some)

General Comments

I've got the longer rifle version of the BSA Hornet. It's only about 2.5" or so longer than the K, and after a few months of ownership/field use, personally I don't think the handling/printability is in anyway compromised. It's also capable of 20+ more shots; all in all, I'm very happy with the purchase. I've got a 10l 300bar bottle, so charging is really as easy as pie. I've found the balance to be pretty much spot on, and I feel that it's more important than the actual weight of the rifle. Shooting off hand, from experience, I'm more accurate/stable with heavier setups anyway. Besides, I'm used to carrying my clubs around the golf course so the extra few hundred grams is an non-issue really.......

In South Africa, availability of air rifle/accessories is limited. At the time of purchase the dealer had no stock of SAS silencers. First I had a cheap alloy silencer that's available locally; perhaps due to its bad design/inferior materials used, it had loads of spring twang and after every 10 or so shots baffle re-alignment was required. So, I opted for the Parker-Hale MM1 next. AFAIK, not the quietest, had no complaints from the quarry though. What I did notice, was that it was rather heavy (relatively), and the balance has shifted to the front. Then, I discovered the little Manders silencer (AKA Daystate compact/RWS..etc), it's only 106mm long and really light. In fact it performed better than the MM1, with the balance restored I was as happy as pig in mud.

Shooting off the rest, up to 30m, it's pretty much pellet on pellet with a few pellets (CPL, CPH, AAF, Bis-Mag). At 45m, only CPH's showed the same size of groupings. However, we are still looking at sub inch groupings with the CPL and AAF. Over the crony, with unsorted pellets, the best 30 shot string showed less than 6fps variation.

I'm so impressed with the accuracy/consistency, I'm actually going to start FT with the Hornet. Well, actually I just don't have the money to get a dedicated FT rig, but that's beside the point. Unlike in the UK, FT is still in its infant stage here in ZA. I've no doubt, as long as I do my part, I can/will be just as competitive with the Hornet as with a FT specialist like the EV2, MKIII FT...etc. So far, I've got the sidewinder 8.5-34 and I will wait and see if I need to raise the cheek piece or add a hamster/riser as I get more into FT. I will definitely get an adjustable recoil pad fitted next.

The beech stock is both nice looking and functional. Perhaps, it's to keep the cost down. Personally I would prefer a nice walnut sporter or even a tumbhole stock. I think it would really complement the well-designed action and raise the bar even higher.

Total Respect: +1