BSA Spitfire Review

Overall Rating

Extremely accurate - the most important aspect of buying an air rifle. Reliable. Holds about 75 shots from one charge. Good safety features - can not go off if dropped, has a safety catch) Trigger - externally adjustable. Raised cheek piece - better than on the Lightning. It's pneumatic - no recoil! Air is regulated (more consistent power curve), this does not occur through a regulator, but there is a mechanism that ensures this happens.

Weight. No magazine, although repeater air rifles cost hundreds of pounds extra.

The BSA spitfire is a rifle that I had to save up £300 in total to buy - which includes a pump and 3-9 by 40 scope. I have been using air rifles for a few years now, and there is nothing quite like it! If you have any problems with the accuracy, they will be coming from the scope; my next buy is going to be a parallux adjustable one. I went shooting earlier today, at 15m I easily achieved a 7-shot one hole group. At 30m, I also was getting one hole groups with occasional flyers. Even with flyers, all of the group sizes were under 1/2 inch except for one out of five, and I'm not an expert! Before I purchased the Spitfire, I owned a B2, and the difference is literally unbelievable. Since target shooting with my earlier gun, I though that I was a terrible aim, but purchasing the Spitfire actually means that you shots will always go where you aim - for a change, you really do notice the trajectory of the pellets. Just in case you do not know, it is 11.5 ft/lbs I think, and the UK limit for a non-FAC air rifle is 12 ft/lbs, so do not worry about power. The furthest shots I have ever taken with it are at around 50m, where hitting a can is still extremely easy. If you doubt your shooting ability, but have the money to purchase the rifle, pump, and scope, then the Spitfire will give you a definite confidence boost. Just make sure that you do not fire out of windows etc at a weird angle, because this will make the scope function badly (parallux will occur, which is when the crosshair changes position without the rifle - not fun). Parallux can move the target by about the distance of a can at 30m. If you purchase a Spitifire, I recommend the carbine version with a silencer - the version I own. With pneumatic air rifles, the noise levels can be quite high with the air that follows the pellet out of the barrel, so £20 extra is well worth the silencer. Go to www.jsramsbottom.com if you live in the UK, because they seem to have the cheapest deals anywhere (believe me, I spent three months looking around). For first-time buyers, you will need to purchase a pump for this gun (around £100), or a scuba bottle (around £150). Pumps can be used at home, but you will need to go to a diving shop to refill a tank. Therefore, I recommend a pump. Just so you know, maximum fill pressure is 232 bar - 3000 psi - takes 3 to 4 minutes of pumping. You will also have to take the gun to a professional gunsmith once a year to check for corrosion, if you use a pump. Maybe a quarter as often if you use a scuba bottle. With the silencer attached, the gun still has great pointability, and the noise of the impact is greater than the noise of firing. Although I think that it weighs quite a bit for standing shots. Overall, buy this gun if you actually do want to be able to hit a 50p coin at 15m, and possibly 30m with a bit more practice.

Members' Comments onJames.'s Review

• Bertie. on 12th Jun 2003

  A nicely written and informative review James. Thanks, I'll put it on my short-list and will purchase from your recommended source which is a new one to me but then, I'm a newcomer!.

• James. on 15th Jul 2003

  A few months down the line, and I would like to say that I have had no problems at all with the rifle through regular use, although cheap pellets (ie under 3 pounds for 500), do seem to be causing occasional flyers. I have had a sling fitted, which aids accuracy when shooting targets. One thing that I do not like about this rifle is its loading mechanism - although you have to pump it up, you still have to cock it (break it in half), to put in a pellet. This is a bit fiddly when lying prone and shooting, although it is not an issue when standing, sitting or shooting from a bench rest. The other slight niggle was that the rifle did not come with an exploded parts diagram.
  
  Overall, however, I would still say that this gun offers very good value for money - it is the cheapest pneumatic air rifle on the market. I have not yet fired an AAS200, but it would be very interesting to compare (the AAS200 is the next cheapest rifle, so it may be worth looking at for people with a craving for a pneumatic gun, but without a large budget).

• kayriss on 4th Feb 2008

  that was alot of useful information which i will be useing but have you got any tips on where to buy one of these air rifles for a good price like yours???