bsa spitfire review

Picture courtesy of Glenn Cook.

Average Ratings

Accuracy	9.8/10
Handling	9.2/10
Value for Money	9.5/10
Reviewer Rating	9.4/10
Overall Rating	8.9/10

100% Recommended13 out of 13 Reviews

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By James. on 22nd Feb 2003

James.'s Ratings

Accuracy	10/10
Handling	9/10
Value for money	10/10
Overall value	10/10
James.'s recommendation

Good Points

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.

Bad Points

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

General Comments

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.

Total Respect: +8