webley eclipse review

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Picture courtesy of the integrator.

Average Ratings

Accuracy	10/10
Handling	8/10
Value for Money	9.7/10
Reviewer Rating	9/10
Overall Rating	6.4/10

100% Recommended3 out of 3 Reviews

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By kenbu on 17th Sep 2007

kenbu's Ratings

Accuracy	10/10
Handling	7/10
Value for money	9/10
Overall value	9/10
kenbu's recommendation

Good Points

Accurate ,Nice Trigger,Good build quality,Re-settable safety , low recoil and Decent open sights.Also it `s different from other underlevers currently on the market

Bad Points

This is a quite a big rifle, bulky (better suited to those with bigger hands) and it`s long!Loading is a bit convoluted compared to an Air Arms TX200 or HW77/97.Alloy receiver means you have to be VERY careful when mounting sights on this rifle !

General Comments

I bought my Webley Eclipse Mk 2 second hand, production of these rifles ceased in the late 1990's and they are relatively scarce, there are only 2 in my club and we have over 70 members. It's a big, long, nice looking rifle, that doesn't weigh as much as you think.

The Eclipse is a fixed barrel ,under lever rifle , with a flip up breach and an alloy receiver( more about that later) .They were made in 0.177, 0.22 and they could be found in 0.25 also.It is quite a long bulky rifle , without being over heavy and from a distance resembles a HW77, but has a totally different loading procedure:: To load the Eclipse, you do the following;
1.Depress the button at the end of the under barrel cocking arm, this allows to you to cock the rifle and automatically sets a pop out (and re-settable) safety catch on the back of the receiver (like the Longbow`s safety) Clip the cocking arm back into place.
2. Lift up the small lever at the side of the flip up breach , this is spring loaded and the breach should pop-up it`self, allowing you to thumb a pellet directly into the barrel. If you look at the pop up breach, you`ll see its actually a transfer port , with a seal on its back end ,there`s another substantial seal on the barrel itself.Press the breach down ,it should click shut, you can now press the thumb operated safety in and the rifle is ready to fire.
When it comes to mounting telescopic sights on the this rifle , you have to be very careful that you don`t damage or distort the lightweight alloy receiver.I use a one piece mount to spread the gripping forces as evenly as possible, initially, I didn't tighten it up enough and the scope moved, so I tightened it up a tiny bit more and it has stayed put (so far!)
As regards accuracy, my rifle can knock over and re-set targets with a 25mm kill-zone, at 35 yards. This is plenty accurate for taking rabbits, also recoil is mild as the rifle is a little bit muzzle heavy. My rifle makes 11.4 ft/lbs with 14.3g, 0.22 Crosman Accupels, I'm using a Nikko Stirling 3-9x42 Mil Dot A.O. scope and although the trigger is adjustable I've left it as is (it is a very sweet trigger). Also there is an option to use a silencer; a thread protector comes out the end of the barrel, allowing you to fit a 1/2 inch UNF Male silencer.

In closing ,I have to say that I prefer using my Webley Eclipse (it's a bit of British air rifle history) even over my TX200HC! If you see one in decent condition buy it, they are only going to get rarer. As regards spares , John Knibbs International are the people to contact.

Happy shooting

Kenny B

Total Respect: +1