This, by the way, is an air gun, not a firearm. It's a BSA Supersport, in .22 caliber. It's a barrel cocking, single shot, spring piston air rifle with a nominal advertised ("Your mileage may vary" as they say) muzzle velocity of 800 FPS for the .22. Very fun toy, for those so inclined.

The rear sight is not original, it's a Beeman Sport Aperture. Current plans are to sometime replace the front sight with a Williams Firesight.

There's a review here.

Exploded view and parts list .

Where to get one: Precision Sales sells the full power export version, not the power limited English home market version. (In England an air rifle more powerful than 12 ft-lbs it is considered a firearm, and the owner must have a Firearms Certificate.) If you order, ask for a parts diagram and parts list. For a used one, keep an eye on Brad Troyers American Airguns page classified ads section.

Classics: BSA stands for Birmingham Small Arms. They've been making firearms for quite a while, and airguns since the early 1900s. They also made Enfields for a while.

Back to Chuck Bridgeland's Web page.

The breech seal looks like it's torn.There's a little semi-circular nick on the inside edge of the breech seal that's there on purpose. If that's what you're seeing, don't worry about it. If the seal is in fact torn or cut, replace it. It cam be pried out easily.

I have to adjust the rear sight all the way to one side to zero it. This is a problem with some Supersports. Try replacing the rear sight first. If a new sight doesn't fix it then then it's a barrel alignment problem that you need to deal with under warranty.

I had this problem with mine, but I had in mind from the beginning to replace the rear sight with an aperture sight. I bought a Beeman Sport Aperture and installed it per the instructions (adjust the sight so that the aperture lines up with the front sight bead and the notch in the original rear sight. Then remove the old rear sight.). The new sight was centered on the gun and I started shooting much better.

My accuracy has gone to pot all of a sudden. The forend screws have a tendency to loosen. Check the forend screws, and tighten them down if necessary. Ditto on the trigger guard screw. Check that the screws have the washers that they should have. Check these screws occasionally for tightness. Some people have Loctited the screws in. I tried that, but a combination of bent screws (from being shot too long while loose) and Loctite caused the screws to break off flush with the gun. Bummer! Precision Sales, bless 'em, covered the repair for me, but I was without my gun for a few weeks. Some people have also used plumbers Teflon thread tape. The interim solution is to check the screws (including the trigger guard screw) frequently. (August 1999. Precision Sales has told me that BSA now has some special washers for the fore-end screws that are supposed to fix the problem. I'm trying them and we'll see how well they work.)

The forend screws have a standard metric thread. You should be able to get replacements at a good hardware store.

Done that, still can't hit the side of a barn. Read the primer on hold consistency. Spring guns are very sensitive to technique.

Who makes a peep sight for this? The Beeman Sport Aperture sight works well. It's designed to clamp onto an existing scope rail. It comes in two models--a screw adjust model and (for a very few dollars more) a knob adjust model. Airgun Express was out of the knob adjust model when I ordered, so I went ahead and got the screw adjust model. It's fine (but then, I'm the kind of guy who carries a screwdriver and metric hex wrench set and Gerber tool everywhere. Your mileage may vary.)

Is it standard for a Supersport's cocking mechanism to require more than one attempt for it to lock.? After about 50 rounds through the gun, I'm having to pull down on the barrel up to three or four times before it cocks. I've had this happen if the safety is inadvertently left in the middle--not quite on or off. Just move the safety definitely to one position or the other.

Russ Best also reports: I have found that in some of the guns, there is a SLIGHT interference from the stock causing this. The solution for it is to remove the action from the stock and LIGHTLY shave the offending spot. This may also be done with the gentle application of something like a Dremel moto-tool, should you feel insecure with sharp blades.:>) HTH.Russ

Should I get the .22 or the .177? What do you want to do? The general consensus is, if you want to hunt with it, get the .22.

What's the best pellet? For what purpose? After I used up the sample vial of BSA pellets Precision Sales sent with my gun I've used mostly Daisy Quick Silver pointed field pellets in my .22. They're cheap, readily available at my local Walmart and seem to work well for what I do, which is plinking, light target shooting and light hunting. RWS Hobby pellets also seem to work well.

For a thorough rubber-hits-the-road pellet test using, among others, a .22 Supersport, check Ian Pellant's pellet tests (Terminal Pellet Testing and Pellet Testing in Sporting Spring Airguns).

Who does tunes on Supersports? How about a gas ram? Contact Dave Slade. (I personally have no direct experience with his work, but he advertises that he works on the Supersport, and sells the Theoben gas ram.) Paul Watts has closed his airgun business (June, 1999).

How does it compare with an RWS 34? Not exactly a FAQ, but worth commenting on. They have similar cost and performance. As it happens, I acquired (by trade) an .177 cal RWS 34 recently. Compared to the Supersport, the RWS is longer by about 4" and noticeably heavier. It's easier to cock (probably because of the extra barrel length). The stock isn't as nice looking as the Supersport's and has no butt pad. The RWS' trigger is plastic (the Supersport's is metal) and the mechanism looks less complex (a plus with me). The stock sights on the RWS are better in my opinion. The Supersport's crown is recessed back about 1.5" from the muzzle. The RWS' is not (so be careful not to bang it around and damage the crown). The RWS' safety engages automatically on cocking, the Supersport's does not. The BSA's mainspring came gooped with what is presumably a black moly grease, the RWS's did not. The design of the RWS' forend is such that it is unlikely that the forend screws will come loose or break, and if they did it would be easy to remove and replace. The barrel pivot on the RWS can be lubricated without removing the stock (the BSA's stock covers the barrel pivot). The RWS has a better (lifetime) warranty.

What's a good scope for the Supersport? A good base? Do I need a scope stop? Scoping an airgun is different from scoping a firearm. Read this for a good discussion of the issues.

What's the actual muzzle velocity? See Ian Pellant's pellet tests.

. . . .

Why spend $160 on an airgun that's no more powerful than the lamest of the .22 rimfires?

It's cheap to shoot (a tin of 250 of the Daisy pellets I use costs $3.29 at Walmart). If it's cheap I'll shoot more and become more proficient.

Mild hoplophobes tend to have less of a problem with air guns than with firearms--here's you chance to start curing them of their crippling mental disorder so they can become fully functional members of society again.

I can shoot in the basement without accumulating nasty fumes and attracting unwanted attention.

I can buy, sell and ship airguns freely, without registering either myself or the gun. (Not everyone has this right. Certain of our less civilized northeastern states restrict even airguns.)

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