Webley (Hatsan) VMX - spring or gas ram?

[davidb7]

Hello all, hoping for some advice on a 'budget' springer I've recently acquired. Picked up a barely used Webley Valuemax .22 from my local dealer (pure impulse buy!) as the price was too good to ignore. It came with a nice Mountmaster scope & a barrel shroud suppressor which secured the deal for me.

Anyway, started using it for picking off the increasing rat population which were helping themselves to our chicken food & immediately started to dislike this gun, accuracy wasn't great & had a terrible spring twang, but after a few more hundred shots & a good lube this thing actually started to grow on me, accuracy improved no end when I found the right pellet that it liked.

Apologies for all the blurb but what I really want to know is...... has anybody replaced the spring for a nitro piston in one of these & what were the results? They're cheap enough to buy but don't really want to go to the effort of replacing the spring if the results aren't worth it. My reasoning for a gas ram is that I can leave the gun cocked for longer periods so it's ready to go when I spot one of those big hairy thieving rat buggers stealing my chicken food!

Also considering the Titan XS spring as I've been told these can be left cocked for longer periods.

 

[Guest]

Yes, but did it with a Hatsan Vortex gas ram (or is that the "nitro piston" you have in mind?) I had in the parts box. The rifle is actually a no longer made VMX .20 caliber because I have a couple and wanted to see the difference, if any, between a spring and gas ram in one. No real difference in fps, just the straight back and forth recoil normal for a gas rammed gun vs the torque of a spring and that's easily fixed with a good tune. I used the spring and guide in another rifle, but easy enough (and cheaper) to get another spring if the ram fails and I need to fix it.

Guessing you live in the UK since no one in the US even sells Webley rifles anymore, let alone the newer shrouded barrel versions although I'll guess they're pretty much the same rifle as the Hatsan AirTact which also has that shrouded barrel/moderator setup. Own a couple of those and considering gas ramming one just to see what differences there might be since I know they sell a Vortex version of them in Europe.

 

[Septicdeath]

Personally I would leave it the spring version. Use it and don't worry about leaving it cocked for a hour or so. Then go ahead and use the Hatsan ram once you think the rifle needs it. They are pressure adjustable where the nitro pistons are not.

 

[Guest]

Personally I would leave it the spring version. Use it and don't worry about leaving it cocked for a hour or so. Then go ahead and use the Hatsan ram once you think the rifle needs it. They are pressure adjustable where the nitro pistons are not.

I personally would too, but since he asked if anyone's ever done it and I have, I replied...lol. They're easy enough to work on so random lame thought is drop one in, (again provided he's talking about a Hatsan gas ram) shoot it for a couple tins of pellets and then decide if it was worth it or not. Easy enough with the parts already on hand to switch back to the spring.

 

[davidb7]

Thanks for the replies guys much appreciated. I hadn't actually considered the fact that nitro pistons are not adjustable (thanks Septic). Very easy here in UK to get locked up for owning a 'firearm' without a license. Great excuse to order another gadget though as I've been wanting a chrono for a while now.

Decided I'll order the nitro piston but also a titan xs spring & try both. When I finally get done I'll post my opinions in case anyone's interested.