BSA Mercury Air Rifle
Encyclopedia
The BSA Mercury was a Break Barrel spring powered Air Rifle
first produced in 1972, by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). It was manufactured in both .177 (4.5 mm) and .22 (5.5 mm) caliber
s and marketed as a mid range weapon between the BSA Meteor
and AirSporter models. The Mercury was a light and easy to use rifle with a PTFE piston and breach seal, giving a "just under legal limit UK power" of 12 ft•lbf (16.2 J) of energy. Approximately 40,000 were produced.
directly into the breach. The barrel was then returned into place and secured with a detent lock. The single stage trigger was plastic and adjustable for pressure only. The sights
were plastic with the front sight being able to be switched from a bead to a blade and the rear adjustable sight could switch between a "V" and "square notch". The cylinder had two shallow grooves to accept a telescopic sight
.
It had a "Black Crackle" painted finish, fitted with a beech wood stock and a rubber recoil pad
. A negative point was that the barrel pivot was a low cost pin rather than a bolt/nut assembly, and this could lead to barrel and cylinder misalignment. The Mercury, being a spring-gun suffered from recoil
and was quite noisy for an air rifle. Range was limited to about 40m, with 20-25m being the maximum hunting range.
The rifle was packed in a polystyrene tray with a printed cardboard sleeve. The standard kit included a bottle of oil, a small tube of eley wasp pellets and a pressed steel target holder with a few targets.
metalwork finish. .The quality of the "S" version is generally considered superior to earlier guns.
In 1985, it was upgraded again to the BSA Mercury Challenger with the addition of the maxigrip scope rail, before being superseded by the BSA Lightning
in 1986.
Air gun
An air gun is a rifle , pistol , or shotgun that fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, in contrast to a firearm, which burns a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. Air guns that only use plastic projectiles are classified as airsoft...
first produced in 1972, by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). It was manufactured in both .177 (4.5 mm) and .22 (5.5 mm) caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
s and marketed as a mid range weapon between the BSA Meteor
BSA Meteor Air Rifle
The BSA Meteor is a Break Barrel spring powered Air Rifle made in Birmingham UK by Birmingham Small Arms Company and first produced in 1959. It was the 1st air rifle to have the ability to fit a telescopic sight. and remains one of the worlds best selling air powered weapons with over 2 million...
and AirSporter models. The Mercury was a light and easy to use rifle with a PTFE piston and breach seal, giving a "just under legal limit UK power" of 12 ft•lbf (16.2 J) of energy. Approximately 40,000 were produced.
Specifications
- Overall Length: Rifle 104cm/42in
- Barrel Length: 47cm/18.5 in
- Weight: 3kg/6.6lbs
Operation
The rife shared the trigger, piston assembly and spring with the BSA AirSporter with the spring and piston being compressed by breaking the barrel through 125º before loading a pelletPellet (air gun)
An air gun pellet is, for the most part, a non-spherical projectile designed to be fired from an air gun. But this is not always the case.Pellets differ from bullets used in firearms because of the pressures encountered; firearms operate at pressures of thousands of atmospheres, while airguns...
directly into the breach. The barrel was then returned into place and secured with a detent lock. The single stage trigger was plastic and adjustable for pressure only. The sights
Iron sight
Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in telescopic sights or reflector sights...
were plastic with the front sight being able to be switched from a bead to a blade and the rear adjustable sight could switch between a "V" and "square notch". The cylinder had two shallow grooves to accept a telescopic sight
Telescopic sight
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...
.
It had a "Black Crackle" painted finish, fitted with a beech wood stock and a rubber recoil pad
Recoil pad
A recoil pad is a piece of rubber, foam, leather or other soft material usually attached to the buttstock of a rifle. Recoil pads may also be worn around the shoulder with straps, placing the soft material between the buttstock and shoulder of the person firing the rifle.The purpose of this device...
. A negative point was that the barrel pivot was a low cost pin rather than a bolt/nut assembly, and this could lead to barrel and cylinder misalignment. The Mercury, being a spring-gun suffered from recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
and was quite noisy for an air rifle. Range was limited to about 40m, with 20-25m being the maximum hunting range.
The rifle was packed in a polystyrene tray with a printed cardboard sleeve. The standard kit included a bottle of oil, a small tube of eley wasp pellets and a pressed steel target holder with a few targets.
Upgrades
In response to increased competition from German Manufactured Air weapons’ it was re-launched in 1980 as the Mercury "S" with a checkered Walnut stock, an articulated cocking lever and a fully bluedBluing (steel)
Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface...
metalwork finish. .The quality of the "S" version is generally considered superior to earlier guns.
In 1985, it was upgraded again to the BSA Mercury Challenger with the addition of the maxigrip scope rail, before being superseded by the BSA Lightning
BSA Supersport Air Rifle
The BSA Supersport is an air rifle produced by BSA Guns Limited a subsidiary of Spanish manufacturer Gamo. It is essentially the same rifle as the Lightning, the only difference being that the Lightning has the BSA Volumetric Silencer fitted. It is made in three calibres, 0.177" , 0.22" and 0.25"...
in 1986.