I've got one at last .......

[Jonjon79 13,358]

........ A .177 BSA Mercury Challenger 

 

It's not strictly 100% original, it has been tastefully restored - all of the metalwork has been reblued, the rear block has been enameled, seals have been replaced and, the stock has been refinished.

........ The previous owner spent some money on this and, it's come up nice

 

When I first started shooting air rifles in the early/mid 90s, my first rifle was a .22 Challenger - I sold that years ago.

Since I returned to the sport, around 4yrs ago, I've been looking for one - then this came up, in my favourite calibre

 

It arrived on Wednesday and, although it's got its open sights, I dug out a little 4x32 Hawke Sport scope with a simple duplex reticle - Perfect

 

Then the 'Oh bollocks' moment - I didn't have any mounts wide enough to fit the Maxigrip rail

........ After a bit of research and, because I'm impatient, I turned the removable half of the jaw on a set of Sportsmatch mounts upside down and, they fitted perfectly.

 

I managed to get down to Black Cat for a couple of hours to zero the scope and, just get more acquainted with this little rifle.

 

The first thing that became obvious was that I've definitely been taking my heavy TX for granted - This little Challenger needs more concentration to shoot accurately.

........ It's not what I'd call jumpy or overly hold sensitive but, the low weight of the rifle and, a heavier trigger than I'm used to demanded a decent technique.

 

So far, I got best results with the forend resting in my left hand, thumb and finger gently over the stock screws and, my right thumb on top of the rear block so that I could bring my thumb and finger together with equal pressure as I squeezed the trigger.

Also, follow through seemed to be an absolute must

 

I'll have a look at the trigger later - I don't dislike the slightly heavy first stage but, I'd prefer a more defined second stage.

 

The previous owner had been using FAPs through it so, I gave those a go and, they seemed to work well.

For a first go, I zeroed at 25yrds which, looks a bloody long way on x4 mag

...... I also had some .177 Polymags in the car so, I gave those a whirl as well.

 

I did shoot the yard plates at 8yrds and 35yrds a fair few times to check for crossover while using these mounts but, there wasn't any that I could find.

 

The 2 targets below are 10 shots of FAP on the left and, 10 Polymags on the right.

 ...... You can see where the little Challenger punished me for any lapse in concentration 

 

All in all, it's a cracking little rifle from my younger days and, I'm chuffed to bits that I've now got one

[Jonjon79 13,358]

Just for comparison..........

 

TX200hc - 4.95kg.

Mercury Challenger - 3.37kg.

[Deker 3,478]

What do I know, but that stock and more than a bit of the metalwork seem to bear a striking resemblance to the Airsporter.

Understandable I suppose!

 

[si brown 8,486]

very nice jon

the blokes done a mint job restoring it.. its proper smart. 

ive got a set of proper 13mm dt sports match you can have if there the right size for it, I'll not need them again!

ps.. your new mods just turned up this will be a learning curve!! lol

atb si 

[Jonjon79 13,358]

1 hour ago, si brown said:

very nice jon

the blokes done a mint job restoring it.. its proper smart. 

ive got a set of proper 13mm dt sports match you can have if there the right size for it, I'll not need them again!

ps.. your new mods just turned up this will be a learning curve!! lol

atb si 

Cheers mate - I'm well pleased with it

 

I'll bung you a text about those mounts

 

That sheeting's got the potential to come up really nice - feck knows how you're going to make that into a tube though.

Is it as flexible as it looks?

 ...... Good luck mate - I'll look forward to seeing how you get on with it

[Jonjon79 13,358]

2 hours ago, Deker said:

What do I know, but that stock and more than a bit of the metalwork seem to bear a striking resemblance to the Airsporter.

Understandable I suppose!

 

I can see a difference in the cheekpiece and the checkering on the grip.

Also, the rear sloping block thingy on the Challenger sits slightly higher than the Maxigrip rail - it acts as a bit of an arrestor for the scope mount.

 

Apart from that, I've seen a lot of similarities between these 2 and the other Mercury's

[pav 481]

They have done a cracking job on it looks stunning

[Jonjon79 13,358]

18 minutes ago, pav said:

They have done a cracking job on it looks stunning

Cheers Pav

 

 

[villaman 9,982]

Very smart and by the looks of it a great referb too

[Jonjon79 13,358]

9 minutes ago, villaman said:

Very smart and by the looks of it a great referb too

Cheers mate

I stumbled on it by accident - it was in the collectables area on BBS. I never look in there.

[tomburras 2,730]

Wow very nice. Had one of these too in the 90's - that looks a lovely stock too!

[Jonjon79 13,358]

1 hour ago, tomburras said:

Wow very nice. Had one of these too in the 90's - that looks a lovely stock too!

Cheers Tom

 

The amount of times I wished I hadn't sold my first one.

[tomburras 2,730]

Same here - and my bsa meteor, webley tracker and hw85!. Its like the old saying grandads say, i wish i knew what i know now back then. It' nice to indulge in a bit of nostalgic shooting sometimes. That is a bueaty by the way. A keeper for sure!

[j j m 6,596]

looks good jon mate

[mark williams 7,563]

Lovely looking rifle Tom  - classics always are.

                     I was shooting the Mercury rifle in .22 way back in the 70`s and took a hillside of vermin with them.

Ayeeee to be 17 again 

                    Great addition Tom.