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Topic starter
12/12/2017 14:59:52
Oscar Will side lever gallery airgun.
This gun was advertised on the Czech Aukro action website. Note the double set trigger.
See also:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/681456/message/1426964228/Unknown+German+lever+action+gallery+rifle
With thanks to Eberhard for the heads up.
Topic starter
02/04/2020 16:32:55
Oscar Will side lever gallery airgun (detailed pics incl stripdown)
With thanks for these pics to Matt.
Matt says: "So the condition is lovely, the forestock is an early replacement but everything else is in nice original well used condition.
When I initially saw the auction photo's I thought it was made of Brass, but closer inspection confirms it is steel with the nicely aged remains of an original lacquer finish which was applied to some metal parts of these airguns, with the barrel and cylinder being blacked.
The fit of all the metal parts and the inletting of the stock is extremely good.
There is also some nice floral carving and checkering around the grip.
One of the most striking things about this airgun is the ornate trigger guard, which is very comfortable to hold,and beautifully made.
Disassembly definitely required a spring compressor. Internally it was all in remarkably good shape. No rust or damage and the springs were as good as new.
The large leather piston seal was no longer sealing effectively so I replaced the top leather washer with an oversized one and it was once again sealing well.
The trigger mechanism was very nicely made and looked like it was made yesterday.
Along with a replacement forestock it seems the barrel release mechanism had been replaced by a simple steel wedge which would be removed to allow the barrel to tilt down for loading, then pushed back in to pull the barrel back down firmly. Although it's basic it locks the barrel down very well.
Under the Barrel can be seen the O.W and crown mark of Oscar Will, along with a number 3 which is repeated on the trigger plate, side plate and top plate. These are hidden when the airgun is assembled.
Once it was back together and I was happy the piston was sealing nicely I finally set about shooting it.
I tried a few pellets and found H&N FTT 6.35 best. They were tight so I sized them by pushing them all the way through the barrel. This took them down to 6.24mm which worked well. The barrel had a few tight spots at the breech end and towards the middle.
It was quite an effort to cock but not too bad. The balance for standing shots is fantastic, the trigger guard makes a nice grip and the trigger is light and positive.
The firing action is very pleasant, without the twang of conventional springs. It chrono's at 2.3ftlbs which is about right I believe.
It seems quite accurate at 8yds. I will do some accuracy tests in due course, hopefully with some .25darts, which is what it was supposed to shoot.