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The BSA Super10 Air Rifle
By Brad Troyer
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The airgun industry has been introducing some very innovative airguns over the past few years. One of these airguns was the BSA Super10. It was first shown off at the 1997 Shot Show. I had an opportuninty to review that gun. It was a prototype of the 12 ft. lbs. British gun. I was very impressed with that its accuracy and handling. Recently, BSA upgraded the Super10 to FAC levels. I was really looking forward to testing the high power version of the Super10.
BSA is well know in the airgun world for their high quality airguns. Up to now their airgun line has been focused on spring piston airguns. They have held off on entering into the pre-charged pneumatic market. The Super10 represents their first attempt to design and build a pre-charge gun. The did a good job their first time out. The Super10 is a well designed and built airgun. Right out of the box it was impressive handling and nice to shoot.
The Super10 design has capitalized on the successful and popular design of the Theoben Rapid 7. On the surface, the Super10 has the same basic design as the Rapid 7. Like the Rapid 7, it uses a removable buddy bottle air reservoir, it has a removable magazine, and it uses a bolt action for shot repetition. Beyond that, the Super10 is different.
One of the biggest differences is the inlet/exhaust valving and regulator. This system was designed to use the compressed air very efficiently and it is the subject of three patents. The inlet/exhaust valving and regulator meters out just enough air to produce the needed power for maximum performance. Shooting around 30 ft. lbs. I was getting around 50 usable shots from each charge.
The 300cc buddy bottle is made of steel. The buddy bottle was easily removed and filled from a SCUBA tank. One thing I liked about the removable bottle is that the gun could remain safe while the bottle was being filled. I found care had to be taken when removing a filled bottle from the gun. The bottle had to be loosened one turn and then several blank shots fired before a filled bottle could be removed. If you don't follow this routine, the seal on the buddy bottle can be damaged. This is something that they had better stress in the owner's manual.
The first time I picked up the Super10 I realized that the gun was well balance. This was a typical response from others to whom I have shown the gun. I was impressed with the nicely finished beech stock and checkering on the pistol grip. The raised cheek piece nicely positioned me eye behind the scope for excellent alignment. The butt is nicely contoured and the recoil pad is vertically adjustable with only one screw. The long fore end allows a nice grip when shooting off hand, without having to grip the buddy bottle. I found it to be rather slick however, it could really use some checkering on it too. The finish on the metal work was very good, the bluing was flawless and the machining on the receiver was well done. This gun was very well made.
One of the features I like best about the Super10 is the two stage match adjustable trigger that comes standard. The first and second stage travel are adjustable as is the trigger weight. The trigger blade is adjustable forward and backward to allow for long and short fingers. I found that to be particularly nice. The trigger blade comes standard with a trigger shoe, another nice feature. I only adjusted the trigger lightly on the second stage travel. I found it a bit long, but the rest of the standard settings were fine. I found the trigger to be crisp and smooth. The only thing I didn't like on the test rifle was the angle of the trigger blade. It sloped a little too far forward which probably could have been corrected with a few adjustments.
The Super10 is a 10 shot repeater. BSA decided to use the same basic design of them agazine used on their Goldstar spring gun. In fact, the Goldstar magazine can be used in the Super10, but not the other way around. In the future, both magazines will be interchangeable. To load the magazine, the magazine is held between the index finger and thumb, a pellet is loaded, and the magazine is advanced by rotating it with your thumb. When the magazine is full a white dot appears on the rotating pellet holder. The same dot indicates the last pellet is being chambered after the magazine is loaded into the gun. Once I got the hang of loading the magazine, I found I could load it quickly and easily. One thing I would like to see them add to the magazine is an index number on the rotating pellet holder. I found many times wondering how many shots I had left in the magazine. A number on the magazine would let you know at a glance how many shots remain.
To shoot the Super10, the bolt is pulled and locked into the back position. The magazine is then installed from the left side and the bolt is closed. The gun is ready to fire. Upon firing, pulling the bolt backwards moves a new pellet in-line with the barrel and sets the trigger. Pushing the bolt back forward then seats the pellet in the barrel. The whole firing cycle was smooth and reliable. The report of the Super10 was rather loud. Almost as loud as a .22 rimfire rifle. BSA has a moderator that is optional that can be installed that would definitely help the report level.
The safety, located on the right side just below the bolt, is a simple slide arrangement. When slide forward, a red dot appears indicating the gun is ready to fire. In the rearward position, the safety is applied. I first thought that this was a rather odd and difficult place to put the safety. However, after doing a little hunting with the gun, I found that my thumb naturally rested right on top of the safety when I held the gun with my right hand and the butt up under my arm. This was a nice touch.
| Crosman Premiers 10.5 |
Beeman Kodiak Match |
|
|---|---|---|
| Average Velocity | 952.5 | 840.0 |
| Standard Deviation | 2.68 | 3.43 |
| Highest | 956 | 844 |
| Lowest | 946 | 834 |
| Extreme Spread | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| Weight | 14.3 | 21.1 |
| Energy | 28.8 | 33.1 |
The FAC Super10 came supplied with a BSA 3-12x scope. I mounted it on the scope rails machined into the top of the receiver. I found that the Super10 performed very well with a variety of pellets. The Crosman Premiers and Beeman Kodiaks grouped extremely well at 50 yards. I also fired the Premiers at 75 and 100 yards. The 75 yard group measured 1.25" while the the 100 yard group was 2.5". Not bad for an airgun! BSA has long been known for accurate barrels. That would account for the excellent accuracy of the Super. That and the free floating barrel. It doesn't look like it does, but the shroud under the barrel doesn't actually contact the barrel. I had to slide a dollar bill along the barrel to prove it to myself that it was really free floating.
The Super10 didn't shoot any of the pointed pellets that I tested in it accurately. They tended to do a nice spiral as they went down range. I don't know if this is a problem with the gun, but I have seen other high power precharge air rifle have the same problem.
| Crosman Premiers 10.5 |
Beeman Kodiak Match |
|
|---|---|---|
| Average Accuracy | 0.93 | 0.76 |
| Smallest | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| Largest | 1.50 | 1.13 |
In all, I found the Super10 to be accurate and pleasant to shoot. I took the Super10 on a little hunting expedition in the woods behind my house and found it to handle very nicely in the woods. The light weight and balance were a big plus. The Super10 was designed primarily as a hunting airgun. To this end they accomplished their goal. It was a lot of fun as a plinker too. It had way more power than is needed for plinking but the repeater function made it fun for shooting.
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BSA Super10 Specs
| Model | Super10 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | BSA Guns Birmingham UK/FONT> |
| Type | Pre-charged Pneumatic |
| Power Source | 300cc detachable air reservoir |
| Caliber | .177 & .22 |
| Energy | 25-30 ft. lb. |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 |
| Overall Length | 37" |
| Weight | 7.5 lbs. |
| Barrel | 17.5" |
| Sights | None |
| Stock | Satin finished Beech |
| Safety | Manual Slide |
| Trigger | 2 stage match adjustable |
| Retail Price | $999 |
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