BSA Meteor Mk1(ish) Rebuild

[Jaydog74]

Hi, all. New to the forum, old shooter just getting back into it!

Now, I've seen plenty of entries regarding the Meteor Mk1, but I just have a few specific things I'd like some help or advice on.

My father-in-law has given me an old Mk1 Meteor. Mostly. Decided to make it a lockdown furlough project. I say mostly, because it's the barrel of a Mk1, in the stock of what appears to be a Mk5 (maybe). Not entirely sure what the piston is from, but it does shoot!! At least, after I freed up a seized piston! It had been in his loft for over a decade, apparently, and he was given it by a mate. He likes tinkering and used to shoot a lot, back up in Yorkshire. Anyway.....the rifle...

Now. Got all the parts I need. Got a Mk1 stock for it because the stock it had looked like one side of the fore grip had been snapped off and glued back together! What I'd like to know is; what are the most suitable pellets for the. 177? Can I, or is there any point in getting a moderator for it? If so what and where from? It does have ironsights, so, has a block to hold the foresight blade. Also looking at a basic scope, for plinking. Grooves on the cylinder seem to be about 11mm. Heard elsewhere that they don't hold scopes brilliantly. Any ideas?

TIA.

[GingerCat]

I like silencers, even on springers.  You'll find you can hear it whizz about inside and it sounds quite loud, 20 feet away it's pretty q. At least my 99 was. Without it on it had a bit of a crack to it. 

[strimmer_13]

I had a mk1 years ago. It wasnt pushing much, probably about 7ftlb. I wouldnt put a silencer on it even tho i also like silencers on springers. I just sold a load of spares for one. 

As for the scope, a little 4x32 looked good on mine, didnt ruin the slim lines of the gun. As for pellets, i used wasps but mine was a .22 and last used in about '95. 

[Modafinale]

Marksman pellets , where the ones we had as boys 

[Mr.C]

I'd just buy a decent tin of diabolo pellets and try those. Whatever make you buy will be good enough for garden plinking. I wouldn't bother with a mod and stick with the iron sights for now. 

Keep it simple. 

[London Best]

Sorry to disillusion you, Jaydog, but Mk 1 Meteors do not have standard 11mm scope rails. They all had two sets of grooves pressed into the cylinder. I think they were 17mm or could even have been 19. Mk1’s require special scope mounts. You have a later cylinder. Hope this helps.

[Jaydog74]

50 minutes ago, London Best said:

Sorry to disillusion you, Jaydog, but Mk 1 Meteors do not have standard 11mm scope rails. They all had two sets of grooves pressed into the cylinder. I think they were 17mm or could even have been 19. Mk1’s require special scope mounts. You have a later cylinder. Hope this helps.

Yeah. Figured the cylinder wasn't a Mk1. It just has a pair of grooves, about 4" long, on it. Hope the pic helps!

1 hour ago, strimmer_13 said:

I had a mk1 years ago. It wasnt pushing much, probably about 7ftlb. I wouldnt put a silencer on it even tho i also like silencers on springers. I just sold a load of spares for one. 

As for the scope, a little 4x32 looked good on mine, didnt ruin the slim lines of the gun. As for pellets, i used wasps but mine was a .22 and last used in about '95. 

Ha! Used to use wasps for everything, about 20 years ago!

[London Best]

I had a Mk 1 brand new in 1961. Sold it in ‘63 then bought another one secondhand in ‘64 which I kept until about 1972 ish. I have had two since, one I rebuilt and sold on and a very nice one which resides in my BSA collection. To me the Mk1 is THE Meteor, although my son in law has a very useful Mk 5.

Edit to say, the original scopes were the BSA 2x, plastic construction with reticle which moved for adjustment. Surprisingly, they lasted quite well. I still have two of them. Incidentally, the Mk 1 Meteor was the very first air rifle (in the world I think) to be offered with telescopic sights.

Edited May 16, 2020 by London Best