Webley Rebel multi-pump pneumatic: Part 2

24 Mar.,2023

 

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by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

Part 1


Webley Rebel multi-pump pneumatic air rifle.

This report covers:

• Test design
• Velocity with Crosman Premier lite pellets
• Average with Crosman Premier lite pellets
• Velocity with RWS Hobby pellets
• Average with RWS Hobby pellets
• Velocity with H&N Baracuda Match pellets
• Average with H&N Baracuda Match pellets
• How fast?
• Pump effort
• Trigger-pull
• Made by Sharp
• Evaluation thus far

Today, we’ll look at the velocity of the Webley Rebel multi-pump pneumatic. As you read in Part 1, this rifle is advertised to get 963 f.p.s. in .177 on a full charge of 8 pumps. We’ll see if that’s the case.

Test design
I first test multi-pumps with one pellet, using a different number of pump strokes ranging from 3 to the maximum. Then I test the same pellet in the middle range for consistency in velocity from shot to shot. I do that with several pellets. I also test the trigger-pull, which on this rifle varies as the pump strokes increase. I’ll also test the effort that’s needed for each pump stroke, because it’s greater than most multi-pumps.

Velocity with Crosman Premier lite pellets
We will start with Crosman Premier 7.9-grain pellets.

Pumps…….Velocity
3……………..594
4……………..660
5……………..690
6……………..748
7……………..774
8……………..811

I note the velocity increases in large amounts with each pump stroke. It doesn’t slow down until pump 8. For those who have to know, I did pump the rifle 9 times and shot another Premier lite pellet. The velocity was 816 f.p.s. No advantage in pumping over 8 times, just like the manual says.

These are VERY high velocities for the number of pumps! The test rifle is clearly delivering power as promised.

Average with Crosman Premier lite pellets
Next, I tested the rifle with 10 shots with Premier lites, pumping 4 strokes per shot. The average velocity was 665 f.p.s. with a low of 652 and a high of 671. The spread is 19 f.p.s. At the average velocity, the rifle produces 7.76 foot-pounds of energy. On 8 pumps, it develops 11.54 foot pounds.

Velocity with RWS Hobbys
I next tested the rifle with RWS Hobby pellets the same way I tested with Premiers. Here are the results.

Pumps…….Velocity
3……………..638
4……………..708
5……………..763
6……………..791
7……………..832
8……………..845

The performance curve is similar to the one with Premier lites — every time another pump was added, the velocity jumped a lot until pump 8. I think Webley has designed this rifle to perform exactly as they want it to, and nothing more.

Average with RWS Hobby pellets
Since the rifle shoots so fast on just 3 pumps, I shot a string with 3 pumps instead of 4. The average velocity with Hobbys was 636 f.p.s. with a low of 631 and a high of 641 f.p.s. That’s a 10 f.p.s. spread and an average energy of 6.29 foot-pounds! For most backyard plinking and target shooting, 3 pumps are all you need; but with 8 pumps, this pellet produces 11.10 foot-pounds!

Velocity with H&N Baracuda Match pellets
Next, I shot H&N Baracuda Match pellets. I could see the rifle was performing in a very stable way so I abbreviated the first test string to 3 pumps, 5 pumps and 8 pumps.

Pumps…….Velocity
3……………..537
5……………..679
8……………..733

Pneumatic guns do better with heavier pellets, so this performance did not come as a surprise. I think 3 pumps strokes are all you need for most situations, unless you’re hunting.

Average with H&N Baracuda Match pellets
On 3 pumps, Baracuda Match averaged 537 f.p.s., with a low of 532 f.p.s. and a high of 541. That’s just a 9 f.p.s spread. The average muzzle energy for 3 pumps was 6.82 foot-pounds. On 8 pumps, this pellet developed 12.72 foot-pounds.

How fast?
We see this pneumatic already out-performs all others on the market at this time. I’m not talking about hybrids that are both PCPs and multi-pumps, but just straight multi-pumps. And people want to know if it will achieve its advertised velocity of 963 f.p.s., so I pumped it 8 times and shot a 5.2-grain RWS HyperMAX pellet. The velocity was 907 f.p.s in the test rifle. I’m willing to believe that some rifles may hit 963 f.p.s., but not the one I’m testing. However, it’s so much faster than anything else on the market that it doesn’t matter!

Pump effort
I tested the force required to close the pump handle for every pump stroke from 1 to 8. The results were better (easier) than I predicted, but also heavier than other multi-pumps.

Pumps…….Effort (lbs.)
1…………………17
2…………………35
3…………………41
4…………………44
5…………………44
6…………………45
7…………………47
8…………………48

You’ll get a workout pumping this rifle, which is why I think sticking to 3 pumps for most causal shooting is fine.

Trigger-pull
The trigger becomes harder to pull with every pump stroke with the type of valve that’s in the Rebel. So, I tested the pull at 3 critical points.

Pumps…….Trig.-Pull (lbs.)
3…………………3 lbs., 7 oz.
5…………………3 lbs., 13 oz.
8…………………4 lbs., 14 oz.

While there’s an increase in the pull required, it’s nothing like the triggers on the vintage Sharp Innovas. I would say the makers have solved the trigger issue! You’ll notice an increase in the trigger-pull after 5 pump strokes, but it never becomes bothersome.

Made by Sharp
Blog reader Mel pointed out that the rear sight still bears the name Sharp — the original maker of the rifle. So, the speculation is over — this is indeed a Sharp Innova by another name.


Sharp name is still on the rear sight. Thanks, Mel.

Evaluation thus far
All I can say is that I REALLY hope this rifle is accurate; because in all other ways, it looks like a winner! I’ve seen some remarkable groups on the internet, but they didn’t use my criteria. I only hope this rifle delivers. If it does, this will be a best buy!

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