Webley Raider Classic air rifle – review

Webley Raider Classic review

Webley is one of the oldest names in the gun trade. The company has produced some of the most famous firearms the world has ever seen, including some classic airguns. They’ve moved with the times, of course, and modern Webley airguns offer the latest technology and superb performance at an affordable price.

The Webley Raider Classic is Webley’s latest PCP (pre-charged pneumatic). With a retail price of £449.99, it’s a light and compact air rifle offering superb accuracy and well over 100 full power 11.5ft/lb shots from one fill of the reservoir in the .22 model.

In March 2020, we sent out a survey about kit and had 3,500 responses. Webley comes bottom or near bottom of our PCP rankings, but it still has a strong fan base. There’s something about owning a slice of British heritage that appeals to British airgun shooters.

Viewer Neil from the UK has had a Webley Raider .22 for more than five years. He paid less than £500 for it and uses a Hake scope. He uses it for plinking and pest control. He shoots Webley Accupels through it, which he recommends.

Viewer Graham from the UK also has a five-year-old Raider .22, which he rates for reliability and value for money. He has a Hawke Sport HD 3-9x50 scope and his choice of pellet is Air Arms Diabolo Field.

Viewer Michael from the UK has a Raider .177, which he uses for pest control. He gives it five stars out of five for fit, accuracy, looks, reliability, value for money, and he praises distributor Highland Outdoors for customer service

Guy from the UK has an FAC-rated Raider in .22 for squirrel and rabbit shooting. He says: ”I bought it with a synthetic stock for practical reasons. However, the stock did not absorb sound from action and creaked when handling the rifle. I changed it to a walnut stock: so much better and looks amazing.”

Daniel from the UK is a back-garden plinker who uses a Raider in .22. He praises it for looks, value for money, fit, reliability and accuracy. He uses RWS Superdome pellets.

“It’s a nice small, short package weighing just 3kg,” explains Ryan Charlton of distributors Highland Outdoors.

The gun Ryan shows off has a lovely Turkish walnut stock with stippling on the grip and fore-end. The stock is ambidextrous, with a raised cheekpiece, and the rubber butt pad is adjustable up, down, left and right for a perfect fit in the shoulder.

“The stock is very ergonomic,” says Ryan. “You can shoot with your thumb up, around the grip or on the side, whichever suits you so you can get to the bolt nice and quickly.”

The trigger is fully adjustable, and there’s a safety catch that falls nicely under your thumb. The scope rails are cleverly designed to accept Picatinny mounts or standard 3/8 in dovetail mounts.

The air reservoir is compact and has Webley’s unique balance valve system to make it super efficient and consistent. It’s filled through an adapter at the front end, which has a rotating collar to keep it free from dust and debris. There’s an integrated pressure gauge just in front of the trigger guard so you can keep an eye on air pressure.

The Webley Raider Classic comes in two versions: the Sport model, and the Quantum with a shrouded barrel at the slightly higher price of £489.99. Both versions are available in .22 or .177, and have a standard 1/2 in UNF thread for a moderator.

Find out more at HighlandOutdoors.co.uk

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Webley Raider Classic review

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