Webley Omega

Webley & Scott is one of the most recognized names in the airgun industry. Recently, the plant located in England was closed and a new plant was opened in Turkey. The Webley Omega that I have for this review is one from the Turkish plant.

Now many folks will tell you that anything made in Turkey simply can't be as good as what is made in England. I've owned airguns from both locations, and I find it hard to tell the difference in appearance, fit and finish, between the two guns that I have seen. Granted, they were different models, and I didn't have them for a side-by-side comparison, but I'm not going to automatically write off a gun just because of on-line bias from folks who haven't actually held one of the Turkish models in their own hands.

Last blog entry, I reviewed the Webley Typhoon pistol, and if you read it, you'll note that I was not overly impressed. However, the Webley Omega is a different animal all together! The gun I was given for review is a very nice example of what can come from the new plant, and in .177, I was very pleased with the firing behavior and accuracy this model delivered. Let's take a closer look at the Omega.


As you can see, the stock is truly ambidextrous, suitable for left or right handed shooters. The wood is a nice hardwood, though the grain is plain. I found the comb of the buttstock just a tad high for open sight shooting....I had to lean my head a little more sideways than I liked to get my eye down and in-line with the metal open sights. However, any scope you put on it works well.



The rear sight is a nicely adjustable, metal affair. Nicely made and very useful if you are an open sight shooter.



The front sight is incorporated into the muzzlebrake affixed to the end of the barrel. It works very well with rear sight and provides an extra grip to cock the gun, which has a substantial cocking effort.



One of the nicest things that I enjoy about the Webley line of rifles is that the safety is so well located, and easily placed on or off. This hasn't changed in the Omega rifle, and the safety is well positioned for easy access.

I shot several pellets through the gun, and here are some pics of chrony readings and the pellet used to get the result you see. The Crosman Premiers, weighing 7.9 grains, were the slowest pellet tested. I believe this is because of the thick skirt on this pellet, which doesn't expand as easily as some others, sealing off the barrel during the firing process. I averaged 709 fps with the Crosman pellets.



The Meisters that I shot were wadcutters, and they clocked in significantly faster at 771 fps.



The RWS Superdomes were the fastest pellet I tested in this weight range. They clocked in at 841 fps. Once again, I believe the skirt on the pellet makes the difference in the velocity of the projectile.



Accuracy was excellent, and the following pic is of a 4-shot pattern that I shot after I mounted a Nikko Stirling scope to the gun. The range was 20 yards, and as you see, three of the shots were touching, a nice cloverleaf arrangement. The 4th shot was a called flyer....I knew the shot was off before I even checked the results.



My only complaint on this gun is that the robust spring causes the scope to creep somewhat. I was using a one-piece mount with three retaining screws, but it still managed to creep along on each shot. So a scope-stop is called for, or Webley needs to provide a milled hole in the top of the receiver for a scope stop pin to be used.

How do I rate this gun? Very nicely....I'm pleased with the power and accuracy, and it is an appealing gun to look at as well. Shot behavior is nice, with hardly any twang from this gun. I recommend it with little reservation as a worthy addition to your airgun collection.