BSA Scorpion SE Review | PCP Rifle

Created and manufactured in Birmingham, England, this rifle will amaze you with its gorgeous lines and premium workmanship. Most importantly the precision you will achieve with BSA’s BSA Scorpion SE will leave lasting impressions on any user.

It is great for hunting and pest removal as that’s exactly the purpose it was designed to accomplish. But don’t restrict yourself to just that. It will provide plenty of fun shooting spinners, paper targets, and tin containers.

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BSA Scorpion SE Features:

  • Precharged Pneumatic
  • Manual Safety
  • Single Shot
  • Bolt action (can be changed between LH and RH use!)
  • Free-floated barrel
  • Match-grade barrels are fitted with muzzle brake
  • Hammer-forged Rifling
  • 11mm scope rail
  • Monte Carlo wood stock with checkered grip and forearm
  • Sling swivel studs
  • Quick-disconnect charging
  • Maximum Shots Per Fill 40
  • 23 bar (3,364 psi) maximum fill pressure

BSA Scorpion SE Technical Specifications

ManufacturerBSA Guns Limited UK
Caliber.177, .22, .25
Available (Stock Options)Beech
Walnut
Soft Touch Camo
Black Synthetic
Velocity1000 fps
Ammo TypePellets
ActionBolt-action
Barrel StyleRifled
Maximum Fill Pressure232 Bar
Muzzle Energy9.4 ft/lbs (out of box) Adjusted to 11.4ft/lbs
Fire ModeRepeater
Gun Weight7.70
Barrel Length18.50
Overall Length36.50
Magazine Capacity10
Loudness5-High
MechanismPre-charged pneumatic
Rail11mm dovetail
SafetyManual
Rear Sightsnone
Front Sightsnone
Shots per Fill40
Trigger AdjustabilityTwo-stage adjustable
Trigger Action0
UseTarget practice/Small game hunting
Warranty2-year limited warranty

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BSA Scorpion SE Air Rifle Details

Fast-Strike Hammer System

Within the 10-shot bolt mechanism, BSA fits its Fast-Strike Hammer system. It uses lighter hammers and stiff springs to cut down on the time of action, resulting in a clean shot cycle. It is also extremely efficient as you can see through the ninety shots of .177.

The Scorpion is commonly called an auto-carbine, but it’s 41″ long, with a VC silencer of a great size. Its length is such that it’s still comfortable in your hand, unlike other guns that are too heavy or too small seem odd, and rarely shoot naturally.

Silencer

The silencer can be fitted directly onto the screw thread that has been cut into the barrel. It is a cold Hammer forged in the way only BSA can provide. Their barrels are such that they are admired by other gunmakers across the globe.

A special feature that is unique to the Scorpion is the fact that it is actually free-floating, in contrast to other rifles that claim to be. This means that the accuracy can’t be affected by external factors like the movement of the reservoir of air as it is filled.

In addition, I love the cap that covers the port that fills out of steel, and it screws into place. It is a pleasure to push the thread in the hope that the cap won’t fall off on the ground and then disappear. When the cap is put on, you can be sure it is safe to use the filler that stays completely clean, and in turn the gun’s internal parts as well.

Reliable & Smooth

The rifle is paired with a BSA Bolas bolt, which rides on a long chrome-plated shaft that delivers an elegant, polished action. I’m wondering if the large shaft helps reduce the binding forces from the sides and can create bolts with less weight. Whatever the reason it feels fantastic.

This rifle indexes the latest generation BSA magazine which I consider to be completely reliable. It takes some skill but once you’ve got it, they’re simple to use. 

Trigger

The rifle allows the user to adjust the trigger via the slit inside the guard, eliminating the requirement to take the guard off as well as the action from the stock to carry out adjustments as before.

The trigger can be adjusted in two stages and I’ll admit that I did not adjust it prior to purchasing the rifle because I rarely do. I enjoy testing rifles whenever I can, as they came from the factory.

Design

The rifle’s design puts the magazine in a low position which means there’s no protrusion or cut-out that could get in the way of mounting scopes, this is an excellent feature.

It’s possible to mount any scope, red-dot, or night-vision equipment anywhere on the rail, making setup an easy task. I was able to see that the dovetail on BSA’s is a slightly bigger version, however, SportsMatch produces mounts that are specifically designed to be able to fit, so there’s no problem with it.

Range

The air rifle was quick to zero at 30 yards. The 24 magnification of the scope made it possible to zoom in right on the card, and also adjust the crosshairs exactly to the position I needed them to be for an exact zero. I kept shooting my preferred 4 Duck Magnetic Knock Down targets which I had set at 30 yards, for approximately half an hour. Until I was confident that my Scorpion SE was shooting as accurately as it could using my chosen pellet. After shooting groups of mostly 1 inch within 30 yards, I extended my target paper to 50 yards and was ready for my first shot. In the grass, lying in a prone posture was quite comfortable. The grass in front of me has grown significantly since the last time I visited. I was taking care to ensure that the shot pellets were not in any way affected by ricochets that bounce off the blades of grass that were in my direction. After I took the first shot I missed my 140mm by 140mm trap completely and could hear the pellet hit the grass a few yards behind it.

It was a repetition of the procedure beginning with three mildots on the right of the target, assuming that the pellet was influenced by the slight left-to-right airflow. However, after 10 shots, using different holds under as well as holdover locations, I was not able in hitting the goal. I changed my focus to three mildots left side of the targets. I started with a mildot holdover and continued to shoot expanding my holding time until hitting the target with four mildots holding over, with three mildots on the left. I decided to not adjust my crosshairs but instead try to determine the most effective point of aim to hit the bullseye of the card. After about 20 shots, I discovered that my most effective goal was four mildots holding over and two and a half mildots left. I was now getting two inches of groupings at 50 yards and the more difficult I worked to decrease the size of my group, the more frustrated with the shooting I got.

Great Inventory

A lot of praise for this rifle is due to the design that the gun comes with, particularly the cheekpiece with a high profile. It provides the proper support for a scope. This rifle is a standard sporting stock with slim dimensions.

I conducted my normal full-power test, and despite my absolute faith in the rifle, there weren’t any surprises. The average velocity for my typical test shot that I used, which was the Air Arms Field Diablo .177 (8.4grains) was 778fps, which converts to 11.34ft. lbs. This is a great setting to ensure that I remain within the correct range of the UK power limit of 12 ft. lbs. Then, I had to check the accuracy.

Pros

To this day I’ve never experienced an issue with the latest BSA Scorpion SE magazines. The process of loading magazines requires some specific techniques however it’s a breeze to master and can be done quickly. I just hold the magazine’s drum using my left hand and load the pellets using my right hand, turning it with my index and thumb.

This is a reliable hunting gun that works well for most users right from the box. It’s precise and well-handled in the field and is guaranteed to perform as expected.

Multi-shot magazines work flawlessly and are also numbered to permit users to keep track of the shot count. It comes with an onboard manometer for keeping an eye on the fill pressure.

Cons

There’s no regulator inside the gun, therefore I was unsure why they’d describe valve designs as self-regulated when that is the way PCPs operate.

Although the number of shots was low, the spread was very tight and could be one of the most precise spreads of guns that aren’t controlled I’ve seen. This wasn’t just from one shot.

Even though the stock is ambidextrous the bolt, safety switch, or even the magazine port can’t be altered to accommodate users who are left-handed until a specific left-hand option is purchased directly at the retail store.

Air rifles are very heavy when it is being scoped and will require the use of sling studs fitted by the factory.

BSA Scorpion SE – Air Rifle VideoReview by theairguncentre

Conclusion

A long-standing English gun maker, Birmingham Small Arms Company was established in 1861. (BSA). They’ve made a range of vehicles, weapons, and other items through the many years. At present, BSA is most well-known for making high-quality PCP air rifles.

The BSA Scorpion is so much superior in terms of quality and refinement to other guns we’ve examined. This Scorpion has a.177 and.22 caliber bolt-action repeating gun.

The BSA Scorpion’s core lies in its 18.5″ barrel that is forged with hammers which are widely recognized as one of the best air gun barrels that have ever been built.

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