The Theoben Sirocco Deluxe.

[secretagentmole 1,701]

As some of you may have read, I have recently acquired a Theoben Sirocco Deluxe. I will detail how I got it, what I paid for it, what it has cost so far and what it is like.

 

Well near the House of Mole is an establishment called Holts. They are an auction house who specialise in guns, I do mean specialise, 4 times a year they hold live auctions in London where the really expensive stuff sells (like £30,000 guns), shortly after that they hold a sealed bid auction, basically you decide what you are willing to pay and submit that bid. They have days where you can view the items for sale and living close to the sale we pay a visit!

 

Well we spied this in the online list (which is very good, most lots have a photo and the descriptions of the lots are very accurate), Theoben Sirocco with Tasco 4x32 Scope, Action at fault. This meant they had a Sirocco in, which did not fire. They did not know why, they are selling on behalf of customer as spares or repair basically. Now the Sirocco is a simple little beast, it has three main faults, it can lose pressure if not used, the ram seals can deteriorate and they are no longer made, or the cocking link can break! Well we got in on a viewing day and I picked up this beautiful gun. Nicely balanced, the stock is walnut, rather than hyedua. It also had a period scope on, shorter barrel length with silencer/cocking aid (noticeable wear to bluing on the barrel and a slight graze on it too). I picked it up and broke the action, too damned easy, way too easy, like way way too easy...

 

Now this means the cocking link is intact as no nasty noises emanated from the action, there was some resistance but not a lot, so there is a chance the seals are still there, just it has been laid up and now needs some attention!, The wood stock was somewhat dull, suggesting she had not been given any attention in a good few years. After consulting with the manufacturer who are about 40 miles away from me (in a village where I used to live as a matter of fact), I found the ram could be replaced with an HE version if that had failed for under £100, a manufacturer service was £75, a hose to top the ram up was £27! Not so bad!

 

Mary told me to bid £127 for the rifle, so I did. The suggested bid range was £50 to £100, bear in mind this has an Anschutz barrel on it, working trigger and a scope hat is old, but still works and this was not bad price wise. Well 10:30am on the 4th of the month came and went, no more bids were being accepted, time to see if I got lucky. I had, very lucky, the beast was mine, total cost including commission and VAT £163.10. Mary picked it up on the Friday. Well I got my hands on her and found that there was not all that much info out on strip down, basically trigger guard off first, then the screws that hold the fore end, then the second and well hidden screw that the trigger guard screws into at the front of the trigger guard! Oh yes sneaky hidden!

 

The action then comes out of the stock very easily. Uncover the Shrader valve which is hidden under a piece of blakc plastic and then a screw, press and fffttttt! Air emerges in a brief final flurry. Realise you have not got a hose and then nag wife! Wife finally gives in and gets the hose from Theoben. Screw hose onto pump, screw action onto hose, pump ye varmint, up to about 50 psi to test everything. Screw action back into gun. Cock, no lock, cock, no lock, cock, click, the trigger mechanism engages. Fire! Pellet refuses to leave barrel. Rods out, clear pellet, strip and repump to about 700psi.

 

Rebuild mechanism. 17.83 FPE! Tap valve, too much out, 6.32 FPE, BOTHER! Action out and pump like hell, pump way too hard, so let some out before it goes back into the gun. 14.32 FPE, tap gently, 12, 37, tap again, probe gets stuck, all the damned air out of the valve. Swear loudly, curse like a navvy, take action out of stock. More air in, 13,37, thinner probe, tap valve, 11. 23 hooray! Test again, 11.27, again, 11.23, 11.23, action back out for final rebuild!

 

Screw in back of action covering Shrader valve (threadlocked in place), plastic cover on, now there is a sticker inside the stock that advises that the screws should be threadlocked into place, that was done, trigger refitted and the thing that was sold as not working is! I have tested the FPE and it has reduced to 10.89 foot pound energy and it has stayed there. so it seems to be happy at that.

 

Cocking, a little more effort that seems to be required for an equivalent spring or more modern gas ram. Firing, very nice 2 stage trigger, very precise! Recoil slight and predictable. Accuracy, good, very good, very very good. I like this gun. With care and attention she should last another 26 years or so!

[PIL 7]

Nice write up there Mike and well done on your new purchase