BSA Scorpion SE

Since the original Scorpion multishot PCP was launched, BSA Guns has continually upgraded the original by way of various design modifications. Having said that, let’s also not forget, the Scorpion was BSA’s first PCP air rifle to have a conventionally designed rear-mounted cocking bolt. However, though modified, the action and to some extent, the stock design, are still loosely and in places largely based on certain BSA PCP’s from past to present.

Forwarding to the here and now, the Scorpion family of PCP air rifles now make up what you could describe as BSA’s mid-range precharged guns. By that, I’m alluding to not only their sensible sporter dimensions but also the capabilities for general purpose and practical in-field usage.

Form & function

As many seasoned shooters realise, the handle you hold can transform any rifle in terms of balance, feel and practical usage. In that respect, the overall stock design of the Scorpion SE family, be that in Beech (as shown), Realtree Xtra or the Black Synthetic Tactical option, all differ in either a slight or more emphasised way. The wood options (one of which has a camo covering) are the most similar but for overall craftsmanship, I now feel the beech variant just pips the others to the post.

This particular stock option is ambidextrous and boasts an angled back, well-defined high cheekpiece with a relatively slim, yet more than suitable, ventilated black rubber butt pad. The slim neck has a thumb shelf, relatively shallow rake and a steep, yet not overly long, drop-down pistol grip. All these combine to give a very comfortable head position, snug shoulder fit and solid and secure hold. Initially, the forend seems to taper upwards quite sharply from the metal trigger guard to the small angled back end tip, however, on closer inspection it also has a flared ridge (as seen on the other wood option) that extends upwards diagonally from the same area, to finish at the very top, approximately mid-way along its length. It has a nicely rounded underside, which combined with all the other furniture features, helps the forend sit comfortably anywhere along its length in your leading hand hold.

To aid grip there are panels of fine but aggressive stippling, which are located underneath and either side of the forend, as well as both sides of the grip.

In fact, the stock is one of the most stylish you’ll find on any Beeza sporter, but this shouldn’t come as too great a surprise when you consider its manufacturers are Italian stock supremo’s, Minelli. Also, to add icing to the cake, the ergonomic stock has a mid-brown stain with a semimatt finish that helps highlight areas such as the stippling and forend.

Breath in

The rifle uses their now-familiar safety damped fill probe, which is pushed into the fill point hidden under the metal screw-on cover cap at the front of the air reservoir. A recommended fill of 232bar gives approximately 65 full power shots in .177 (on test) and a very impressive 100 in .22 or .25 calibre. A buttonsized air gauge is deeply recessed into the underside of the stock.

Familiar features

The Scorpion SE uses BSA’s now upgraded 10-shot, removable magazine, which features a colour coded, high impact polymer inner rotor. It is numbered and indexes around very smoothly. The rotor colours denote calibre with blue being .177, red .22 and black for .25. Also, the unit has a finger recess in the metal backplate, for ease of removal, as well as a small aperture hole that shows white in the faceplate to indicate you’re on the last shot.

The mechanics that cock and load the rifle, plus secure the magazine, are again all tried and trusted systems. These include a magazine retaining catch positioned just forward of the action block on the left and a rear-mounted cocking bolt.

To remove a magazine, you first need to pull the Bolas bolt fully rearward, then slide the magazine retaining catch forward. You can then lift the magazine out from the left of the action. Here’s where the finger groove in the forward section of the outer casing (backplate) shows its worth, as it does make it easy to access with either cold or gloved fingers. The new-look magazine certainly operates far better than previous designs, but for filling the operation remains the same.

First, you need to manually rotate the exposed part of the rotor against its spring tension. This allows you to thumb a pellet into each chamber as it appears when you start to let it unwind under your control. Once all 10-chambers are filled (8 for the .25 calibre model), you then simply slip it back into its housing, slide back the retaining catch and push in the cocking bolt. The rifles now ready to go, so it’s wise at this point to pull back the rocker-style safety catch sited rear/left of the action.

The setup

For the test, I used a Hawke Airmax 4-12x40 AO AMX and this was soon secured onto the uninterrupted scope rails using 2-piece mediumheight Sportsmatch mounts. The free-floating, 15.2”, cold hammerforged barrel was threaded ½” UNF and I opted to fit a BSA VC (Variable Choke) silencer. Even with this fitted, the rifle’s balance and handling weren’t affected in the slightest.

Incidentally, the rifle comes with a stylish ported muzzle brake rather than just a plain screw-on thread protector, however, though it looks the part, virtually all hunters will fit a silencer of choice.

Enhancements

The 2-stage, fully adjustable trigger unit with manual safety lever is certainly a far better mechanism than many give it credit. Set within a sturdy and stylish metal trigger guard, the ergonomically curved metal blade also has a rounded outer edge, which many (hunters in particular) prefer over a stark flat-fronted design. The manual safety lever operates positively, simply pull back for SAFE and push forward for FIRE.

Now, it must also be noted the unit also features what the company term as ‘Enhanced Trigger Function’, which gives total shot control. In use, this translates to the simple fact that the trigger operates precisely, has a very high level of adjustment, plus can release shots very cleanly and predictably. This in itself is an accuracy enhancing feature.

Talking of which, it seems we’re now in an age where ‘air regs’ are becoming the norm in the tools we use for our sport, and for those new to the Scorpion SE, the accuracy potential and shot-toshot consistency will undoubtedly impress. I specifically make the point of mentioning this, as no model of Scorpion is fitted with an air regulator, rather it uses a highly efficient, self-regulating valve system. It also uses what is known as a fast strike hammer system for increased efficiency. These, plus the quality manufactured tube and the trigger unit, show their quality and function in the inherent accuracy the rifle is capable of. While shooting from a rested position, I managed to produce ragged ¼” size clusters at 30 yards using any quality ammo.

Conclusion

In use, the BSA Scorpion SE quickly shows its high level of performance and now attaining its ‘SE’ designation after years of development, has progressed to become a highly desirable, light, compact, modern but traditionally styled PCP sporter. In fact, it has all the attributes the hunter requires as it’s also very accurate, user-friendly, practical and balances extremely well.

I would like to thanks T & J. J McAvoy Ltd for supplying the rifle on test.