Big, Bad And Black!

Webley is back with a bang with their all-new Raider 12 PCP.

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I always liked the original Webley Raider. It was compact, had good accuracy and power and came in a package that worked well in the field. Better than that, it was very affordable, and I recommended it to many people who asked me what to buy for their first pre-charged pneumatic (PCP). When a hunting PCP is well made, it can deliver pellets precisely to our quarry’s vital area with the minimum of effort from the shooter, when compared to a springpiston gun. I see this as a huge step up in real-world performance. Grizzled old airgun fossils will be tugging at their beards and shrugging off their cardigans in disgust at the revelation of such facts, but newcomers want to hit their targets and PCPs make that happen more often. In the past, PCPs were often too expensive for many people, but today they are available at prices that the ordinary working man can enjoy.

Some while ago, I got wind that Webley was developing a new Raider and I harassed them for information about it, but they kept tight-lipped. However, at last year’s IWA show in Germany they showed me an early version of the new rifle. It had changed dramatically and morphed from a simple and basic sporter to something that could take on the big players in the market. Of course, the price had gone up, but with performance like at that, it was inevitable. That being said, the retail price is still pretty keen compared to its competitors.

Pre-production