AOA Blog

The Webley Alecto Ultra in its nice case.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will remember that back in May of this year I had the opportunity to review a really nice air pistol, the Webley Alecto. If you want to check out that blog, you can read it here: http://198.154.244.69/blog/2011/05/a-happy-surprise-%e2%80%93-the-webley-alecto.html

I concluded in that review that the Alecto “delivers a whole lot to like an a handsome package: a virtually recoilless pistol suitable for high precision plinking, casual target competition, or pest control at close range,” and I stand by that conclusion.

Yet at the same time that I wrote that, a small part of my brain was mulling over whether the Webley Alecto would be a suitable highly-portable game-getter in survival situation. I thought at the time that probably one could get by with the Webley Alecto, but, gee, wouldn’t it be nice if it had just a wee bit more velocity and power . . .

So perhaps you can imagine my glee when I opened the vinyl case that the Webley Alecto Ultra comes in and discovered that “Ultra” means that the barrel has been extended by just a scootch over three inches. That has got to make a difference, right? We’ll get to that in just a little while.

The left side.

Available in .177 and .22, stretching just 13 1/8 inches long, and weighing 2.6 pounds, most of the Ultra is made of matte black engineering polymer. At the aft end of the pistol is a metal notch sight that is adjustable for elevation and windage. On either side of the upper cover of the Ultra just below the rear sight is a lever. Pulling both of these levers at the same time releases the upper cover for cocking and loading. On top of the receiver is a weaver-width dovetail that has one notch cut in it. At the far end of the upper receiver, is a blade front sight with a small red dot on it, so that the sight radius of the Webley Alecto standard and Webley Alecto Ultra is exactly the same. This sight can be rotated 90 degrees and another front blade of lower height pops up in its place. The barrel protrudes another 3 inches beyond the end of the receiver and is fitted with a series of circular grooves near the muzzle.

Underneath the forward end of the receiver, you’ll find another Weaver rail (this one with 7 notches) for mounting accessories such as a flashlight or laser. Moving aft, the trigger guard is molded of matte black polymer and encloses a silver metal trigger and push-pull automatic safety. The trigger is adjustable for left, right and downward movement; trigger position forward and aft; and trigger spring strength, from just under a pound to about 4 pounds. Moving to the rear again, you’ll find a match-style grip (available in left or right hand) with an adjustable palm shelf. It is, in all, a fancy looking air pistol.

The action, partly opened.

Getting the Ultra ready for shooting requires pulling the levers on either side of the upper cover upward and then swinging the aft end of the upper cover up and forward until the cover is completely open. Returning the upper cover to its original position charges the action, cocks the trigger, and activates the automatic safety. You can pump the Ultra up to three times (a fact the User’s Manual is strangely reluctant to mention), and the effort becomes stiffer with each successive stroke.  Before completing the last stroke, insert a pellet into the end of barrel prior to returning the upper cover to its original position.

The action fully opened for inserting a pellet.

Now you’re ready. Take aim at your target, flick the safety off (you can’t help but notice the automatic safety since it blocks the trigger), and squeeze the trigger. At 1 lb. 1.4 oz., the first stage comes out. At 1 lb. 12 oz., the shot goes off with a pop. (The pop gets louder as the Ultra is charged with more pumps). At one pump, the Ultra launches 7.9 grain Crosman .177 Premier pellets at around 379 fps; at 2 pumps, about 518 fps, and at 3 pumps, about 599 fps. By comparison, at one pump, the Alecto standard launches 7.9 grain Crosman .177 Premier pellets at around 365 fps; at 2 pumps, about 480 fps, and at 3 pumps, about 560 fps.

Do the math, and you’ll find that extra three inches of barrel delivers a 4 percent increase in velocity at one pump; an 8 percent increase in fps at 2 pumps, and a 7 percent increase at three pumps. This translates to an 8 percent increase in power at one pump; 16 percent increase in foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle at two pumps; and 14 percent increase to 6.29 fp at three pumps. That’s plenty good enough for taking small game at close range with proper shot placement.

I found I could shoot dime-sized groups at 13 yards with the Ultra. My only suggestion for improving this impressive pistol would be more notches in the rail on top of the receiver to make it easier to mount a red dot.

The Webley Alecto Ultra delivers all the goodies of the Alecto standard — a handsome package: a virtually recoilless pistol suitable for high-precision plinking, casual target competition, or pest control at close range – plus a wee bit more power, and I think a whole lot of airgunners just might find this is their favorite air pistol.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight,

–          Jock Elliott