Walther LP53 the James Bond airgun: Part Three

Walther LP53. Mine was made in the 1950s.

Part 1
Part 2
Fixing the Walther LP53 James Bond airgun

This report includes:

• Wake up the powerplant
• RWS Hobby
• Discharge sound
• Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
• H&N Excite
• Trigger pull
• Ian McKee’s 3D printed cocking device
• Summary

Today we look at the velocity of the Walther LP53 pellet pistol that reader Ian McKee repaired. I told you in Part 1 that this is a lower-powered pistol and to expect velocities in the low- to mid-300s. Today we find out.

Wake up the powerplant

Before I chronographed anything I fired two shots to “wake up” the spring-piston powerplant. That seemed to do the trick.

RWS Hobby

The first pellet I tested was the 7-grain RWS Hobby. They fit the breech tight because of a wider skirt. Ten pellets averaged 321 f.p.s., which is about what I expected from this pistol.

The low was 298 and the high was 333 f.p.s. That’s a difference of 35 f.p.s. I sort of remember wide velocity spreads with my other LP53s.

At the average velocity this pellet generated 1.6 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle.

Discharge sound

The pistol is not noisy. It recorded 92.9 dB upon firing.

Sig Match Ballistic Alloy

Ten 5.25-grain Sig Match Ballistic Alloy wadcutters averaged—well, this one takes some explaining. I’ll show you an 11-shot string and ten describe what happened.

Shot……….Vel.
1……………397
2……………418
3……………413
4……………407
5……………376
6……………404
7……………405
8……………364 ** This is the oddball
9……………396
10………….403
11………….407

The average for that string is 399 f.p.s. but shot 8 was an anomaly. The pellet hit the pellet trap box 6 inches higher than the others, which means it had a longer trip between the two skyscreens. If that isn’t clear to anyone I’ll write a report on it because it is a fundamental element of using a chronograph.

I know the velocity of shot number 5 is close to shot 8 but it struck the box in the same place as the other nine, so I’m counting it in the string. If we drop shot 8 from the string the average for 10 shots becomes 403 f.p.s. which is 4 f.p.s. faster. I think that is the real average for this pellet. 

If what I say is correct there is a 42 f.p.s. difference between the low velocity of 376 and the high of 418 f.p.s. And at the average velocity I gave (403 f.p.s.) this pellet generated 1.89 foot-pounds at the muzzle.

H&N Excite 

Remember I said I want to include H&N Excite wadcutters in future tests? There are actually two different .177-caliber pellets. I am shooting the one that weighs 7.48 grains. They fit loosely in the LP53 breech which may be why they averaged so much faster than the lighter Hobbys. And we have another anomaly with this pellet.

This is something I have seen in numerous velocity tests in the past but I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it. The first pellet in the string goes out either faster or slower than the remainder of the shots—depending on whether the pellet in the previous string shot faster or slower. In this case it was the first two pellets. Let’s look at the entire string.

Shot……….Vel.
1……………372
2……………384
3……………355
4……………354
5……………364
6……………359
7……………364
8……………350
9……………353
10………….359
11………….354
12………….362

The average for this string of 12 is 361 f.p.s., but if we drop the first two velocities the average is 357 f.p.s. This isn’t a great difference but I mention it because I have seen this same faster/slower relationship in hundreds of velocity tests over the years. Maybe I should do an experiment and write a report about it?

If we take what I believe to be the true average for this pellet (357 f.p.s.) it generated 2.12 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. And that’s another lesson. Lighter pellets will usually generate higher power in spring guns. The Hobby’s large skirt probably slowed it down just a bit.

Trigger pull

The trigger releases with a 2 pound 8 ounce / 1133.98 gram pull. The pull feels single-stage to me.

Ian McKee’s 3D printed cocking device

I used the cocking aid Ian printed for the LP53. It is FAR more comfortable than the wooden aid I bought from John Groenewold!

The printed cocking aid covers the front sight completely! It is my preferred cocking aid.

Summary

From what I now see this LP53 is functioning as it should and is ready for an accuracy test. The velocities we see are exactly what I expected. Ian did a great job resuscitating this air pistol.

Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)

Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

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