055-058 Head to Head Cometa-Value

MARK CAMO
CCIO’S
COMETA 220: WEBLEY VALUEMAX
HEADtoHEAD!
In these price-conscious times, how little can
you get away with spending to get a good
gun? Mark Camoccio puts two sub-£150
break-barrels under the spotlight…
COMETA
V
220
WEBLEY
VALUEM
AX
G
iven the extraordinary turmoil
being played out on a daily
basis in the economy at present,
it’s unsurprising that many hard-pressed
shooting enthusiasts are keeping one eye out
for a bargain. So just what is the bare minimum
outlay for a rifle that will serve beginners and
shooters on a budget, while still offering halfdecent quality and features? It’s a debatable
point, but one thing’s for sure – my two headto-head rivals here are prime candidates, both
coming in comfortably under the £150 mark.
The Cometa 220 hails from Spain and offers
a traditional break-barrel design in a highly
compact format. Pitched against its established
rival comes the brand new ValueMax from
Webley – a new budget rifle with a surprisingly
high spec.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Both these rifles really look the part. The Cometa
has a far more traditional look about it, with
graceful, attractive woodwork which is pleasing
to the eye, reminiscent of my old faithful Webley
Vulcan. In stark contrast, the ValueMax looks
trendier, given the camo pattern applied to
its polymer stock. Both rifles look fairly well
finished, with plenty of blueing on show – and
with the addition of fibre optic sights, the basics
have clearly not been overlooked.
My initial reaction looking at them is
one of amazement at how their respective
manufacturers can, on the face of it, produce
such slick looking offerings for the money.
Advertisements for the ValueMax sum it up
by stating it’s ‘Webley’s answer to the credit
crunch’ – and closer inspection of the new rifle,
alongside the Cometa, will reveal just how good
a buy each represents.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
TAKING STOCK
As something of a traditionalist, I’ve always
been a fan of good old timber. While beech is
looked upon as the basic, entry-level gunstock
material, the subtle light brown finish applied
AIRGUN SHOOTER
055-058 Head to Head Cometa-Value Max_Rev3.indd 55
55
29/2/12 11:18:37
Left: The camo-dressed polymer stock keeps costs down and
satisfies the modern trend for synthetic bodies
Above: The ValueMax (left) features a manual safety, while the
Cometa is fitted an automatic one and can be de-cocked
certainly caters for the larger shooter, yet with a fairly vague cheek piece
and ambidextrous grip, it lacks the subtlety of the Cometa.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
OPEN SIGHTS
Above: Both
stocks belie the
guns’ cost, and offer a good mix of
the traditional and
the modern
Below: Fibre-optic
opens adorn both
rifles, with Cometa
opting for a
hooded foresight
(bottom)
to the Cometa’s woodwork allows for some
pleasant grain to show through. A nicely curved
forend and slimmed grip feels good on aim,
although the rubber butt pad is, perhaps, a little
too solid. Even though the stock is configured
for use with the opens, the cheek is reasonably
well positioned with a scope in place.
Webley fit polymer synthetic stocks to
the ValueMax, and they’re available in three
colours: black, green or the Mossy Oak BreakUp Infinity camo design of my test model.
Polymer moulding presumably helps to keep the
cost down, yet this style of stock is also ultra
trendy in today’s fashion conscious marketplace.
With 75mm more forestock, the ValueMax
Both guns sport fibre-optic open sights. These use tiny, brightly coloured
fluorescent filaments which appear to light up as they make use of all
available ambient light. Cometa fit their foresight’s red dot filament into a
moulded plastic assembly that sits over the muzzle, which certainly lends
a futuristic look, and a metal hood then protects the fragile insert. Its
rearsight is micro-click adjustable, and worked extremely well on the test
sample, giving a crisp sight picture and plenty of adjustment.
Webley take a similar approach, fitting an even slicker looking
forsesight muzzle assembly onto the ValueMax, with an equally good rear
to complete the package. Open sights can be very satisfying to use, and
where newcomers to target shooting are concerned, they help to teach
many of the basic principles of marksmanship. Many novices miss out on
some vital groundwork in the rush to fit glassware, and bearing that in
mind, both these rifles come with excellent ‘irons’ that deserve respect…
and good marks.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
SCOPING UP
Spring-powered air rifles generate and deliver a two-way ‘snap’ recoil,
which can be quite destructive to inferior scopes. That said, this pair is fairly
well mannered, though the issue of scope ‘creep’ still needs to be borne
in mind. Creep is when recoil causes either the scope mounts to move
backwards along the rails, or the scope to move within its mounts. Either
way, the result is a shift of zero, so creep needs to be eliminated.
The Cometa comes with nicely machined dovetails, giving around
120mm of clamping space, but no provision for combatting scope creep;
you’ll have to use a one-piece mount or fit an arrestor block.
Webley, on the other hand, supply the ValueMax with over 150mm of
rail, arrestor stud holes in the receiver and – the pièce de résistance – a
small arrestor block. An impressive package indeed.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
COCKING CYCLE
Both these break-barrels take a similar amount of effort to cock the action,
which isn’t altogether surprising given their near-identical barrel lengths.
The Cometa is particularly sweet to cock, with an extremely smooth stroke
followed by an impressively muted action. It can also be de-cocked (by
holding the barrel down against spring pressure, pressing off the safety
and then slowly allowing the barrel to come back up) – a handy feature.
By contrast, the Webley, while requiring no more effort, is rather more
‘graunchy’ to cock, but that’s probably because it comes complete with
56
AIRGUN SHOOTER
055-058 Head to Head Cometa-Value Max_Rev3.indd 56
29/2/12 11:18:46
COMETA 220: WEBLEY VALUEMAX
a meaty Powr-Lok spring inside. The firing cycle is rather twangy too, yet
recoil is, all importantly, still highly manageable. As it incorporates an antibeartrap, the ValueMax can’t be de-cocked; you have to fire it.
Incidentally, both guns feature a threaded bolt around which the
breech pivots, allowing for adjustments to be made for wear. There’s even
a locking screw which, given their SRPs, is impressive and unexpected
attention to detail.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
TRIGGER
Bear in mind that significant costs are apportioned to the trigger area in
top-flight air rifles, and it stands to reason that budget rifles will come
supplied with somewhat more basic designs. As long as you rememeber
we’re in the £140 region for our pairing here, a fairer assessment should
be possible.
In use, the Cometa just edges this section, since the basic pseudo-twostage unit is crisper than its rival’s. The let-off pressure is reasonable, with
only minimal creep. Where it slips up is with that fairly narrow, concave
blade. A broader, flat-surfaced blade would help to spread the load and
improve its feel, adding little to production costs.
Similarly, the ValueMax’s trigger would benefit from a broader, flatter
blade – and its rather vague, creepy action doesn’t help. Yet bearing in
mind the asking price, and the fact that it is immeasurably more pleasant
to use than my comparable Webley Vulcan of yesteryear, I have to concede
that both rifles are wholly adequate in this area.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
HANDLING
Pick up this petite Cometa and its neat stock just feels right. A delightfully
slimmed down grip, dedicated cheekpiece and palm-filling forend combine
to give the model 220 a comfortable and functional handle in a variety
of situations. The diminutive proportions make this gun more suitable for
juniors, too – and with balance (largely a matter of personal taste) nicely
towards the muzzle, it sits well on target.
Above: The
Cometa’s smaller
dimensions make
it a good choice as
a ‘junior’ rifle
Right: Both the
Valuemax (top)
and Cometa have
fibre-optic opens
and require a
similar amount of
effort on the
cocking stroke
Left: The triggers
are more than
adequate, though
both would
benefit from a
wider blade. It’s
the Cometa’s
(right) that
performs best
AIRGUN SHOOTER
055-058 Head to Head Cometa-Value Max_Rev3.indd 57
57
29/2/12 11:18:58
COMETA 220: WEBLEY VALUEMAX
The ValueMax concedes little in the handling
stakes, despite sporting plastic in place of graceful
woodwork. Its straightforward styling just seems to fit
the rifle’s no-nonsense image. In short, both rifles handle
extremely well, especially so given their entry-level status.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
OVERALL BUILD
Cometa are traditionally manufactured in Spain, and they certainly feel
well made. The highly attractive beech stock is treated to an even coating
of varnish, and the wood-to-metal fit is exemplary. All the metalwork is
finished with a rich chemical blue, too. The end result is a solidly made rifle
which anyone would be proud to own.
When Webley outsourced much of their manufacturing operation
to Turkey a few years back, quality initially went off the boil – yet this
ValueMax is different. Of course, some hollow resonance in the polymer
stocks lends a slightly cheap feel, yet there’s enough solid engineering
to convey what this rifle is all about. Sharp, accurate machining, coupled
with modern materials where possible, gives Webley’s new budget buster
a swagger which belies the asking price.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
ACCURACY AND PERFORMANCE
This section was frankly a surprise. Uncharacteristically, the Cometa proved
a little wanting in the accuracy department, while the Webley completely
surpassed my expectations.
At this stage, I should point out that I’m a huge fan of Cometa, having
tested several rifles of theirs over the years and they’ve always proved
highly accurate. While this Cometa 220 was a dream to handle, with by
far the smoothest and slickest action of the two guns, tight groupings just
proved elusive, despite working my way through a variety of pellets.
The best groups recorded around 11/2in at 30 yards, and I strongly
suspect that pellets were clipping the rim of the muzzle fitting. Almost
certainly, other examples of the same rifle would perform differently – yet
for the purposes of this test, the results stand. Energy levels were a tad low
Below: Even on the beech stock, there is some attractive grain
showing through on the Cometa 220
VELOCITY DATA (RWS Super Field – 10-shot string)
RIFLE
High (fps)
Low (fps)
COMETA 220
533
522
Average (fps)
525
WEBLEY VALUEMAX
580
571
575
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
MODEL
Cometa 220
Webley ValueMax
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Spain
Turkey
ACTION
Spring and piston
Spring and piston
TYPE
Break-barrel
Break-barrel
CALIBRE
.22 only
.22 (.177 available)
WEIGHT
2.82kg
2.95kg
OVERALL LENGTH
1,060mm
1,092mm
BARREL LENGTH
405mm
420mm
STOCK
Beech sporter
Polymer/synthetic
TRIGGER
2-stage adjustable
2-stage adjustable
ENERGY
9.7ft/lb
11.7ft/lb
SRP
£139.99
£124.99 (black/green)
£179.99 (Carbine and silencer) £134.99 (camo)
DISTRIBUTOR
John Rothery Wholesale
Highland Outdoors
www.bisley-uk.com
www.highlandoutdoors.co.uk
with the Cometa, too, being around 10ft/lb, although they are officially
quoted to be nearer the 11ft/lb mark.
The Webley subsequently ran away with this section, posting regular
3/4in groups with RWS Super Field pellets with ease. If my test is anything to
go by, in this price bracket the Webley ValueMax will have little opposition
to worry about.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
VALUE FOR MONEY
Whichever way you look at it, both these rifles are stonking good value
for money! The Cometa offers respected engineering from an established
name in airguns, and given the generally impressive level of finish and
build quality, it feels like a pedigree for the money. Reminiscent of my firstever spring-powered air rifle, this Cometa will surely give many years of
service to a whole new generation of shooters.
Webley’s tag line regarding the credit crunch appears to be spot on,
with the ValueMax hard to beat in this price bracket. The combination of
great performance and full specification, give it a head start over many
higher priced rivals. The various polymer stock options have great appeal to
many, if not me. But whatever your take on them, if they help to keep costs
down and enable that stunningly low asking price, then so be it.
Cometa 220

Webley ValueMax 
FI
VERNAL
DIC
T
Cometa 220
78/100
Webley ValueMax
79/100
As is so often the case with these comparison exercises,
this head-to-head challenge put little distance between the
candidates. Either rifle should represent an ideal choice for any
newcomer to the sport who’s keen to keep costs down, yet
wants to avoid ‘bargain basement’ fare.
Before the test, I’d have probably estimated that the
minimum outlay in today’s market would be nearer £200 – but
each of these rifles, and the Webley ValueMax in particular,
demonstrate that I’m miles off the mark.
58
AIRGUN SHOOTER
055-058 Head to Head Cometa-Value Max_Rev3.indd 58
29/2/12 11:19:05