I have wanted one of these little guns for a long time. I first shot one 2 1/2 years ago and the urge just stuck. Everytime I've had the spare airgun bucks in hand another deal has come up for a different model, this time I was determined to get my hands on one.
A week or so ago I contacted Joe "Cuz" Lamonica of Long Island Airguns. Joe quoted me a price, an email handshake was made and the money was sent. I sat here with my stomach in knots waiting for her to arrive and she finally did last week. I've been super busy with work, kids, wife, life, etc, so I only finally got to shoot it today a week later. I was also waiting for the last bits to arrive in the mail including the magazine system and some high rings to clear the magazine, today I finally had all of the pieces in hand and I went to work mounting the Centerpoint 4x16x40AOIR scope on Accushot high rings as well as the multishot conversion kit. When I first installed the kit the magazine wouldn't index, so I tore it back down. What I found was a little molding sprue left on the magazine holder, a little swipe with a hobby knife and we were freewheeling and indexing just fine. I also installed a BSquare scope bubble level to the rearmost point on the dovetails to not only aid in shooting, but also to help with scope mounting and aligning the crosshairs plumb. Some people from other reviews I have read complained that mounting a scope on this gun is a chore, well I didn't have that problem. I have the rings, the magazine system hold down and the bubble level exactly where I wanted them, no fuss at all. I guess compared to a springer with full length dovetails there is a little more planning involved in scope mounting, but again it went just how I wanted it. The scope I chose may be a little large for this little shooter, but I have been really happy with the Wallyworld Centerpoint scopes, dollar for dollar they are hard to beat. With everything mounted up I hooked her up to the pump for her first fill since she got home. Air Arms has changed the fill adapter on the AA S4XX series guns from the old giant Faster fitting to a new quarter turn clamp deal. I was worried that the new gun would have yet another probe to deal with, but I was pleasantly surprized to see that Air Arms has incorperated the same fill coupling found on the S4XX series gun on the S200 series guns as well, so one coupling for both of my Air Arms guns. She came with about 140bar already in her, so pumping the little 122cc tube up to 190 bar was no problem at all. Scoped, leveled, installed, pumped, ready to load and shoot. Here comes the downside.....if you are a normal sized adult human you will find the stock a little smallish and uncomfortable. Not so uncomfortable that you can't get a good hold and sight picture, but it's definately aimed at the junior sized shooter. The finish and even the lazer cut stippling looks real good, just the shape of the stock that is a little smallish.
On with the good stuff, how's she shoot?!!
I loaded up 10 JSB Exact 4.52's into the 10 shot mag and proceded to sight her in. 2-3 shots and I was mostly zeroed, so I finished the other 7 shots and unloaded them into the target. First I tried some JSB 4.50's just to rule them out, but the first two groups on my target show that they group great. These are all 10 shot groups at 15 measured yards, indoors. Next was the 4.52's I sighted in with and the group was just about the same as with the 4.50's, maybe a hair looser, but I wont know till I stretch out to 30 yards or so for sure. Next I shot Crosman Premier 7.9 grain lights. The Crosmans also grouped well, but not quite as well as the JSB's. Next shooting session I'll try some Crosman Heavies 10.5 grain and some Beeman Kodiaks at 10.6 grains, both of those pellets have worked well for me in most of my gas guns. Also worth noting is that the JSB's cycled real smooth through the magazine system with no real felt drag from the bolt compared to the single shot tray. The Crosman Premier lights didn't cycle so smooth, they actually were a bit hard to push into the barrel when closing the bolt, could be why their accuracy isn't all that great too, they could be getting a little mangled during loading.
These groups were shot with a gun straight out of the box, I haven't even pulled a patch through the barrel yet, but so far it looks real promising. After the 50 shots were fired I hooked her back up to the pump and pumped her up from 130bar back up to 190. Wont really know what she's doing till I get her ran over the chrony, but so far 50 shots on 60bar with a pretty painless refill is great. The gun isn't as quiet as some other guns I've shot in the same power range, but I was able to shoot from the dining room table out to my garage with no serious dirty looks from my wife in the living room, but I did promise to only shoot for 30 minutes....so she could see the light at the end of the tunnel I guess.
I've read how this gun is considered the PCP alternative to the Beeman R7 and I would have to agree, it has the same "charm" to it that the R7 does. It would make a great gun for a young shooter, but even the adults will love it. Also worth noting is that there is no safety on this gun, but I've never liked safeties anyways, would much rather point the gun in a safe direction and not load till ready to shoot...keep the safety between my ears. The trigger on this gun is "ok" as it comes from the box. It's totally adjustable and I just haven't set it up the way I like it, manual says you can adjust it down to a few ounces, it's probably 3 pounds from the box. The trigger shoe is plastic, as is the barrel band, might have been nice to see a little more metal on small things like this from a fairly high priced shooter, but they do perform their function and there are aftermarket pieces available to replace them with aluminum or brass if desired. All in all I am thrilled with this little gun and feel it will fit in nicely with the rest of my collection. Happy shooting!
