FX Compact Comparison - Impact M4 vs Wildcat MK3 BT

[trailhiker21]

About to dive headfirst into the PCP world and have narrowed it down to either the Impact M4 Compact or the Wildcat MK3 BT Compact in .25 cal. My initial use will be for pesting and plinking, but I’m imagining some small game hunting is in my future with it as well. Going with the compact version initially as I want to be able to walk and stalk and afraid a longer barrel would be annoying in the woods.

Initially I gravitated towards the M4 due to its power and ability to tune as I want to be able to shoot slugs. However, the Wildcat is very appealing due to its ergonomics and it seems as if the BT version is a very capable platform as well when it comes to slugs. I know the compact versions are limited on what slugs they can push but that’s fine with me for now and I can always buy longer barrels in the future if the need arises.

My gut is saying go with the Wildcat BT for the stock but after looking at the history of the platform, one could extrapolate that a new revision of the Wildcat could be around the corner. The M4 is the newest and looks super awesome, but is more expensive and might not be as comfortable to carry around.

Aside from the obvious spec differences, I’m curious if there are other differences others have noticed. This will be my one and only Airgun for a while so trying to make the best decision when it comes to efficiency, shot count, and power.

 

[mitchum]

Speaking from experience. I own both. i bought a used 25 cal wildcat BT 111 bottle from a member . It has a slug power kit and barrel installed. I removed the pin probe and using the standard pin probe.mi did have a problem with the pin probe bending. My m3 compact was purchased new. I only need one really. Both are awesome. My 25 cal wildcat came set at 150 reg. Awesome versatility. Power wheel 1 hades at 920 . Mega power at higher hammer settings. Slugs are no problem. The impact has a much better magazine assembly. Magazine comes in and out with a click. If money is no object. Get the m4 compact.

 

[Vetmx]

A M4 life will more than likely be spent chasing things unless you are seriously immune to outside forces. You might wind up spending more time trying stuff than actually plinking or hunting. The Wildcat life will probably be dialing in a projectile or two, not buying aftermarket do-dads and a lot of plinking not over a chronograph. Just depends on what PCP life you want.

 

[addison]

I'd like to try the wildcat bt .22 because I have the .177 M4. The M4 is super nice and clean!

 

[trailhiker21]

Speaking from experience. I own both. i bought a used 25 cal wildcat BT 111 bottle from a member . It has a slug power kit and barrel installed. I removed the pin probe and using the standard pin probe.mi did have a problem with the pin probe bending. My m3 compact was purchased new. I only need one really. Both are awesome. My 25 cal wildcat came set at 150 reg. Awesome versatility. Power wheel 1 hades at 920 . Mega power at higher hammer settings. Slugs are no problem. The impact has a much better magazine assembly. Magazine comes in and out with a click. If money is no object. Get the m4 compact.

Thanks for your input. Hard to find people with first hand experience on both. Part of me likes the simplicity of the Wildcat but the other part of me thinks maybe the M4 will be more versatile over the long run. As for the M4, would you find it difficult to walk and stalk in the woods? Most guys I see with the impact are running a tripod and that just seems cumbersome.

 

[trailhiker21]

A M4 life will more than likely be spent chasing things unless you are seriously immune to outside forces. You might wind up spending more time trying stuff than actually plinking or hunting. The Wildcat life will probably be dialing in a projectile or two, not buying aftermarket do-dads and a lot of plinking not over a chronograph. Just depends on what PCP life you want.

I understand what you are saying here and that’s my main draw to the Wildcat. That said, I know once I get a tune locked in for a specific projectile, I can see myself just sticking with that. However, having the versatility to change as projectiles evolve has me leaning to the Impact. Decisions decisions.

 

[Trucker3573]

I have owned both and both are good guns. Just a few things. For the 500 mm barrels if you are really wanting to shoot slugs get the 22 not the 25. I’ve done a lot of research and reading and for some reason that doesn’t make sense the wildcat platform seems to have more reliability issues than the Maverick . That has been my experience as well. I know makes no sense.
As far as performance goes in my opinion the biggest difference between the two is how wide of a tune each will do on a given reg pressure and maintain consistency across both tunes. The M4 can do this much more effectively. The one I had in 25 when tuned effectively for 33.95 pellets could be turned down with the macro wheel to shoot 25 grain pellets and still keep an acceptable shot to shot speed with the light pellets. The wildcat maverick platform isn’t capable of that. When you turn the wheel down that far to shoot light pellets the shot to shot speed is all over the place. The negative on the impact is they almost all suffer from slow speeds on the several first shots after sitting. May be a deal killer for hunting and the biggest negative on the M4 for sure. The wildcat is much easier to work on as well. I currently own a mk3 BT but not an impact. Probably would get another wildcat/Maverick before I bought an impact.

 

[jps2486]

I have two Impacts and two Wildcats. The Impacts I use for competitive target shooting while the Wildcats are for general use. You are correct in that the Wildcats are better for carrying in the field. They cost less, are easier and less complex to tune, as accurate, and have the power potential you want. Save yourself $500 and get a Wildcat.

 

[Chukar60]

tough choice. I have a Maverick that was bought as a 25 compact. I now have a 22 Compact barrel kit for it and a 600mm 22 barrel kit. Basically the same as a Wildcat and it is a great gun.
If you can resist the temptation to screw with the Impact all the time and not buy all the bling that people think they need for their Impact, It is a great gun. It comes with some advantages over the Wildcat. Larger magazine and smoother shot cycle are the big ones for me.

 

[cmatera]

I have an M3 Impact .25 600mm and a .22 Compact 500mm .22 Wildcat MK3 BT, and a 600mm .30 MK3BT Wildcat. For more bench shooting than hunting, get the Impact. For more hunting than bench shooting, get the Wildcat MK3 BT. If I had to pick one it would be the Wildcat but it must be the MK3 BT bottled version.

 

[trailhiker21]

tough choice. I have a Maverick that was bought as a 25 compact. I now have a 22 Compact barrel kit for it and a 600mm 22 barrel kit. Basically the same as a Wildcat and it is a great gun.
If you can resist the temptation to screw with the Impact all the time and not buy all the bling that people think they need for their Impact, It is a great gun. It comes with some advantages over the Wildcat. Larger magazine and smoother shot cycle are the big ones for me.

Hadn't even thought to look at magazine capacity until you mentioned it. That definitely goes into the pro column for the impact. I'm curious as to what made you convert to 22 after initially purchasing in 25. I've also thought about the 600mm barrel versions as this wouldn't add a lot of length to the guns but would give a bit more dwell time for slugs.

 

[trailhiker21]

I have two Impacts and two Wildcats. The Impacts I use for competitive target shooting while the Wildcats are for general use. You are correct in that the Wildcats are better for carrying in the field. They cost less, are easier and less complex to tune, as accurate, and have the power potential you want. Save yourself $500 and get a Wildcat.

For the Wildcats you own, what are the barrel lengths/calibers?

 

[trailhiker21]

I have owned both and both are good guns. Just a few things. For the 500 mm barrels if you are really wanting to shoot slugs get the 22 not the 25. I’ve done a lot of research and reading and for some reason that doesn’t make sense the wildcat platform seems to have more reliability issues than the Maverick . That has been my experience as well. I know makes no sense.
As far as performance goes in my opinion the biggest difference between the two is how wide of a tune each will do on a given reg pressure and maintain consistency across both tunes. The M4 can do this much more effectively. The one I had in 25 when tuned effectively for 33.95 pellets could be turned down with the macro wheel to shoot 25 grain pellets and still keep an acceptable shot to shot speed with the light pellets. The wildcat maverick platform isn’t capable of that. When you turn the wheel down that far to shoot light pellets the shot to shot speed is all over the place. The negative on the impact is they almost all suffer from slow speeds on the several first shots after sitting. May be a deal killer for hunting and the biggest negative on the M4 for sure. The wildcat is much easier to work on as well. I currently own a mk3 BT but not an impact. Probably would get another wildcat/Maverick before I bought an impact.

The versatility of being able to switch between slugs and pellets is definitely appealing as I could see myself wanting to do both. I know hybrid slugs can fill in that gap a bit from what I've seen. As for the issues with the impact after sitting, does the wildcat mk3 bt not suffer from that in your experience? This would definitely be annoying if you needing to grab it quickly to take out a pest.

 

[Trucker3573]

The versatility of being able to switch between slugs and pellets is definitely appealing as I could see myself wanting to do both. I know hybrid slugs can fill in that gap a bit from what I've seen. As for the issues with the impact after sitting, does the wildcat mk3 bt not suffer from that in your experience? This would definitely be annoying if you needing to grab it quickly to take out a pest.

Not nearly as much. The wildcat or maverick will act like any regulated pcp. If the reg creeps up a little bit you will see slight variance which isn’t uncommon. It might be 10 or 12 fps but usually it’s really close. All the valving on the wildcat is in the back of the action. On the impact it’s in the middle above the trigger so the valve rod has to run all the way from the back where the bolt and cocking is happening to the front. That long valve rod tends to “stick” when it sits for awhile and needs a few shots to loosen up.

 

[jps2486]

For the Wildcats you own, what are the barrel lengths/calibers?

My Compact has a 500 mm .22 cal barrel and my VP has a 25 cal 600 mm barrel. Overall, I like the VP with the 600 mm barrel. The extra barrel length allows me to extract more power if needed. I replaced the 400 cc aluminum tank with a 480 cc CF tank and saved 10 oz of weight. Nice thing about these guns is the flexibility to change barrels and air tanks.

 

[trailhiker21]

My Compact has a 500 mm .22 cal barrel and my VP has a 25 cal 600 mm barrel.

How easy is the 600mm to carry around in the woods? I've thought about getting the 600mm barrel length as a compromise if it would help out the slugs.

 

[jps2486]

How easy is the 600mm to carry around in the woods? I've thought about getting the 600mm barrel length as a compromise if it would help out the slugs.

It's only 4 inches longer. I don't hunt so I really can't comment on that, but this is a fairly short gun to begin with and I don't see any problem with it unless you are thrashing through a jungle, then any gun wouldn't work. I'm not a slug guy so I rarely use them.

See this video that Ted Bier posted on Youtube.

 

[Vetmx]

If you want to possibly jump back and forth from pellets to slugs and possibly use a bandaid slug like a hybrid, you need to be .22 with a 500mm barrel. Doesn’t matter which gun. A .25 is a fickle b with slugs especially with only a 500mm barrel. Winter has me doing a bunch of testing using slug vs standard liners in 500mm. All my Impacts already have their designated barrels but out of curiosity I’m just revisiting the 500mm options to see if I can discover something new to possibly pass along. In one sitting I was done with .22. I’m on several days with the .25. If you are going to go strictly pellets for plinking and hunting, get a .25.

 

[trailhiker21]

It's only 4 inches longer. I don't hunt so I really can't comment on that, but this is a fairly short gun to begin with and I don't see any problem with it unless you are thrashing through a jungle, then any gun wouldn't work. I'm not a slug guy so I rarely use them.

See this video that Ted Bier posted on Youtube.

Ted is the reason the wildcat is in the lead currently. Love his videos. I guess the beauty of these rifles is the ability to run them and adapt over time with longer barrels and caliber swaps. Just watched a video from shooter1721 on the 30 cal compact of the wildcat and it's impressive what it can do as well.

 

[Vetmx]

How easy is the 600mm to carry around in the woods? I've thought about getting the 600mm barrel length as a compromise if it would help out the slugs.

A 600mm gun in either of your dream guns is not a big gun. Unless you’re a really tiny dude.