N/A FX Impact M4 or something else?

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Xcaliber

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Sep 7, 2024
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Will be shooting 10 to 15yard max to take out backyard tree rats in suburb neighborhood, so noise level is pretty high on priority. Been taking them out from 2nd floor shooting downward using the ground (soft clay) as backstop, therefore a pass through isn't going to be a problem. i have taken them out with Beeman R7 .177 with headshot, but Springer just isn't fun to shoot compare to PCP and i hate the ping noise from the spring/piston. The Umarex Notos .22 is agile and get the job done too but lack knocking down power, while my Avenge X is just way too long and clumsy (well over 4ft long) to maneuver in tight spaces.

I'm looking to up the fun factor and I think it's going to be even more satisfactory to send the rats flying with more FPE, lots of power with hollow point for maximum energy dumb is my goal, slugs will just pass through at this range i think, hollow point pellet probably have the most expansion.

FX Impact M4 is on my radar, I thought about the Huben K1, but i don't like the idea of non removable magazine and it's a pain in the rear to clean the barrel. Was looking at the Western Sidewinder that can do semi and full auto, but i keep reading that it's quite loud and definitely not as backyard friendly as the M4 from what I gathered. Is the M4 the safetest route to go? at least most of the bugs have been worked out by now, or is there something else i should consider? 😁 Looking to buy brand new from one of the reputable retailer online, not at all interested in getting used stuff.
 
At your maximum stated backyard range of 15 yards…? An M4 would definitely get it done, but so would many other PCPs. Am surprised the Notos isn’t effective for you. “Knock down power”? At the ranges you’re describing, pass throughs are the norm. So there is no maximal energy dump as the pellets, hollow points included simply zip on through. Shot placement is the key, particularly with low power airguns. The Brits kill lots of squirrels at ranges further than 15 yards with barely 12 FPE PCPs… My favorite pesting gun generates 17 FPE at the muzzle, I have killed squirrels with it out to 50 yards.
 
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get a taipan vet if you’re set on spending that much money. otherwise, a notos is really all you need. 10-15 yards is overkill for an FX M4 or even a vet. fx has a huge following but also a huge non-fan base and nobody really says anything bad about the taipans. that says a lot. the notos is good all the way out to 50 out of the box.. that’s a little over 4x the distance you mentioned. if it’s still too loud for you, get a blowgun 😂
 
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At that short range you can try "hunting" type pellets. Types such as Polymags are devastating but not known for long distance accuracy in a lot of guns but should do OK within the ranges you mention. Cheaper to try those types out (Polymags, Hades, etc.) than a new gun. Don't know much of anything about Notos but hollow point slugs are devastating too if Notos will shoot them at that yardage.
 
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Xcaliber said:
The Notos is very effective and super quiet, definitely getting the job done with 18fpe and getting head shot 10 out of 10 times at 10 yard with the Hades or even the el cheapo CPHP.

Just itching to up the fun factor with more FPE to send the rats flying. LOL
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The rats may, or may not fly… Get what you want and post up “your” results…
 
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daddypaddy said:
get a taipan vet if you’re set on spending that much money. otherwise, a notos is really all you need. 10-15 yards is overkill for an FX M4 or even a vet. fx has a huge following but also a huge non-fan base and nobody really says anything bad about the taipans. that says a lot. the notos is good all the way out to 50 out of the box.. that’s a little over 4x the distance you mentioned. if it’s still too loud for you, get a blowgun 😂
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The Taipan Vet 2 looks like a great gun, going to do more research and reading to it, love the high capacity CC bottle and came with moderator, it pretty much met all the criteria and about $500 cheaper than the Impact M4 :D If i were to get the Vet 2 should i get it from Talon Tune or Utah?

Are these the same gun? Utah seems to have it cheaper, couldn't tell any difference in spec

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Trucker3573 said:
I can’t imagine spending 2k plus for 10 yard shooting but they are certainly good guns and will get the job done
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Its 15 yards, so the OP is being conservative in spending. Its generally understood that 2.5-3K is the minimum starting point for those demanding distances. Particularly if you want to “send the rats flying”…🙈🙄🤓😈 Might be less expensive to set up some sort of squirrel launcher…

 
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Been reading up on all the guns that being suggested

Uragan 2 and Vulcan 3 - What a pain in the neck to adjust the regulator, there's a youtube video showing how to do it , but looks like they do NOT want the end user to mess with reg setting at all, have to take apart bunch of stuff to get to the reg to pull it out for adjustment, getting stuck at one preset reg isn't going to cut it when i want to shoot different pellet and slug at different weights, the low capacity magazine with only 12 shots for .22 and 10 shots for .25 may be fine if i only use it for hunting, but for plinking and shooting fun the low capacity mag is unacceptable. I have to get multiple 15 shot mag for my Notos and also few 16 shot mags for my Avenge X, definitely not a fan of swapping out mags frequently, i want and need high capacity mag. and 15 shots is the bare minimum, anything less is unacceptable. So these two contenders are out.
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Huben K1 and G1 - non-removable magazine automatically get written off, semi auto sounds like fun but the joy is very short-lived when i ran out of rounds and have to take a LONG time to reload, it's hideous how you'd have to use pen to push in pellets into the mag. Cleaning the barrel is also another pain in the neck when the mag is fixed in place, not to mention this is one of the most unsafe guns design I've seen thus far, can't de-cock and can't remove the mag, not knowing if there's a round in the chamber or not, it's a time bomb and accident waiting to happen. I would never buy a Huben K1/G1, not even if they were on dumpster fire sales at $500., way too many design flaws.

Taipan Vet 2 - same as U2/V3, this one look like a super soaker watergun, subjectively speaking this is one fugly gun!!! Like the U2/V3 you'll have to take apart the gun to adjust the regulator as well, what a hassle, and the 10 shots magazine is totally unacceptable. Nope, won't buy it even if it's $500.
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After much consideration, I decided to spend the extra and ordered the .22 M4 standard 600mm in copper from the pellet shop last night. The combination of copper and black color theme just look wicked cool, absolutely love the tactical style. Aesthically speaking the M4 is quite stunning.

The 28 shots high capacity magazine totally push the consideration to the top, this is my type of jam, I get to shoot more and swapping out magazines less frequently, along with the 480cc big bottle mean i won't have to refill the bottle as often, I found the 16 shots magazine from Avenge-X was borderline barely enough, don't think I want to put up with anything less. I also ordered the 580cc CF bottle rated for 300bar as a spare, so i could hotswap the bottle for a longer shooting session.

The standard M4 is quite light at 6.8lb , I don't bench and usually I shoot offhand, I think the M4 by far checked off a lot of items that I want and wish for from a new PCP. Not at all intimidated by all the adjustment options, tuning is actually part of the fun for me, based on the FX masterclass youtube video, the gun looks quite simple to take apart for service and repair. I have plenty of .22 pellets and NSA/Knockout slugs in different size and weight so that's the caliber I'm sticking with for now, I'll keep using the Notos for backyard pesting, the Notos gets the job done discretely in a quiet neighborhood, sending the rats flying might not be such a good idea afterall since that would required bigger caliber, and with significantly more noise that came with the high FPE territory.

The M4 isn't going to be confined to only backyard pesting duty, once I get it dialed in, i think I'll look into getting a hunting license to put the M4 into more actions, would give me excuses to get out more often and to shoot some small games and plinking beyond 15 yard. 😁 I was going to get the .25 or .30 barrel kits, but don't have a need for higher caliber just yet. Hopefully i'll receive the new toy sometime this week.
 
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Congrats and good luck with the M4, buts let’s clear up some misconceptions:
1. Frequent adjustment of a reg is often tied to poor performance involving creep and high ES. There’s a lot to be said for the gun that is not so easy for the noob to screw up. The Impacts all have a substantial learning curve and YT heroes have brought many new users to tears chasing unfeasible goals. Take it easy and leave the reg alone for a few hundred shots.
2. The Jack of all trades airgun is in practice a fantasy in almost all cases, particularly alternating between pellets and slugs, the latter of which are very sensitive to the leading of the barrel. If only it were as simple as adjusting the power wheel and clicking over to a different zero. Part of the aforementioned learning curve.
3. The current Huben mags are chamfered at the entrance such that no pellet seating is needed. In fact , seating only causes pellet skirts to be compressed, allowing them to rattle around. I have >22000 rounds through a GK1 with no seating and no issues. I can click 19 pellets into the mag using the OEM loading gate as quickly as I can open and load an FX magazine. I can sure unload them a lot faster, which gets expensive. I agree that there are concerns relating to safety but there are steps that can be taken (rotating the mag to an empty chamber) to mitigate that problem. I also posted a very simple method for Huben barrel cleaning, going in from the muzzle with a rod-in-tube holding a retractable patch. It’s so easy that I now favor its use on all my guns.
4. A few minutes with a Taipan Vet would forever spoil you in terms of its ease of use, trigger, shot cycle and butter smooth operation. Almost all other guns feel gritty by comparison. Very few guns are so easy to shoot accurately, particularly offhand. Taipan mags are very simple to load and cheap to purchase. I’d wager that over the distance, you’d spend less time loading per shot with a few Taipan mags on hand. Plus, there are no springs pushing pellets or slugs to one side during chambering.
5. It was very amusing to read, along with your question to me regarding attaching multiple moderators to an RTI Mora, but if you want to get your squirrels to fly, you will need to use a large caliber at a low speed, which is actually a very quiet mode of airgun operation. Perhaps one of the air powered tennis ball launchers that I see at my local dog park would be the ultimate tool. I doubt that I would return to your backyard after being hit by one of those.
 
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