Just received my FX Panthera 700 22 cal. I heard that The Pellet Shop had some so I ordered it and 5 days later it was delivered. I only shot 1 mag today as it was getting dark and the snowstorm didn't help much. Below are my first impressions.
The Pros:
1. The gun comes in a nice dedicated FX gun case, a good thing, because I didn't have a gun case long enough to put the Panthera 700! Yes, we, in the airgun community, are quite used to bullpup guns that are quite compact considering their relatively long barrels.
2. The gun is long but not too heavy or unbalanced, it feels good on its bipod or offhand
3. The build quality is exceptional, those who have experienced FX guns would know.
4. The plenum is part of the shroud and not visible like on an FX Impact, and even without a suppressor, the gun is quiet enough for backyard plinking. I'll tell you more after testing intensively if my neighbors freaked out... But decent suppressors cost more or less $200, so not needing one is quite a significant saving.
5. The vertical grip feels very comfortable
6. The trigger action is excellent.
7. The butt pad is adjustable and very comfy.
8. The mag is longer than the usual FX mags giving enough room for longer slugs.
9. My gun's reg came set at 140 bar, I only shot one mag today but as is, I guestimate that I'd be able to shoot between 50 to 55 slugs from a full tank. Not bad, but then again, that's why I chose a 22 cal.
10. It looks racy IMO. Very subjective but a good look is important. The Panthera looks sexy as F**K
The Cons:
1. The mag is located under the scope and quite protuberant so there is not much space to put a scope close to the bore. I had to put a riser underneath the 50mm lens scope to clear the mag. FX said that for PRS competitors they will release smaller mags (13 shots I think) to allow a smaller sight to bore gap.
2. The gun is long. If you add a suppressor, even a short one like an Impulse, the gun will be even longer. A 22 cal doesn't need one IMO unless you boost the reg pressure really hard but I'm guessing that a 30 cal would definitely need one.
3. There is no news about spare mags yet.
4. The mag has no locking mechanism like on an Impact M3, so after inserting the mag you can feel a bit of a wobble.
5. I wished the pistol grip came with a thumb rest.
6. The bottle capacity is limited to 300cc. Yes, you can put a second bottle under the barrel but then you lose the MLOK/ARCA rail and the gun becomes much heavier and it does destroy its racy look.
This gun was made to shoot slugs, at high speed (between 950 and 1000 FPS). The lightest slug I'll be using is probably gonna be 30gr and the heaviest will be a 40gr. I'm sharing herewith a pic of a "22 cal Javelin 40gr" and a "25 cal JSB Diabolo King Heavy 34gr" that I shoot with my Leshiy 2. You don't need to be an engineer to see that the former is much more aerodynamic.
The Pros:
1. The gun comes in a nice dedicated FX gun case, a good thing, because I didn't have a gun case long enough to put the Panthera 700! Yes, we, in the airgun community, are quite used to bullpup guns that are quite compact considering their relatively long barrels.
2. The gun is long but not too heavy or unbalanced, it feels good on its bipod or offhand
3. The build quality is exceptional, those who have experienced FX guns would know.
4. The plenum is part of the shroud and not visible like on an FX Impact, and even without a suppressor, the gun is quiet enough for backyard plinking. I'll tell you more after testing intensively if my neighbors freaked out... But decent suppressors cost more or less $200, so not needing one is quite a significant saving.
5. The vertical grip feels very comfortable
6. The trigger action is excellent.
7. The butt pad is adjustable and very comfy.
8. The mag is longer than the usual FX mags giving enough room for longer slugs.
9. My gun's reg came set at 140 bar, I only shot one mag today but as is, I guestimate that I'd be able to shoot between 50 to 55 slugs from a full tank. Not bad, but then again, that's why I chose a 22 cal.
10. It looks racy IMO. Very subjective but a good look is important. The Panthera looks sexy as F**K
The Cons:
1. The mag is located under the scope and quite protuberant so there is not much space to put a scope close to the bore. I had to put a riser underneath the 50mm lens scope to clear the mag. FX said that for PRS competitors they will release smaller mags (13 shots I think) to allow a smaller sight to bore gap.
2. The gun is long. If you add a suppressor, even a short one like an Impulse, the gun will be even longer. A 22 cal doesn't need one IMO unless you boost the reg pressure really hard but I'm guessing that a 30 cal would definitely need one.
3. There is no news about spare mags yet.
4. The mag has no locking mechanism like on an Impact M3, so after inserting the mag you can feel a bit of a wobble.
5. I wished the pistol grip came with a thumb rest.
6. The bottle capacity is limited to 300cc. Yes, you can put a second bottle under the barrel but then you lose the MLOK/ARCA rail and the gun becomes much heavier and it does destroy its racy look.
This gun was made to shoot slugs, at high speed (between 950 and 1000 FPS). The lightest slug I'll be using is probably gonna be 30gr and the heaviest will be a 40gr. I'm sharing herewith a pic of a "22 cal Javelin 40gr" and a "25 cal JSB Diabolo King Heavy 34gr" that I shoot with my Leshiy 2. You don't need to be an engineer to see that the former is much more aerodynamic.
