My new FX Indy...

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kmd1984

Member
Feb 20, 2016
997
14
Utah, United States
Hi,

I got my FX Indy yesterday and just wanted to share my thoughts on it.

Before I do, let me start by saying that this is my second PCP air gun. My first one was a Marauder in .25, I bought 5 weeks ago. I ended up returning it though, because I didn't like a few things about it. The stock was to plastic-like and "cheap" looking. The magazine kept "breaking" and would not load the last 3 pellets and at the end, the pump (also a Benjamin product) would create some sort of vacuum when pulling on it (up stroke). Lastly, the shot count was just to low. To much pumping. Even though pumping was not as bad as I thought, it was still getting on my nerves. So, I just returned everything. 

Having said that, I needed something new and "better", so I ordered the Indy. Why the Indy you might ask?! Good question. I am actually not sure myself why I got the Indy, ha ha. I guess I kinda fell in love with it, ever since I saw it about 6 month ago. I right away liked the idea of "Independence". Who doesn't, right?

Now. The first thing I noticed was, how much better the Indy feels compared to the Marauder. Ergonomically, and build quality wise speaking. The next thing I noticed was, how nice the trigger is. Wow, what a difference.

I zeroed my scope at 30 yards. The scope btw, is a CenterPoint I got from Walmart. The one I would like to get, the MTC Viper Pro, is not out yet. Anyhow, the groups were really, and I mean really tight. Especially considering, that I am not the worlds best shot, the gun was just resting on one bag filled with rice and that the table had wobbly legs, ha ha. 

Now, another thing I noticed right away was, how much pumping I needed to do, to get the gun back to "normal" (220 bar) again?! I did some research before buying the gun, and pretty much everyone reported that you need to pump about 3 times for each shot. In other words, you get 6 full shots in caliber .25 before having to pump 18 times to bring the pressure up again. That is not the case for me. I get to that in a minute.

I did some Chrono testing, and here are my results. Starting pressure was 220 bar, and the first shot was at 843 fps. The next 7 shots were as follows:

180 / 873
168 / 889
150 / 894
130 / 884
110 / 849
90 / 823
80 / 770

I am not sure why the fps are going up, when the pressure is going down, but I am sure that someone will have an answer for that. Anyhow, the thing that amazed me the most, was not the fps or shot count, because they are well within what I expected, but the amount of pumping I had to do in order to bring up the pressure again. 

Starting pressure 80 bar. After 10 pumps, I was up to 110 again. The next pumps were as follows:

total 15 pumps / 120 bar
20 / 140
25 / 155
30 / 170
35 / 180
40 / 200
45 / 212
47 / 220

That's 47 times, compared to 18 times of what everyone else is experiencing. What is going?! It took me a minute (a day actually) to realize that it must have something to do with me being at 6700 feet! (Temperature: 75, humidity:15%). I guess the thinner air means more pumping... Makes sense. 

I wonder how altitude effects shot count?! I would think not at all, but I am not sure. The reason I am asking is, I am pretty sure I am going to exchange the Indy for something else. Problem is, what???

Which brings me to my last question. What should I get? I really like the FX Wildcat and Bobcat. I also like the Cricket. The Cricket is on sale. 

Man, this sucks! I was thinking I was done, had found the gun of my dreams and then that! LOL

Any help is appreciated.

BTW, pellets used are JSB Match Diabolo Exact Kind .25

Thanks,

Kmd

 
I believe that the three pumps per shot is for replacing air once you have reach a maximum fill. ie. Once filled to 220 bar shoot six times then 18 pumps should get you back to 220 bar. Hope that is true and relieves your concern. 
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plinker
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I agree. That is how I always thought it works. BUT... I filled it up to the max of 220 and took seven shots. The last one had way lower fps than the prior one, so six shots on a fill seems to be the magic number. Still, it took me 47 pumps, after taking 7 shots, to fill it up again to its max pressure of 220 bar. Even if you subtract 5 pumps, because I went 7 shots instead of 6, I still had to pump 42 times! Not 18. Big difference. 
 
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"Tony.R"Before you return it, how do you like the weight? It is very heavy. My gun with scope is lighter than the Indy without.
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I just weight it and it comes in at a 4.85 Kg which is 10.69 Lbs. that is loaded and with a CenterPoint scope. Anyhow, the number is one thing, and the feel of it is another... I don't think it feels heavy.
 
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A couple comments ,as far as I know in 25 cal should 6 pumps per shot at full power .
The 22 cal at full power will likely be 4 pumps.
I have a independence in 22 cal and it's a 4 pump ,others I have talked seem to be close to the same on average.
One thing that works we'll, once you have a tank ,if you are on the bench, is to tether the gun and no pumping !
i typically pump every 1 to 3 shots and never run it really low FYI...Kelly 
 
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Your pumping technique could be part of it. I have never used an Indy but with regular pumps, you need to wait for a second or two at the top and bottom of each stroke to let the cylinder fill with air. I thought of that when you mentioned feeling a vacuum on the upward stroke with your Benjamin pump. Not waiting would create that feeling. I have no idea if the Indy mini cylinder works the same as an hpa pump but can't hurt to try.

it sounds like pumping isn't for you anyway. If you hate it now, it's not going to get any better over time. I lasted 2 weeks pumping before buying an scba tank.

The Bobcat mk1 uses the same stock as the Indy (or very similar) so they should feel similar. If you are fine with the weight and size, it has more features than the Wildcat and larger capacity mags. I prefer the Wildcat myself, but I like lighter air guns for hunting. I'm sure you'd be happy with either as they are both awesome. 

The Cricket is also a great choice. You can't really go wrong with any of them. 
 
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To quote you, "Why the Indy, you might ask?! Good question."
FX Indy factory literature: 1. Approx. 6 full power shots per fill @ 22 cal.
2. 3-7 pumps (dependent on caliber) per shot
3. Up to 8 shots before recharging ( two shots on 30 cal)
You are shooting 25 cal, 8 shots, at 6700 ft. elevation. I'm surprised you can fully charge it with 60 pumps. The Indy places the pellet where you want it with authority. It is a hunter, and I think your Indy is performing as it should.
I live in a state where airgun hunting is limited and I knew accuracy alone would not be enough for me. I didn't choose the Indy for this reason. I like to plink and shoot targets from a bench and bag......had to have a good shot count. I gave up the independence for a pump.
 
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The increase in speed as the pressure goes down is a typical bell-curve. That is a good thing. People often struggle through tuning their guns trying to achieve that. As for the number of pumps needed to get back to pressure, I can't directly help you there. In the videos that I've seen, people seem to pump after each shot. So they get it up to max pressure, then take a shot, then pump 3 times and they're back to max pressure. You might ask @1kshooter as he has the Independence which is essentially the same gun but different stock I believe.
 
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"kelly1"A couple comments ,as far as I know in 25 cal should 6 pumps per shot at full power .
The 22 cal at full power will likely be 4 pumps.
I have a independence in 22 cal and it's a 4 pump ,others I have talked seem to be close to the same on average.
One thing that works we'll, once you have a tank ,if you are on the bench, is to tether the gun and no pumping !
i typically pump every 1 to 3 shots and never run it really low FYI...Kelly
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Thanks for the input...
 
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"Turboken77"Get a air tank problem solved!
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I am not going to spend $1899 on an air rifle that has a build in pump, so I can then go and spend another $700 for a tank. Not to mention, the "trouble" of having to fill it all the time. That said, I might be getting a different gun, and once I do that, a tank is probably going to happen.
 
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"zebra"Your pumping technique could be part of it. I have never used an Indy but with regular pumps, you need to wait for a second or two at the top and bottom of each stroke to let the cylinder fill with air. I thought of that when you mentioned feeling a vacuum on the upward stroke with your Benjamin pump. Not waiting would create that feeling. I have no idea if the Indy mini cylinder works the same as an hpa pump but can't hurt to try.

it sounds like pumping isn't for you anyway. If you hate it now, it's not going to get any better over time. I lasted 2 weeks pumping before buying an scba tank.

The Bobcat mk1 uses the same stock as the Indy (or very similar) so they should feel similar. If you are fine with the weight and size, it has more features than the Wildcat and larger capacity mags. I prefer the Wildcat myself, but I like lighter air guns for hunting. I'm sure you'd be happy with either as they are both awesome. 

The Cricket is also a great choice. You can't really go wrong with any of them. 
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What?! I have never heard this before in my life, that one has to wait when using a pump? I might be new to PCP air guns, but I am not new to pumps. I never ever had to wait for a pump to fill up with air?! Can anyone confirm this? Besides, I was using the pump exactly the same way when it started to create that vacuum feeling, as I was before and I never had that vacuum effect...

Interesting you bring up the mk1 as I would for sure get the mk2. Anyhow, I like the looks of the Wildcat better than the one of the Bobcat. I also like the fact that the Wildcat has been designed form the ground up, and is "newer". At least from my understanding... I need to find out what the shot count on the mk2 is, per fill. Cricket looks nice for sure. I guess you are right. No matter which one I get, I cannot go wrong.

Thanks,

Kmd

 
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"Motive410"To quote you, "Why the Indy, you might ask?! Good question."
FX Indy factory literature: 1. Approx. 6 full power shots per fill @ 22 cal.
2. 3-7 pumps (dependent on caliber) per shot
3. Up to 8 shots before recharging ( two shots on 30 cal)
You are shooting 25 cal, 8 shots, at 6700 ft. elevation. I'm surprised you can fully charge it with 60 pumps. The Indy places the pellet where you want it with authority. It is a hunter, and I think your Indy is performing as it should.
I live in a state where airgun hunting is limited and I knew accuracy alone would not be enough for me. I didn't choose the Indy for this reason. I like to plink and shoot targets from a bench and bag......had to have a good shot count. I gave up the independence for a pump.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input...
 
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"ztirffritz"The increase in speed as the pressure goes down is a typical bell-curve. That is a good thing. People often struggle through tuning their guns trying to achieve that. As for the number of pumps needed to get back to pressure, I can't directly help you there. In the videos that I've seen, people seem to pump after each shot. So they get it up to max pressure, then take a shot, then pump 3 times and they're back to max pressure. You might ask @1kshooter as he has the Independence which is essentially the same gun but different stock I believe.
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Copy that... Thanks.
 
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KMD - Your Indy has a unique selling point (PCP shooting-like for a pump-up rifle), that presumably is the reason you choose it (it's certainly the reason for its design - for those who are many,many miles from an air bottle filling facility ie: some or many parts of the USA). Which is great, nice to see airgun makers thinking of that market. You say it is very accurate, again that's great.

You selected the Big Bore version (.25") with that comes some trade-offs re. number of refill pumps (more needed).
The 'air use effiency' of air rifles seems to peak at @.22" then will fall off massively with the larger cailbres (IMO) - possibly why the Old World airgun makers centred on .177 and .22 in their production lines...until recently?

Your highly accurate rifle does not carry a Regulator (it should not need one as the user can 'act' as the reg. in his pumping method). You teach your self how to acheive the best results (number of pumps / shots) to get an even spread. Airguns without Regulators typically show a Bell Curve 'power' output curve (to describe this: low at first, then rising as the air pressure is diminshed to the point where the valving works optimally, then falling off as the air pressure declines below that to operate the valving 'optimally).
Here's the point -  the middle area between the 2 extremes is where you'll find the best power spread (most even spread). that area is called the 'plateau'


What Kris said is correct - You can fill up to the max but your most useful set of shots will be within approx. 185 - 120 BAR, keep the gun within those (more correctly, YOUR chosen zone) and you will have an extraordinary rifle.
 
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"kmd1984"
"zebra"Your pumping technique could be part of it. I have never used an Indy but with regular pumps, you need to wait for a second or two at the top and bottom of each stroke to let the cylinder fill with air. I thought of that when you mentioned feeling a vacuum on the upward stroke with your Benjamin pump. Not waiting would create that feeling. I have no idea if the Indy mini cylinder works the same as an hpa pump but can't hurt to try.



Click to expand...
What?! I have never heard this before in my life, that one has to wait when using a pump? I might be new to PCP air guns, but I am not new to pumps. I never ever had to wait for a pump to fill up with air?! Can anyone confirm this? Besides, I was using the pump exactly the same way when it started to create that vacuum feeling, as I was before and I never had that vacuum effect...


Thanks,

Kmd


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I know with the hand pump a momentary hesitation at the top and bottom of the pump stroke allows the air to flow through the small orifice into the air tank. I would think the same might apply to an on board pump system like the Indy. Watch this video where a slow deliberate pumping technique is used. Bill


 
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