My Next Gun Should Be a….

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jonny75904

Member
Dec 31, 2016
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Texas, United States
For the last few years I have exclusively used a .25 Benjamin Armada, and I love it. At least, I used to love it until I got co-opted to work a pest control job culling muscovy ducks, and I am now acutely aware of its limitations.



1. I went through multiple cycles of tuning and tweaking to find what worked. By the time I had the optimal tune, the job was over.

2. Tuning the Armada is a pain because I have to take off the shroud and stock to adjust it.

3. Low shot count, repeated refilling. Not great for walking around hours at a time firing hundreds of rounds, refilling after every 16 shots.

So, now Im looking at other air rifles, and it seems FX is rather popular among wildlife control professionals. I like the idea of swapping barrels and changing caliber, and having easily accessible tuning points.



It looks like the latest FX Impact can go from .177 to .30 caliber?? So if I buy an Impact, presumably all I need then are swappable barrels and chambers? Are all the adjustment points easily accessible?


Is there another rifle that stacks up to FX in terms of flexibility and usability?



I don’t want to be a mindless follower, but there’s also something to be said of “the roads most traveled.” 

If anyone has a promo code like “FreeImpactWithPurchaseOfAPellet” feel free to share it.
 
When changing calibers all you need is a different barrel kit complete with pellet probe. That would include the pellet probe, barrel housing, liner, inlet, liner lock, and barrel attachment. If you stay with the same length you can get away with using the same barrel housing but, you still need all of the other parts, so I am not sure if that would save you much money though and it's a pain to change out the barrel inlet and attachment as they have locktight applied at the factory..

Going from .177 and .22 to the larger calibers it would be good to at least change out the valve spring for something a bit lighter. But even better if you added a couple of hammer spring shims as well for a bit more power.

Better yet you could just get the power kit that has the shims, valve spring as well as a new pellet probe.
 
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When changing calibers all you need is a different barrel kit complete with pellet probe. That would include the pellet probe, barrel housing, liner, inlet, liner lock, and barrel attachment. If you stay with the same length you can get away with using the same barrel housing but, you still need all of the other parts, so I am not sure if that would save you much money.

Going from .177 and .22 to the larger calibers it would be good to at least change out the valve spring for something a bit lighter. But even better if you added a couple of hammer spring shims as well for a bit more power.

Better yet you could just get the power kit that has the shims, valve spring as well as a new pellet probe.
Click to expand...

Well damn, yeah FX makes it sound like it’s easy, like “USB port easy.” 
 
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Only easy if you buy the complete kit and are not concerned so much with maximum power in the larger calibers it is. Trying to save a few dollars makes things a bit more difficult.

Edit;

JimNM below kind of has it right.

Me, I have two Impacts one for .177, .22 and the other for .25 and .30. I have the barrel length, ports, springs and hammer set up differently for the two guns so I can shoot the smaller calibers a bit slower and the bigger calibers a bit faster to get the most the guns have to offer.
 
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I have a "change-a-caliber" gun. I don't use that feature. Get a gun that will do the work that needs to be done. Get a different gun for a different work profile. You can't just slap a .177 barrel onto a .30 action and expect everything to be roses without re-doing the tune and balances.

Ever think about how a surgeon uses specific tools and never uses a Leatherman multi tool to work on his patients? 


 
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The idea of a FX Impact versus the reality of actually owning one are very different. I think for your pesting needs that Brocock Sniper XR in the classifieds will suit your needs and not overly complicate things. You won’t always be chasing tunes, thinking the grass will be greener buying gadgets, or trying to find barrels with a caliber specific gun. You also won’t be wasting lead on anything other than animals. I’ve owned a chronograph since the mid 1990’s. I have fired more shots over that chronograph in 6 months with my Impact than I have fired with every gun I own over the last 25 years. Pellet guns and real guns combined. Food for thought.
 
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Ever think about how a surgeon uses specific tools and never uses a Leatherman multi tool to work on his patients?
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lol The Jedi care not for such things…. 

Well, when you put it like that, it makes sense. I’m not on the bleeding edge of… “Airgunology.” Big strides have been made in the last decade, I thought maybe they had found a way to do it.



 
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The M3 really is nearly as easy to change calibers as a USB. Once you have your original tune, for a specific caliber, you can change calibers or projectiles and simply go back to that original tune whenever you like.

Before I had the M3 I changed from a .25 700mm slug barrel tune, to a 500mm Superior barrel .177 caliber tune on my gen1 gun by simply changing out my barrel and probe and turning my power wheel from max to 1. 

The .25 shot <MOA at 100 yards the .177 shot <MAO at 50 yards immediately after the caliber change and the power wheel adjustment.

So, the system werqs just fine as is with the stock FX guns.

It's just when you want that little bit extra you have to do a little more to get there.

M3 .30 slug to pellet change tuning.

https://www.airgun101.com/68-whiskey/video/fx-mk2-or-m3-groups-at-175-yards-no-tricks-long-range-airgun
 
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One gun to fill multiple roles in one caliber is an achievable goal. Constantly changing calibers on the same platform and expecting seamless results doesn't seem realistic. Unless one is investing lots of lead down range to get that all set up. Better to have at least two rigs to cover your pesting situations. Good luck with your choice/choices.
 
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The Red Wolf is every bit as flexible as the Impact and a bit friendlier and more stable... especially with the Heliboard. I wouldn't consider it a carry around for hours rifle, but I have done that. An aspect to consider is the cost of the kits PLUS the cost of stocking different calibers of ammo for each. They're not cheap and will put you most of the way toward a new rifle like the Akela or Zbroia. I have 177, 22, 25, and 30 kits for my RW and maybe will have time to add the 20 soon. With the Heliboard, it's select and go for changing pellets or calibers plus possibly an adjustment for voltage if the velocity isn't perfect. Considering how many different pellet weights there are in a couple of the calibers, it's easy to get to the velocity with a power level and voltage selection within a couple of minutes and is perfectly repeatable .

That said, Vetmx has it right with 1 good solid rifle. Mine spend most all of their time as a 22 or 177 and will cover about any reasonable use. The one he suggests is a good one as it's solid and has a 3 or 5 position power dial depending on vintage. With the turn of the dial you could go from longer ranges outside with heavier pellets to lighter ones at low velocity for indoors and it gets quite a few shots on a charge.

Several FX models are light and typically accurate but if you read much here, only a couple are day in, day out dependable for most users. There are a LOT of FX enthusiasts , though.

Just be careful ... the fantasy isn't always reality. "Beware the man who has just one gun"

Bob
 
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You know the Air Force Condor doesn't get a lot of press these days. It's not the latest "whiz bang" technology. No "lectronics" but I can change out a barrel in about 5 minutes and when I change that barrel I've changed everything I need to change to hit a completely different tune. Change the barrel and reset the power adjuster, if necessary swap out the restrictor on the top hat and I can go from a 10 fpe .20 pellet rifle that gets PLENTY (way more than 60) shots on a charge to a .25 cal 60 fpe slug rifle that gets maybe a dozen shots on a charge...

It's not fancy. It didn't cost a grand. It is accurate enough and it just gets the job done.
 
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I have the option to change caliber on my Fx Maverick, and i hope to be able to do that at some time going from the .177 it is now to a .22 or maybe even .25.

BUT ! i am not going to be swapping back and forth between calibers, when i go up i intend to stay there.

Mind you if you are in the zone with going back and forth it is probably not a big deal to do with any brand gun that allow it Though i think all of them, it is not just wham - bam, thank you mam, swapping caliber on the fly. there are some wrenching on my Maverick to get the barrel off and change the pellet probe, nothing big though but i would prefer to not do it on the back seat of my car, or on the hatch of a pickup truck.

This could also just be me looking for a excuse to buy another .177 as my Maverick are not totally playing ball with me on the accuracy, so i could throw it under the bed until i get to a place where i can upgrade it, and then just have fun with another .177 rifle until then ( .177 being free to get here if you are 18 YO, all other calibers you have to be a member of a club or have a hunting license + have those weapons in a gun safe )

Problem is gun clubs here are ultra conservative and dialed for the Olympic / old style shooting disciplines, benchrest and field target we dont have yet
 
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One gun to fill multiple roles in one caliber is an achievable goal. Constantly changing calibers on the same platform and expecting seamless results doesn't seem realistic. Unless one is investing lots of lead down range to get that all set up. Better to have at least two rigs to cover your pesting situations. Good luck with your choice/choices.
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This is a good point, and if you have entered the paid pesting realm it's also better to have two rigs just in case of breaking one, so you are never completely out of service. 
 
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To clarify, I don’t have the expectation of “seamless” caliber changes, I do realize that’s going to create a POI shift and some tuning tweaks.

That being said, not all rifles are created equally, some are easier than others. I figured perhaps some of these rifle companies would have figured out a way to couple the swappable barrels with a “removable tuning block” of some kind so that the settings stay married to the barrels when they’re detached, minimizing the amount of retuning down to POI shift adjustment. Something like that, u know? Something that doesn’t essentially require building a whole other rifle “just” to change calibers, u know?


 
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One gun to fill multiple roles in one caliber is an achievable goal. Constantly changing calibers on the same platform and expecting seamless results doesn't seem realistic. Unless one is investing lots of lead down range to get that all set up. Better to have at least two rigs to cover your pesting situations. Good luck with your choice/choices.
Click to expand...

This is a good point, and if you have entered the paid pesting realm it's also better to have two rigs just in case of breaking one, so you are never completely out of service.
Click to expand...

Not quite there yet - I’m still keeping my day job, but I want to moonlight as one. I did a ride-along on a muscovy duck job with a friend who owns a company. I didn’t charge, I just wanted the experience. I liked the nature of the work, but would only do it part time as a gunner. Not sure if there’s really any kind of demand for that, but we’ll see. The ducks are pretty bad here.
 
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