Outdoor gun? FX Impact M3 stays sighted?

[Wind]

I am (was) very close to buying an Fx Impact M3 .22. to get to know it but possibly upgrading to .357 after some time. Now I heard two times from reliable sources that you should never ever touch the barrel/shroud heavyhanded otherwise you risk to have to sight the rifle in again.

What are your experiences? Did you push yours into a backpack with other stuff for longer hiking trips? Lean it against a tree or bump lightly against one? Grip it heartly by the barrel when picking it up?

I am not talking about being rough and abuse the gun. But I see so many people having their M3 dustfree on benchrests or "hunting" from their car on YT. Has anyone taken theirs outside in the wild? Will it hold its sighting?

Another thing I heard was that you should dryfire some times to get the air going befor hitting the target. Will the gun not shoot reliable first shot after 72 or more hours?

Any ohter recommendations for a similar but more sturdy "outdoor" gun? In .357?

I appreciate your sharing of experiences. Thanks beforehand!

Winnie

 

[Revin]

My M3 Compact has been holding zero just fine. Been bouncing around and even fell off the seat onto the floor of my Polaris Ranger. In and out of pickup , and walking in the woods.

 

[hawkeye69]

My 25 cal M3 holds zero just fine too. I use it for pesting at the dairy and it's not been babied in any way. No dry fire, it's spot on from the first shot.

 

[dizzums]

thats really the same for any airgun .. if the barrel or scope is bumped even alittle it can knock them out, so, a good strategy is to 'bump' them as your sighting, theyll eventually settle and hold better the longer the gun stays together and the particular scope is on it .. work on it or change scopes its liable to be a process again ..

 

[elh0102]

It depends on the specific application. I had an earlier generation Crown that was very prone to POI shifts. My Revere has a shrouded barrel, and it is rock solid.

 

[abqjoe]

Both of my M3's (30 cal and 22 cal) hold zero even when bumped or handled by the barrels. The only thing that effects my POI is weather change. POI shifts upward the colder it gets but that happens with all of my air guns regardless of brand.

 

[woogie_man]

I am (was) very close to buying an Fx Impact M3 .22. to get to know it but possibly upgrading to .357 after some time. Now I heard two times from reliable sources that you should never ever touch the barrel/shroud heavyhanded otherwise you risk to have to sight the rifle in again.

What are your experiences? Did you push yours into a backpack with other stuff for longer hiking trips? Lean it against a tree or bump lightly against one? Grip it heartly by the barrel when picking it up?

I am not talking about being rough and abuse the gun. But I see so many people having their M3 dustfree on benchrests or "hunting" from their car on YT. Has anyone taken theirs outside in the wild? Will it hold its sighting?

Another thing I heard was that you should dryfire some times to get the air going befor hitting the target. Will the gun not shoot reliable first shot after 72 or more hours?

Any ohter recommendations for a similar but more sturdy "outdoor" gun? In .357?

I appreciate your sharing of experiences. Thanks beforehand!

Winnie

NEVER NEVER NEVER dry fire these guns! With no air in the gun you will damage parts. But if you are talking firing with no pellet in... then it isn't going to hurt anything just waste air.

Depending on how hard you "bump" the barrel you should see no issues. Now if you smack it on a tree somewhat forceful yes you may have an issue. But for everyday wear and tear you should be find just shooting.

 

[_CTAIRGUNNER_]

A little over a month ago I was on a permission with my Taipan Compact .22 mounted atop my tripod, the farmer asked if he could try, so of course I said absolutely. When he finished he let the rear of the rifle swing down to what would be an ok rested position if it was easily placed... however this came down full speed ahead and took the tripod with it. The rifle landed hard on the concrete from 5' in the air. I picked it up, pretended nothing happened and kept shooting... POI did not change.

Had this been my Taipans predecessor ... an mk2 impact compact .177 I do not believe this would have been the case and it would have been worse than just a POI change. The other shooter on the permission with me also went from impacts to taipans and he has the same sentiments on the matter.

A little bump here and there I don't think would be an issue.

Just my .02

 

[oldman70]

I am (was) very close to buying an Fx Impact M3 .22. to get to know it but possibly upgrading to .357 after some time. Now I heard two times from reliable sources that you should never ever touch the barrel/shroud heavyhanded otherwise you risk to have to sight the rifle in again.

What are your experiences? Did you push yours into a backpack with other stuff for longer hiking trips? Lean it against a tree or bump lightly against one? Grip it heartly by the barrel when picking it up?

I am not talking about being rough and abuse the gun. But I see so many people having their M3 dustfree on benchrests or "hunting" from their car on YT. Has anyone taken theirs outside in the wild? Will it hold its sighting?

Another thing I heard was that you should dryfire some times to get the air going befor hitting the target. Will the gun not shoot reliable first shot after 72 or more hours?

Any ohter recommendations for a similar but more sturdy "outdoor" gun? In .357?

I appreciate your sharing of experiences. Thanks beforehand!

Winnie

mine holds zero. and has for over a year. never in the case. always in my truck or side x side or leaning against the wall in my house.

 

[Vetmx]

I’m hunting right now. When I got here it got rainy so I figured it would be a good day to hike, hang a camera and do a little scouting. My original plan was just to sit for squirrel. Needless to say my M3 is in its case in my car. They are not a rough and tumble gun. This is.

 

[aklonewolf]

I have an fx impact m3 and just like any gun if you bang it hard enough then yea, check to see if it is still on target. And your other question is NO, there is something going on somewhere in there that you have to shoot it a few times to get zero. I have herd and read that there is something you can get to make that a little better but if you let it sit for a few hours or several days you can’t hit zero right off you need to shoot it a few times. I also have a Vulcan 3 500 mill barrel I am setting that up to be my go to gun, grab it, aim shoot, tree rat down.

 

[Vetmx]

mine holds zero. and has for over a year. never in the case. always in my truck or side x side or leaning against the wall in my house.

There has never been a FX or most pellet guns on the planet ever hold it’s zero for a year. Let alone being bounced around in a buggy. Not too many people are going to buy what you’re selling. I have a real barrel practically welded in place on my one M3 and even it won’t hold its zero indefinitely due to leading.

 

[aklonewolf]

I’m hunting right now. When I got here it got rainy so I figured it would be a good day to hike, hang a camera and do a little scouting. My original plan was just to sit for squirrel. Needless to say my M3 is in its case in my car. They are not a rough and tumble gun. This is.

View attachment 295470

May I ask what make or model that is? I like that one.

 

[Wind]

I have a real barrel practically welded in place on my one M3 and even it won’t hold its zero indefinitely due to leading.

Thanks to all the imput ! Keep it coming!

@Vetmx Interesting! Why did you (let) weld the barrel into your gun?

 

[Vetmx]

I have an actual gun barrel on my one Impact and even though it’s 14mm of steel, I have it clamped (no orings) and tensioned. My intentions have always been to be able to use the gun like a gun. Not something that you have to coddle and warm up before you shoot something. Lots of mods to the gun trying to get it there, not just the barrel. If the platform didn’t offer such broad tuning and power capabilities, I’d toss it off the nearest bridge.

 

[Chukar60]

My M3 rides around the ranch on my pickup seat out of the hard case. Bounces around with the rest of the stuff. Not getting the crap beat out of it but I am not babying it either. Sometimes I take it in the side by side but it rides in the case when there. The dust is just too heavy.
I lost POI once with it when it fell over from resting on a steel rail fence at one my cattle permissions. It landed on the scope so I doubt it was the barrel shifting POI.
If mine was the nightmare some have experienced I would go back to Daystate electronics. OK that is a lie, but it would not remain with me

 

[Pale_Rider]

I’m hunting right now. When I got here it got rainy so I figured it would be a good day to hike, hang a camera and do a little scouting. My original plan was just to sit for squirrel. Needless to say my M3 is in its case in my car. They are not a rough and tumble gun. This is.

View attachment 295470

That hortitsia is a sweet little carbine. Seems like every eastern bloc airgun company makes rugged guns

 

[Wind]

Thanks for your Input. I have had contact with a major FX dealer. Apparently all the recent M3's have their barrel clamped to the system box where they are leaving it. That has not been the case before and so it might make a difference - which I find reasonable As some of the posters stated: Change in POI has been an issue - for some at least.

Windy