WAR Flex 25 Review

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steppenwulf

steppenwulf

Member
May 13, 2015
488
11
sc, United States
I've had my Flex almost 2 months now and thought I'd share some thoughts and my experience with this gun. I've had several guns (FX, TM1000, Daystate) at this price point and feel I can do a valid evaluation in this area. I'll try to be brief and to the point.

Pros: *Accuracy. My Flex shoots right up there with the best of them. Ragged one holers at 50. *Trigger. Set at 10 ozs. Nice 1st stage and very crisp break. Not a TM trigger, but close. *Customer service. Wow! Travis answers the phone and returns calls. Even better he is willing to spend time discussing the gun and making suggestions. * Sound level. This gun is quiet. You can remove the baffells and bring the moderator back, but I didn't do this. Easily backyard friendly even at 50+ ft/lbs. *AR15 compatable for grip and buttstock. Very cool option. I added a target grip and cheek riser, both available on Amazon. *Carry handle built in. Works great and makes for an easy carry. *Shot count. My gun has a reg. and fills to 3600 psi. I only fill to 3000 so I can only give an approximation. Good for 30+ shot at that fill pressure. *Weight and ergonomics. This is of course a matter of personal preference. My gun weighs in at 12 lbs. 4 ozs. Scoped (6-24). I really like the way the gun handles and the general feel. The length of pull is adjustable and my gun is set at 40". *Consistincy and adjustability. Shooting the JSB's at 920 I get about a 6fps variation. Very nice. The hammer screw is right in the rear and can easily adjust power. I was shooting the JSB 33 gr. Pellets at 55 ft/lbs with no reg adjustment.

Cons: *Trigger. I asked that the gun be delivered at its lightest safe weight. When it arrived it measured in at 1 lb. 14ozs. No directions on trigger settings. The trigger used is a Timmney Calvin Elete used in Remington rifles. I searched all over the net and finally found (on a gun forum) decent directions. The trigger now is very acceptable. *Lack of any included info on the gun. No owners manual. (I had to call Travis to find out the max fill pressure). *Incorrectly made part. The part where the bipod mounts should be able to slide rearward to be under the regulator housing. Mine stuck up too high and is being remade to fit. *Bolt cocking and pellet chambering. For my gun pulling the bolt back requires a thumb at the rear of the action and index and middle finger pulling back. Gritty pull. Chambering the pellet is tough too. Requires you to push forward with your palm. Butter smooth will never be applied to this gun. *Gun leaked in 1 week in 2 different places. Replaced the reg gauge and no further issues. *Magazine could not be inserted into the gun. Tightened faceplate screw on mag which allowed me to insert it. Required 2 thumbs pushing. Sanded down the plastic on the mag where it goes around the barrel, gave it a light coat of FP-10. Now takes 1 thumb. May sand some more. Single shot tray worked very well.

My conclusions about this gun obviously are mixed. Is it a keeper or not? Well for me it actually is. I really like the feel, accuracy, power, and portability of this gun. How does it fit in the 2k price point? Really not well. Too many out of the box issues that you should not have to address in this price area. Eventually these problems will be sorted out and I will just live with the rugged cocking cycle. Fortunately most of my targets are paper and pinecones, and they rarely need a quick follow up shot. 




 
I've had mine even longer and had zero issues. It's my go to rifle for long range shooting. In fact I liked it so much I bought its little brother the Warp. It is harder to cock than my other rifles but I understand it has a heavy spring to knock the hammer open. This thing makes serious power! USA made also. 
 
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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]Thanks for the review. 

It definitely shatters my romanized view of the high end niche manufacturer where the owner carefully oversees and checks each aspect of production, testing each gun and never sending one out until he's satisfied that the quality reflects the price (and the wait). I have a whole different image in my head now. [/color] 

Just curious, what was going through your mind when you were using sandpaper on the mag to make it fit properly? I assume you weren't thinking "money well spent right here!"?

I was also expecting better air efficiency. Even allowing for you only filling to 3000 psi, 30 shots from a 25 cal bottle gun is very low. I get more than that with my 25 Cricket if I only fill to 3000psi. Maybe there is something wrong with your one?

I think you should make use of their excellent customer service and telephone answering skills and ask them to fix it for you. I am sure I have read better reviews from others in terms of air efficiency and smoothness etc. At least ask them to mill and sand it properly to make the mag fit and the bolt smooth. I'd send back any gun at any price range if the mag didn't fit.... 
 
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Yup,if the mag wasn't gonna fit correctly a phone call would have been made and off it would go back to get resolved .I'm not gonna pay that sort of hard earned cash for something that's not right .I bet they would have sent out a new mag asap to see if it solved the issue and if it didn't i would have asked for another rifle.i understand having an issue sometimes and as long as the manufacturer makes it right I'm cool with them.
The flex and warp are awesome looking.i would love to have one but I got way too many irons in the fire now.:)
Maybe just maybe next year sometime.
 
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"dodge3500"Yup,if the mag wasn't gonna fit correctly a phone call would have been made and off it would go back to get resolved .I'm not gonna pay that sort of hard earned cash for something that's not right .I bet they would have sent out a new mag asap to see if it solved the issue and if it didn't i would have asked for another rifle.i understand having an issue sometimes and as long as the manufacturer makes it right I'm cool with them.
The flex and warp are awesome looking.i would love to have one but I got way too many irons in the fire now.:)
Maybe just maybe next year sometime.
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If you are going to buy air guns then problems are something you have to live with. As you said, as long as they are taken care of by the store or manufacturer, you forget about it and enjoy your gun usually. The part that worries me as a potential buyer with this gun is the nature of the problem. It means that nobody checked it before it went out.

Even if you only fired a few test shots, you would discover immediately that the mag did not fit. I thought the owner being personally involved and tuning each gun for optimal efficiency and accuracy etc was what you paid the extra for with this brand. That's what I was told.

It's not like either the Flex or the Warp comes with a highly figured claro walnut stock. Their designs are functional like a service weapon. If the high price is not for the additional care and attention then what?

BTW, a rough bolt has nothing to with the strong hammer spring. I have a number of air guns with comparable or higher power that are very smooth and it makes me happy every time I pull back the side lever. You get that satisfying precision watch feeling like everything is working in harmony. I do have one rifle with a rough gritty action - my old Hatsan AT44. It cost me less than $500 so I accept it. It's definitely not a pleasure to use it though. On the plus side, it's mag fits perfectly. 

A rough cocking motion is to do with the quality of the machine work or a design problem. If you left some burrs or forgot to lube it, that could do it but they are things you would pick up during testing. When it's hard to work the bolt or chamber a round, I typically assume there is a problem or that I am using ammo that is too large for the gun. 







 
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Fair points in your review Steppenwulf, there are some niggles that really are small and correctable by them, for instance by a user manual.
Also when it's regulated rotate the collar so the extendable bipod function as it should, keep in mind the original design was not intended to be regulated this way. 
Now to things I also feel should have not been delivered as is, Gritty Bolt action, I have a Flex, my second, first was a .30 and then my custom .22, and all the operations was/are buttery smooth, but like was mentioned by someone else, there might be irregularities in the machining surface, especially if it feels "gritty" something that I am sure Jim/Travis would rectify if you let them know. But should not have left the shop that way.
Cocking force is going to be harder on a bolt operated gun vs a sidelever for instance, and I know theirs is harder than some others out in the market place, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease on the .30 cal. My own .22 is very easy, but this is a matter of preference. 
As they grow and gets feedback from their user base, most of these would disappear since it's not a fault of the design of the gun itself. Personally I think it's "worth" the money to get something with the growth potential, build quality and customer support that is excellent. Some niggles due to the newness and, more importantly added features (regulated). 
I would suggest you get in touch with them on the bolt/mag issue, I have no doubt they want a happy customer and would help you rectify that particular issue.
 
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That's true. Bolt action guns are heavier to cock which is why most switched to side-lever which seems to be the preferred action. Heavier is not grittier though. A side-lever gun can be gritty too. 

It is also one of the many things in life that are improved with lube. A little grease on the moving parts can make a huge difference sometimes. 

It will help both parties to let them know about issues. You to get the problem fixed and them so they know they need to up their game.

I'm going to pass on WAR for now. I really need my next purchase to not be disappointing. Whatever it is, I want it to be what I was expecting and I think I might have a better chance of achieving that elsewhere. 
 
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