Why do most new flagship PCPs from various manufacturers look FX Impact-alike?

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fe7565

fe7565

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Oct 13, 2015
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May be a rhetorical question...

Is it because it's a very popular chassis with the consumers, looks-wise, so best way to compete?

Or Is it because it is the "leanest" possible chassis design for a performance PCP with all extras (stock, etc) removed?

Like a Formula 1 car that has to be deigned in a certain way or it will not be aerodynamic enough and handle well on the road? Either way....are we "stuck" with this chassis?
 
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AirArcher66 said:
Examples ?

AGTs don't look like FX, neither Edguns, Kalibur nope, Taipan no, American AirArms ? ...which are most new models ?
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Looks like in a parking lot full of cars you picked out all the motorcycles :) LCS Air Arms, RTI Prophet, RTI Priest, American Air Arms EVOL PCP, Western Airguns Rattler, Daystate Delta, Skout Epoch, AEA TAC 450.
 
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The AR-15 is called a "Barbie Doll gun" for a reason. The aftermarket accessory industry is huge and just about all aftermarket AR accessories will fit just about any AR rifle.

You'll know the FX "platform" has achieved AR-15 status when the aftermarket accessories are swap out interchangeable between makers of different FX style airguns.
 
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Tony Belas (Daystate) knows the airgun market pretty darned well. And he said during an interview (around the time of the Alpha Wolf launch) that airgun sales growth (especially in the U.S.) was most significant for tactical looking models.

So it is pretty much all about riding the current sales trends.

Also, when you look at accessories for tactical looking guns, I am always amazed when I do the price assessment of the add-ons. One can really quickly spend 25%+ of the base gun's price on do-dads to attach to it. Sales margins on accessories are likely really good for the manufacturers, probably significantly higher than the margins on the guns themselves. Win-win for the manufacturers.
 
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fe7565 said:
It certainly seems that the AR look is the main reason for the popularity of this platform.
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It's been that way since just after WW2 actually. Since WW2 the "army gun" has always been popular in the shooting community. Was the M1 Garand and M1 carbine in the 50's & 60's. Even though the AR came out for civilians in the early 70's it never caught on then because of the price. The mini-14 was "the gun to have" in the 70's and 80's. The AR didn't start to pick up much till the mid-90's mainly bc of the federal AWB. When the ban expired in 2004 the AR exploded in popularity. And here we are now...

The FX is just plain tacti-cool looking and that reflects the vast popularity of the AR IMO.

Me, I'm an airgun Fudd. Gimme a wood stock with a slick action and one hole capability at 30-40 yards.
 
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fe7565 said:
It certainly seems that the AR look is the main reason for the popularity of this platform.
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I dont know if I agree with that. I dont think an impact looks like any of my AR rifles. The impact looks “tactical“ but it doesnt look like an AR not to me anyway. I think a crown mk2 in its grs stock and 20 moa pic railed receiver also looks “tactical”. Looking tactical is not a bad thing if the tactical parts of the rifle are actually useful. Some people despise tactical looking rifles. I prefer my crown mk 2’s over an impact or any rifle that uses AR type grips but I find having extra pic rails to attach bipods or other things like lights for night pesting very handy. It would be much easier to add accessories to an impact than it is my crowns in the grs stock. As another commenter said there are lots of bull pups that look nothing like an impact.
 
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fe7565 said:
Looks like in a parking lot full of cars you picked out all the motorcycles :) LCS Air Arms, RTI Prophet, RTI Priest, American Air Arms EVOL PCP, Western Airguns Rattler, Daystate Delta, Skout Epoch, AEA TAC 450.
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EVOL is nothing like an Impact maybe you got a bit confused there, The priest has been around a long time probably developed at the same time as the Impact, the AEA is only on paper have you seen one ? and definitely not the Flagship, LCS and Rattler are the same gun, Skout Epoch lets see if it comes to play,..You the Delta is a pretty good copy,

....Hardly "Most NEW flagship models" ;)
 
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You are correct, the EVOL's action is not part of the entire length of the "stock", so not FX Impact-like. You may be a little confused about the Priest and the Prophet (not sure when you entered the airgun scene), because they definitely came out after the FX Impact. And they are the only models offered by RTI...thus their flagship(s) by default. LCS and Rattler are almost identical riles, but different manufacturers and it is their flagship product because LCS offer only that one, and the Ratter is Western' most expensive by a good margin in its line up of three riles. Scout Epoch is in the prototype stage and AEA's TAC seems to be on paper...so for your convenience let's drop them from the line up because they are not a standard production items...thus not meeting your self-set criteria over my list.

We can go on splitting hairs if that better serves your desire ;)
 
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LDP said:
I dont know if I agree with that. I dont think an impact looks like any of my AR rifles. The impact looks “tactical“ but it doesnt look like an AR not to me anyway. I think a crown mk2 in its grs stock and 20 moa pic railed receiver also looks “tactical”. Looking tactical is not a bad thing if the tactical parts of the rifle are actually useful. Some people despise tactical looking rifles. I prefer my crown mk 2’s over an impact or any rifle that uses AR type grips but I find having extra pic rails to attach bipods or other things like lights for night pesting very handy. It would be much easier to add accessories to an impact than it is my crowns in the grs stock. As another commenter said there are lots of bull pups that look nothing like an impact.
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Yes, it's a personal preference on looks and purpose, and if they resemble an AR or not. But in general, the FX Impact and its various similar cousins from other makers have one thing in common besides the AR-style grip: the action extends all the way to to back without any of the traditional-look stocks extending...well actually there no stock in the traditional sense. While many bullpups have a stock that looks traditional, except their action extends all the way to the rear.
1657502905187.png
 
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