FX Royale 400 VRS FX Royale 500 Carbine
When I first started the FX Royale 500 carbine project I wrote a thread on the Yellow explaining what I wanted to do.
I was told by posters that the designer knew what he was doing when he designed the rifle and that I would not be able to improve on the design. I was also told that if I ever wanted to sell the rifle I could not get what I had in the modifications.
Having both rifles and shooting both rifles I have decided that it is hard for me to justify having both. Especially since I had then set up the same for a while and had a hard time telling them apart, no big deal until I put the 500 magazine in the 400 and jammed a pellet in the breech.
And it has been a hard descision to make both Royales are clearly a cut above any other airgun I have owned.
And both have individual strengths.
The 500 hits noticably harder on game inside of 100 yards, oddly enough past 150 yards, the 400 overtakes the 500 in FPE and shoots considerably flatter after 70 yards and bucks the wind much better.
The 400 is more accurate, especially at 150 yards, but that could be due to the trigger being much better on the 400, and the 18.1 grain Exact being a better designed pellet than the 25 caliber King. The 22 caliber 18 grain has a BC of 310 while the King has a BC of 240.
But inside 50 yards they both shoot little tiny bughole groups, the 500 shooting .03″ bigger bugholes.
The carbine proved to get 50 shots at a velocity exceeding that of the regulated Royale 500 full size rifle as it comes from the factory.
I dearly love both rifles, but I have been getting emails since posting about the rifle on the Yellow, from people wanting to purchase the 500 carbine for exactly what I have in the rifle purchasse and the modifications.
Last night I got an email from a great fellow who has purchased a AA S410 carbine from me before, as a matter of fact he came to the vineyard and picked it up.
He has been able to help me decide on which one to keep by offering me slightly more than I have in the Royale 500 carbine.
So I think I have made my decision .
Regards,
Roachcreek
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Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
I know the feeling RC.
My condor has killed 2 squirrels this year. I usually take it with us when we go fishing to take those long shots at floaters. It is so damn challenging, and fun, I really enjoy the outings.
Earlier this spring my wife broke off on a nice walleye around 12 pounds. We watched that red and white bobber just sink and swim away. A few moments later it rose to the surface and the current eddied it out to the main channel. As it passed by at 160 or so yards, I sank it on the 3rd shot.
Like you said once you have chairgun figured out and your rifle setup right, let the fun begin. 😎
The biggest challenge on floaters is judging how far downstream the damn thing will move before the pellet gets there. I have to lead things by over a 2 feet quite often.
Yea maybe shooting into the water is frowned upon. But the river is almost a mile wide where I shoot, and I can see up and down for 3 miles or more. Very secluded and private land. And the walleye and smallmouth bass fishing is superb.
Life is good.
–edit–
I almost missed what you said about glassing between the bushings, then using a wood stock. You planning on a bullpup of some sort?
I made a change to my Condor I might not have mentioned, although I tossed the idea out for consideration long ago.
I drilled mount holes thru the top of the frame, and threaded the bushings. Now instead of pushing the barrel into place with grubs, I pull it into place with capscrews. I also bonded the bushings to the barrel with DP420 glue.
I figure if I ever have to remove the bushings, I could always use a lathe.
Riff,
The Royale 400 22 is grouping around 2 inches at that range, so with a range finder and little or no wind it will take a crow at that range, but you better have the range figured exactily and your field work done to correct Chairgun..
Now if your King is only going 880 FPS, a 905 FPS 18.1 grainer will over take it at around 100 yards.
Yeah you may be right abut the 25 LBT. That solid bullet flies so much straighter than any pellet ever though of flying at long range.
Dayotat made me one of his super valves this weekend, and I will probably get a unchoked LW barrel and let him machine it for me so I can get the full 24 inches with out a choke.
I also ordered one of those new BKL 288 elevation adjustable mounts for my Bushnell 5×15 Tactical, and if it works out, I will get one for the Leupold VXIII.
I am also toying with the idea of filling the void between the bushings with somethng like Accraglass by pumping it in with a grease gun and zerk fitting and using it with a wood stock, I just don’t like that bushing system.
Kings tend to spiral at 150 yards and beyond, so they don’t make a very good super long range target projectile. But under 100 yards they are litterally the Kings as the name implies
These days I seem to want to clang that LR target of mine more than hunting Riff, I just got on the list at XP for a 36 inch upper and tube in 30 caliber, altho the wait is long enough that an asteroid may or the bird flu may come first.
The 36 inch 30 caliber is long, but I just tether them when I shoot steel, so it would not matter.
The fellow who bought the 500 carbine wants it for 50 yard hunting, and at that range it will be one of the finer hunting tools a guy can have.
Watching those flat based bullets curve into that target at 280 yards is getting habit forming.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Boys and thier toys (thats most of us here) 😆
RC I think youve let your modded condor warp your mind. 😉
So a .22 pellet eventually overtakes the .25 at 150 yards. Think about that LOL. Any pellet at that range is largely at a huge risk of not even hitting your target “ethically” for a lack of better term.
Now your slugs, thats a different story altogether. 😈
Did you ever try Benjis in that gun? As you’ve hear me say many times, I find they outperform the Kings by a substantial amount.
I hit floating “objects” around 6″ in diameter in the river out to 190 yards (my furthest aim point) quite often with them. With Kings, forget it.
Whoever ends up with that 500 is one lucky SOB.
But I do understand you’ve let the rifle run its course, and its time to find another project.
Funny how backyard engineers are never happy aint it? 😉
The 400 is more accurate, especially at 150 yards, but that could be due to the trigger being much better on the 400, and the 18.1 grain Exact being a better designed pellet than the 25 caliber King. The 22 caliber 18 grain has a BC of 310 while the King has a BC of 240.
But inside 50 yards they both shoot little tiny bughole groups, the 500 shooting .03″ bigger bugholes.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Now that explains a lot.
Very similar finding, but I was worried if something was wrong with the setup.
I was unable to conclude on the behavior of the FX 400 carbine using JSB 18gr vs the MCT Airwolf in .25 using the JSB Kings.
Great Write up Chief !!!
You sound content, Charlie & that’s the important part. After playing on a daily basis with my Royale 500 & MCT for several weeks now, the MCT has become my favorite. While not quite as fast & powerful as the FX, it has the accuracy, shot count, and consistency edge. Quality control appears better with the MCT also; I’ve had to fix a couple things on the FX that I shouldn’t have had to on a rifle in this price range (fill probe air leak & and pivot screw for the cocking lever handle; the MCT has been flawless.) I fear that the FX will be more of a safe queen than a field gun, tho I will play with it from time to time. Enjoy life, Friend.
I suppose I am like Crowpopper in the way I get them and get rid of them, a lot of it is the modding that I enjoy.
It is nothing that can’t be done again with a used Roylae 500 now that I know how and where.. But next time I would just let AOA do it all.
No it is a great gun, just don’t need two of them. The 25 LBT’s take care of most of my long range 25 shooting, and the advantage of them of course is making my own ammunition. And for very long range shooting the Royale 500 and Kings are not up to the task, great rifle for normal air gun ranges tho.
Like I say I did not even put it up for sale, just got an offer I could not refuse. I have the same thing going on with my Ranger 45, I have had an offer to sell and I am trying to decide if I want to keep it and wait for a 30 caliber barrel if they are sold seperately or sell it and buy one of the really long XPairgun 30’s to do long range with.
Not gettng an elk tag this year, makes me wonder if I want to keep it.
And perhaps it is the Buddhist part of me, I try to not get to many attachments, I would rather give to poor family members and friends than gloat over my finer things. The wife and I just shipped this week, 5 large boxes of food, clothes and personal items to family members and a widow friend who lives in a house with a dirt floor and three children to feed, now that fills me with a joy that a fine air gun could never do.
A few years a go, I sold and gave away all my possessions, land, guns cars snowmobiles, everything I could not put in a small safe and store safely like my fathers rodeo stuff.
Then spent the next couple years traveling in Thailand, Cambodia and the Philipppines.
You should have seen the reaction of those around me when I gave my engraved Sharps Borschardt to my son.
I change gears every few years it seems to shake things up, makes life more interesting. But yes I am still a double dipper with no more debt that I can’t pay off in a month of scrimping, enjoying retirement, still have my health and my beautiful wife, but thanks for the concern.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Ditto what RiffRaff said. You did what the hive mind at the Yellow said couldn’t be done and made the ideal .25 Royale, the way it *should be* from the factory. It’s one of a kind.
Put the 400 away for a while and enjoy your creation in an exclusive relationship. There’s nothing like a handy, laser accurate .25 for small critters.
The way youve been drooling over your own words when writing about that rifle, the decision to sell it comes as a HUGE surprise to me.
Everything ok Roach? Youre not going to regret this later?
I was never lead to believe money was a problem for you so this sale puzzles me. 😉
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Riff,
The idea on the accraglass in the frame, is to bond the barrel to the frame.
Frame flex and the barrel shifting in the frame during the firing cycle are a couple of the problems with the design in my opinion.
Now if you could fill the area between the bushings with accraglass, that portion of the barrel would in effect become like a piece of rebar in cement. And at the sametime it would bond the barrel to the frame.
Then by using one of the wood stock designs, you could eliminate barrel flew completely.
Acess to the hammer ect., would have to be thru the tank bushing hole.
I have a Condor frame that is about to strip out the 1/4-28 set screw repaired bushing holes and it would be a perfect candidate.
The area in front of the front bushing is another area that could be filled and at the same time a permenent frame extension could be added to make a SS super frame.
What you did with the bushings sonds like a good idea also.
Just some ideas of a guy with too much time on his hands.
Regards,
Roachcreek