FX T-12 Whisper with the new Smooth Twist barrel review

FX T-12 Whisper with the new Smooth Twist barrel in .22

I recently read a post on a forum talking about FX and the new Smooth Twist barrel by Ben Taylor. I also found a link to an article talking about and describing the Smooth Twist barrel. I immediately forwarded the acticle to my friend with the title, “looks like another gimmicky attempt for the manufacturer to save money”. I didn’t beleive all the hype as I’ve found over and over again that reviews from magazines and professional reviewers to be exaggerated and more like an advertisement for the company. It just sounded too good to be true but I couldn’t help but be curious about this new barrel and decided to take the risk when I stumbled upon a great deal. Ironically, I went from being a skeptic to a believer and I just cannot wait to give people the news because it is quite exciting! The FX Whisper is the real deal! The Smooth Twist barrel is the real deal! I am not easily impressed and I am not a fan of exaggeration and hype and this air rifle has me excited!

I think the FX T-12 Whisper is the new contender to be crowned with the title, “King of affordable PCP air rifles”. Some regard the Crosman Marauder as the best PCP air rifle for the money but I have always felt the best air rifle for the money is the Air Arms S410, that is until now. I have no idea if the price is permanent or if this is a temporary special, but Airguns of Arizona has decided to sell the FX T-12 Whisper at an irresistible price of $599. The rifle I bought and tested is the .22 model. It rests on a lightweight synthetic stock and I was very excited to see how this rifle would perform as it also sports the new Smooth Twist barrel designed by Ben Taylor. This multi-shot comes with a 12 round magazine, adjustable buttstock, bull barrel shroud to reduce the report, and a fill gauge on the front of the air tube. I didnt weigh it, but its advertised at 6.2 lbs for the synthetic model. It feels light! It is filled by using the supplied fill probe and the recommended fill is 200 bar or 2900 psi. I decided to fill it to 2800 psi and shot an impressive shot string but quickly learned that this particular rifle likes a high pressure fill. Normally the power curve on a PCP air rifle will start off low, climb to a peak, and then descend back down. At a fill of 2800 psi, I was already close to the peak and I decided to try another shot string with a fill of 3200 psi. Here are the results:

2800 psi fill using JSB 15.9 gr. pellets
The numbers are in feet per second or fps.

876, 877, 883, 881, 880, 880, 880, 880, 881, 877, 881, 878, 881, 877, 877, 877, 875, 871, 871, 870, 870, 870, 867, 863, 862

3200 psi fill using JSB 15.9 gr. pellets

The shot string was impressive and I couldnt help but get even more excited to see how it would perform where it really counts, in the accuracy department. I was once again pleasantly surprised to find out that the new Smooth Twist barrel is not just another gimmicky attempt for the manufacturer to save money through a simple and cheaper way to produce barrels. I first heard about these smooth twist barrels from one of the posts in the Yellow Forum. I have been curious ever since and this was a big factor in me deciding to purchase the Whisper. Ill be honest. I was really skeptical about this new barrel. I read an article about it and it just seemed like another ploy to mislead and attract people into spending their hard earned money. I was wrong! The FX T-12 Whisper with the ST barrel is a tach driver! I didnt measure these groups but you can see for yourself that they are small. These are unsorted pellets and I used a Caldwell Tachdriver shooting bag to rest the front of the rifle while shouldering the buttstock in the prone position. My breathing, heat beat, and trigger pull were still factors, so just think of what the groups would look like if I were shooting indoors and using a vise to keep the rifle fixed and steady. This is for everyone who has been waiting for some groups from the new Smooth Twist barrel by Ben Taylor.

5 shot groups at 50 yards using JSB 15.9 gr pellets
Distance was measured using a Leupold RX-1000 rangefinder

A target analysis of my 5 shot group from 50 yards .31 inch ctc

I have owned several great shooters over the past year including the FX Royale 400, the Daystate Airwolf MCT, and the Edgun Matador; so I am not easily impressed. Honestly, I am usually disappointed to find out something has been hyped up and have a hard time believing anything I read anymore; especially when reading it from a magazine or from some famous reviewer. I am so tired of being lied to whether is it how quiet a particular air rifle is or how many shots to expect from a fill. It seems as it is quite common and even somewhat accepted for the manufacturer to exaggerate. Although I am very happy with the Whisper, it didnt start off well.

You would expect this air rifle to be whisper quiet right? Well, I wouldnt say its loud but it isnt whisper quiet either. The Crosman Marauder is noticeably quieter but that is about the only thing the Marauder does better. This is the only thing that disappointed me with the Whisper but I was very impressed with everything else so Im not going to complain too much. I really wish the Whisper sounded like the Marauder but that is easily accomplished by adding some baffles in the Whispers barrel shroud. It is just a tube with no sort of baffling, just an end cap, and the barrel is held in place with the use of barrel bushings. The barrel and shroud setup is very similar to the Airforce Talon SS.

Although this rifle is not perfect, I have to give it a thumbs up and it is without a doubt the new king of affordable PCPs. Out of the box the FX Whisper would give any air rifle, at any price, some serious competition. I do prefer the walnut thumbhole stock and side lever cocking of the FX Royale, the high shot count and incredible trigger of the Daystate Airwolf MCT, the compactness, shot count, and consistency of the Edgun, and the power of the .25 Daystate Air Ranger. All of these rifles have their own niche but at the current price of $600, the FX Whisper can shoot with the best of them! It is leaps and bounds better than the Crosman Marauder that my friend Joel was testing right next to me. Joel will do his review of the Marauder soon. I am sure he will have time while his new Marauder goes back to the dealer he bought it from for either a repair or a replacement. I on the other hand will be holding on to my FX Whisper and encourage anyone looking for a great PCP air rifle to get one soon.

Bobby Escay