Air Arms Rifles: Which one do you have experience with
I have noticed that many own AA rifles, or have experience with them. Which one do you own, (Rob probably has a safe dedicated to AA airguns 😀 ). The XTRA FAC has great stats but it is so long at 44 inches. The carbine is sexy at 35″ and 5 lbs.. The Classic is a good compromise but is louder. So, if you don’t mind me asking, which do you own, or have owned, and what do you think of it? Also what do you do with it? (Look at it, hunt, target, etc..)
Thanks for the input.
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I am very happy with my Classic. I went to buy a Carbine and no one had it in stock. When I called PAG he told me “You know it is only 3″ shorter then the Classic?”
So I jumped on the classic and have not regretted it.
Thanks for the input.
I have the Xtra FAC and it’s long and setup for FT. It sounds like the Classic would be a better fit and a good hunting rig.
you can exchange the tank your self it needed…no biggie…a tank cost that much
i would still go carbine even with limited shots….but thats because i hunt…i rarely shoot 20 shots….when out unless i get bored and start plinking
ohhh man sitting up all night so i will be real tired for my flight tomorrow at 7 am….gotta drive to airport at 5am sigh…..
i got couple things to say
go to airgunadvice, the US Rapid central…they will scream rapid for best rifle…but notice alot of them got a shitloads of mods done to them…these do not come cheaply…200 for valve work, 180 for a quickfill, 200-300 shroud…..mine came with a shitload of cosmetic faults as well as not performing nearly at specs !
mines still in “surgery” at theoben USA, with a promise that they would give it a through look over ! they are one of three companies that supposedly makes highend .25 rifles….theoben, daystate, and falcon.
and then tehres all the korean…not a bad word about them i have had several and loved them, heck even chevy have a shitload of their cars made in korea…anyhow
AA410 faults….so far i have heard of a leaky checkvalve….only heard about it once….a much more common fault is the pressure guage leak…unscrew, put some treflon tape on, remount…thats IT !
usually AA comes with more power than advertised….they are highly accurate….match it up with good opticks like a 4200 bushy and your good to go for 100 yard squirrels….bushy legend for happy medium scope…that will do it all from targets to hunting
AA410 has all features….well a moderator would be perfect…not legal in US, so they gave us 20mm shroud instead of 16mm…so they listen…and their shrouds are the best in the business for stock shrouds !
rapids dont even have a scope rail so your stuck with custom adapted scoperings….mine even needed 3 cokecan shims…and not its not the scopes…i tried 2 on it…it was the mounts.
you wont go worng with an AA410 they hit the nail square on the head with this model, but better mags would be nice but thats it…the current ones are all i have used and they work just fine !
question on model.
walnut is nice and lighter….beech is nice and cheaper….is it gonna be backseat rifle…or a showpiece ? i would go wallnut just because they are a pleasure to look at…but doesnt add anything else to the rifle, the slight weight savings are neglible…
carbine, classic, extra…..hmm what to choose i belive theres 4″ between each of the rifles….hmmmm
if your rarely take the rifle hunting go xtra fac….long tank, long shroud…means shitload of shots allmost 36 is what i got (never filled the 10th hole in the magazine bacause the pellet would fall out) so….but it would hit 3″ skeets at 100 for all 36 shots with only minor adjustments for power curve, i choose this rifle, as i knew i would spending most time at the range !
i had the classic for a week, much better balanced rifle with all the power of xtra fac….bit louder, less shots 3 mags about 27 shots (3 mags) at full power which is the same as the xtra fac…but the rifle is much better balanced, and is a nice mix between power and fysical balance of it all….so it would be well suited for hunting and benchresting.
personally if i had to do it all over again…it would be the carbine…draggin the xtra fac over hills and fields….is a bugger because of its lenght, and weight, espacially in dense woods the lenght bugged the hell out of me.
cabine you sacrifice power, and shotcount is down to 2 mags at full power…but you gain in portability and weight…and the 27 fpe is usually all you need for squirrels out to 50 yard….heck power is there for longer shots…
but steve i think we have all discussed it….AA410 is awesome…just consider what your going to be doing with it and pick the right model for you….cause californien chairshooters nailing groundsquirrels from 50+ yards will have different needs than a guy that prefers to walk with is rifle enjoying nature, and nailing the occasional squirrel at under 50 yards….
if i know im going for long shots on the ground in an area safe for HMR then i would bring that….if im shooting in woods up into the trees then airgun is what im gonna bring….
The tank thing is just a simple swap of a tank designed for a Classic and mount it to the Carbine so it isn’t that big a deal, and TopGun Airgun are the importer/distributor/warranty center for the AA line so they one would hope they wouldnt charge too much for the work. If anything they might want to think about offering it as another gun in the line-up for the same price as the others.
Cyg’s experience with the Rapid left me cold also. I have been PM’ing him and he has highly recommended any of the AA rifles. He had a suggestion of having a Classic legnth air tank installed on a carbine to get more full power shots. He mentioned Top Gun Air to do this modification. I have not called them as I am afraid how much it will cost…Gun=$1000, Tank mod=$250-350…Arrggghhh! I know, if you have to ask the price, then you can’t afford it.
Thanks again, Cyg.
What do you guys think about the falcon-R? http://www.straightshooters.com/Falcon/falcon-r.html
It looks to be similarly built as the AA s410, but I really like the skeleton style stock.
I lost a lot of my Rapid fever after seeing Cyg post about his. If I got another hight end PCP it would be another AA 410 with walnut thumbhole stock or a HW100, or a nice Falcon.
Steve, good posting ‘caus I’ve been thinking about getting an AA4xx too. I’ve been debating about getting a Rapid for a while but since Cyggy’s experience with his wasn’t that great, I’m not going to risk that kinda money on one. At least the AA is cheaper and any minor problem will be less “irritating”.
Another multi-shot AG I will consider is the HW100 since it’s in the same price range and it’s regulated. I would really appreciate comments from anyone that has experience with either one or both. They probably rank the same in accuracy but the AA seems a bit more versatile with the power adjustment. Oh, another thing. Can their air tanks be easily changed out in the field if I want to carry a spare tank instead of a pump?
Thanks
Rob, how quiet is the carbine?
That would suck to spend $1000 just to have it not perform to factory specs.
The magazine indexes automatically on the S410. I’ve seen some aftermarket magazines that can be retrofitted on the S400 series that have manual index, though.
I have a question about how the magazines work, when you pull back the bolt/cocking lever does it automatically revolve the magazine and put the next pellet there for you too push in the barrel? Or do you have to manually twist the magazine?
AirArms…. I’ve got a couple TX200’s, one in .177 and one in .22… and then of course the S400ERBSL and the S400Carbine… I had an S200 on loan for a review as well…
I did a write up on the S400 for Airgun Hobby a few months back. Really nice guns. I guess if I had it to do over again, I’d get the Carbine in .22 for hunting and the ERB in .177…. but aside from that, they are great guns. The ERBSL is set at around 23fpe right now and while I’ve not counted a full shot string, the thing just sips air. With the Carbine, I normally keep it at around 11fpe and get roughly 50 or so shots out of it… maybe more. I can turn up the Carbine to 20fpe, but shot count goes to hell with it.
I really think if I were to own but one PCP, it would be an S4xx… very nice guns with a proven design.
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Adam, how quiet is you AA Classic compared to your TSS?
The AA website lists the S410 Classic, but none of our retailers do. I must be missing something. PA lists a S400 Classic, (single shot). That’s part of the reason to get an AA rifle is the 10 shot magazine. Things that make you go Hmmmm.