Edgun Matador vs Theoben Rapid
Good evening everyone,
My name is Ben, and I reside in South Africa.
This forum has been a wealth of information regarding the Edgun Matador, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the various posts regarding this phenomenal air rifle.
Due to its increasing popularity and the numerous reviews speaking so highly of it, I ordered one.
I’m currently anxiously awaiting its arrival. But alas, it seems that I have come to an impasse regarding my decision.
I was lucky enough in the sense that the dealer of Edguns in my country has ordered a bunch of Matadors, thus negating the need to place a deposit. Furthermore, I was in the fortunate position that I phoned early enough to secure a place on this most exclusive list.
So what’s the problem, you may ask? Well in short…Theobens.
The importer of Theoben in my country is offering a fully regulated and gauged MK2 Rapid for approx. $700 less than a Matador. It’s brand new with the Theoben aftermarket reg and gauge pre-installed at the factory. The caliber is .20.
My questions are as follows:
1. Considering the price, is the Theoben a better choice?
2. The dealer was advocating the .20 as a better long range caliber than .22. Is this the case? I’m interested since I plan to use the rifle at ranges in excess of 60yrds.
3. I went to view a Theoben next to a Matador, and the finish on the Theoben left me wanting. Essentially it looked unfinished. The Matador looked much better. Is Theoben’s quality control slipping? Does the Theoben require some “assembly” before reaching its full potential?
Seeing that no deposit was placed, I have no financial obligation to take the Edgun. The dealer won’t be put out in the cold either, since if I don’t take the Matador, there would definitely be someone else interested.
I would like to thank everyone in advance for any input and advice provided.
Kindest regards,
Ben.
All Replies
Listen to your heart, it will tell you which way to avoid disappointment later. Otherwise, if you are shooting long range, pull the trigger and hope you hit your target.
I am sorry if I sound like a hermit in a cave.
YEAH!!! By gawd…..what HE said!!!!
I knew a beautiful young woman in high school, a lass far above my caliber, and station in life. A beautiful developing young girl in her teens, a body to die for, sweet personality. Most other guys just talked about her, but seldom approached, unless they were high profile Jocks, had doctors or dentists for fathers, or enough bucks to drive ’57 T-birds to school. We’ve all known such girls, and we know only certain guys dared approach them. These exceptional young ladies had many choices, and they knew it.
However, for reasons unknown, she had taken a fancy to me. Definitely I was poor, but I was clean, well spoken, my Wellington boots shined, my hair combed, and my paisley shirt and Levies ironed. She knew I had to work, and work hard. In fact, I was an apprentice Maytag repairman during my Junior/Senior year in high school, and I had recently come to her house one weekend to fix their washing machine. Nothing special, a quick fix, a smile at her, and I was on my way.
She came to me, between classes in the hallway, and in no uncertain terms let me know that she was definitely interested in us getting to know each other better! Perhaps she simply wanted to find out how the other half lived. Who knows? Her father was in oil well exploration, and drilling.
But, I didn’t care…this was the shot of a lifetime. Even in my youth I knew my answer had to be carefully thought out, quietly spoken, in a tone that showed interest, but not desperation…..
As “Steeldreams007 said “[u]Listen to your heart…”[/u] I did just that, and I immediately know what I had to say….openly and honestly.
I looked into those huge blue eyes, and spoke exactly what I had heard in my heart…”
I said…..“Baaa-Rhump….Baaa-Rhump….Baaa-Rhump!!!!”
She, and the bystanders listening in, all heard my response. I didn’t get another date that entire second semester!
I heard years later she married a damn farmer, and raised Clydesdale horses for a hobby.
H 😯 😯 T
Apples and Oranges alright but they are still both fruits.. and doubt is very fertile mental state for disappointment.
Listen to your heart, it will tell you which way to avoid disappointment later. Otherwise, if you are shooting long range, pull the trigger and hope you hit your target.
I am sorry if I sound like a hermit in a cave.
For once, I completely agree with the noble senior Hoot !!! 😉
From Lanzarote with love
Trygve 😀
Try selling the Rapid for more than you paid for it after you have owned it for a couple of years, and shot thousands of pellets through it. The Rapid starts depreciating the moment you take it out of the box. A used Rapid will never sell cheap, but it will never sell for the price of a new one, because it’s mass produced, and there are thousands available.
I’m not aware of any Edgun owner that failed to sell his used Matador for what he paid for it, or more. Is an Edgun worth $700 more….absolutely. It holds that value. Even finding a used one is next to impossible. They are sold in hours, and there’s no quibbling over price…it’s first come, first served. That’s the main value difference in a hand built rifle and a mass produced rifle….availability.
A .20 caliber is fine for target shooting and close range small game hunting. A .22 is fine for target shooting and hunting heavier game a bit further out. A .25 caliber is great for all those things because it’s accurate, and its weight gives it great stability in flight over long distances. Best of all, it hits with devastation.
I’d suggest staying with the .22 or .25 because of the tremendous selection in pellet weights and types available. The .20 caliber pellets are a great deal more limited in that regard.
Regards,
H 😯 😯 T
Caliber choice………..there’s really not a dimes worth of difference IMO. 50 or 75 or even 100 yards away, dead is dead. Personally, I would choose the rifle that I had the most confidence in because chances are I shoot it better.
Which rifle. There are lots of Theoben rifles out there but not many Edguns. If you hate the Edgun, there’s a good chance you can get most of, if not all of your money back out of it. Then you can buy a Theoben.
Thank you everyone for the friendly advice.
Yes, I have shot the Matador and some Theobens.
The uniqueness of the Edgun did not put me off one bit. It was quite pleasant to shoulder, aim and fire. I agree, the two are apples and oranges, but perhaps I didn’t emphasize this enough in the first post: Is the orange worth $700 more than the apple?
The Edgun was, and after shooting one, remains my first choice. My indecisiveness is not based on the aesthetics or the merits of a bullpup vs a normal rifle. If that were the case, my questions would’ve been vague. I would’ve asked, for example: “What do you guys think of the Edgun”, or “Is it as good as everyone says it is”, or “Do you think the Rapid performs better than the Edgun”.
Both rifles, from my research and experience, are equally accurate. The crux of my question centers around the price deficit. Yes, the Edgun is hand-built, but does that warrant paying $700 more? Is the materials used in construction that much better?
I don’t mind paying for quality, but a man has to be reasonable.
I also presented you the caliber debate. Is a .20 better as a long range caliber than the .22? A big thanks to Luigi for commenting on this.
Yet again my thanks to everyone for responding.
I’ve owned two Edguns, the short and standard.
Every time I put the crosshairs on a target, a hole appeared there. Every time. At one point I was pruning bagworm infested twigs off 100 foot trees from my deck. A thick limb took four shots. One at the top, one bottom and two in the middle. I was shaving leaves in half…sideways. This was two or three years ago and I posted pictures. They are probably gone by now.
I believe the Edgun claim to fame is they are “consistent”. By that I mean once you get your hold/grip down, a few minor adjustments in the hst, trigger, etc, to dial it in for your shooting preferences…you will begin to start hitting targets with startling redundancy. They have a remarkable ability to shoot the same place every time. Only you are the variable. The Edgun will outshoot you every time.
It’s a experience you have to try in order to understand. You can always sell the Edgun for more than you paid for it, and buy a Rapid. There are lots and lots of Rapids on the market. There’s only one Edgun, and people are lined up to get one of the very few available. Cost more? Sure! Anything that’s hand made, and assembled one at a time, is going to be expensive, and rare, in a mass market.
This instrument is even tuned so the specially designed LW barrel shoots an 18gr JSB pellet. You don’t have to test pellets to find what it likes. The rifle was designed to shoot this JSB, and Ed even sells his own JSB pellets with a Russian brand name. How much more exact can you get???
Just my thoughts, and limited experience.
Regards,
H 😯 😯 T
For hunting Edgun is King.Much easier to carry vs. conventional.
It will shoot better than you! Technically more up to date and superb
build quality.20 cal are always cheaper on the classifieds.
Easy to work on and rarely have any problems.But if you1d rather lug
around a bigger heavier gun or don`t like Bullpups well…….
Sounds biased but I have a conventional I use for benchrest and never
use for hunting since I got my Edgun. Hope this helps
regards,mark
Hi Ben…
As Yoda said, those are two different kind off beasts, you can’t compare them, it’s going to be a matter of taste, but on the caliber debate, let me tell you that .20 has it’s pros and cons vs the .22
I tought that the .20 was going to be more accurate, but Alan Zasadny (Yep… The man himself) told me that at longer distances the .22 has the upper hand. I’m no expert or whatsoever but what AZ says is like gospel to me.
Just a few questions to consider before you make your choice:
-Have you shot with a bullpup before? (Not everybody gets used to it, and some people even hate the feeling of those)
-Are you very trigger sensitive? (The Rapid trigger can be adjusted almost to match lightness, and the Matador is much more heavy… But highly predictable. I love the matador but honest to be truth, I prefer the Rapid trigger)
-Can you live with a single shot rifle?
Think about that, for me the best is to have both 😉 I love the rapids, but also the matadors, but they are very different. Both are sturdy, accurate, reliable and a joy to shoot.
I hope this helps!
P.S. In my signature, you’ll see that it says “matador coming soon” but I haven’t edited it. I already owned one for more than a year and sold it to a very good friend, so, what I’m saying is because I have experience with both platforms.
Hi Ben,
My guess is that if you aren’t utterly in love with the edgun, you’d better off buying somethng more conventional, such as the theoben.
If you are in doubt, then, to me there is no doubt.
If you were undecided between 2 bullpups, we could have gone into details, however bullpup vs normal rifle…. it is oranges adnd apples, and It says a lot about your indecision.
No offence meant, it’s just what is a doubt now, might become disappointment later. Especially for the money involved, as you said.
Cheers
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Ok
Ansering your direct questions, as it seems we missed “the point”:
Yes, the edgun is worth the extra 700$.
No doubt about it.
Not because it’s made of gold or silver, just because it’s accurate, it is unique, it has a wow factor, it handles well, it is reliable, it is tunable, it is light, and because you can sell it tomorrow and make a profit.
Don’t knoW if it gets better than this.
Again, as apparently your real concern is the “value” then you should be asking no more.
We are actually telling you that you are gonna get richer with the edgun, whilst having fun. is tha enough “value” for you?
For me it is.
Cheers