On this page we`ll take a look at various airguns from different origine.
AGS PCR 1
AA S400 Carbine
S400 Classic (left and right version)
S400 Xtra FAC SL
S400 Xtra FAC Bolt
S410 Xtra Fac
S200 Hunter
S200T
Pro Target
Air Arms TX200HC
Airforce Talon SS
Airforce Condor
Anschutz Superair 2002
AGS PCR 1 .177
Our friends from Albion are the grandmasters of PCP`s. We all know that. The avarage PCP in Great Brittain is a pricey piece of equipment. AGS wanted to change that. Their goal was to make a PCP that was good and a match for all other established, PCP`s on the market for the price of a springer! And so they did!
A new valve design would give a great numer of very consistent shots from one filling.
Since the day a saw an advertisement in an old copy of Airgunner i wanted one. I wanted to take this piece of airgunning machinery apart and i wanted to take a look at the valve housing.
A new valve design would give a great numer of very consistent shots from one filling.
Since the day a saw an advertisement in an old copy of Airgunner i wanted one. I wanted to take this piece of airgunning machinery apart and i wanted to take a look at the valve housing.
A first and quick glance at the AGS PCR-1 might lead your thoughts straight to a Benjamin Discovery, but a Discovery is absolute and utter crap compared to this fine PCP. Some others get visions of a QB78. Everyone with any common sense starts laughing out loud.
Here`s the original wich was used to put the AGS PCR-1 was put on the market.
"Like many of the best ideas it came in the pub after a good days hunting. Jan Mokrzycki and Simon Gibbon were chatting and putting the world to rights, when the conversation inevitably turned to air rifles.
As the evening wore on the pair came up with the idea of a pre charged pneumatic for the price of a springer.
This gem of an idea was taken to the AGS engineers who, although initially sceptical, have never been known to back down from a challenge and they went straight to work.
They stripped the concept of the air rifle to its base parts and started examining each one in minute detail, redesigning, recalculating and inventing as they went.
The heart of any pcp is the valve and by rejecting current technology as being too costly and complex the engineers set about designing a new style of valve. What they came up with was a totally revolutionary piece of technology that is not only simpler, using 30% fewer components than contemporary designs, it is also lighter, cheaper and more efficient. This efficiency meant that the air reservoir could be made smaller and still deliver a good number of shots before refilling became necessary, again saving weight and money.
The barrel chosen for this rifle is manufactured from high carbon steel, giving excellent strength and uniformity. It is expertly rifled and machined to the highest tolerances, after all without a good barrel you cant have a good rifle.
The next area that was addressed was the trigger. This is a vital interface between shooter and weapon and must be of the highest possible quality, with a crisp positive release. The two stage adjustable unit fitted to the PCR1 wont disappoint even the most experienced shooter, it is a joy to use and offers both control and feel.
The revolutionary stock is designed to appeal to younger shooters who seek something a bit different, without alienating the traditionalists who like a nice wood stock. Here the PCR1 will please both camps with its beautifully finished beeck stock.
Not only have the AGS engineers met the challenge posed for them by Ian and Simon, in doing so they have produced a fine, accurate, lightweight and user friendly pcp air rifle - all for the price of a springer!
Technical details:
- Pre charged pneaumatic
- Single shot
- Quick connect fitting charging system
- Built in filtration
- Side action cocking bolt
- Manual cross over safety
- Length 860mm - 33.9
- Barrel length - 480mm - 18.9
- Weight - 2.3kg - 5 lbs"
Here`s the original wich was used to put the AGS PCR-1 was put on the market.
"Like many of the best ideas it came in the pub after a good days hunting. Jan Mokrzycki and Simon Gibbon were chatting and putting the world to rights, when the conversation inevitably turned to air rifles.
As the evening wore on the pair came up with the idea of a pre charged pneumatic for the price of a springer.
This gem of an idea was taken to the AGS engineers who, although initially sceptical, have never been known to back down from a challenge and they went straight to work.
They stripped the concept of the air rifle to its base parts and started examining each one in minute detail, redesigning, recalculating and inventing as they went.
The heart of any pcp is the valve and by rejecting current technology as being too costly and complex the engineers set about designing a new style of valve. What they came up with was a totally revolutionary piece of technology that is not only simpler, using 30% fewer components than contemporary designs, it is also lighter, cheaper and more efficient. This efficiency meant that the air reservoir could be made smaller and still deliver a good number of shots before refilling became necessary, again saving weight and money.
The barrel chosen for this rifle is manufactured from high carbon steel, giving excellent strength and uniformity. It is expertly rifled and machined to the highest tolerances, after all without a good barrel you cant have a good rifle.
The next area that was addressed was the trigger. This is a vital interface between shooter and weapon and must be of the highest possible quality, with a crisp positive release. The two stage adjustable unit fitted to the PCR1 wont disappoint even the most experienced shooter, it is a joy to use and offers both control and feel.
The revolutionary stock is designed to appeal to younger shooters who seek something a bit different, without alienating the traditionalists who like a nice wood stock. Here the PCR1 will please both camps with its beautifully finished beeck stock.
Not only have the AGS engineers met the challenge posed for them by Ian and Simon, in doing so they have produced a fine, accurate, lightweight and user friendly pcp air rifle - all for the price of a springer!
Technical details:
- Pre charged pneaumatic
- Single shot
- Quick connect fitting charging system
- Built in filtration
- Side action cocking bolt
- Manual cross over safety
- Length 860mm - 33.9
- Barrel length - 480mm - 18.9
- Weight - 2.3kg - 5 lbs"
Below some pictures of the valve system.
The system is working with a smaller pre-airchamber wich regulates the system somewhat. The little airtube and the valvesystem gives you 40 good shots and that`s a lot. The shotstrings shows there`s no bigger difference between the shots then 2 m/s, and that`s pretty good,
Every axle in the triggergroup is locked by a small bolt on the lower side of the trigger housing. I`ve only got one lousy pic, but you`ll get the drift. It makes clear what the quality of this little gun is.
Every axle in the triggergroup is locked by a small bolt on the lower side of the trigger housing. I`ve only got one lousy pic, but you`ll get the drift. It makes clear what the quality of this little gun is.
The hammer is a nice piece of machinery. It`s a cast piece of work wich had some finishing in the workshop to turn it into a hammerweight.
And the AGS PCR1 came with a silencer. Well designed for this underrated little gun.
Air Arms S400C (Carbine)
I have had quite a lot of Air Arms. I like `m, they`re good guns. The Air Arms powerplant differs a lot from most powerplants and that`s why i like `m, and that`s why Air Arms makes good and sturdy airguns.
My first Air Arms was a 400C with a custom stock. Most people i know call this stock butt ugly, i am more mild, i called it a different looking stock. Anyway, it was a second hand S400C, 12 fpe and i liked a lot. Despite the different looking stock.
My first Air Arms was a 400C with a custom stock. Most people i know call this stock butt ugly, i am more mild, i called it a different looking stock. Anyway, it was a second hand S400C, 12 fpe and i liked a lot. Despite the different looking stock.
After a while i mounted a Rowan magazine on the gun. That`s a real treat for an airgun in this calibre. A Rowan mag is pretty easy to mount and well worth buying Rowan is one of the greater aftermarket sorcerers in the airgunworld.
Rowan makes good stuff fellas!
Rowan makes good stuff fellas!
Air Arms S400 Classic
In the Air Arms section of this airgunsite the guns are not presented in order of appearance. I mention this just in case.
I traded my Dayatste MK3 for a good as new Air Arms S400 Classic. The Daystate didn`t group as good as i wanted, so i got rid of it. When i got home i noticed that this S400 was an anti tamper version of the gun. I cursed loud and clear for a few minutes but soon realized the Anti Tamper thing wasn t too bad after all. It`s not that i wanted to tune this S400C to become a hard hitting pressed air boozing airgun, i just hate the fact that i don`t get the chance to fiddle around with the gun a bit.
I traded my Dayatste MK3 for a good as new Air Arms S400 Classic. The Daystate didn`t group as good as i wanted, so i got rid of it. When i got home i noticed that this S400 was an anti tamper version of the gun. I cursed loud and clear for a few minutes but soon realized the Anti Tamper thing wasn t too bad after all. It`s not that i wanted to tune this S400C to become a hard hitting pressed air boozing airgun, i just hate the fact that i don`t get the chance to fiddle around with the gun a bit.
First thing i did was take the gun apart. The Anti Tamper things aren`t too hard to get rid off. The little cap over the transfer port restriction wàs hard to remove though.
Upside down bolts, caps over bolts to prevent the owner of the gun to tamper it. The pic below right shows the difference between an Xtra FAC S410 and an AT S400C.
And sure, there was the odd left handed S400Classic too!
S400Xtra FAC SL
One day, shooting at the range, doing my thing and minding everybody`s business, this blokes comes up to me and offered me het brand new S400Xtra FAC SL for my Shinsung Career III 300. "Why not mate" must`ve been my reaction and we swapped the guns. I got very little pictures of this particular gun, it didn`t last in my collection very long.
One week later some fellow shooter came up to me and asked my if i really preferred the S400 with bolt over the SL version. "Yeah, i do" must`ve been my reaction. If i wouldn`t consider trading my SL for his bolt-version. "Why not mate" must`ve been my reaction. So i ended up with a S400 Xtra FAC classic.
Air Arms S410 Xtra FAC
The Air Arms S410 Xtra FAC is one of the guns i had for a long time. For sometime the S410 has been considered as a top notch airgun, and actually, it is. The one i got was the last bolt version. The sidelever version never gave me the hots.
The S410 is one of the most acurate airguns, straight from the box it is a good gun. With a S410 there`s never the need to change the gun because it performs good straight from its cardboard box. Reasons enough to do some simple things with the looks of the gun. I bought a wallnut thumbhole stock. Not the most beautifull ever seen tho`, but good enuff for me. Cees, a friend of mine surprised me with a brass bolt. He bought it for one of his guns but it didn`t fit. Awrite!
The brass bolt and the new stock made the gun look much better. Next thing do to was get some more juice out of it. I bought a 600 mm Lothar Walter barrel to see what the effect on power and grouping was.
It became clear that the power of the S410 grew with an avarage of 5 fpe, grouping was as good as it was with the original barrel. So there was no need to keep the longer barrel in the gun. I sold the LW barrel, replaced the original barrel and missed the noise the S410 made with the LW barrel. So i decided to make a noisy S410. I bought a shroud, got the internal organs out of it, made flashdamper and installed it all. I had the prettiest S410 ever, and the noisiest!
Air Arms S200
Everybody in the world seems to be very fond of the S200. It`s a great gun, sure, it`s acurate, true, but it`s small and ugly. I had one over here, something broke off and i was asked tot repair this little gun. I shot it for a week or so. No complaints from me! But this gun just doesn`t move me. Not even enough to make a pic of the entire gun! So it took of off the internet.
The S200 weighs 6.8 Lbs or 2.8 kilo, its length is 35.7" or 907 mm, the barrel measures 19.09"or 485 mm.
The bolt broke of off the hammer. The owner tried to drill a new hole in the hammer. That did not work. I made a new hammer on the lathe and a new bolt. And didn`t even make a pic of it!
Air Arms S200 T (project)
Jan wants to make a 7,5 Joule 10 meter gun from his 16 Joule S200. First thing that`s gotta be done is fix the diopter set on the gun. It needed a little work on the lathe. Gotta buy me some decent grub screws.... This gun looks too nice not to put it on this site.
Air Arms Pro Target
The Pro Target was fitted with the MK3 regulator and painted in the Factory Team colours. I haven`t found any evidence that this particular gun was a Factory Team gun. Never mind, it`s a beautifull gun, i have had it for just a short time. I`m no (H)FT shooter, i like my guns better when they`re a bit more brutal.
The EV2 is the follow up from the PT. The PT is a very nice machined airgun, a lot of effort has been put in it to make it a good (H)FT gun. Here`s some pics of the breech.
Take the trigger. Adjustable in many, many ways, drag, pull, distance, lft, right, up you name and it`s adjustable! Great!
Air Arms TX200HC
I have had a lot of Air Arms guns. There was a time i liked `m very much. The last one i had was the S410 Xtra FAC, i traded it for the .458 (see 'Special Airguns'). Some year ago i bought a BMK40. The Chinese copy of the Air Arms TX200. One of the best copys those Chinese ever made. It was as cheap as dirt. When a tree fell on my car i needed some fast cash and i sold the gun again. But the TX copy planted the idea of buying the real McCoy anywhere in time. A bloke i know has a TX200HC, i shot it a few times and that particular gun never left my thoughts.
Two weeks ago i got the chance to buy an Air Arms TX200HC (Hunter Carbine) in .177. No doubtfullness, I called the seller and made an appointment to pick it up the next day. The HC came with a Vortek 12 fpe tunekit. Just what i wanted, just what i needed.
It became obvious that both stocks are pretty different. Don`t care. I have used the Nikko scope for some time, eventually i replaced te scope. First thing i did was putting the Vortek kit in the gun. I hate the sound of a resonating mainspring. 'Tsjock' is what i wanna hear from the guts of a springer. 'DzzzjjjOOOooooiiiiNNNNkkkk'is not for me. The Vortek kit is great.
The Vortek`s spring is a tad bit thinner than the original spring. Both give some 11,5 FPE. The seal is in perfect condition. The TX200HC isn`t the easiest gun to get some satisfying groupings at 50 meters. Because of the longer stroke of the piston this gun has a locktime that`s quite longer than the short stroked TX200`s.
The trigger of a TX200 is like a dream. Some people take a little time to get the trigger adjusted the way they want it but when it`s adjusted it`s the best trigger. Weihrauch can eat its heart out with its Rekord abzug!
Jo, a fellow shooter told me short stroking the gun would give me better grouping. I read on the Air Arms Owners Club that short stroking the gun was some kind of necessity. Jerry Jo came with the solution. Put the piston of a Walther LGU in the TX and the guns stroke is shortened and you`ll see the result. So on one evening at the range the stroke got shortened.
The trigger of a TX200 is like a dream. Some people take a little time to get the trigger adjusted the way they want it but when it`s adjusted it`s the best trigger. Weihrauch can eat its heart out with its Rekord abzug!
Jo, a fellow shooter told me short stroking the gun would give me better grouping. I read on the Air Arms Owners Club that short stroking the gun was some kind of necessity. Jerry Jo came with the solution. Put the piston of a Walther LGU in the TX and the guns stroke is shortened and you`ll see the result. So on one evening at the range the stroke got shortened.
The stroke got shortened with one inch. With the Vortek the short stroked TX200 did some 8 FPE so we replaced the spring for an original one. Power sped up to some 11,5 FPE. That`s good enuff. Grouping was much better. I fitted the gun with a BOS 10-40X50. Not good. The field of view is too small.
I took off that scope and replaced it. for the Optisan Viper 4-16X50.
There`s a woodworker on the Dutch airgunboard called Airblower, he`s customizing airgun stocks. I have always wanted a stock with an adjustable cheeckpiece. Not for any particular reason but it just looks good. When i bought my TX i knew this was to be to gun with the adjustable cheeckpiece.
Click here to edit.
Airforce Talon SS
When my second life in airguns started there was one gun that i wanted. A Logun S16s. Too expensive, hard to find on the second hand market. Shit! When i got on the Dutch airgunforum one of the first guns i saw was a Talon. Great looks, easy to fundle around with but horribly expensive in the Netherlands. There was this guy that went to the States and didn`t mind to buy one for me and send it over here! Lucky me!
I wanted the Talon SS.
I wanted the Talon SS.
The configuration of the Airforce guns made me want them. The valve straight behind the air reservoir and the valve straight behind the barrel. No loss of power because of lots of 90 degrees corners. Just straight on. Airforce guns are pretty easy to tune. Putting in another barrel takes maybe 5 minutes. I tried lots of different barrels, from barrels from a springer till a .25 Shinsung barrel. They all did their work.
I`m not too fond of the standard Lothar Walter 12" barrel the Talon SS comes with. The man making `m must`ve sucked just as hard as the barrel did!
I`m not too fond of the standard Lothar Walter 12" barrel the Talon SS comes with. The man making `m must`ve sucked just as hard as the barrel did!
An aluminum Parker Hale silencer fits in the shroud of the Talon, excellent! I put a .25 Shinsung barrel in the Talon, it worked allright, it was a bit underpowered. The buttpad of an Airforce airgun is dreadfull, so i made my own. Not the best looking, but it sure beat the original one!
I owned this Talon twice. One day i traded it for a 201. After a few days i realized that there was no Talon in the house anymore. Shite! So i called the guy that had it and told him i wanted my Talon back. No problem, within 2 weeks the Talon was home again. At the end the gun went to Belgium. That guy took a saw en cut of 5" from the shroud and hated the gun......
I owned this Talon twice. One day i traded it for a 201. After a few days i realized that there was no Talon in the house anymore. Shite! So i called the guy that had it and told him i wanted my Talon back. No problem, within 2 weeks the Talon was home again. At the end the gun went to Belgium. That guy took a saw en cut of 5" from the shroud and hated the gun......
Airforce Condor
The Airforce Condor is a few steps ahead on the Talon. When you have got a Talon you`ll end up having a Condor.
A longer scoperail, more power, longer barrel but the same shitty trigger. That`s a Condor. But i liked it. An extra tri-rail on the scoperail made aiming a little easier. I ordered this gun from the States through www.airgunexporter, a great way to get a gun from the US to anywhere in the world. A Condor has been invented to be creative with the gun, make it better looking and make it shooting harder.
So i did.
So i did.
Like the Talon the Condor is an ideal platform for some changes. Even more ideal than the Talon because the Condor gives more power. The Condor tasted many calibres, .177. 22, .223 and .25. The .223 was a perfect barrel. I think the barrel weighed around 1,5 kilo, the 1 kilo scope added gives a gun that hasn`t got the urge to jump all over the bench when you`re shooting it. On the left below pic you can see the size of the barrel, and i added 1/2 UNF to give the Parker Hale silencer a chance.
To get .223 and .25 solids outta the barrel with an acceptable speed there has to be plenty of compressed behind the solid. The standard valve is okay, but not for solids. Lucky me! I had the Valve From Hell laying in a drawer somewhere. I bought that valve when i had the Talon. The Talon moved to belgium but the Valve From Hell stayed. I was laughing my pants of when i put the Valve From Hell in the bottle of the Condor. Filled her up, put a solid in the barrel, pulled the trigger!
One enormous nothing.
.
The pressure in the bottle was too high, the hammer spring to weak to get any result. So i took another spring, one of a Diemaco gun. Nothing happened. Another spring again, heavy enough to crap my pants while cocking the gun. I got some action in return. One little gasp of air. Just enough to move the solid.
Lower the pressure in the tank. I had to hit the Valve From Hell with force. Eehhrr...Force that is, not force.
Behold the Valve From Hell.
One enormous nothing.
.
The pressure in the bottle was too high, the hammer spring to weak to get any result. So i took another spring, one of a Diemaco gun. Nothing happened. Another spring again, heavy enough to crap my pants while cocking the gun. I got some action in return. One little gasp of air. Just enough to move the solid.
Lower the pressure in the tank. I had to hit the Valve From Hell with force. Eehhrr...Force that is, not force.
Behold the Valve From Hell.
To make a long story short, i never got the Valve From Hell doing what it was supposed to do. It wouldn`t even open at 50 bar, not even without the spring that helps closing the valve.
Some random Airforce pics...
Below there`s a Condor with some behavorial problems. This one was without a safety and it was vèry unsafe. The gun decide when it got shot. The valve was leaking, so a new safety bar and a new valve. This one is the hardest hitting Condor i`ve ever shot. This sucker is doing 1460 fps (445 m/s) with a 25,5 grain JSB Monster. That`s some 120 fpe! With a .22. That`s horrendous.
Anschutz Superair 2002 .177
Turtleneck (Hi David ;) ) sold the gun and it was in my house for a few hours. Long enough to make a few picturres of this iconic SSP match gun. The Dutch Championship prone shooting was won with a Superair 2002.
The Superair 2002 is a state of the art match gun. Totally frree of recoil, a superb trigger, a ergonomic and adjustable stock and great sights. I shot this gun a decade or so ago and i never forgot about the gun because of its appearance and the way it shot.
Whenever you get the chance to lay your hands an a Superair 2002 you shouldn`t hesitate a single second. Get it.
