Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Air Guns How about a report on the TX200 now that you have had it a while?

Curious what your thoughts are on the TX200 now that you have had it for a couple weeks?

I'm fishing in British Columbia last week and this week. I'll write some detail when I get home next week.

Preview: 55yd on a rabbit was "no contest"

I've got an Air Arms TX200 MkIII I recently bought from Pyramyd Air in .177. It's my first airgun so I figured I'd do it right so that if I didn't enjoy shooting it, I couldn't blame the equipment. I fitted it up with a 12x SWFA scope in an RWS mount with 27MOA elevation built in. All up it weighs about 11 pounds.



Pros: fit and finish are excellent, easily the equal of a new production Winchester Model 70 or CZ 550. The polishing and bluing are nearly perfect and the wood to metal fit is very close. Mine has the beech stock and the laser cut checkering is attractive and does its job. The contrasting grip cap is a nice "California Style" touch. I couldn't find any plastic on the gun, other than the rubber buttplate. The stock is well proportioned and set up perfectly for using a scope in higher mounts. My eye lines up right behind the 12x in the RWS mount.

The trigger is fantastic. I haven't adjusted mine because I feel no need to; it breaks crisply after a very short first stage which makes it easy to settle on target.

Accuracy is quite good. I am getting 3/8" 5-shot groups at 20 meters with the JSB pellets, shot off the bench.

The internal baffles bring the sound down to about the level of a small nail gun.

Cons: it's a heavy gun, no argument there. But I haven't found it to be hold sensitive at all. The cocking effort is a bit high as well, which can make shooting more than 20 pellets in a sitting a bit of a chore, but that's the nature of a powerful spring gun.

All in all I've been happy with it, but I'm thinking my next gun will be a pre-charged pneumatic. I've got a SCUBA tank already so there's not much more I'd need. Don't know whether I'll hold on to this AA TX200, but I don't regret having bought it. Never hurts to learn on quality guns.

To Oregon,
If you want a PCP, a really good choice is the Air Arms 510. It is easy to see that the 510 is the same quality and feel as the TX200. I have the 177 and 22, both do not have the magazine so they are the (older) SL400 and SL500 models. One beech, and the other figured walnut. They have adjustable power control, so I shoot offhand silhouette at 45 yards at about 700+fps in either. I get 40 or so shots per fill. Fill takes a minute, so that is no big deal. I can turn the dial that controls the hammer spring and get 20 shots at around 900 FPS for starling control. Real quality rifles.

Thanks Terry, I give the S510 a closer look.

Okay, I have a few minutes to complete this now that I'm back home.

I have about 750 to < 1000 rounds through this rifle now. I still have a spattering of pellets remaining in my second tin. My rifle is stocked in walnut with single base rings and I put a Vortex Diamondback 4-16x BDC with the side adjust focus for the AO

Before I start on the rifle I'll say that the focus and the range on this scope is oddly accurate at the <100 yard ranges. I've focused the scope to 50 and 40 and the Lieca Rangefinder is the same most of the time. Rarely off by as much as 5 yards. The BDC hash marks line up with several distances that nicely correspond to the typical ranges I would shoot this rifle from 25-75 yards. The close focus at 16 power was perfect to about 27-28 yards. it's usable to 15 yards but the picture is not crisp and perfect. When the power is reduced to 4-8 power the focus comes in nicely down to 15 yards or so.

I spoke to a few of the guys I am friends with in the UK before buying this rifle. These guys in the UK are the top of the heap where Air rifle hunting is concerned. They can only have 11FPE legally so they become crazy accurate to kill rabbits at 50 plus yards. At this range most .177 rifles only have 5FPE remaining! The Brits are insanely good with air rifles. There are countless firing ranges, clubs, and competitions throughout the UK for air rifle shooting. One of my frequent clients in Africa is a Brit that must use my rifles because owning a firearm is complicated there. He is an avid Air rifle competitor in the UK.

One of the most common statements from them was not to get the carbine version, only get the full length barrel. Reason being that is was 1 full FPE more powerful then the carbine, and far more quiet at the shot. Most places in the states advertise them the same. The difference being small when you consider we have no limits on the FPE in America.

They also suggested that the walnut would be 1/2lb lighter then the beach and in some cases even more when comparing the heaviest beach stocks to the lightest walnut stocks. Nevertheless, my walnut stocked version is no light weight! This rifle is not a long distance packing design. It's over ten pounds with scope and rings. This weight is a great advantage as I cannot find a situation where it is hold sensitive. It points and shoots like a PCP does for me. There is a noticeable thud when it fires, however the pellet must be long gone because there is simply none of the standard Springer hold issues with this that I have had with my Pro Elite, HW97, R-1, or any other springer I have owned or shot.

When I sat at the bench to zero this with the vortex scope, I had the chronograph there so I shot about a dozen pellets through it when brand new. They were at 725fps with Crossman Premier's ( .22) and then at 25 yards they were checked again at 630fps. These CP's turn out to be the most accurate and consistent pellets I've tried. ( They are all the time for me in .22 in every rifle it seems). I did not feel any fatigue cocking loading or shooting. I'm sure I have had 100 shots in an hour and never felt any type of soreness of being tired from the cocking effort. My friend in RSA, Pete said to me I'm going to over develop my rifle arm! This cocking effort is nothing to speak of. It's an un-noticable effort. (update on Velocity now with 750+- shots. 25 yards 745fps, 25 yards 650fps)

Accuracy was about thumb nail sized groups at 25 yards. This is the longest indoor windless range I had. I zeroed for 30 yards so that meant setting the POI for about .4" above my impact at .25 yards. I learned this from a ballistics table I found on line. In practice it was perfect.

After about 1/2 to 3/4 of the first tin, there was a noticeable change in cocking smoothness and firing. I was hard to believe that it could become smoother then it was. The cocking and loading cycle was smoother for sure. I only say the firing cycle because the gun seems even quieter then before.

Today lots of pellets later, my groups are often single enlarged hole at 25-35 yards. Likely a combination of my experience with the gun and the smoothness of it breaking in. I have killed at least 50 doves, likely more then that, I stopped counting about 30-40. I have also dropped about half that many rabbits. Within 35 yards it kills them as effective and a .22 rimfire. Regardless with head or body shots. One notable rabbit was out a ways from my blind. Did not seem to be moving any closer and just stayed out there at about 60 yards. Eventually I was able to get the AO focused and found him about 50-55 yards at the close point. These rabbits are eastings bark off my cherry and apple trees in the orchard so they have caused me endless frustration. Far too many, so they have to go.

I used the the lip of the window in my elevated redneck blind which as you guys know is quite the teeter-totter of rests! I held best I could just like shooting a deer behind the shoulder at this 55 yard distance. I was using the fourth Hash mark down which I had already measured with targets to be exactly 50 yards. At the shot he leaped straight up and landed kicking and then lay still.

50 yards is no earth shattering achievement, but the rifle was pretty new to me and the pellet blew right through the rabbit. No question that a windless day would allow shots to 80-100 yards with enough remaining power for head shots. Doubtful I would ever have the luck and skill to make a head shot at that range, but I would try it!

There are probably equally as good scope and springer rifle combinations. But for me, this was the best I could come up with. The fit and finish is second to none. The bluing and the fish scale cut checkering is a work of art. The stocks are made in Italy with American walnut from Missouri, the Barrels are made in Germany by Walther, and the engineering design and assembly is done by the Brits in the UK. Talk about delegating the effort to those who do things best!

I'm not sure I will be able to wear this rifle out, but I'm gonna try. It's addictive to shoot, with an adult power level and it's accuracy is spectacular. I have a heavy steel crow Knock down target set at 40 yards on a pasture fence post. The kill zone knock down trigger is adjustable from .5" to 1.5"........ It was only one shooting session before that was set down to 1/2" and it's still a fairly easy target to knock down. It can be reset by shooting the reset paddle which is 1.5" and that one is really huge and easy to hit.

One other suggestion that I have for these heavy springers. The Primos Trigger sticks are the magic tool to make this all work. Shooting sticks are a way of life for me in Africa. However no place are they better then with the use of this rifle! Standing or sitting they make a nice stable solid rest!

Great report JJ!