FX Royale 400 testing cont...

I decided to run a few pellets through the Royale since I had a bit of spare time on my hands. This test was done indoors and I only had about 15 yards to play with. It is not conclusive in any way, but it is rather telling. My gun does not like JSB's. In this test I shot 5 shot groups with the pellets you will see annotated on the paper target. The Crosman's performed well at all power settings, but the JSB's didn't perform well at all. Maybe it's the design of the particular pellet. Luckily I have some other pellts on arriving soon and I hope to get better results. But I don't think I will be using JSB's in the future. This guns seems to like domed pellets. At least I hope that is the case.

Until next time, shoot straight and shoot safe.

FX Royale 400 Accuracy Testing!

Well it looks like I picked the worst day to try accuracy testing. Today the winds were blowing at 15 mph and gusting slightly higher than that. But I trudged along anyway.

A little baseline information. The rifle is still in stock form. I haven't even cleaned the barrel yet. I figured I wanted to see what the rifle was doing before making any changes to it. I mounted a Sun Optics 8-32X50 sidewheel adjustable scope. A good scope. Maybe a bit overkill for this rifle but the optics are pretty clear. The only downside is it only adjusts down to 15 yards.

I managed to get it sighted in at 30 yards and then proceeded to test the Crosman Premier Hollowpoint 7.9 gr pellets. I put 5 shots downrange at each setting. I think the pictures will speak for themselves but again keep in mind there were 15 mph winds to be battled.

At the low setting, you can see the pellets were blown left to right and vice versa. At the middle setting, things started to tighten up a bit but not as tight as I would like. At the high setting, the group was pretty good. I think for general plinking the low setting would give you a full day of fun. But if you really want to get serious, the high setting is the one to use.

In closing I would like to say I think this rifle is going to be a performer. I will test another two types of pellets the same way. After that I will finally clean the barrel and see if that makes any difference.

Until next time, shoot straight and shoot safe.

FX Royale 400

Well today I received my FX royale in .177 caliber and it's only fitting since this is my inaugural post. I couldn't think of a better way to start. I'll be testing the model with the 3 stage power adjuster and smooth twist barrel.

This review will be accomplished in multiple steps. You'll see why later. But first a bit of info on the rifle.

First and foremost it is manufactured by one of the premier guns makers in the airgun world. The fit and finish is remarkable. It is extremely light and weighs in just under 7 pounds. Needless to say it comes to the shoulder very easily. And keeping it locked into the shoulder is a effortless with the adjustable butt pad. The bottle is removable for filling but it isn't necessary with the built-in foster fitting. And you will always know how much pressure you have with the easy to read manometer.

I managed to run a few chrony strings with some pellets I had on-hand. I tested Crosman Premier Hollowpoints 7.9 gr, Crosman Hunting Pointed pellets 7.4 gr and JSB Diabolo Exact Heavy's 10.2 gr. I only shot strings of 5 shots on each setting just to get an idea of what the rifle is capable of. Here are the results.

Crosman Premier Hollowpoint 7.9 gr
Setting I   Average FPS 657.6 / 7.6 Ft Lbs
Setting II  Average FPS 852.3 / 12.7 Ft Lbs
Setting III  Average FPS 1055 / 19.5 Ft Lbs

Crosman Hunting Pointed 7.4 gr
Setting I   Average FPS 678.7 / 7.6 Ft Lbs
Setting II  Average FPS 871.5 / 12.5 Ft Lbs
Setting III  Average FPS 1092 / 19.6 Ft Lbs

JSB Diabolo Exact Heavy 10.2 gr
Setting I   Average FPS 595.8 / 8.0 Ft Lbs
Setting II  Average FPS 753.8 / 12.9 Ft Lbs
Setting III  Average FPS 920 / 19.2 Ft Lbs

After running these strings I loaded the magazine with different pellets and shot it over the chrony at different settings to see how "repeatable" it was. Needless to say each pellet performed at the speeds previously recorded.

In the future I will perform accuracy testing in the same manner. I will use each pellet at each setting. Some people have heard these rifles don't perform well at lower settings with the smooth twist barrel. Hopefully I can dispel some of those rumours.

Until then, shoot straight and shoot safe.

 From time to time I'll be posting information about one of my favorite hobbies; airguns. I'll be covering mostly springers and precharged pneumatics. I'm not much of a tinkerer, but I will attempt to delve into some of the workmanship of the guns and demonstrate their incredible accuracy. So sit back and enjoy the show.