by B.B. Pelletier
The Evanix Conquest has features that set the bar very high for air rifles.
The cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, because today’s title tells you what my big news is about. And I tied reader Kevin to this report because he owns an Evanix Conquest PCP air rifle that hasn’t given him much joy. Today, I’ll show you the most astounding shooting I’ve ever done, but I’ll also address a mechanical concern and how it was corrected! This will be a report to remember, and here we go.
The Conquest is a very different air rifle. It took me two separate reports just to get through the general description because there are so many differences and unusual aspects of this airgun. The action is operated by a battery in the same way that an AEG airsoft gun operates, so I had to show you all of that. And, as I predicted, the forums are full of discussions about upgrading the battery pack — discussions among shooters who haven’t even seen the gun, yet. My advice it to see it and shoot it, first. It might just be good enough as is.
The rifle shoots both semiauto, which very few pellet rifles do, and full-auto, which only one other CO2 gun (the Auto Ordnance SMG-22 belt-feed carbine) currently does. Until this test, I had a lot to say about the wisdom of providing a full-auto mode — likening it to a shopping cart with wheels rated to 200 mph. That’s my way of saying, “Who needs it?” Today, I’ll eat those words. Stick around.
Posting backwards?
Also, I am reviewing accuracy out of the usual order. Normally, I look at velocity first and accuracy afterwards. Several readers have commented that they do it the other way, because who cares how fast certain pellets will go if they aren’t accurate?
Believe it or not, I put a lot of thought into doing a review in the order I usually do it. When I review velocity it’s not to correlate it with accuracy, but rather to show the power potential of the powerplant. I do understand the readers’ viewpoint that only accurate pellets are interesting; and like everyone, else I do tend to shoot only the most accurate pellets. But when I do the velocity test, I’m separating the power question from accuracy. I want to know what the gun is capable of doing as far as power is concerned, then in a separate test I want to discover what its accuracy can be.
Yes, I’ll recommend shooting the most accurate pellet, but if it only produces 20 foot-pounds while the most powerful pellet produces 25 foot-pounds, I want to show that the gun is fully capable of producing 25 foot pounds. Who knows if there will be a new pellet in the future that will be able to use all the power the rifle has and be accurate at the same time? So, my test will have demonstrated the peak power potential. If you look back at my discussions of accuracy and power in many past tests, I think you’ll see this has always been my thrust.
Today, we’re looking at accuracy first, because I had the opportunity to get to the rifle range on a dead-calm day. I could not let such an opportunity pass. So, today is accuracy day, and velocity day is still to come for the Conquest.
A couple corrections
During the time I was examining the rifle for this report, Edith wrote the most comprehensive airgun manual I’ve ever seen. She wrote it for both the Conquest rifle and the Speed, and we had to operate the gun extensively to check facts for her manual. Several things I initially told you have been changed as a result of this more detailed look.
1. The batteries need at least an 8-hour initial charge before the first use.
2. The magazines hold only 10 rounds instead of the 12 rounds I told you (with all double-mags holding 20). That holds true in all three calibers (.177, .22 and .25) but not for the 9mm, which is yet to come.
3. There was a problem with the magazine sticking in the action that was corrected by lubrication. Let’s look at that right now.
Magazine sticking problem
When I first examined the gun, I noticed that sometimes the magazine would not come out of the action when it was supposed to. When this rifle fires, the bolt passes through the magazine and pushes the pellet into the breech just before an air blast propels it out the barrel. If the bolt doesn’t retract all the way after the shot, you can’t remove the magazine because the bolt will still be inside.
Now I know what the plastic window on the right side of the receiver is for! Use it to access the bolt, so you can lubricate it properly. Then, it’ll retract and the gun will run perfectly — or at least mine did.
The bolt has two diameters — a large rear section and a narrow front section. Both diameters must be lubricated, because they pass through different passages in the receiver.
Use an oiling needle to get oil onto both diameters of the bolt. The larger black steel portion on the left looks oily in this picture, while the smaller silver portion on the right, to the right of the hook-like part in the middle of the window, looks dry. That’s because the surface is too smooth to see the oil. It’s there. I used bike chain oil, but Pyramyd AIR used FP-10, and both products did the trick.
Once I lubricated the bolt with the oiling needle, it worked fine and there were no more sticking magazines. But if you do encounter a sticking mag, the recommended solution is to pull the trigger and hold it back for a few seconds after the rifle fires.
A great day at the range
Well, it was a great day for shooting the Conquest. The morning was foggy, where not a breath of air could be felt. I shot the entire test in the most perfect conditions imaginable. And all shooting you are about to see was done at 50 yards.
Accuracy
The rifle comes without sights, so I mounted a Bushnell Trophy XLT 4-12x40AO scope on low two-piece rings. I then sighted-in the rifle with Beeman Kodiak pellets.
The first four rounds got me on target, and then six more went into a group that measured 0.811 inches between the two widest centers. If I accepted 5-shot groups as standard, my job would already have been done, and the Conquest would be a very accurate air rifle. But that’s not how I roll, as you know, so I reloaded the magazine and shot a full 10-shot group.
Ten Beeman Kodiaks went into 1.241 inches at 50 yards. That’s okay, but not great. Time to try the next pellet.
Ten shots into 1.241 inches isn’t the level of accuracy I’d hoped for, even at 50 yards, so I decided to move on. However I note that the 21.1-grain Kodiaks do feed smoothly through the magazine. Length is not a problem.
The trigger and what it feels like to shoot
Shooting these two groups (6 shots, followed by 10 shots) afforded me the opportunity to get used to the Conquest’s trigger. I remember saying that a rifle at this price has to have a perfect trigger. Well, the Conquest trigger is far from perfect. But then I thought of another semiautomatic air rifle — the FX Revolution, which I’d tested a couple years back. It also has a less-than-desirable trigger that slaps you back through the trigger blade every time the rifle fires. In comparison, the Conquest trigger is less annoying. Instead of breaking like glass, this trigger has a rocket-push feel to the release. It’s difficult to describe, but you feel the movement of the bolt through the trigger blade.
But the magic of shooting a semiauto with almost zero recoil allows every shot to go where you want, and soon you forget the trigger. Knowing the rifle will stay exactly on target — and all you have to do is pull the trigger for another shot — builds your confidence like you wouldn’t believe!
JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy
Next, I tried the 18.1-grain JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy pellets. In many rifles of this power, the 18.1-grain Jumbo Heavy JSB is the most accurate pellet, but not this time. In the Conquest, 10 JSB Jumbo Heavys made a group measuring 0.958 inches between centers. That’s not bad, but it’s still not the best the rifle can do.
Now this is more like it! Ten JSB Exact Jumbo pellets in 0.958 inches at 50 yards. This kind of performance is very credible, though not as good as the Conquest can shoot.
JSB Exact 15.9-grain
The next pellet I tested was the JSB Exact 15.9-grain dome. JSB calls this one a Jumbo, but I find that confusing with the Jumbo Heavy, so I make an exception by referring to this one by its weight. Over time, I’ve found this pellet to be the most consistently accurate .22-caliber airgun pellet.
Now, that’s a group! Ten JSB Exact 15.9-grain domes made this 0.547-inch group at 50 yards. This is fantastic performance. It is accuracy rivaling some of the finest semiautomatic rimfire rifles — after they’ve been accurized.
The 15.9-grain JSB Exact shot many groups between 0.50 and 0.75 inches, time after time. It was so dead-reliable on this perfect day that I would have picked it over all other PCPs for a benchrest match. But there’s one dynamic you do need to watch.
Other pellets tested
I also shot the .22-caliber Crosman Premier and the heavy 28.4-grain Eun Jin dome. Both groups were about the same as the Kodiaks, and I did not pursue them beyond a single group.
Shot count
The Conquest holds a lot of air, so the tendency is to keep right on shooting for magazine after magazine. If you are shooting spinners at 35 yards you’ll get away with it, but out at 50 yards things start to look different. That’s why I test at that distance with super-accurate PCPs like the Conquest.
I noticed that the first three 10-shot groups were all very tight. The group of JSBs going into 0.547 inches, shown above, was the first group fired on a fresh fill of air and also the best group of the test, but let’s take a look at the fourth group fired on the same fill with the same pellet.
This group of JSB Exact 15.9-grain domes was the fourth group on the same fill. It measures 1.267 inches between centers. Three 10-shot groups are the limit at 50 yards when the best accuracy is required.
That fourth group is approximately the same size as the group of Beeman Kodiaks I showed you first. While it’s a good group, it’s not representative of this rifle’s true capability at 50 yards. What this means is the total shot count you’ll get on a fill with this rifle depends on what you’re shooting and how far it is. If you want the absolute best the rifle can do, refill the gun after 30 shots. But if you’re hunting squirrels at 35 yards you can go to at least 40 shots, if not more.
This 10-shot group of JSB Exact 15.9-grain domes measures 0.760 inches between centers. There were many groups like this, and I would say this is representative of what the rifle will do all the time under good conditions with this pellet.
Full-auto
Of course, semiautomatic is only half of the game with the Conquest. I had to fire the rifle on full-auto, even though I was scoffing at the thought. Why would anybody even do that, I wondered. Well, the first group I shot answered my question.
The big surprise!
When I looked through the scope after the burst was finished I couldn’t tell if all the pellets were in the group or not, so I checked it with my new super-sharp spotting scope. What I saw caused me to jump up and down and pretty much stop the shooting on that range.
I am fortunate that my shooting buddy, Otho Henderson, was there to witness what happened. I had told him the Conquest was a full-auto gun; but until you hear it rattle the shots off, it doesn’t sink in. Seeing me this hyper after looking through the spotting scope, he knew something was up because I don’t even crack a smile unless a group is really astounding.
We both walked down to the target to examine what was a single ragged hole at my exact point of aim. I had used a 12-inch by 12-inch paper target, stapled to a 24-inch by 48-inch cardboard backer that had no other holes in it close to this target. The other target on which I’d been shooting semiautomatic groups was 12 inches above this one, so it was clear that all 10 shots went into the same tight group.
The first full-auto group from the Conquest measures 0.568 inches between centers! Never in my wildest imagination did I think this rifle could ever do something like this on full-auto!
Now I know what many of you are thinking. This was a fluke. You’ll never do it again. I thought the same thing, so I shot a second full-auto group for you.
Ten JSB Exact 15.9-grain domes went into this group measuring 1.001 inches between centers. I would expect this to be more representative of a full-auto group at 50 yards. Even so, it’s fantastic!
I’m guessing that this second group is closer to what the Conquest will do on full-auto at 50 yards most of the time on a perfect day. But since 90 percent of all the air rifles in the world can’t do as well shooting their pellets one at a time, it’s still pretty amazing.
In fairness to Mac, he did predict exactly such a thing when we were still in Las Vegas. He once owned a .22 rimfire semiauto that would occasionally dump its whole magazine; and he noted that when that happened, the group was always smaller than what he could shoot pulling the trigger each time. Apparently the gun takes care of business before the shooter can screw it up. I didn’t believe him until this happened.
All the good was used up!
Following the Conquest test, I went over to the 100-yard range and proceeded to shoot my old Ballard with the new bullets and loading techniques. Nothing worked, and the best I could do was shoot 4-inch groups! Then, I tried a 30-30 that had shot a half-inch at 50 yards the time before and it, too, shot four-inch groups. So, all the accuracy for the day was used up by the Conquest.
One last thing
Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier, but I thought it would be a nice surprise here at the end of the report. I had mounted a 4-12x Bushnell scope on the Conquest for this test, but in doing so I failed to notice exactly which Bushnell it was. When I got to the range and tried to adjust the power ring, it wouldn’t budge. I had mounted a broken scope on the rifle, so the entire test had to be shot at 4x!
I doubt that mounting a 32-power scope would improve the groups all that much, simply because these groups can’t be improved much more than they are right now. But please feel free to imagine what might have happened if the scope had been better.
We look at velocity and power potential next, but at this point in the test my mind is already made up. The Evanix Conquest is a most worthy precharged pneumatic air rifle. It has a number of interesting deviations, some of which, like the battery, will turn off some shooters. But other features, like the full-auto capability, are surprisingly more effective than you might imagine.
As I look at these results, I’m reminded of two weeks ago at Las Vegas, when I pounded a 200-yard metal silhouette with the 9mm Conquest that’s still in development. Who knew these guns could be this accurate?
It was a very good day for the Evanix Conquest!
It sounds like the Conquest IS an interesting air rifle after all. I can see one major issue with owning one though. Many would get hooked on rock and roll only to find out they will have to buy stock in JSB and a compressor to feed their new addiction.
BB, What is your “new super-sharp spotting scope”? I’m in the market for one and prices vary widely. I’d love to find a decent one without breaking the bank.
Greg,
It’s a Burris Landmark 15-45X60 scope. Retails for about $190.
B.B.
think for fans of hunting rifles are very meets the criteria of sophistication and accuracy, even if there is a shortage it is natural to then be revised in order to satisfy the lovers of a pellet gun ….
Another thought is that I am glad that it is on the pricey side to reduce the number of people who own such an air gun. I can picture someone doing something stupid with this thing and causing legislation to be inacted that will further restrict air gun ownership.
Ridgerunner,
You know, a lot of people say the same thing about big bore airguns. From my perspective, states ARE enacting legislation. They are contacting me asking for help in changing their hunting laws to add airguns as legal for game animals, because of the added safety they bring to the field.
B.B.
I admit that I can’t know for sure, B.B., but I believe that if that fellow had been practicing with a Rogue or other big bore airgun, his projectiles would not have reached the school where the two boys where wounded. I expect the states that contact you are grateful to have objective information to use in decision making (although difficult to create at this point, they might feel differently about a full auto big bore airgun).
Effective hunting is best done by using the best practices of bow hunting with respect to range, this according to an article by a professional hunter (he had hit but lost a deer before he came to this conclusion (I’ll find the article if anyone wants the specifics).
You and Edith do some of the best technical writing and reporting anywhere. I look forward to the next installment.
Ken
BB,
I’m glad that state governments are contacting you in an attempt to write laws that deal with airgun hunting. It is encouraging to hear this, rather than have them just lump airguns in with firearms and place firearm-style restrictions on them.
I hope they establish a criterion for foot-pounds of energy required for hunting specific game animals.
This would not only help prevent suffering of animals, it would also help prevent attacks on hunters by wounded animals.
Les
Les,
I always stress using energy rather than velocity. The Fish & Game people understand me, but their legislators apparently don’t. So many states are still using velocity. However, thongs will change as time passes.
B.B.
If you work too hard on setting energy-based limits, shouldn’t you also worry that somebody is going to say that over some energy-limit an air gun is almost like a firearm (usable for hunting, etc) and then all the restrictions that apply to firearms will apply to air guns over some threshold — which airgunners helped define by setting acceptable limits for hunting various species.
pz
Pete,
I don’t fret about things like that. We are already under attack by lawyers who are using the high velocity of .177 rifles as “proof” that airguns are just as dangerous as firearms. These same liars will twist anything we say, so the best defense is to steamroll them with the truth and let the NRA do their job.
As long as you don’t lie you never have to remember what you said.
B.B.
I simply note Germany and the UK which let “low powered” airguns run free while regulating everything above energy limits as a firearm. I think that could happen here if the industry starts touting energies and especially if classes of guns are established.
I don’t want to see that. Somewhere out there lies a tripwire. Interpretations of the second amendment could change in the courts. And the courts would not toss out a law that merely reclassified airguns above, say, 12 fpe or with a bore larger than, say, .22, as firearms.
Nice shooting from a great rifle. Very interesting to get a group like that on a full auto rifle.
By the way…..how long have you had the silver dime? Those usually go into my lock box, on the rare occasions I run across them.
chasblock,
The silver dime showed up in my change one day awhile back and I’ve tried to use it ever since.
B.B.
Of course you “used up your accuracy for the day” BB! Hard to still the excitement after some mind blowing shooting like that!
I can’t wait for the rest of this report. I can almost see the 9mm on full auto being used for home defense… But no, wait, you’d have to give it to the police when they arrived and you might never get it back from being “borrowed”, so forget I said that… 😉
/Dave
What was interesting to me was that it fed all the pellets on full auto, without a jam , AND was so accurate! That tells me that it is very well engineered. It takes a great magazine and loading design to feed soft lead pellets reliably and without damage. Damage to bullets is the number one bane to accuracy in most .22 RF semi-autos. It takes a real good magazine design to even go full auto with a .22 RF and not jam.
Robert,
Isn’t it odd that I never mentioned that this rifle was entirely without problems in the feeding area? It was so smooth I overlooked what a rare thing that is. Of course when I tested the FX Revolution, it was also entirely reliable.
B.B.
Is there any significance behind the silver dime you show in your groups?
Brian,
The silver dime came out of my change one day and I have tried to used it in photos ever since.
B.B.
I needed this. A glimmer of hope for the Evanix Conquest.
That’s some fantastic shooting with 4X at 50 yards. Yes, I think the groups shot semi-auto would shrink for me with higher magnification. I already know I can’t shoot as well as you but you’ve give me some optimism back for this rig. Rocket trigger hmmm. Mine pushes back upon firing. Did you notice that this gun fires in a bolt open position?
As B.B. mentioned I traded for one of these. I knew it had issues hence the good trade. Didn’t realize how difficult it would be to sort out. I’ve been reluctant to post about my issues until they’re cleared up since most posters on other forums (not this one) find glee in others misfortune or spin the issues out of context trying to justify a reason not to purchase the gun.
I have a new magazine and bolt on the way that are being replaced for free and I ordered a double magazine (BTW these are daystate expensive) and hope that is the final fix. I don’t think it was a magazine issue even though the bolt chewed the first magazine up and made it unusable. It’s very difficult and dangerous to shoot this gun single shot so I haven’t shot it much. The previous owner shot this almost exclusively in full auto. I think the previous owner shot the gun more than he admitted. Not intentionally misrepresenting but forgot how many rounds he shot since they go quickly in full auto. Either these bolts are shipped very dry and/or there was debris in the bolt chamber because it wore the bolt out of spec quickly.
Another learned lesson is that the batteries run down very quickly and on low batteries it’s easy for the gun to malfunction. The difference in sound of the motor and/or shot count is the way to tell when it needs recharging.
I really wish Evanix would have put an external plug in this gun so you don’t have to remove the buttpad to access the battery and then remove the battery for recharging. Guess since this is common in airsoft it was overlooked for the pellet gun.
kevin
Kevin,
Evanix has made numerous changes to the mechanism since the European guns were released. The bolt lubrication issue is very critical, because if it isn’t lubricated correctly the gun will not permit the magazine being installed or removed. That window in the receiver is there to allow access to the bolt, which is the most critical part of the feeding system. And yes, the gun does fire from an open bolt (the bolt is retracted when the gun fires) but it is not an analog of a firearm that does the same thing. Open-bolt firearms are inaccurate because of heavy striker weights. The Conquest doesn’t have the same problem.
No, there is definitely no kickback in the trigger of the rifle I’m testing. I only know about such kickback because the FX Revolution I tested had it. So I think my rifle is smoother than yours. I bet lubing the bolt would help your rifle a lot.
The mag shows no signs of wear after several hundred shots. I dry-fired the gun over 100 times while I was helping Edith write the owners’ manual, and also sorting out the magazine sticking problem. Then at the range I must have fired at least another hundred shots.
For gosh sakes, don’t even THINK of shooting this rifle without a magazine. That bolt will staple your fingers in a New York minute!
The early batteries ran down because they weren’t charged properly to begin with. That’s why I stressed charging for a minimum of eight hours before the first user. After that, recharge for 4-5 hours and the battery should be fine. I can’t say how many shots it will get because I have only fired the gun a couple hundred times thus far. We see similar problems when new buyers get AEG airsoft guns. If you don’t charge a battery all the way the first time it develops a memory and has a much smaller reserve from then on.
B.B.
B.B.,
Thanks for the tips. Uncharted territory.
“Evanix has made numerous changes to the mechanism since the European guns were released.” I didn’t know this. Not thrilled to hear this.
At the very least the triggers on our guns are different.
Are you saying that you have shot your gun 200 times without charging the battery? If so, then my battery pack has definately formed a memory. Sigh.
kevin
kevin,
Evanix says the battery will deliver 500 shots per charge. That’s what I put in the owner’s manual.
Edith
Edith,
Thanks. I need to do some more research and find out if the battery pack can be recycled to remove the memory or whether I need to buy a new battery pack. MY gun is reminding me of a red headed step child.
Is it true, as shown on the PA site, that the clips for the .25 caliber Evanix Conquest hold 10 .25 caliber pellets for the single and 20 .25 caliber pellets for the double?
kevin
kevin,
Yes, all the smallbore calibers are 10 rds for the single mags and 20 rds for the double mags. Does your gun hold 12 rds in the mag? If so, I wonder if the higher capacity might be the cause of the jams you experienced.
Edith
Edith,
Mine is a .22 cal and holds 10 pellets. I was just amazed that they could produce a 10/20 shot clip for .25 caliber. I expected it to be more like an 8/16 shot clip.
kevin
Kevin,
Be carefull when cycling a Lithium based battery. If the charge gets too low, you can change the battery’s chemistry to where it won’t hold a charge any more. They have even been known to cause fires when charging, so I think charging it outside the gun in a fireproof container is best. That way, if you have a faulty battery and it does go up in smoke, it won’t take your gun with it….
/Dave
/Dave,
Thanks for the advice. I wouldn’t cycle it. I would take it to someone with the equipment just like we did decades ago with cellphone batteries. Haven’t had to do that in years so the batteries in cellphones must have changed.
kevin
“most posters on other forums (not this one) spin the issues out of context trying to justify a reason not to purchase the gun.”
True… none of that here, here we find reasons to purchase new guns! Never the other way around.
J-F
Howdy Hey B.B.
That was a great article over the weekend.. reasons for collection or being involved in air guns vary so much.. and do change as we age or gain experience in the sport…
I also started out trying to have a taste of the wide range in the selection out there.. but soon found out that was not going to work for me personally. I ended up focusing on US FTs to collect and shoot in competition.
I think most of us air gun nuts, end up focusing on only a part of the wide range of air guns out there to chose from…
but, then the manufactures keep coming up with new things like these full auto air rifles.. amazing!
I have to comment on the amazing accuracy you got from the new Evanix… I also saw great accuracy, (on the same par as you just got), with the Blizzard I bought from PA, about a year ago. They have some great barrels, and I have to believe they do the extra work on the loading ports to get no pellet damage when we load the pellets… I find that little burrs in that area, are the main problem for accuracy, especially when one has a very high quality barrel to start with.
Who makes the barrels for Evanix?… or do they make their own?
Personally, I don’t like the idea of promoting air guns for hunting large game… sure some highly skilled hunters CAN get the job done.. sometimes.. but even then, I’d guess only 50% of the time. I’d rather see pistol ammo, like .45LC & .357 mag. shot in rifles for hunting up close.. and let that, lower chances of long range mistake shots, going through, or passing by, the target, and then hitting something un-intended..
I’m worried about a lot of game getting wounded and dying slowly somewhere instead of ending up in the freezer.
But.. none the less, I’m interested in the Conquest for rabbit hunting.. and “walking the can”.. an expensive toy for sure.. but also it should hold it’s value as a collector piece..
PS.. hey folks..
Don’t forget to plan to come to the AAFTA national Field Target Championships were hosting out here in Grants Pass, Or. Sept 28th, 29th and 30th.
Wacky Wayne Burns,
Match Director,
Ashland Air Rifle Range
Wayne,
Hi! It’s always a treat to hear from you.
I don’t know if Evanix makes their own barrels, but many years ago (1996-1999) Shin Sung, another Korean company, was making .22-caliber airgun barrels that were stunningly accurate. They were thin steel tubes that were button-rifled, so it was obvious that Shin Sung or someone in Korea really knew how to make barrels.
I touted their accuracy a lot in my articles, and people began buying the barrels for experimental airguns. Then Shin Sung let their quality slide and the barrels went into the dumper. Some were good while others were dreck. Kind of like the QB 78 barrels, only they were never as good as the good Shin Sung barrels.
So my position on Korean barrels is, “I shall have to see.”
B.B.
B.B.
I always enjoy stopping by when I have the time… just too many items on my plate these days..
..since were on the topic of barrels… do you know if PA stocks parts like barrels for the EV2? I heard they took over exclusive distribution for the Air Arms line… I wanted to buy a barrel and try it in the US FT I’m trying to get to be more competitive in the 12fpe bench rest class.. those darn EV2s are very hard to beat in that class.. they are even beating guns in the 20fpe class!
I don’t want to abandon my US FT in that class, but I’m ready to try an EV 2 barrel in my US FT LV rig..
Wacky Wayne
Wayne,
I would be very surprised if Pyramyd AIR had an EV2 barrel in stock. I doubt Air Arms wants to let go of those, or people will try to make their own cheaper EV2s.
The barrel on this Conquest is as accurate as any I have ever tested. If you could get a good one of these you would have something special.
B.B.
B.B.
What would PA do if someone bought an EV2 and complained that the barrel was not shooting up to par? (in my experience…most likely give them a whole new gun) .. but, what if someone dropped their gun and bent the barrel? One can’t buy a new barrel for an EV2?
Who makes the EV2 barrel.. CZ? … maybe I can go direct to the manufacture?
Wacky Wayne
Wayne,
Let me clarify my earlier comment: I went to the Pyramyd AIR website and looked at the Air Arms parts but did not see barrels listed there. Here are all the parts they stock to fix guns:
/air-guns/accessories/parts?brands=29
Edith
Wayne,
If you bent your barrel, you would send it to an authorized repair station such as Pyramyd AIR, they would order a barrel from Air Arms & install it in your gun.
Edith
Well,
thanks anyway… I guess I can understand that position of not wanting their barrels on other rifles, if that is the official position of the Air Arms company.. although I don’t like it:-).. I’ll try other means to get what I want.. you know I don’t give up that easy:-)
Wacky Wayne
Wayne,
I checked the list of Air Arms parts, and barrels are not there.
Edith
Hi Edith,
I went to the Air Arms website over the weekend and found the EV2 owners book.. their parts list has the part number for the barrel… check it out… http://www.air-arms.co.uk/PDF/EV2%20mk3%20ISS1.pdf
But I didn’t want to order from England.. if I didn’t have too:-)
B.B.
I’d love to find a supplier for the Evanix barrels too..
Wacky Wayne
Hey Wayne, how is the Ashland range doing these days other than the championship matches you are hosting?
Matt61
Hi Matt,
The Ashland Air Rifle Range has been hosting weekly Pistol field target and 25 meter bench rest matches almost every weekend… we get 4 to 8 shooters on average.. I cook up some soup and cornbread and we have lots of fun. The AAFTA BOG is still working the rules for PFT, but most of us are using souped up match pistols or Marauders under 12fpe and swapping out barrels until we get something really good. Folks all around the country are getting ready for a really competitive pistol championship.. even if we don’t know the rules yet!!!
The nationals field target championships our club is hosting is gonna be held at the sports Park in Grants Pass, Or. There is a link on our website http://ashlandairriflerange.com/ if anyone wants a google maps view… or to download a registration form… Hope you’ll be coming up from Calif..
The folks up at the “Wild River” club in Grants Pass are some of the top 25 meter HV class bench rest shooters in the world. They shoot matches indoors all winter, every other Wed. at 25 yards (mostly to test pellet lots, then buy a case) and shoot outdoors at 25 Meters through the spring and fall. One of their members Ron, recently shot three 250 cards in a row, one was 24 X .. so, for those that don’t know, the best one can do is 250 with 25Xs..
It’s not real often a 250 card is shot, and of course indoors at 25 yards is totally different than 25 meters outdoors!!!.. but still it’s nice to know your pellets and gun are ready to challenge the wind:-) These guys even shoot 250s outdoors on occasion. I’m trying damn hard to stay at the tail of the pack with these guys.. here is a link http://www.usairriflebenchrest.com/14201.html to the scoreline results where we post results for an ongoing postal match we are involved in..
All eight of em shoot FWB P70 FTs , at about 14fpe, that they bought a couple years ago… you’ll have to pay me a buck before I tell ya what pellets they shoot:-)
Edith, I’ve got 4 HW barrels to go through, I just got today from Tim, so, PA has time to get ready for my underground attack:-)
Wacky Wayne
Sorry to be off topic again (although I do wish I could afford this beautiful rifle!) but do you know of any EXTRA high scope rings for a 3/8 dovetail ? I am not having much luck finding anything that is really tall. Thanks again!
ELCID,
Have you considered putting riser blocks under you current mounts?
/product/bkl-3-8-or-11mm-tri-mount-dovetail-riser-mount-1-long-black?a=2875
kevin
EL CID,
You don’t mention what gun these mounts are for, but it must be a .22 rimfire, because airguns all have an 11 mm dovetail rail. That said, there isn’t much difference between 3/8″ and 11 mm (which can be any dimension between 9.5 mm and almost 14 mm in actuality), so some mount makers like Leapers advertise their mounts for both 3/8″ and 11 mm.
So first tell me what gun these mounts are for and we’ll go from there.
B.B.
It is for the Tech Force TF67…I have made a custom stock for it and have moved the stock rail onto the body..I have some tall weaver brand mounts but they just need to be a bit higher! I did think of the riser blocks but I was hoping not to introduce another possible point of slippage/maintenance.
Thanks fellas
This rifle would persuade me to renounce my UK citizenship and claim asylum in the USA 🙂
Amazing and good shooting as well BB.
DaveUK
Are you not allowed to own this gun in the UK? Is it because it is full-auto?
Matt61
Matt,
It’s the power. The UK is limited to 12 foot-pounds.
B.B.
But hunters and others in the UK do get firearms certificates and can own more powerful airguns. I don’t know how hard it would be to get one, but an American buddy of mine got a cert. for his two shotguns.
PZ
Matt61,BB, and PeteZ.
Absolutly correct but the full auto aspect would still make it illegal even to a firearms certificate holder.
There possibly is a special licence for a guy over here to own full auto firearms but I really don’t know for sure.
So between the power and the full auto feature of the Evanix Conquest,safe to say we wont see it on these shores in that configeration.
DaveUK
Come on over here, Dave!
Excellent reason!
Les
No need for that old boy. Just make the USA your summer home. You can keep it here!
Mike
Maybe we could buy a small place together? CowboystarDad, Titus Groan, wanna join us? A little cabin with a LARGE gun safe, what do you say Dave?
We could find something close to Wayne’s Ashland airgun range?
J-F
Sounds good to me fella’s 🙂
DaveUK
Well, I must say, BB, that was worth the wait! Thanks for that remarkable review.
In your next post I hope you report the pressures in psi as well as bar. I’m curious how many useful tank fills I can expect from my scuba tank which starts out at 3200psi (even though I ask the shop for more and they say they did).
-Chuck
Chuck,
This rifle functions at 200 bar/2900 psi. It uses a LOT of air!
B.B.
bar times 14.9 = psi
B.B.,
In my book, this level of accuracy is the most important criteria for justifying the price tag of this gun. Furthermore, it makes full-auto mode much more than just a novelty. This rifle is a winner!
Victor
Victor,
I agree! This level of accuracy is stunning, to say the least. I still believe that one full-auto target was a fluke, but it was a ten-shot fluke, which makes it as rare as a blue diamond.
B.B.
B.B.,
Really, a fluke? Or should we be talking more in terms of statistical expectations? At a minimum, you’ve just shown the rifles POTENTIAL.
We now know what the barrel can do. Whatever fluctuations in accuracy you might experience with this rifle, I’d venture to guess that they would be attributed to something other than the barrel. Would you agree?
In any case, my thoughts are that you can obtain this level of performance (accuracy) because in full-auto, trigger squeeze is much less an issue.
Victor
B.B., so this is quite the revelation. I don’t mind saying that I feel vindicated on a couple of counts. First, you have to admit that magazine rifles have their place. 🙂 Second, did I not tell everyone that this would happen and the potential accuracy of machine guns? (Just kidding. :-)) The question is why, and I believe that Mac is correct. If the automatic rate of fire is faster than the time for recoil to take effect, that can work towards improvement in accuracy. Sgt. Mitchell Paige who won the Medal of Honor at Guadalcanal for his exploits with a machine gun claimed that before the war, he and another Marine modified their Brownings by drilling holes in the bolts to lighten them and installed stiffer recoil springs and got much improved accuracy at 1000 yards. (Don’t try this at home.) And then there is the new Russian assault rifle, the AN-94 with such a high rate of fire at about 1800 rounds per minute that two successive bullets will strike in essentially the same place, allowing penetration of body armor among other things. So with the lack of recoil in airguns, they will be even more accurate on full-auto. I’m surprised that this weapon avoids restrictions on machine guns. It looks like it could do extreme damage.
Glad I didn’t bore everyone with the excursus into ChiRunning. Since there was some interest I’ll say a bit more. The big question from a biomechanical viewpoint is how to convert the force of gravity which is downward into a forward motion which is at right angles where gravity has no component at all. The answer is the circle which can be generated by the continuous application of right angle forces. But how… It’s done with the legs. Rather than reaching forward with the leg to land on the heel (which creates an opposing shock with the ground that is transferred up to the knee), the foot is placed flat on the ground more or less under the runner. To achieve the necessary stride length, the foot follows through more than is customary. Then at the top of its arc behind–rather than falling back down like a pendulum–it is kicked slightly up and over to complete a more circular motion. It’s sort of like those cartoons where the legs of running figures turned into a circular blur of motion. To see this in textbook form, you can look at clips of Tirunesh DiBaba, outstanding middle distance runner from Ethiopia, or any of the elite African runners. Or you can watch kids. They run everywhere and their bodies are tilted forwards with their legs trailing behind them.
Kenholmz, yes I’m sure this method was used by the Indian runners. I understand that for any distances over 25 miles, Indian runners were chosen over horses because they were faster. I saw a film version of Geronimo where government negotiators were trying to make him surrender to the pursuing cavalry. He was scornful. “An Apache can run 70 miles in a day. What can you do?” Maybe the answer lay in all those lever action rifles surrounding him.
Victor, thanks for your kind comments. The blog is a very stimulating environment and provides a forum for many things I had filed away that I thought were useless. Like I said, rowing can get you in shape, but I would treat it with extreme caution. Most competitive rowers have back problems. Swimming would be a much better choice. The swimming mechanics also have biomechanical interest. In brief, Europeans developed the breaststroke in imitation of frogs which they saw in rivers and ponds. The scientific revolution led to detailed study of angles and methods of propulsion. But the breastrokers were blown away by Indians in the New World and Polynesians who adapted surfboard paddling from the open ocean to the overarm stroke that we know today. Science was applied to this new method in the person of James “Doc” Consilman, coach of Mark Spitz. He claimed through exhaustive analysis to have found the secret which was that the movement of hands through the water created “lift” forces like an aircraft wing. But his was found to be dead wrong. Jane Hansen would have a good laugh. A new paradigm based on a streamlined form and hip rotation seems to be much more accurate. You can learn all about it by searching “Total Immersion.”
CowBoyStar Dad, be sure to say when you get that M1. I can’t wait to hear. Believe me it will be worth whatever it takes to get one.
On the subject of exhausting one’s accuracy, that happened to me the other night. After a slow start I was bringing home that last group of 10 when number 10 was thrown way off target. The total choke shot! Argh! That counted for me much more than the Superbowl.
Matt61
Matt61,if you go to this URL now you can see the episode on PBS of “We Shall Remain: Geronimo, Pt.4”:
http://airgun-video.pbs.org/airgun-video/1114357064
A very interesting rifle. Perhaps someday. It is spendy at the price of a custom 1911 and you still need an air tank/pump too. It’s a bit heavy for walk up rabbit hunts but with full auto……you could get used to it!
Mike
B.B;
The Evanix’s catalog for the conquest/speed rifle shows a high and low power capability. Do you know the way to use it in low power? and how many joules can be expected?
Franck.
Franck,
Edith is checking into the power adjustment question. We have found that the Koreans are constantly changing things on their guns and many features are either added or taken away without official announcement. So we move slowly when we hear things like this and we demand positive checks. That still doesn’t stop them from changing things in mid-stream, meaning a production cycle, but it limits the number of errors that are made in the documentation.
B.B.
Franck,
I just heard back from Pyramyd Air’s Tech Manager, and he said the power is not adjustable on either the Conquest or the Speed.
Edith
Franck,
The Evanix catalog you’re referencing…is it digital or print? If it’s digital, please send me a link or send it as an attachment to edith@pyramydair.com.
If it’s in print, could you tell me which page number references the the low & high power?
Thanks,
Edith
BB,
Do you know what kind of battery the Conquest uses? If it’s a NiCad, then it wouldn’t be unreasonable to upgrade to NiMH, simply because NiCads lose their effectiveness over time if their not fully discharged before recharging. NiMH batteries don’t have this problem.
Jake
I forgot to specify:
NiCad – Nickel Cadmium
NiMH – Nickel Metal Hydride
Jake,
The Conquest ships with a 1500 mAh NiMH battery pack.
B.B.
Why does the Pyramyd site list the 9mm Evanix Conquest as Semi-auto ONLY? Is that something that Pyramyd is doing? Or isn’t Evanix making the 9mm full auto?
Shooter,
They are not offering g the 9 mm in full auto.
B.B.
Any explanation? Then why would anyone buy the Conquest instead of the Giant, which I think is full auto? However, I don’t know where u cud get a Giant in the USA.
IMHO, since a 9mm air rifle is kind of minimal for hunting, the ability to squeeze off 3 shots at once would make it considerable more lethal, less chance of wounded animal getting away.
tnx
iam in indonesia can i buy this
Erwin,
If you want to know if you can buy an Evanix Conquest from Pyramyd AIR, please check with them by emailing sales@pyramydair.com.
Edith