Page 4 - AirForce Talon SS Reviews

This is my first pcp air rifle and I am pretty impressed overall. This thing is all business and no fluff. I really like that it's so easy to tinker/tune with and all the caliber and barrel length options that are available. I actually like that the pistol grip and forestock are crap because it keeps the price down for those that don't care, and provides a customizing opportunity for those that do.

The ergonomics of the butt pad are lousy. This is screaming out for an aftermarket fix. I know there's a few solutions out there, but nothing I'd spend money on. Also, on my example the threaded ring that accepts the neck of the air bottle has most of its threads machined away such that there is scarcely more than one full thread of engagement. This seems a little sketchy to me and I will be asking the factory about this.

I wouldn't be without a hand pump, but they are a significant amount of work! You cannot escape thermodynamics here.

Everything except the grip, trigger, price, and buttstock.

Cheap plastic grip. Trigger is cheap plastic and gives a poor feel. The shoulder butt is awkward and the plastic disc inside the tank cover that the butt piece is screwed to will eventually break or at the very least crack and then break! It's a little over-priced

There are a few Talon enthusiasts out there that custom build parts for these Airforce airguns. I recommend you find who they are and replace the louzy parts for a better setup.
Also, the gun CAN be de-cocked.

Simply amazing. Took it out of the box and threw on the 4x16 airforce scope. Without any adjustments my shoots were right on the first mil dot under the crosshairs been shooting 2 days and havent needed to touch the settings at all can shoot quarters at 40 yards all day.First fill took a while with the hand pump but now I shoot 30 to 50 shoots and can refill in 5 min with no change in poi. Gotta get 24 inch barrel and really see what its capable of. You wont regret getting this rifle.

Longer adjus. Butt plate

Buy it. Get sling and accessory bar as with scope and other things added it does get heavy. Also get bipod you will end up getting it later anyway as you wont get the accuracy this rifle is capable of without it.

I have the .177 cal. I love this gun. Great accuracy. Like weight. Quality of build. Ease of operation anyone can shoot it. It is hard to put down. Trigger is great.

The butt plate. As advanced as this gun is you would think that the manufacture would make and add on butt plate I turned the existing plate upside down and used the two holes to add a aluminum plate it was easy and I extended it a inch. I wish airforce would offer a quality laser to go with it.

This gun is a must for any one who likes to shoot as I said it is hard to put down. I shoot it on low power and get around 100 shots. The noise is not as quit as my marauder and might make the neighbors curious. Sounds like a nail gun. The problem is the scope sits to high. With the airforce guns when you set it up for 10m it will be dead on you can shoot through the same hole. But when you go to 20m it will shoot very high. You have to adjust the scope. My marauder only shoots about ½ inch high while the Talonss shoots shots over three inches which does make for a good hunting gun. If you know the distance and adjust the scope it is dead on. If you are looking for a hunting gun this may not be the gun for you.
It shoots most pellets well. Everyone wants to shoot it so be prepared. You might want to get two LOL My wife loves it and has no problem stacking pellets. It is a great family gun. I got the AirForce 1/8" and 1/4" BSPP Refill Adapter set and the Quick-Disconnect Male Adapter to fill it because I already had a scuba yoke for filling my marauder. I wish Airforce would make a rifle style gun with the same power plant.

My 4th air gun, the only one I cay put 5 bullets within a 1 cm circle at 60 feet. Quality shooting, totally enjoyable.Light, short, quiet, adjustable velocity for indoor use. Love it

Butt plate rides a bit high, needs able to be adjusted lower. Extend silencer to accommodate a longer barrel.

I didn't like the Tactical look at first, but it grew on me. I like it now. Tanks are small, can easily carry a spare Switch power sources easily, go from Compressed Air to CO2 in seconds Adjustable power wheel allows low power indoor to 10meter to high powered hunting; and it works great. Lots of rails to mount whatever you want, or use as a sling attachment Breech knob can be used from right or left hand Easy to access rear feed breech; allows longer/heavier pellet use if wanted It is fairly quiet, not as silent as a Marauder, but it's quiet enough to be backyard friendly Modular design allows upgrading to a longer barrel for more power Comes with a Walter Lothar barrel as standard, nice. Front handgrip looks simple, but is very comfortable to use and well placed Excellent open sights are available The hold and short length lend themselves to making this rifle an excellent natural pointer. It is surprisingly short, but not uncomfortable. Trigger pull is crisp, no question about when it is going to let go. Can store in a smaller case like a take down rifle

I would prefer Weaver style rails over the dovetail, but that's just preference Pistol grip is marginal quality, seams needed to be sanded down to be flush on mine. I wish it took a standard AR style pistol grip, so it could be customized easier. It doesn't. The trigger arm is very thin metal, seems like a weak link in a great rifle, if you mash triggers, this is a weak looking one. A thicker arm would be welcome. Trigger shoe is cheap plastic, it works fairly well, but I replaced mine with an aftermarket one for a better feel. Should have been standard. The collar where the tank attaches to the rifle is not very strong, seems easily damaged. I've seen more rugged connections for similar air systems on high end Paintball guns, this should have a stronger attach point. No air pressure gauge, hard to tell how much air you have left. Add one. The hammer slap noise is pretty loud, but does not carry far. Wish it were damped as it seems louder than the actual report. Safety is positioned in the trigger guard (which I love) but is too stiff to flick with your shooting finger. I wish it were 'flickable' with one finger.

The compressed air tank CANNOT be refilled on the rifle. It must be removed, which means lots of screwing and unscrewing the tanks. This increases the possibility of cross threading the tank and rifle. Not a major concern, but something to be aware of.
The POI can shift based on what tank you have on, so if you have a spare... the rifle POI can differ between your main and spare tanks. Some worse than others. I have two tanks, and I DO see a POI shift, but it is not major under 40 yards.
In cold weather, the gun is cold. The metal body is very cold to the touch, didn't realize how much 'warmer' a wood stock feels until taking this out on a frosty morning.
I was worried that loading through this breech would be difficult, it is not.
The TalonSS, even with a very short barrel, is very very accurate. I was doing 50 yard shots very consistently.
The versatility is really impressive. I enjoy shooting low power CO2 in my basement 10m range, and high pressure compressed air outside with much higher power. I don't know of any other rifle that can change like this in mere minutes.
The Tank Ping noise is normal, don't be alarmed.
The butt stock on the tank is just a flat metal piece with a little rubber on it, but it works just fine. I can't say I like it, but it works well enough to not complain.

The quality was better than I expected. This is a well made rifle with very interesting features especially the easy change barrels and flexibiltiy for mounting accessories.

Somehow angle the tank downward with respect to the rifle. You really have to "scrunch" down to see into the scope. I would modify the design so that any AR-15 type grip could be used.

Go for it. It's a fun rifle to shoot. Right now, I've only used CO2 because I'm not sure I want to invest in pumps or tanks and all that. You get a lot of shots from a CO2 tank. I just use mine for target shooting.

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome! Very accurate very powerful.

nothing

This thing is amazing! it's like having a 22 rifle but being able to shoot in city limits. The pests and varmmits are hating this rifle.:)

I liked the accuracy, FPE, flexibility of mounting various accessories, light weight and short length. Also the number of shots before a refill is needed is pretty good. Totally fun to shoot

The quality of the grip is poor and looks cheap.

American made, quiet, easily adjustable power, full length upper and lower dovetails

I wish it had a pressure gauge.

I use this in .17 cal all the time for plinking, Seems it would have plenty of power for small game like squirels and cotton tails. I mounted a dovetail to weaver/picatinny adapter on the bottom rail and mounted a bi-pod and laser pointer to it. I mounted an air force tri rail and 3x9x32 illuminated mil dot scope to the top rail. It looks combat ready. This is a great deal with the scuba clamp, I definitely recommend it, I also got the CO2 adapter for quick and easy choice of power source

This is the most awesome airgun ever! It's dead accurate and the air lasts a lot longer than I expected it would. I'm still playing with it and figuring it out, but for the time being Im filling to 2500 PSI. I shot well over 100 shots with the power wheel on two and even though the pressure went down more than 1000 psi my point of impact never changed. I'm sure at higher power settings that probably wont be the case, but for indoor target shooting you dont need Max velocity. This shoots every pellet I have tried extremely well. It seems to prefer anything :) Im definitely going to have to get a chrony. You pretty much need one with this rife to get it dialed in just right. Without it you're not going to know what your velocity is and just turning the wheel up to max will result in a lot of wasted air.

Drop the dovetail rails and put picitinny in place. Maybe add some noise dampening baffles in the frame rather than just open space.

Its way louder than I expected. I'm sure the barrel being inside the frame cuts some sound down, but not much.

Using the hand pump isnt as bad as I thought it would be, but I would still suggest you get the package with the scuba adapter because its only like $15 more than without and if you do decide to go the scuba route you'll already have it at a good savings. If not, you can always sell it and make a profit :)

If you plan on putting a scope on it you will need either high profile rings, or the tri rail with low or med profile rings. An adjustable base might be a good idea too if you plan to shoot at ranges longer than 20 yards because, as it is, it takes a lot of up clicks to get your POI right. I didnt run out of clicks, but Im set up to shoot at only 10-15 yards.

Light weight, solid build and very accurate

Varible Power does not work very well

I recently purchased an Air Force Talon SS 22 rifle from PyramydAir and installed a favorite CenterPoint Power Class 3-12x44AO Compact Side Focus scope. The scope’s eye relief qualities are especially good for the type of shooting that I do. The Talon SS and this scope make a great combination for off hand “snap shooting.” I have reviewed the scope separately.
Right out of the black box, I was impressed with the light weight and solid look of the Talon SS. My scuba tank had only about 2300 psi left in it but that was enough for sighting in the scope and a trial run. My chrony read about 700 fps at a power setting of four. I changed the power setting to two and then to ten but I still got about 700 fps. I emailed Air Force and received a prompt reply that the power adjustment is effective between 3000 and 2300 psi. I had my scuba tank topped of at 3000 psi and with the power adjustment at four, I get 805 fps using Crosman Premier 14.3 gr pellets. After 30 shots, the pressure is about 2600 psi and the velocity is about 770 fps. I again tried the power adjustment at two and ten but still get less than 100 fps difference. So far, that is the only problem that I have found on this rifle. The accuracy is great. I bench shoot mostly to align and maintain the scope settings. About 90 percent of my shooting practice is off hand “snap shooting” at 3-inch diameter knockdown targets setup between 30 and 150 feet. Using Crosman Premier 14.3 gr pellets and with the scopes centerline mounted 3 inches above the centerline of the barrel, I set the trajectory’s first intersection at 65 feet with the second intersection falling at about 120 feet. The trajectory is 3/8 inch above the center of the target at about 95 feet and 3/8 inch below the center of the target at about 50 feet and 130 feet. That is a pretty flat trajectory within the range where I practice and I need only to offset +2.5 mil-dots at 30 feet and +1.0 mil-dots at 50 yards. These settings work well for me and with the side focus adjusted at 85 feet, I rarely change any of the settings. Using the mil-dot reticle, a cheat sheet can be made for shooting far beyond 50 yards however I rarely shoot outside my practice range. The Benjamin Discovery is one of my favorite air rifles but the Talon SS, even with a short 12 inch barrel, is more accurate and the shorter length adapts better to my style of shooting practice. I have added a rubber foamback strip for pellets on each side of the frame, just above the trigger, holding a total of 28 pellets. When I run out of pellets, I recharge the tank and refill the pellet strips. I added a red laser but I seldom use it. I have the laser centered at 25 feet and it shoots about ¾ inch low at 10 feet and ¼ inch high at 30 feet.
Air gun shooting has become a favorite sport for me and it is a very economical way to maintain good shooting skills. The transition back to rim fire or center fire is quick and effective.
To summarize, the Talon SS is a powerful and unique type of air rifle, almost a long pistol, but there is a learning curve in getting used to it. The accuracy is great and with the right scope, it is very adaptable to instinct and snap shooting. By keeping the pressure in the 2600 to 3000 psi range, the trajectory is constant. All said, I’m glad I made this purchase. The Talon SS 22 is serving me well.

Awesome gun !!! Very accurate with a wide range of pellets.Variable power makes it very versatile. Indoors at low power ,no one hears it.Outdoors ,dial it up and say goodbye varmints!

Nothing, except have weaver rails.

DON'T GET AIRFORCE PUMP !!! Buy a Hill ! I mounted a Hawke 4x16x50 Nite-Eye SR-6.GReat scope for this or any other gun you may own.

Mind blowing accuracy. I can put three pellets touching at 35 yards. Lightweight and easy to shoot. The moderator does a good job. Can change tanks in the field for more hunting or switch to CO2 for all day plinking. Try that with a fixed reservoir gun!

The scope height over bore is a little high, appx 3", but a price worth paying for this gun. Be sure to scope carefully and keep checking the reticle. Any canting will result in lateral shift when you change distances.

I could write a book on this gun! Its a lot of fun to shoot! You'll love it. Things you should know. Pick up some diver's silicone (for Air not O2) at your local dive shop. My gun likes a 2600psi fill and valve locks a little above that. I recommend Beeman Kodiak MATCH 10.6gn 177 pellets for long range shooting and Beeman Crow Magnum 177 pellets for hunting. The H&N Baracuda MATCH and H&N Crow Magnum are the manufacturer's brand for the same pellets. Please consider buying a SCUBA tank instead of the AF pump as they cost nearly the same as each other. Look out for a 100cu.ft. 3000psi or preferably a 100cu.ft. 3500psi at your dive shop. If you want to delay the HPA option and shoot CO2 then I recommend the RWS R10 MATCH 7.0gn 177 pellet. It shoots accurately and very quietly and has a very similar POI to the heavy pellets running on HPA. I plink and target shoot with CO2 and switch to HPA for long range and knockdown power. Take the plunge, you won't be disappointed!!!!

simple to operate

nothing

I bought this air rifle for shooting Fox squirrels only. The following comments are true for both .177 and .22. I keep the tank topped off at 3000PSI with the power setting at 10 (as per the manual) I use RWS super dome pellets only. The Talon SS is low noise, easy to carry, easy to operate, and extremely accurate. Both .177 and .22 travel faster and hit harder than my RWS 350 magnum spring rifles. Any direct hit in the heart-head-lung (kill zone) within a 35-meter range is 100% certain fast kill. In most cases, both calibers travel completely through the target. A hit outside the kill zone often requires a follow up shot. For Fox squirrels, the Talon SS is all anyone would ever need.

I HAVE THE TALON SS SET-UP EXACTLEY LIKE THE PIC, ONLY I ALSO ORDERED WITH THE IRON SIGHT SET-UP.ACCURACY IS UNBELIEVABLE, WHEN YOU GET USED TO LOADING ANOTHER PELLET YOU NEVER HAVE TO LEAVE THE SCOPE, JUST LOAD AND FIRE AGAIN. I ALSO ORDERED THE SCUBA TANK REFILL ADAPTOR, MY LOCAL DIVE SHOP GUY REFILLS IT FOR NOTHING, TAKES 10 SECONDS. ORDERED THE Co 2 ADAPTOR WHICH COMES IN HANDY WHEN YOUR AIR TANK IS RUNNING LOW. THE BEST FEATURE ON THE TALON IS THE ADJUSTABLE AIR PRESSURE.

RUBBERIZED GRIPS BY AIR FORCE OR AFTERMARKET, I GUARENTEE CUSTOMERS WILL BUY IT.

BOUGHT THE AIR HAND PUMP WITH ADAPTOR FOR $190.00 IT'S STINKIN' USELESS. I FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS PUMPED AND PUMPED AND GAVE IT A REST WHEN THE TUBE GOT WARM, PUMPED AND PUMPED AND STILL ONLY GOT THE AIR TANK TO 2000, THIS IS AFTER 45 MINUTES. JUST GO TO YOUR LOCAL PAINT BALL SUPPLIER THEY HAVE USED 12 0Z. TANKS WITH AIR FOR ABOUT $12.00 THE 20 oz. TANK IS TOO LARGE IN DIAMETER AND GETS IN THE WAY, I BOUGHT 6 USED 12 oz.CO2 FILLED , DON;'T GO TO A SPORTING GOOD STORE, THERE 12 oz. TANKS ARE ABOUT $30.00 EMPTY. MY FAULT, I WAITED TOO LONG ON THE RETURN ON THE HAND PUMP AND AIR FORCE WOULDN'T EXCHANGE FOR OTHER ITEMS I WANTED.

I am an avid tactical shooting hobbiest and gun collector. I recently bought a Talon SS, and I went with it to the shooting range for the first time today 10/15/09. I had a Barska Excavator 4-16x50 on it (plus a green laser). Once I had sighted the scope in at 25 yrds, I really was totally blown away by how amazingly accurate Talon SS is. I was able to shoot my .22 pellets in a less than quarter area from that distance. WOW!

The gun is perfect and drop dead beautiful. AirForce Airguns could make better quality accessories. However, it is really not necessary, since I want to make my guns and set ups my own.

Please see the image of my Talon SS. I hope I am able to upload it to this site. Info: Talon SS .22, Barska Excavator 4-16x50 w/ Butler Creek flip up scope covers, Burris Extreme High scope rings, dovetail to weaver adaptors, UTG green laser, and Crosman premium .22 pellets is the superb and amazingly accurate combination.

nice quality easily installed.

No vertical adjustment,the rear has a allen screw in bottom but if you use it you cant get it too lock down on rail,had too shim under rings too get it too shoot on target not enough adjustment in scope.

Everything! I purchased two of these from you guys. One in .22, (my favorite), and one in .177. I don't think anyone produces a better air rifle. Quiet, accurate, and totally dependable. I also bought the CO2 adapter with three 12 oz. tanks. This combination works with the Talon SS and the Condor, which means Pyramid has a distinct probability of managing a severe pellet shortage in the near future.

So minor, I won't mention. Air Force pretty much thought of everything you might want to add, and Pyramid is more than happy to make the additions reasonable and available. I ordered the first SS with the Air Force 4X16. A great scope. Somewhat of an "overkill" for the .22. I mounted it on the .177 and mounted a 3X9 Leapers on the .22. PERFECT!!!. Cloverleafs at 35 yds.

I also purchased a Condor. 24 in. .177 barrel and .22, 18 in. barrel. A great long distance, powerful air rifle, but LOUD. I, just after a year, submitted a review on the Condor. The review "morphed" into a review of the Talon SS, (which I consider to be the best air rifle ever designed). Quiet, powerful (enough) and did I mention amazingly accurate? I think the guys at Pyramid can use my Condor review to support my endorsement of the Condor SS.

shoots great out of the box,easy loading with scope attached,shoots hard

should have bought one sooner.

if you are going to scope this rifle you will need to buy rail,since this gun comes with no open sites.