Air Arms S200 FT

Things I liked: The AA S 200 FT is wonderful. I got mine indirectly from PyramydAir but love their service always. As delivered the rifle functions well. I have a couple of beefs: The bolt and the first stage of the trigger are a bit rough. I could hone the trigger parts if I wanted; however, I don't want to do that. I am shooting the gun as it came out of the box. I am about 1600 pellets along that path and things are smoothing out beautifully. It is my thought that the extensive shooting will give me the best results for the rough parts. My particular rifle is happiest so far with JSB Exact 8.44 gr pellets. I have not tried the 10.34 gr pellets yet. I had some H&N FTT pellets so I am using those to fill out my first 2600 gun breaking in shots. I have shot more expensive Air Arms guns and so far I prefer this one. I honestly think that this gun can do most of what you need especially if you are interested in Field Target shooting or even Bench Rest shooting; it is that good.

Things I would have changed: Actually, not much. As mentioned above I suppose CZ could hone the rough parts a bit more. However, that would increase the cost. As stated above it is much more fun shooting the rifle and smoothing the parts gradually. You were going to shoot it a lot anyway weren't you? So have fun while you're making the gun better. One thing they might do that would also increase the cost of the gun is the inclusion of a moderator; this thing is loud. I shoot mostly in my back yard so have ordered an after market moderator. I'll bet that CZ could work out a moderator that costs less than the aftermarket one I ordered.

What others should know: Chronograph results: If I fill the air tank to 200 bar (about 2900 psi) and shoot 50 shots the gun gets down to around 1750. That gives me an average of about 790 feet per second, a extreme spread of about 20 and a standard deviation of 9. If I fill to about 2700 psi and shoot 35 or 36 shots I get an average of still about 790 feet per second, an extreme spread of about 10 or 11 and an SD of 5. These results were achieved using the JSB Exact 8.44 gr pellets. (They also grouped better than the H&Ns.) Since most of the competition I do allows me the luxury of refills after about 30 shots (Bench Rest) I have a nice margin of safety. With those results the concept of a regulator seems only marginally useful and probably not worth the money. It was mentioned that there are aftermarket triggers available. After 1600 or so shots I am firmly convinced that there is no way I would spend money on one of those. I am growing very attached to the stock, plastic trigger. It fits my finger very well.