Taipan Mutant... another happy owner

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cilami

Member
Nov 25, 2015
154
4
Puerto Rico, United States
I received my Mutant short a few days ago. As many others have expressed, it is a great gun and, believe it or not, you get used to the not so pretty looks. After a few days you start ignoring the looks and appreciate the function. At least that is my case. My pcp experience is limited to an AA S510 carbine (sold to fund the Mutant) and a Prod/Rapid-70 bullpup (which I am keeping for now). I have to say that the Mutant is the perfect blend of these two, the best of both worlds, IMO. It has the overall quality, maybe except the stock, of the S510 and the size/handling advantages of the Prod bullpup. Plus it has the accuracy and a very good shot count/power balance, mainly considering the air tube is only 136cc. Very quiet and a super trigger also. I know most of you are probably tired of reading this again and again. Sorry for that, but it is the truth
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I ordered mine from WWAG and have to say that Matt Dawson was very helpful answering my questions and delivey/shipment was very fast. I ordered a couple extra magazines from TalonTunes. Also a really nice service.

I have shot two full shot strings this week. One with JSB's 15.89 and other with CPHP, as suggested by Motorhead. At 30 yards groups are very similar with both pellets (about 3/8" ctc). I need more practice
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. Matt's group at that distance is impressive, see picture below. Here are some numbers of the shot string with the JSB's:

Initial pressure: 245 bar
Final pressure: 120 bar
No. shots: 54
Avg. fps: 855
ES: 849-863 fps (14 fps)
Efficiency: 1.34 fpe/ci

What else can I say. I am another happy owner
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It's interesting to see the Shorty next to a Marauder pistol bullpup. My first thought when I saw the Shorty was that it functions as a PCP pistol with it's short length but specifically, how little of it extends forward of the grip. 

The design just makes more sense than regular pistol configurations on a pcp gun. Most PCP pistols are either too long to function as pistols or lack enough power for hunting (or they have both issues). 

Every time I pick up my Shorty it amazes me how they managed to create such a powerful, efficient, accurate, quiet and lightweight little airgun. It seems to defy conventional wisdom. You Marauder pistol pup is actually longer than the Shorty...

I've been shooting 4 mags per fill (48 shots) which is more than you get from some rifles that are twice the length. I actually think I could get more if I needed. Even when it drops off the reg, I haven't experienced a major drop in power all the way down to 100 bar. The valve is amazing. 
 
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The little story's I have been hearing about the 25 Mutant coming out will have you looking for the extra air chamber,
I like my 22s But I am a 25 man when it comes down to it,
Cilami
Like all the rest you have fallen in the Mutant trap, Nothing in the price range even comes close,
Now we just need Zebra to bring his Carbon fiber stocks on line for sale, Hint, Hint, 
 
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Zebra,

In my case, I did notice a clear drop in fps at 115-120 bar. I guess every gun is a little bit different. Yes, the Shorty is 1.5 inches shorter than the Prod bullpup with the TKO. Without the TKO, the Prod measures just 20", but at 20 fpe it badly needed the moderator, giving me 16 shots. In total, I spent literally $1000 in my Prod and upgrades, but no comparison with the Mutant!.

Iride,

You are wrong! I did not fall in the Mutant trap, you Shorty owners pushed me into it!
 
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"cilami"Zebra,

In my case, I did notice a clear drop in fps at 115-120 bar. I guess every gun is a little bit different. Yes, the Shorty is 1.5 inches shorter than the Prod bullpup with the TKO. Without the TKO, the Prod measures just 20", but at 20 fpe it badly needed the moderator, giving me 16 shots. In total, I spent literally $1000 in my Prod and upgrades, but no comparison with the Mutant!.

Iride,

You are wrong! I did not fall in the Mutant trap, you Shorty owners pushed me into it!
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I saw a few people selling Prod bullpup kits and they ended up at around $1000 by the time they were done making them decent. It's clearly not worth it when you look at the shorty. 

15 shots at 20fpe and 2" longer... I bet that makes you appreciate the Shorty more as you have a baseline for how good it really is. 

I see a small drop in the poi at 50 yards when it drops to 110 but it's still very usable if I compensate. I bet that, if I installed one of those FX style power adjusters and had a regular setting and one for after it drops off the reg, I could easily get another mag or two from the fill. 

I was doing some 65 yard shooting this eve and I shot from 250bar down to 90. At 90-120, the trajectory looked more like my 25 Cricket but it was still very consistent.

My replacement stock arrived from Wild West today and it's worse than the first one. It really looks terrible. You made the right choice getting black I think. 

 
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"cilami"I stopped shooting at the target at 115-120 bar, so next time I'll check how the poi changes below that. Sorry to hear your second stock was not as expected. I prefer black anyway (exception would be a nice walnut stock, of course).
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I think a lot of people like a nice walnut stock. For me, if they aren't going to use nice wood or at least a good quality wood, I would prefer that they didn't use it at all. If you can bend it with your fingers or make an indentation easily with your finger nail, then you know it's not going to last well. Poor wood is far worse than plastic. At least with plastic you don't have to deal with inconsistent machining...

This is one of the reasons why companies like Daystate, Air Arms and BSA have such a loyal following. Whatever issues anyone has with those brands, nobody can say that their fit and finish is not consistent with their price tag. The Daystate Regal is priced at a similar level to the Mutant. The metal-work is nice on both but the wood on the Daystate looks special while the Mutant's wood quality is closer to that of a BB gun. It's one of the areas where these Eastern European and brands from the old Soviet block have room for improvement imo. You occasionally seen Edguns or Crickets with nice (ish) wood but in general they are plain Janes. 

If the Mutant wasn't so accurate, efficient, quiet, light and fun to use, people would not put up with the wood. Stocks do matter. As the Mutant is awesome in most other areas, it is worth investing in a stock upgrade. I wish the Taipan people would take more of pride in it though. They have a special product that more people would buy if it didn't look like the wrong end of a gorilla. 

 
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"Dairyboy"If (let's be real when) I get one it will be in black. I don't mind the blockiness of it. I think it'll be really solid from a rest or bipod. And how great everyone talks about them I can careless about looks. Maybe that's what they think as well? Rather have a solid gun instead of beauty with a crap gun.
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It's possible but I can't see it. Usually when people design something, they think it looks great. 

My issue with the Mutant stock is not the looks, it's the quality. It's low and doesn't match the rest of the gun. It's poorly machined. It could be made pretty but my preference would be for them to improve the finish, consistency and wood choice. 

At the end of the day, the stock is the piece you interface with. It makes it comfortable or uncomfortable and it's also what distinguishes the looks from other similar guns. A stock has the potential to reduce accuracy. A flimsy stock makes a guns sensitive to poi changes with your hold. Poorly machined inletting can mean you have to have the stock screws too tight to stop it moving which reduces precision. Low quality wood cracks too. 

The way I look at it is that it is easier to replace the stock than it is to replace the action. The Mutant is a superb platform that deserves better wood. As you say, that's better than having a gun with better wood than it deserves but it would be nice to have both. 

Wouldn't it be great if you could just pick and choose the features you like from each gun to make your ideal air gun.... 




 
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Re. Zebra's wood comments:

Is the Mutant's stock not machined properly? 

I get what you're saying, but I also have to point out that if this stock cost them $5 and walnut cost $155, it would not be as cost-competitive. It would not be the one that hits way above its weight any more; it would be competing with the next higher class of gun. What they should do is to OFFER options. Cheap wood, good plastic and two kinds of good wood. (laminate and something with nice figure)
 
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"Tsakula wrote: what scope is that on mutant?"

It is a Vortex Crossfire 6-18x44. Not too bad for the money, but I am ready for an upgrade. Thinking SWFA SS or Athlon FFP...decisions.

"NoMan wrote:I just can’t get past the appearance. It’s a personal problem I know but I don’t own anything that I don’t like looking at. A nice wood stock and I would be in."

I understand your point, and you are not alone. In my case, after a few days of using and looking at my Shorty, I got used to it, and now I like it. Or you can get an aftermarket stock you like, but that option will cost you maybe $300+. 
 
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