Why does FX come out with so many different rifles ?

[Ratzy]

From what I have seen, most of the time, they release an incremental upgrade from the 6-12 month old current model and their fan base of that model immediately drop asking price for the new model.

If you can guarantee a relatively stable sales number for every iteration then planning for manufacturing is simple. Since the majority of the current iteration is the same as the previous iteration then manufacturing cost remains close. The new iteration base cost is marginally higher and the new asking price is ~10% higher, profit.

 

[Motorhead]

Yep, just like BSA, Webley, Diana, and others. They made the same old, same old, year after year and now they are gone. Air Arms and Weihrauch may be next. Even though they make the best quality rifles., they are always the same. Why should anyone buy another?

I'll just poke a few holes here .... Theoben / RAW in the world of PCP's these past 25+ years are by in large changed up very little as there a dinosaur in a world of other species evolving around them.
Yet .... they to this day more than hold there own and folks still wish to purchase & own one or several of these excellent PCP air rifles. May I Have Another Please

I totally get BSA, Webley, Diana etc for there Spring piston style air guns as the most used platform in todays world is PCP.
BSA made a couple PCP styles but were less than service friendly and solid enough when assembled to take real world use & abuse ( relative to other brands )
Diana in PCPs went China ... nuff said there.
Webley far as I know never danced in PCP's

 

[coastal drifter]

Yep, just like BSA, Webley, Diana, and others. They made the same old, same old, year after year and now they are gone. Air Arms and Weihrauch may be next. Even though they make the best quality rifles., they are always the same. Why should anyone buy another?

I have an HW95 I love and will probably keep till I can't shoot it anymore, but I can't see buying another springer because of the reasons you expressed. I am looking at another FX because they are creating new better air rifles.

 

[Ratzy]

Yep, just like BSA, Webley, Diana, and others. They made the same old, same old, year after year and now they are gone. Air Arms and Weihrauch may be next. Even though they make the best quality rifles., they are always the same. Why should anyone buy another?

BSA is still around.
Under newish ownership.
R12 series are fine rifles.
Typical british gorgeous wood stocks

 

[jps2486]

I'll just poke a few holes here .... Theoben / RAW in the world of PCP's these past 25+ years are by in large changed up very little as there a dinosaur in a world of other species evolving around them.
Yet .... they to this day more than hold there own and folks still wish to purchase & own one or several of these excellent PCP air rifles. May I Have Another Please

I totally get BSA, Webley, Diana etc for there Spring piston style air guns as the most used platform in todays world is PCP.
BSA made a couple PCP styles but were less than service friendly and solid enough when assembled to take real world use & abuse ( relative to other brands )
Diana in PCPs went China ... nuff said there.
Webley far as I know never danced in PCP's

You are right about the old rifles like RAW and others. They are fine rifles, but we all know what their shortcomings are and it seems to take forever to correct them.. Example is the Air Arms S510. What took so long to incorporate an regulator and a power adjuster with detents?? Raw needs to make an externally adjustable regulator. Both of these need a simple basic design change to make them more air efficient. FX seems to address stuff like this every other week, to their defense.

 

[Ratzy]

You are right about the old rifles like RAW and others. They are fine rifles, but we all know what their shortcomings are and it seems to take forever to correct them.. Example is the Air Arms S510. What took so long to incorporate an regulator and a power adjuster with detents?? Raw needs to make an externally adjustable regulator. Both of these need a simple basic design change to make them more air efficient. FX seems to address stuff like this every other week, to their defense.

Well, about that externally adjustable regulator on a HM1000x...

 

[Motorhead]

External adjust regs ... Convenient sure, Required NO.

Such thinking follows the tend in cars the last 3 decades for bells & whistles, do dags and gag-gits .... Costs go up, reliability & serviceability goes down.

Just because something is built and marketed does not mien its actually any better or that you really need it .... buy into marketing of the latest & greatest new thing is whats wrong with much in this crazy world we're living in.

 

[jps2486]

External adjust regs ... Convenient sure, Required NO.

Such thinking follows the tend in cars the last 3 decades for bells & whistles, do dags and gag-gits .... Costs go up, reliability & serviceability goes down.

Just because something is built and marketed does not mien its actually any better or that you really need it .... buy into marketing of the latest & greatest new thing is whats wrong with much in this crazy world we're living in.

Let’s say an easier way of adjusting reg pressure without disassembling the gun. Too much trial and error. And I don’t want to buy a reg pressure tester.

 

[Ratzy]

External adjust regs ... Convenient sure, Required NO.

Such thinking follows the tend in cars the last 3 decades for bells & whistles, do dags and gag-gits .... Costs go up, reliability & serviceability goes down.

Just because something is built and marketed does not mien its actually any better or that you really need it .... buy into marketing of the latest & greatest new thing is whats wrong with much in this crazy world we're living in.

Sure makes playing with various pellets and slugs to see what reg pressure each likes a lot simpler.

Saves a lot of time, no degassing or disassembly required. 3mm hex and on to the next reg pressure.

 

[boscoebrea]

New is Not always better.Sometimes new is just new and sometimes some people only care about getting something new.Older accurate rifles do not become inaccurate because they are old,they become inaccurate because the shooter becomes old

 

[Ratzy]

New is Not always better.Sometimes new is just new and sometimes some people only care about getting something new.Older accurate rifles do not become inaccurate because they are old,they become inaccurate because the shooter becomes old

I resemble that remark plus add in some nerve damage and tough to hold the crosshairs tight on target. Kinda shoot as they cross...

My opinion the original 3 smooth twist rifles, Bobcat, Boss and Royale were the peak of FX. Everything since has just been an incremental tweak of those simple designs.

 

[CharlieF]

Because, in the words of PT Barnum, "There's a sucker is born every minute".

 

[RoosterCogburn]

Ground penetrating radar... PSHHHH! GIMME A DOUSING ROD!

 

[carlos_hathcock]

Ground penetrating radar... PSHHHH! GIMME A DOUSING ROD!

How many ancient cities have been found by a water witch?

 

[RoosterCogburn]

How many ancient cities have been found by a water witch?

Dig far enough you hit the water table.

How many cargo cults summoned riches by their ritualistic mimicry?


Faith healers and the almighty get credit every time someone doesn't get worse or recovers, yet never when someone deteriorates. This is one of those old superstitions that wont die no matter how thoroughly snuffed by the world of facts and controlled experiments.

Ground water doesn't magically exist in one spot and not others, if there is a water table, its encompasses the entire area. We call water that rises up above a "spring head' and no boob convincing himself that the almighty and the "æther/vibes/energy" channel through him and whichever magic sticks/wires/rods can sense hydrogen and oxygen in the ground but not the near omnipresent gaseous forms they breathe and exist in, is needed to find them.

 

[boscoebrea]

ok then "Rust never sleeps"Hay hay.

 

[.20calguy]

Regarding this thread’s original topic regarding why so many FX models…

Most all FX guns use the same barrels and essentially the same trigger design.

To me, barrels and triggers are the most critical areas where you can improve/optimize performance. So I’d like to see FX focus a bit on trigger performance. They seem to have started some R&D in that area by adding a lever to the M4 trigger.

FX had also made their barrel systems more rigid with their recent “plenum over the barrel” platforms. Unfortunately for me, I’ve shied away from trying those designs as they reduce/eliminate the shroud volume - and I require low noise designs to allow backyard shooting.

Just my opinion, but it does seem FX is trying to innovate in those two areas (barrels and triggers) that are most important to me (well, beginning to improve their sorely lacking triggers). I love that caliber swaps are easy and that you can essentially try a new “barrel” cost effectively by just swapping out the liner in your existing barrel. With other premium brands, barrel swaps can be prohibitively expensive.

I’m not so focused on fancy pressure regulation systems (dual regulators, electronic feedback loop regulation) as I’ve had fantastic target result with well set up unregulated rifles - so I think you can achieve excellent velocity regulation at a moderate cost - i.e. a single Huma mechanical regulator.

I’d love to see FX introduce a simple electronic trigger- like on the Daystate Renegade. Powered by a 9V battery, the Renegade’s trigger can be set so light and yet still two stage and with great feel and consistency. I’ve been unable to set up my 6 FX triggers to be anywhere near as nice as my Renegade’s trigger. I don’t need/want an entirely electronic rifle like some Daystate/Scout platforms. Maybe eventually as costs come down, but not right now.

Overall, I think the most important innovation that FX has demonstrated is that you don’t need an (expensive, heavy) solid steel barrel to shoot pellets/slugs effectively. Those steel barrels seem a holdover from powder burners where the steel was necessary to handle gun powder expansion pressures - not necessary to handle PCP pressures. I’d like to see FX (and other manufacturers) continue to innovate in barrel technology - perhaps even pure carbon fiber barrels someday with extremely smooth (low friction) bores with rifling optimized for specific projectile choice (pellets, slugs, hybrids, future projectiles).

I’ve got 3 Crowns that shoot lights out with pellets. Give me a simple bolt-in electronic trigger for my Crowns and Dreamlines and I’m in pellet rifle nirvana…

-Ed

I don't know how the Crowns trigger could be improved on?