AGT Vixen .22

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Dairyboy

Dairyboy

Member
Jul 23, 2016
5,650
4,157
Washington, United States
In my search for the ultimate airgun for my needs I settled on a Taipan Veteran Shorty .22. Can shoot extremely well at longer distances and with a DonnyFL speed dialer, can drop it down to 15fpe and use it for short range work. All in a nice compact package. 

While that is nice I decided I wanted to get a dedicated gun for the short range work say 5-40yds. So I've had a Leshiy classic .22 before tuned fairly similar and while it did great, the single shot just got old after awhile and adding anything more than a red dot made the gun feel too top heavy. I then was thinking Leshiy 2 but really that kinda money just for short range work didn't seem right to me. 

Then came the Vixen. I've always wanted one since they've come out and thought they could really make a good alternative to a Leshiy Classic, being multishot yet still lightweight and compact and lots more shots. Put out a WTB ad and not long after TMH had a .22 standard that he wanted to sell which was what I was looking for. Deal was done and I should have it Saturday or Monday. 

I was looking into a scope for it and was thinking an LVPO with parallax adjustment. Well that came to the Athlon Helos BTR 1-4.5x24. Coming in around $400 and almost 23oz of weight I couldn't help but think for an extra $100 and 2oz more I can have another one of my favorite scopes, the Athlon Helos BTR Gen2 2-12x42 Mil version that sits on my Taipan. Absolutely great scope that's very useable at 2-4x with it's awesome reticle. And to be honest wasn't looking forward to using a MOA scope. Haven't had one in years and just wasn't a fan of that thought. So that's the route I'm going.

I'm planning on tuning it down to the 650-700fls range with JSB 16gr pellets. Should make it have tons of shots and be efficient.

Hope to get it all together by end of next week. Am looking forward to it!
 
I think you'll like the Vixen for your application. The trigger isn't match grade, but it's decent. The only weak point on the rifle is the plastic piece that connects the butt pad to the tank. Don't over-tighten it or the plastic will crack. (Don't ask me how I know.) I know this has happened to other shooters as well.

Great choice with the Helos. Happy shooting! 
 
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Thanks GunshipGuy - that is a good point to remember.

I was told by AoA that the worst condition for the stock is when it is tightened hard onto a cold bottle, and then the bottle warms and expands when filled. They said 'only tighten it down when the bottle is full and warm', but that's not really a viable solution.

I just make a point to tighten it down to lightly snug, just so it won't easily rotate. Has worked so far on the replacement I got for my Vixen Long (free under warranty). It is not the best or most robust design.

Fortunately if one breaks there is a pretty effective way to repair it. Drill a bunch of little holes in the plastic, seal it with some masking tape on the nside (where it interfaces with the bottle, then repair/strengthen it with epoxy resin and glass cloth. It worked fine for me until I got my warranty replacement, and now I have a (not so pretty but probably stronger) spare.


 
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Good info guys! I thought I read about that before but appreciate the reminder. I don't think I'll have much issue with that as it will be a walk around gun shooting birds off our silos and in our barns. So 99% of the time will be offhand. 

I'm really looking forward to it. Compared to my Shorty all setup it should be about 2.5lbs lighter. That will be nice. And for an offhand shooter the forward lever will be handy.
 
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Scope wise though I was very skeptical when I was looking for a scope for the Shorty and was thinking about the Helos 2-12. I was used to a Midas Tac 4-16x44 and Ares ETR UHD 3-18x50. By the way both fantastic scopes with great glass and turrets. Anyways with one having HD glass and the other ED glass I was worried glass wise the Helos wouldn't be great. And on top of that was used to very fine precise reticles. Upon receiving the scope found it to have great glass and actually ended up loving the reticle! For a hunter or pester it really is one of the best out there. Extremely versatile I can shoot indoors in our barns on 2x and then shoot out to 100yds with it on 8x even. 3 shots the other day at 65yds on 6x netted 3 head shots on sparrows in a row. Now if I was a target shooter and needed a very precise aim point this likely isn't the scope for you. But if you could deal with the 25oz or so it's one of the best, most versatile compact scopes out there for the money. Also turrets feel the same as Midas Tac which are excellent.
 
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So I got it early! Yesterday actually. In the hand it feels excellent. Super easy cocking, light weight really well balanced. Everything I wish my Leshiy Classic was.

So while I wait for my scope I mounted my 4-16x44 Midas Tac which are on low rings and actually fits it and which I was surprised about. Feels nice but am looking forward to the Helos which will be here Wednesday. Likely will throw it on with these low rings also.

So I did adjust the regulator and turns out I have too much hammer spring to lower the pressure to where I'd like it to be. But I don't feel like cutting the spring yet so I ended up raising the reg pressure slightly so using the hammer spring I dropped it to 640-650fps with 16gr JSBs. Seems very consistent over the chronograph surprisingly still. ES over 12 shots was well under 10fps. Might just leave it there. Shoots damn good also with dime size groups at 45yds. I think it'll be ready for it's maiden voyage soon as I get the scope. But sighting in with this scope 5yds is 5mil low, 10yds 2.5mil low, I'm dead on at 15yds, .5mil high at 25yds and 45yds I'm 1mil low. Simple to remember and when I get the other scope with these same rings should be same holdovers.

IMG_20220206_140132404.1644186933.jpg

 
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