American Air Arms .357 Hi-Power Bull Reviewed!

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Review as of 3/23/2016:
Gun weight: 7lb 12.7 oz
Length: 3' 1" with butt stock fully extended.

Things to like:
1. American Air Arm's team! They answer questions quickly!
2. Multiple different options when ordering. I ordered all natural titanium then skinned it with camo vinyl wrap. See images in this thread.
2. The gun itself handles really well and continues to impress with power and accuracy. (No grouping yet as I'm still learning the gun and which bullets work best)
3. The grip is a pretty standard Magpul grip and can be swapped out fairly easily.
4. Trigger came perfect from the shop. Two stage trigger that has a great pull.
5. Shoulder stock is configurable both in length and height. It is solid metal so don't expect any cushion
6. Air tank is max fill of 3600 psi
7. Picatinny rails to spare.

Room for improvement:
1. Cheek piece - There is a picatinny rail where your cheek rests. I put some plastic clip on rail covers from Magpul ( The grip is also Magpul) Still looking for a good solution.
2. No cover for the foster fitting. It is really exposed to dirt and the elements. I'm looking at options to cover it.
3. Shoulder Stock is solid metal so don't expect any cushion
4. Still a very new product so production is slow but good!
​5. Trigger edges are sharp. I will correct with a dremel tool at some point
6. LOUD! It's a beast and loud is expected. I've reached out to Neil to see if a custom LDC can quiet this thing down.
Notes:
Gun prefers heavier bullets 110-135 gr. Still figuring out which bullet will work best for me.
Accuracy is yet to be determined as I haven't hit the range yet as I have been working on break in waiting for the area to dry out some.

If you have any questions about this gun or think I missed something. Please let me know and I'll update the review with additional information.

Summary: It took a while to get this gun, several months. This powerful gun has plenty of power to take down hog sized critters and more. I plan on using it for hogs. It came in a case with my cartridges and a couple of breech seals, no bullets, straps or user manual. I feel this gun will be excellent for hunting upto and beyond 100yds. I can't wait to get out to the range and get some groupings for you guys. Stay tuned....
https://imgur.com/9y2gF
 
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You should try Hunter Supply 127g I'm getting good es with them. I was looking at every string for the first 5 shot and looks pretty well remember this gun is a 5 shot gun for long distance with the sixth a holdover. But if your going to use last 5 shots you should shoot under 80 yards. I took mine out to a hundred yards and the first three shots are with in 1 inch and sometimes touching each other but then fourth and fifth would make it to a 2 inch group. 6th 7th and 8th are just way off the original point of impact.
 
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olo, you cant listen to standard video's to judge loudness as the mic clips the sound/shock wave. A .38 hand gun would sound just about the same.


OP,
Thanks for the review. I was curious as to what the numbers on a " 5 shot " rifle would be. If a person looked only at five shots ( and thinking it might wear in a bit and smooth out the curve) for me it would be the same as my old DAQ, fill every shot for hunting and a regulated fill tank or one that is very easy to control the fill to XXXX psi. Think of it like a black powder hunting rig and it should hunt. Do these have some user ( external ) power adjustment? 

Will be looking for the majic bullet information as soon as you find it.


John
 
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I agree 100%, videos do tend to be very kind to the report of guns, I have video's on my web site but only because of customer requests, otherwise I would not have bothered. I have watched so many videos of guns I am familiar with, and have tested and the video is not even close to the report of the gun. The only way to really determine how a gun sounds is to test one yourself, unfortunately that is not always possible, but it is the only real way to determine how it would sound to you, Neil.
 
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Tom from AAA provided this information on pellets when I asked him. I ordered a couple of different versions for testing from John Cripe and Nielsen (when the boattail arrives)

Nielsen Specialty Ammo – Nick Nielsen is a great guy, make fine ammo at a great price. Very soon he will be offering a machine cast 357, 127gn Bob’s boattail . I’ve recently range tested this bullet at 215 yards and found it shoots very well. Eggs and soda cans were no problem with may repeat hits in moderate wind. http://nielsenspecialtyammo.com/collections/357-cal 

Hunters Supply – 358, 127 gn. FP. Their quality is spotty but this particular round shoots extremely well. I’ve shot a 4” plate at 300 yards with a 80% hit ratio. I like to size these bullets to .357 with the Lee hand sizer. It take a very little time and really evens out the results.http://hunters-supply.com/shop/air-358-cal-127-p-854.html 

Mr. Hollowpoint – Moderately priced and good performers. Mike Pangle has taken many large deer with the 357 120 gn at ranges past 100 yards.http://www.mrhollowpoint.com/7001.html

Pelletgarden – John Cripe make swaged slugs that are works of art. Pricey and but they are pure lead and really put a wallop on game. He has 125 and 139 gn FPs with HP coming in the future. I prefer the 125gn over the 139.www.pelletgarden.com
 
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