I’m considering buying one of those. Wonder how you like yours. Is it worth the money?
Worth the money...hard to say. I have an EVOL, Mini, in .22 cal .
1 - On one hand, it shoots pellets (and probably slugs)...so there's that !
2 - Do some leak, as above, yes, there's been a few here (use the search !). Luckily, so far, mine has not, still tight.
3 - The trigger's nice, but I have better. You have to remove the trigger box from the gun to adjust ! You have to put it back together to test, then... Hmm !
4 - The regulator presure is set pretty high, and with no way of an easy adjustment. Even when you CAN...adjust the regulator, you have NO CLUE where you are, pressure wise.
5 - The hammer spring is adjustable, but a bit awkwardly, and takes a LOT of turns to effect a change .
6 - The OEM suppressor isn't really backyard friendly. I added a two section Huma M40, to my Mini, isn't too bad now.
7 - For a spring loaded magazine, overall, it's ok. Very well built, all aluminum. BUT, the first pellet MUST go in backward !!! Come-on, this is the 21st Century !
8 - Loading the magazine into the gun...well done. Simple, straight forward, solid.
9 - The plastic butt stock... Really, again, a sloppy, noisy thing with this price tag ! I replaced mine right away.
10 - Not a fan of the grip...but that's JUST me. Has been changed.
All that said... MOST machinery, this includes most current air guns, use a class 1 , MAYBE...a class 2 thread in some areas. This is one thing about the American Air Arms guns, they seem proud of their work. By that I mean that the part fitup, and class of threads used is maybe a class 2 and many areas, a class three (VERY GOOD, best that you can get).
A VERY easy test. Grab ANY brand of muffler (LDC, moderator, silencer, suppressor, whatever you call yours), and ANY other rifle. Now thread that muffler onto the barrel or adapter. Pay attention to the thread fit (losness while installing).
Now, take that same muffler, and thread it onto the EVOL's barrel . Notice the thread fit..! A major difference.
The cocking action is very nicely done. Solid, smooth, even if a little hard at the end of the movement. The Titanium air cylinder helps keep the weight down, while adding a bit of strength to the cylinder.
I ran a cleaning patch through the barrel. The pulling of the patch was smooth and effortless, indication (to me anyway) that the barrel manufacturer was done very well. Only a small amount of garbage on the patch.
I shoot freehand, so I can't say anything about the exact accuracy, except, that in my freehand shooting, yeah, I can come pretty / very close to the center of the dot (paper shooter here) .
So yeah, the "basic" design, engineering, machining, assembly, are first class, hard to beat. I've got more than my fair share of PCP guns. I only know of a couple (my guns) that can match the design (care in fit-up and overall design) of the American Air Arms gun (again, my Mini anyway) .
So... Was that big bill worth it to me..? The jury's still out. IF...it continues to hold air, and doesn't need any rework...for a while, yeah, it's a close call (minus the adjustability !). But if I end up with the same leak that many have...Mmm, maybe not so much. Hell, I've got an inexpensive, Walther Reign, that's held it's pressure for a couple of years now..! The pressure up, down, shooting, sitting...all good.
Am I unhappy with my purchase, no...not...really, so far, except maybe for the unadjustability and the cheap butt stock on an expensive gun.
Oh yeah, the disassembly / assembly tools..are as expensive as the gun..!
NOTE - This is just one person's experience, and the report of !
Mike
