Have FX dropped off on their quality? I finally got my .25cal FX today ( long process in Oz to acquire a firearm but that's another story ) and I have to admit I am a little underwhelmed at the quality of this rifle when compared side by side with my 2yr old Royale 400. The blueing on the barrel is nowhere near as deep and lustrous, I think the finish on my $165 Hatsan might be better, the finish on the synthetic stock has a different texture and feels cheap after holding the 400 but the part of this rifle that really smacks of cheap and nasty is the way FX have gone about fixing the action to the synthetic stock. My 400 has a caphead screw that takes a 4mm Allen key to tighten or loosen and the head of this bolt sits nicely into a machined brass insert in the stock but this new 500 just has a countersunk head screw through the stock with a matching countersink in the synthetic material of the stock, no brass or steel insert for the screw to tighten against, also when I do tighten this screw ( not overly tight as it only takes a 3mm Allen key ) the power adjust wheel comes into contact with its recess in the stock and it presses hard against the front of the bottle. Now these might all be minor issues but when you pay a lot of hard earned for a so- called top shelf air rifle I would not expect there to be any issues, my dealer who did the transfer also commented that it does not look like a $2k investment.
I won't have a chance to shoot it until next week as the scope rings have not arrived as yet but this FX500 will need to be a tack driver to redeem FX's reputation with me, anyway I will be taking up these issues with the importers but would be interested in other Royale500 owners views of their rifles, perhaps FX have put all their effort into the Impact?
MOD EDIT: Moved to Manufacturer Feedback Section.
I won't have a chance to shoot it until next week as the scope rings have not arrived as yet but this FX500 will need to be a tack driver to redeem FX's reputation with me, anyway I will be taking up these issues with the importers but would be interested in other Royale500 owners views of their rifles, perhaps FX have put all their effort into the Impact?
MOD EDIT: Moved to Manufacturer Feedback Section.