I’ve had this gun since they invented it. Never sold it because it’s a great pitching wedge. Medium power, pleasure to shoot and no mechanical issues ever. But it’s one weakness is consistency. It’s a pretty darn accurate gun for the most part, but it’s like a crazy girlfriend. You just don’t know what you’re gonna get when you pick her up or get home from work. But after some flowers or compliments, it’s a great gun for the rest of that day. For the last year this has been my 14.3gr cheap pellet shooter. But on a recent trip for a family outing, I put it on a quality pellet in hopes of avoiding the crazy girlfriend syndrome. Day one, dialed it in and it was stellar. Day two it was off so we dialed it in and it was fine. Day three it was just not what it was the days before but still ok. The other guns I took were spot on all days. A couple weeks ago I was digging through my barrel collection and found a Kral barrel. Long sucker. I wondered if Kral barrels shoot 14.3 Crosmans. So I tried them in my Empire XS and Jumbo. They did pretty good but I needed a third opinion before I spent 3 hours on my lathe. I PM’ed Dr. Kralenstein and he basically said they will shoot. So yesterday it was crappy and a perfect day to build a barrel. I made it a smidge longer than stock and tightened the tolerances of the slip fit into the receiver. I used a Impact shroud and cut it to fit because I need an air stripper with such a short barrel. Shot the gun yesterday at the house, took it to my dads and shot it again. Then last night took it to my buddies and shot it. Brought it home and leaned it against a chair resting on the barrel. Got up today, still spot on. I mean cutting the same pellet holes from yesterday at 30 yards spot on. Haven‘t tested any other pellets except the Crosman 14.3 yet and I might not have to. So yes, this FX has a Kral barrel and so far, it’s better for it.
