FX Impact M3 and accessories - Help needed

Guys:

I am going to order a FX Impact M3, .25. I am moving into slugs. Yes, after sometime denying I see no other way other than shooting slugs. BC is better and current airguns are much more well suited for that. 90% of the time I will shoot in a shooting range. Distance up to 150 yards. 10% of the time I will be hunting birds with distances up to 60/70 yards (I don't like the risk of missing and hurting an animal and I am too old to walk too much in the woods). 

I am thinking of a new set up and here are my questions which I kindly request your help. Objective answers, if I may ask, will help me a lot.

1 - What is the current best bipod for the Impact? Something solid, stable and great quality. This is something I am planning to keep for many years. I have a Atlas one. But it feel not that stable, on the Impact, for precision shooting.

2 - Saber tactical accessories: What are your recommendations and why. Keep it simple. No questions will be asked. 

3 - Scope rings. I have FX adjustable ones. Is there any new and better option?

4 - Scope. I have used Hawke Sidewinder 30 Tactical SF 6.5-20x42 - ½ Mil Dot for many years. I know there are others in the market and I think my brand new Impact deserves an upgrade. Your best recommendations are appreciated. 

5 - Any other important item to be incorporated into my Impact? Slug kit? 

6 - Barrel: For hunting 600mm. For range 700mm. I am in doubt...Appreciate your feedback.

Life is short. I am getting much older day by day. I want to enjoy my airgunning hobby with the best in the market. Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs. Stay safe.
 
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I have an A liner in my mk2 and it loves JSB KNOCKOUTS the best. I’m shooting them at 950. I have an element helix on it and I really like it. I have a hawke frontier on my other impact and I am very happy with it but if I had to choose I would choose the helix. I use a UTG $40.00 dollar bipod and it is adequate for pesting, but if I was going to do serious target shooting I would buy something better. I also found that the slug kit didn’t do much, but a pin probe and huma dual transfer port was worth the money. 
 
1) I feel Accu-Tac make the best bi-pods available, mine is very stable. But they are expensive.

2) Saber Tactical, I would recommend a extended rail, I like the Arca-Picatiny rail, plus the bag rider is nice to have, Not a Saber Tactical piece, but Kraford and Lypt But piece, it will allow you to tailer the Length of Pull for you.

3) FX scope rings are fine.

4) For me the Element Titan hits a sweet spot between price and clarity.

5) Slug kit is nice to have

6) I prefer the 700mm barrel for the accuracy and better power output, you can have your air valve open longer while the pellet is in the barrel. It is still quite short.

These are my opinions but this is what I have on my M3 and like the set-up, I just haven't put the slug barrel or slug kit in yet. I am enjoying pellets for now.


 
So to start I have been shooting the M3 in .30 caliber 700mm. I also thought about shooting some slugs off and on and especially with the Slug power kit comes out it will be the way to go. 

Shooting wise I took my gun to 25-30 yards to get the site originally on paper, then I took it to 50 then 100 yards. I use the Element Nexus with the no-limit scopes, I raised the back and got a good sight picture then lowered the front and got a great zero with a lot of play in my scope rings and set the zero stop at 100 yards. I then took it back to 30 yards and I only had to aim like a couple of mills down. I even know recorded the number of clicks to move down if I want to but it was so close to that original zero I don't always have to if I don't want to. With that being said I also have a sidewinder on my Savage 10 .308 and that is a great scope too. I haven't shot the M3 at 150 yards yet but there are some good youtube videos of like up north airgunner and I think shooter1721 shooting at long distances with their m3's. With the Quick tunes, it's really easy to copy these guys' tunes if you needed to make adjustments for penetration at 150 yards. I have mine at a little past 3 1/2 on the micro and 16 on the macro. 150 on front reg and 110 on the rear and I'm shooting at speeds like 880 to 900 depending on the pellet grain. 

Accessories, So like I said I also have the no limit, I'm waiting for the slug power kit and the integrated chronograph. I used the normal Chrono from FX and the App now and this thing was just on point basically until I ran low on air. I also realized I can shoot faster with the M3 and still maintain those speeds with very little variance. This thing is just overall amazing. anyway back to accessories I have some knock off bipods from Amazon the Harris knock off I think and I do not think anything expensive is worth it to be honest I also sometimes use shooting bags, the only downfall to the bipods is they don't quite fit in in the case without squeezing the gun in or just straight up taking them off, but I am okay with that. I do have a barrel kit from my MKII for the .25 cal so I can give that a shot and repost later after some research ;)

All in all, I think the 700mm is perfect for hunting especially with that superior liner the slugs are going to be on point direct hit as long as your shooting correctly really just leaves it up to the shooter to hit the targets without gun POI variation ;). Saber tactical I think has the extended rail under the bottle, I don't have it yet but I am thinking of purchasing just so I can get my bipods further on the gun instead of so close to the bottle itself, my only real reservation on that is again the case. Also, I did just check the Instagram for FX and they have the m3 discussion or Q&A still on their saved stories so it's definitely worth checking out as the main guy for FX talks about the ins and outs. 
 
Well, you should consider a couple of factors up front. Starting with the bird hunting 10% of the time - How are you planning to shoot the rifle? Off-hand? Table? Shooting mat? Tripod? 

The primary reason I ask - the more accessories that you add, the harder the rifle will be to shoulder without some type of fixed support system. A 1/2 lb here, a full point there - the rifle gets heavy pretty fast.

Next, I'd think about the attachment system. If you're already invested in Picatinny / Weaver accessories, then you may not want to go Arca Swiss. If you do not own anything in that regard and if you're not planning to buy non-Arca bipods / accessories down the road, then Arca might be a good option - depending on how you plan to shoot the rifle. 

I just put my M3 together recently, and for the first time in my life I have chosen not to care all that much about shooting off-hand. I decided to experiment with tripod shooting, once the Spartan Ascent tripod came out since the legs convert into trekking poles, which speaks to me as a mountain hunter type of guy. The M3 is balanced pretty well to shoot from a tripod, but it's not the easiest thing in the world to do.

Shooting from a bipod with the Sabre buttpad isn't super comfortable without their bag rider, but IMO an aftermarket buttpad is mandatory (Kraford & Lypt also makes a great one, Made in the USA - albeit heavier).

For bipods - Accu-Tac is definitely my recommendation. If you want the full adjustability spectrum, go with their PC-5 model. You can also get and stack on their bipod leg extensions, I have (3) sets and they allow for a lot of versatility with shooting positions.
 
My impact mk2 25cal 700mm slug liner A and nsa flat based .250 slugs are outstanding and I have just settled on the 36.2 because of accuracy and price. I do have the slug power kit but it shot great before but now @110bar it’s shooting 940-950fps and I am mainly shooting targets in my yard out to 125yrds. I shoot daily and generally shoot on min power @870-875fps and get a lot of shots even with a 230bar fill! As far as bipods my thing is getting some that the legs don’t turn when you lean in to your gun. The 600 barrel seams ideal but the 700 is not a problem. Good luck and enjoy your tuning on the M3 seems like fun tool less way to tune.
 
Will you be carrying it around a lot while hunting or planning on posting up, if you plan walking around with it the 600mm if you want to post up most of the time the 700mm will give you a jump in fps without anything added just the length. Saber tactical I would 100% get the gen2 rail with arca it protects the bottle and it feels better to hold, the buttstock is a great option but I haven't been able to bite the bullet and drop the $250 on it. Bipod I skipped and went for tripods I have a small one for shooting off a bench/table and a big one to take into the field they are so stable and I really enjoy using them. Scope rings I like eaglevision and warne eaglevision for a well built adjustable ring and warne for a solid ring and a company that stands for customer service. As for the scope did you have a price in mind that will help narrow down choices along with preferred starting magnification. Last if you don't have one the fx pocket chronograph great tool to tune 

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So to start I have been shooting the M3 in .30 caliber 700mm. I also thought about shooting some slugs off and on and especially with the Slug power kit comes out it will be the way to go. 

Shooting wise I took my gun to 25-30 yards to get the site originally on paper, then I took it to 50 then 100 yards. I use the Element Nexus with the no-limit scopes, I raised the back and got a good sight picture then lowered the front and got a great zero with a lot of play in my scope rings and set the zero stop at 100 yards. I then took it back to 30 yards and I only had to aim like a couple of mills down. I even know recorded the number of clicks to move down if I want to but it was so close to that original zero I don't always have to if I don't want to. With that being said I also have a sidewinder on my Savage 10 .308 and that is a great scope too. I haven't shot the M3 at 150 yards yet but there are some good youtube videos of like up north airgunner and I think shooter1721 shooting at long distances with their m3's. With the Quick tunes, it's really easy to copy these guys' tunes if you needed to make adjustments for penetration at 150 yards. I have mine at a little past 3 1/2 on the micro and 16 on the macro. 150 on front reg and 110 on the rear and I'm shooting at speeds like 880 to 900 depending on the pellet grain. 

Accessories, So like I said I also have the no limit, I'm waiting for the slug power kit and the integrated chronograph. I used the normal Chrono from FX and the App now and this thing was just on point basically until I ran low on air. I also realized I can shoot faster with the M3 and still maintain those speeds with very little variance. This thing is just overall amazing. anyway back to accessories I have some knock off bipods from Amazon the Harris knock off I think and I do not think anything expensive is worth it to be honest I also sometimes use shooting bags, the only downfall to the bipods is they don't quite fit in in the case without squeezing the gun in or just straight up taking them off, but I am okay with that. I do have a barrel kit from my MKII for the .25 cal so I can give that a shot and repost later after some research ;)

All in all, I think the 700mm is perfect for hunting especially with that superior liner the slugs are going to be on point direct hit as long as your shooting correctly really just leaves it up to the shooter to hit the targets without gun POI variation ;). Saber tactical I think has the extended rail under the bottle, I don't have it yet but I am thinking of purchasing just so I can get my bipods further on the gun instead of so close to the bottle itself, my only real reservation on that is again the case. Also, I did just check the Instagram for FX and they have the m3 discussion or Q&A still on their saved stories so it's definitely worth checking out as the main guy for FX talks about the ins and outs.

The slug power kit for the M3 is out, I too thought it would need a new one but after talking to utah airguns they said it uses the same one as the mk2 just not as many of the parts are needed, they installed mine for me.
 
If you use a bag when shooting at the bench, the saber tactical bagrider is a nice option. The one wich attach from the grip, to the shoulder pad. If you want to add minimum weight to the gun, and at the same time have the option to use a bipod attached forward on the gun, the saber tactical bottle clamp is a nice option. The rails going all the way from the action, will ad more weight.
 
1) I feel Accu-Tac make the best bi-pods available, mine is very stable. But they are expensive.

2) Saber Tactical, I would recommend a extended rail, I like the Arca-Picatiny rail, plus the bag rider is nice to have, Not a Saber Tactical piece, but Kraford and Lypt But piece, it will allow you to tailer the Length of Pull for you.

3) FX scope rings are fine.

4) For me the Element Titan hits a sweet spot between price and clarity.

5) Slug kit is nice to have

6) I prefer the 700mm barrel for the accuracy and better power output, you can have your air valve open longer while the pellet is in the barrel. It is still quite short.

These are my opinions but this is what I have on my M3 and like the set-up, I just haven't put the slug barrel or slug kit in yet. I am enjoying pellets for now.


#2: I found this on their site: 

1) FX IMPACT EXTENDED PICATINNY RAIL ST0006: https://sabertacticalinc.com/collections/all-products/products/fx-impact-extended-picatinny-rail-st0006. 

2) FX IMPACT ARCA SWISS RAIL ST0007: https://sabertacticalinc.com/collections/all-products/products/fx-impact-arca-swiss-rail-st0007

I am in doubt. Which one?

#4: I will check it in details. Thanks.

#6: Agree. Many have also confirmed that.