AEAAirgun Terminator .357 initial thoughts, and continual updates.

I just got my AEAAirgun Terminator .357 today. I hope to do a full run through of it this weekend, if the weather is good. 
Initial thoughts. Mine came with a fill probe, long single feed charging handle, some oRings, rifle, second rear bottle with butt pad, and one magazine.

- It is heavy, very heavy. I will throw it on the scale and get an actual weight but with optic is about 10 lbs.
- Craftsmanship, seems very nice. No rough unfinished edges.
- Bottle butt pad spins freely so I added Gorilla tape to keep it form spinning.
- I also wrapped it in a camo wrap; mostly for grip because its slippery and heavy.
- When you mount an optic it has to be very high rings since the rail is almost at bore height. I had this 1/2" rail sitting around and used it for now. I have a proper rail on order.
- The rail over the magazine cant have anything attached. I attached my riser over this section and it sits just a little low into the magazine well. This prevents the mag from being inserted. I had to mount the rail behind the mag well and my optic accordingly for eye relief. 
- Regular .35 pellets fit. 
- Polymags fit if you cut off 1mm off the tip. This doesn't effect performance.
- NSA 75g slugs fit in the mag. 



I will update with how they cycle and group when I get to the range. Can't shoot this in the backyard. :)



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I wouldn't believe one could consistently cut the tip of a Polymag and not effect the accuracy at least a little bit.

I wish these manufacturers would design their magazines to handle the longer popular pellets like the Polymag.

I recall reading it was somewhere around 9 and a half pounds without a scope...so heavy, yes. But maybe rugged as a result?
 
I got a chance to run out back and shoot off a couple of shots. This isn't a professional sound meter but it's something. I used my iPhone sound meter.
I placed my iphone 10 feet in front of the rifle. My base is my Ataman M2R .357 a known loud ass rifle.

Results below.

Ataman M2R .357 unsuppressed. - 109 db

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Ataman M2R .357 with DonnyFL Ronin + extension. - 93 db

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The AEA Terminator with build in suppressor. - 99 db
One thing to note; is while it's not as silent as the DonnyFL it takes the hard bite out of the rifle by a lot. 
The Ataman unsuppressed has a loud crack. This is not present in the AEA.
It's quite good for a small suppressor. 

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A few quick FX chronograph numbers shooting Hatsan .35 pellets.

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The rifle is out of air so I hope to get it filled up and do some accuracy test.



To be continued....
 
Update: got a chance to gas up the terminator. Shooting JSB .35 pellets. 

AEA Terminator at 3" targets at 50yards, pause between shots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WDQy1kDp1c

AEA Terminator at small body steel, at 50 yards, faster pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iH3moN7Z_w

I have seen tighter groups. I'm still getting used to this super heavy trigger. I pushed a whole tin of pellets and shot tethered. No feeding issues and groups seem to be on par with what I'm seeing online. For me its about 2-3" at 50-75 yards.
 
The Terminator is about the same weight as the Hatsan Hercules (another dual tank). While the company has some post quality issues that folks are reporting. The rifle does have some merits. I wouldn't pick it as your only 357; but so far its been a powerful 357 semi (project) gun. It has some hope. Especially if the trigger can be addresses. I will say Zachary with AEAAirguns has been really quick to address my questions and resolve a problem I had quickly. After his suggestions, the rifle has run about 150 rounds without issue. Time will tell how reliable it is. 
 
I did some single load slug testing. It's not recommended to shoot slugs through the mag, since different sizes can cause feeding issues. I only have one mag; so I decided to single load. I tested four .357 slugs I had on hand. 75g NSA (.358), 86g HP (.357), 97g Air Venturi, and 105g (.357) flat nose.

My best group was the 105g flat nose. Ignore the shots off to the right. They were from another test. 
A respectable group, about an 1" at 45 yards and I could cover it up with my thumb. 
Shots avg a little under 800 fps on a full tank at about 140 ft lbs.

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Afterwards I pushed another 50 rounds of JSB .35 81g with the magazine for reliability testing. 
Other than a worn tank ORing the rifle has been holding up. 200 pellets run through it. 

Crossing fingers... and hope someone figures out how to tune the trigger.