FX 500 or RAW hm 1000 x

RAW's are hand built and solid as tanks. I don't own one but there does not exist a post along the lines of "Got my new RAW, air leaking/won't fire/won't charge/air dumped from the barrel! How to fix?" Those type posts seem to be around way, way too often for all of FX's products for me to justifiably drop $2000 on one. I feel the only positive for the FX is the power adjuster wheel which would be immensly useful for hunting around homes as well as the woods.

I've had both, still have the FX Royale 500. They're both nice, but of all the airguns I've owned, RAW is by far the heaviest. I'm no hunter but if it's going to be your go to gun I would definitely take the weight into consideration. At the end of the day, the guns are likely going to be nearly identical in the accuracy dept.

"Adam"RAW's are hand built and solid as tanks. I don't own one but there does not exist a post along the lines of "Got my new RAW, air leaking/won't fire/won't charge/air dumped from the barrel! How to fix?" Those type posts seem to be around way, way too often for all of FX's products for me to justifiably drop $2000 on one. I feel the only positive for the FX is the power adjuster wheel which would be immensly useful for hunting around homes as well as the woods.

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Actually I did post about issues with my RAW and when I did everyone replied to my questions asking for help with "you shouldn't be posting your problems on the forum, contact the manufacturer" Maybe that has something to do with it. Also, FX outsells RAW by a remarkable margin so of course you are naturally going to hear more issues from them. It's just a law of averages. Also the FX Royale is several hundred dollars lower priced than the RAW. Even if the money were the same I'd still take the Royale over the HM1000x I had.

Fuznut,
RAW , highest quality control, the owner specs and assembles and tests every rifle. 

Cliff,
What was the issue with yours? What did Martin say/do about it?

John

I suppose I should have been more verbose in my response. I was assuming getting similarly equiped rigs, so unless the 500 has started coming with the regulator, carbon fiber bottle, and peppered laminate stock standard for the same price, I don't see the Royale being any cheaper. It is likely going to cost more. I will add to my original reason I would go with a RAW is because you would be buying directly from the manufacturer, so there is no middle man markup and you can actually talk to Martin about what exactly you want and he builds it to your specs. I did not know about your issues, I'd like to read through the thread tho. 

"Adam"I suppose I should have been more verbose in my response. I was assuming getting similarly equiped rigs, so unless the 500 has started coming with the regulator, carbon fiber bottle, and peppered laminate stock standard for the same price, I don't see the Royale being any cheaper. It is likely going to cost more. I will add to my original reason I would go with a RAW is because you would be buying directly from the manufacturer, so there is no middle man markup and you can actually talk to Martin about what exactly you want and he builds it to your specs. I did not know about your issues, I'd like to read through the thread tho.

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Royale is regulated as standard now. Carbon fiber bottle is only standard on the 400 series. Regardless, weight reduction is the purpose of the carbon fiber tank and even with The CF tank the RAW still weighs much more. The stock is a matter of preference.

So apples to apples, the Royale is still several hundred less coming in at $1549 as opposed to $2000. 

There is no middle man mark up with RAW because there is more "direct to the owner" markup. RAW sells far fewer rifles than Fx and needs to make more per gun to survive. Not a bad thing, just saying. Doesn't matter how much mark up there is, just what you are getting for the money after all is said and done. I've had both, the RAW only outperformed the FX in one category, the trigger. No matter though, the trigger on the Royale is fantastic in it's own right. 

"spysir"Fuznut,
RAW , highest quality control, the owner specs and assembles and tests every rifle. 

Cliff,
What was the issue with yours? What did Martin say/do about it?

John

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Mine had accuracy issues that were never sorted. There were "burrs" in the shroud. I did my best to fix them but to no avail. Sent the gun and shroud back to Martin per his request. He sent it back saying there was nothing wrong with it, just needed a good barrel cleaning. My excitement faded when I still couldn't get any decent consistency from the gun. After speaking to him it turns out he hadn't shot it with the shroud on.

Also, the action fit so tightly into the stock that it left scraping marks on the breech block when I tried to remove it from the stock. It also had an ES of about 40 if I recall correctly which seemed a little on the high side to me. Shortly after getting it back, while still trying to figure it out, something blew in the fill port and it wouldn't hold air anymore. My frustration got the best of me and I sent it back for a refund. 

Martin is a class act and was very gracious through the whole transaction. I think they make a wonderful product, I just think I probably got unlucky with mine. I think they've developed a bit of a cult like following which is fine but at the end of the day it's still a manufactured piece of metal and wood that is still susceptible to defects in the manufacturing process. 

I had worked myself into a fever after all the reading I had done and I think my expectations were kind of up on a pedestal, hence my disappointment. Again, I'm not saying they don't make a great product, but they aren't the end all be all, superman of guns either. Just my .02, take it for what it's worth, I'm not trying to ruffle feathers. I'm just sharing the experience that was asked of me.

Never had FX but I have two RAW - a HM1000 .22 and a .177 benchrest.

Even though it is designed for hunting, my .22 is accurate enough to compete in open class benchrest shooting (and it has). I now use this rifle for varmints, and with JSB 15.9gr pellets it is accurate and powerful enough for pesting. And with the moderator, very quiet and neighbor friendly. The pellet clip is convenient and works perfectly. The trigger is excellent, crisp, and user adjustable. I have the benchrest trigger set as light as it will go, but for hunting you'll want it a bit heavier.

I agree with the comment that it is a heavy gun. Martin may have suggestions on a build to reduce weight. Mine has a special heavy barrel (cut rifled), which isn't needed for hunting and adds weight. Maybe go with a LW barrel. Also the carbon fiber bottle would help, along with a light scope.

The laminate stock is probably heavier than solid wood. Maybe there are even lighter options.

It's a beautiful precise gun which is a pleasure to own and shoot.

A buddy of mine has both, RAW is much superior shooter. His is shooting kings at 960 fps average and has a max spread of just 5 fps. Very accurate. Weighs a bit more than Fx. Given a choice I would go for RAW.

I used my friends RAW HM1000x .25 for maany times.WHAT I LEARNED IS THAT if You don't mod the gun, its awesome with you, as soon as you tweak it, Its Gone yeah,
ME and my friend took shots with it (on a windy day,calculated mils using strelok pro) ranging from 150 yards, 200yards and 400yards.
At 150 yards it can drop any bird,
At 200 yards you need experience,
At 400 yards target should be 4'' wide atleast (though sometimes the pellet went through a single hole).
I RATE THIS RIFLE AS ONE OF THE MOST ACCURATE RIFLE, I WISH I COULD BUY IT THO, I couldn't afford it.

"Sheharyar"I used my friends RAW HM1000x .25 for maany times.WHAT I LEARNED IS THAT if You don't mod the gun, its awesome with you, as soon as you tweak it, Its Gone yeah,
ME and my friend took shots with it (on a windy day,calculated mils using strelok pro) ranging from 150 yards, 200yards and 400yards.
At 150 yards it can drop any bird,
At 200 yards you need experience,
At 400 yards target should be 4'' wide atleast (though sometimes the pellet went through a single hole).
I RATE THIS RIFLE AS ONE OF THE MOST ACCURATE RIFLE, I WISH I COULD BUY IT THO, I couldn't afford it.


I've been lucky all of my pellet guns put a pellet thru a single hole.

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My pleasure bro, 

Hope this will help those looking to get info on a very nice rifle.

Here is a link to Precision Airguns a sponsor of AGN http://www.precisionairgunsandsupplies.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=164

Well the info is on the yellow forum here is a link to the post. Look for these titles on the yellow forum. You can make the effort to look up the info for yourself.

RAW – Action Options…. HM1000 – HM1000x – BM500- BM500x – TM1000 Expand Thread – Mark on Jul 4, 2016, 5:14 PM

RAW – Stock Options…… Expand Thread – Mark on Jul 4, 2016, 2:19 PM

RAW…..Barrels…Moderators and Sleeves……(.177cal to 35cal).. Expand Thread – Mark on Jul 4, 2016, 11:02 PM

http://www.network54.com/Forum/79537/page-8

RAW does not need to make a higher margin per gun than FX because they sell less (incorrect). Last time I checked RAW had 7 employees total, and a much smaller facility. Way less overhead and less square footage to a large degree likely means RAW can live with a much lower margin on each rifle. Simple business facts.

"Scott_MCT"RAW does not need to make a higher margin per gun than FX because they sell less (incorrect). Last time I checked RAW had 7 employees total, and a much smaller facility. Way less overhead and less square footage to a large degree likely means RAW can live with a much lower margin on each rifle. Simple business facts.

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Apple has a global business presence with a much much larger footprint and thousands and thousands of employees and makes far less on an iphone than Martin does on a RAW. By your logic RAW should be equally profitable if not more because of their smaller footprint? You're not taking into account global economy of scale.

Additionally, you're only stating how many employees RAW has. Do you know how many employees FX has or how much square footage they actually have? Or how many guns they actually sell? Or the actual difference in mark up between the manufacturers? Or the cost savings you get as a larger company buying things in bulk? Or the difference in the actual cost of square footage from Sweeden to Tennessee? Or the tax differences from one country to another? Or the cost of benefits of employees? Etc., etc., You haven't listed any "simply business facts". None of us have the business facts so it's really a pointless conversation to have.

At the end, you're spending "x$" for "xgun". Folks should just pick which gun they think they will enjoy or which is a better value for the money and don't worry about what other people think. Especially about the manufacturers business models.

If the RAW HM1000 was readily available down here in Oz I would be all over it but as it is I am very happy with my Royale 500, fair dinkum tack driver

I've had a HM1000x which I sold to a club member who wanted it really bad
After it was sold, I've bought a Boss which I converted to .25cal.
I have to say, the Boss is about 1000€ cheaper than the RAW.
I currently own a Boss, and 3 Royales, so I am pretty familiar with them.

Long story short, they are both great rifles, and each one has it's pre's and con's.

Trigger > Raw, but Fx is very good too. (Fx Boss is on a par with Raw)
Weight > Fx
Build quality > Raw
Shot count > Fx

For hunting I'd opt for the Fx, for bench shooting they are both good performers.
The shotcount of an Fx is substantially higher than the Raw, and overall I find the Fx the smoother shooter of the 2, because the hammer of the Fx is A LOT lighter than the Raw's one. 
There is less hammer weight to be moved after the trigger is pulled, and I can feel the difference.
The Raw is built like a tank, and feels very robust in every way. Although I sometimes miss the looks of the Raw, I really enjoy my Fx-es, and they shoot brilliant.

In your case (hunting) I'd say Fx. Better shot count, less weight to carry around, and very beautiful in laminate (I have 2 laminates myself) The Raw is quite heavy to lug around all day.