Is it as risky as it sounds and looks ?

"MikeH"I absolutely love my Impact in .25 cal. I have a newer version and I would definitely recommend it.

To be honest I did have an accuracy issue out of the box. My rifle would not shoot less that a 1/2" to 3/4" group at only 20 yards. The regulator was working exceptionally well, the rifle was mechanically functioning perfect and the trigger was fantastic. I was very disappointed to say the least, and I started to doubt my purchase decision due to all the negative comments I read.

I decided that I would remove the suppressor, shroud and barrel and give them a good inspection for any obvious defects prior to sending it back for warranty work. The first thing I found was a small irregularity in the bore of the suppressor cap, and I thought it may have a pellet clipping issue. A closer inspection with a bright light indicated that it was just a burr where the metal cone on the back side of the cap is machined to a "knife edge" profile. The barrel bore showed some lead streaking in the "rifling" similar to other pictures I have seen, but after cleaning, the bore otherwise looked perfect. The muzzle Crown on the other hand looked like it was machined with a butter knife! The barrel liner is made from a hard material, and there were significant metal burrs that were "rolled" into the bore area during the machining of the crown. I used some fine single cut jewelers files to remove the majority of the burrs, then followed up with a Cratex point in my variable speed Dremel tool to carefully remove and polish the remainder of the defects.

After removing the burrs from the barrel crown and suppressor end cap, my rifle shoots one hole 16 shot groups at 50 yards.

Prior to fixing the burrs I spoke with the gunsmith at AOA and told him what I found. He encouraged me to just send it back and let him fix it, but I told him that I had some gunsmithing experience, and promised him I would not touch anything else that may void my warranty. He agreed to let me give it a try and all worked out well. I sent an email telling him what I found and he actually called me to discuss my findings.

Obviously I feel like I shouldn't have had to do anything to a $2000.00 pellet rifle to make it shoot well! Obviously there are still some QC escapes getting out of the FX factory as evidencided by my barrel crown machining, and a few other reported issues. Having said that I would, and will buy another FX rifle due to the overall quality, fit, finish and performance. If you do have an issue AOA will make it right, but it will take some time and patience on you're part while the rifle is being repaired. My experience with AOA was a little frustrating at first since I left two phone messages and an email but did not receive a response. I finally decided to call my salesman Rich, and let him know that I had an issue and had not received a response. Rich put me on hold and went in a walkabout looking for their gunsmith (cannot remember his name). I was told thier repair shop was a one man show, and there were not enough hours in the day for the workload, but that it was not acceptable that I had not recieved a response. Rich told me that he would personally get some action initiated before the end of the day, and I would be getting a return phone call from the gunsmith, which I did. Rich was knowledgeable about the basic workings of the Impact and helped talk me though some basic troubleshooting, which I had already performed, but I felt that was great service and knowledge from a salesman who is not a gunsmith. 

So so my answer to the buy or not to buy an Impact question is YES! Buy it, you will love it!......I think I need a Streamline in .177

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