Pro
Even before firing my first shot I knew the gun was well put together. The finish is not quite to the lofty standards of an Air Arms. In my opinion, the blueing of the air reservoirs and matte finish of the walnut on Air Arms rifles is the best. The Steyr is very good, though. I’ve seen pictures of many Steyr rifles with walnut that lacks character. I am pleased that my walnut stock is a pretty chocolate brown with lots of black grain running from end to end of the rifle. The only way I could be more pleased was if it had some fiddleback to give it depth, but I’m not complaining.
Semi-auto is blast. It reminds me of shooting a Ruger 10/22. The gun will shoot consistently accurate for all 5 shots as fast as I can pull the trigger. I’m definitely going to give shooting clay pigeons out of the air a go like in the promo video.
I really like that the gun fires directly out of the magazines and can be fully unloaded. The collared-doves in my neighborhood are so gun shy, that half the time I’m ready to take a shot, the darn bird senses danger and flies off. I’m stuck with a loaded gun I need to shoot to make it safe again. The Steyr has no such problem. Just remove the magazine and the gun is safe again.
Accuracy. Boy do I love accurate guns. When this gun is on, man is it on. It will literally shoot 5 shots in the exact same hole at 25 yards. Not a ragged hole, mind you, but a five shot group that looks like a single shot and measures 0 cm center to center.
The gun feels great. It is a nice short carbine size. I like the slight height of the comb so that I can mount a scope close to the barrel and get a perfect sight picture. The gun is neither too heavy to feel cumbersome nor or too light so that the rifle stays solid while shooting and does not jump.
A+ Customer service. I’ve been in contact with Krale via email several times and they always respond right away. In this case right away means overnight since their daytime hours are my sleeping hours. Each night I send an email is followed by a morning with a friendly and helpful reply.
Rifle came with a take-down diagram and part number/descriptions. O-ring sizes are included in the descriptions. I don’t think I’ll buy another gun from a company that doesn’t provide this information.
Con:
Trigger: I don’t like the trigger. I was expecting a light target-like trigger such as on my Daystate MK4iS or father’s RAW TM1000. At the lightest setting, the trigger breaks at just over a pound. The trigger position makes this feel even heavier. The trigger seems like it is designed to be fired using the second knuckle. Even with the trigger adjusted as far forward as it will go, it feels like it needs to travel ½ inch farther forward to be comfortable. I can’t believe I have become a trigger snob. If I decide to return or sell the rifle, this will be the reason.
This is a safe rifle (see the pro above about safety) , so this con says more about me than the gun, but I’m so used to firing a shot and having an empty rifle, that I sometimes forget that the rifle is still loaded and ready to fire after a shot. I have a habit of sitting back after a shot, reaching over to take a drink of a nearby refreshment and then realizing I’d best put the safety on. The rifle takes a little more awareness than single shot rifles. This is the first air rifle that I actually frequently use the safety button.
The oil that the stock came oiled with is pungent. I wiped off as much as I could and gave it a nice coat of wax, but it might take a while for the smell to go away.
The barrel and magazine must be aligned perfectly, or the final shot of each magazine will have a lower velocity and sharper report than normal. My rifle has a habit of losing its alignment regularly. Eventually I had to use some Locktite on the set screws to try to keep both parts aligned. This is irritating!
Fill probe: I’m pretty sure I’m going to damage the o-rings on the fill probe soon. The probe enters the cylinder at a wonky angle that I can’t quite get used to. Combined with the large amount of force it takes to shove the probe in the fill opening even when lined up correctly and you have a recipe for disaster.
The rifle has a plug that must be inserted into the fill hole after filling. The plug looks goofy when installed in the rifle. I wish Steyr used a rotating cover to keep the dirt and dust out and did away with the plug that I’m sure to lose eventually.
Other observations:
The sound of the rifle firing is different from any other air rifle I’ve fired. There is a distinct metal on metal “tink” sound with each shot. It is similar to the stapler sound that my electronic Daystate makes, but instead of a stapler, this sounds more like a spoon handle landing on the counter when set down.
The air reservoir can be unscrewed from the gun without being emptied.
JSB Monster pellets are the perfect length and fit the magazines like they were designed for them. The pellets sit flush on both the front and back of the magazine. ½ mm longer and they wouldn’t fit. They are a bit tight to feed into the magazines but as I press them in, I image the magazine acting as a pellet sizer and making the pellets all uniform. So far, my gun has been most accurate with the Redesigned Monster pellets. 16 grain Air Arms pellets also group very well.
