What makes the impact so unreliable, yet so desirable?

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Frankly much of this thread is ridiculous. It is full of people who have never owned an Impact, or never want to won one, saying that the gun is crap. Yet somehow the Impact keeps selling hand over fist, out of stock almost everywhere despite the $2000 price tag. Come on guys, don’t be ridiculous. It has been years since FX introduced the Impact. If it was even 1/4 as bad as the naysayers would have it be then they would not be still selling tons of them. The market doesn’t lie, at least not like that. No amount of “marketing” and “hype” can maintain sales if the product is a dog. Just ask the many auto manufacturers who have tried this, or those in every other field. There is a reason people buy these things and it’s not just hype, or marketing. If a thing is desirable then there is a reason. If a thing is desirable for a long time then there is a good reason, and a big reason and an enduring reason.



I bought my first FX, a Crown Continuum, in April. Loved it. Shot it every day. Wanted more power (I had a .22) and considered a barrel kit upgrade to .25. However after experiencing the Crown I decided to go for an Impact. I purchased on at the end of June, a .25 cal with a 700mm barrel. I am absolutely in love. I picked up a .30 cal upgrade kit with the Huma double port and Huma probe and was blown away by the combination of power and accuracy, the ability to dial it up or down as needed, the flexibility to shoot in my yard at 25 and 50 yards, in my basement at 15 yards, and at the range at 100 yards. All while maintaining outstanding accuracy. Changing calibers back and forth, tuning as needed, dialing power up and down, the thing is just magic. I could not be happier. 

I still love my Crown, but am now seriously considering a second impact so that I can have a .30 cal slug/heavy pellet monster on hand all the time, with a .22/.25 target gun at the same time.

Unreliable? Not for me. Desirable? Absolutely!

As Glem.Chally points out from his original thread, all these Impact buyers can’t be wrong.



Chris
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Not really that ridiculous Chris. I have two Impacts and have had trouble with both. With my Gen 1, I've worked on it ( in the beginning with the help of Ernest Rowe at extra expense), replacing faulty parts (valve seat for one), and now after a recent rebuild it is consistently shooting 0.3xx" groups at 50 yards.It's now a joy to shoot.

I have a Gen 2 and I continue to have trouble with it and have set it aside out of frustration. But I will get it right.

2 grand is a lot of money and I guess we are expecting a lot for it, but I know even a Lamborghini doesn't work at its best "out of the box." It needs knowledgeable people to bring it to its best.

The Impact does have growing pains and trouble parts are being redesigned and replaced by FX and I commend them for that. Still though, it can be frustrating.
 
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Not really that ridiculous Chris. I have two Impacts and have had trouble with both. With my Gen 1, I've worked on it ( in the beginning with the help of Ernest Rowe at extra expense), replacing faulty parts (valve seat for one), and now after a recent rebuild it is consistently shooting 0.3xx" groups at 50 yards.It's now a joy to shoot.

I have a Gen 2 and I continue to have trouble with it and have set it aside out of frustration. But I will get it right.

2 grand is a lot of money and I guess we are expecting a lot for it, but I know even a Lamborghini doesn't work at its best "out of the box." It needs knowledgeable people to bring it to its best.

The Impact does have growing pains and trouble parts are being redesigned and replaced by FX and I commend them for that. Still though, it can be frustrating.
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Drumsnguns, I am not saying they are flawless, or perfect.

I may not have had the troubles you have had, but I can I understand how this would be disappointing after spending $2K for a gun. However I would make two points; first of all, it simply is beyond belief that everyone (or most) has the same experience and yet people continue to buy these things hand over fist. secondly, even for you, the Impact must scratch some itch that others don’t, given that you bought a second one!!
 
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Like it was said in the beginning the Impact is the most complex air guns made, With a lot of o'rings and a lot of things that can and will go wrong,,,, ITS NOT a beginner air gun,,,

Its more aimed at the Veteran air gunner that has been around and is comfortable taking his 2000 dollar gun apart....

Its pretty well what I have been told about the gun with people that have been in the air sport a lot longer than myself.

I still consider myself a virgin in the sport, about 10 years , I love shooting my guns not working on them, 

Mike, 
 
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Glem.Chally said:
Oh but didn't you read the title of the thread? It says everyone knows they're unreliable. It is written so it is true. @legionaires says so.

Your hand on experience is WRONG, just ask a few guys who don't own them.
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And the people saying they shot like crap outta the box. I slapped at Amazon sniper special on mine and the first bullet hit 4 in to the left, the second one hit the dime.
 
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Finicky, unreliable, to much maintenance and adjustment. This must be why I was only able to get ½ inch groups when I loaded the pellets backwards on my first try because I wasn't able to handle the extra amount of technical knowledge of all the do's and don'ts. I did almost double load once because I assumed this pellet rifle would somehow have an extractor.
 
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I think in some cases it's a psychological issue, people need to tinker. I don't care how great a gun shoots, if it has adjustments those knobs just need to be turned. I went down that rabbit hole and after enough beating myself over the head finally gave up. I absolutely loved the Impact but the reality was almost every trip out it would have some sort of problem that required a teardown...not fun when out on a hunting trip. So many other products that offer same performance with much better reliability.
 
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Going to add my .02 in here even though this is an old thread. This is one of many threads that kept me away from owning an Impact. I had other FX guns and found them to be reliable and accurate save for a .177 Royale with the ST barrel on it... but that is another story. I shied away from the Impact for a long time.
I am one who does like to tinker, but when I spend $$$ on a gun, I dont want to mess with it. Right or wrong, I finally resolved that a lot of the mishaps with the Impacts were user related due to their adjustability and I ended up getting a compact .25. Did I tinker with it? Sure... but lightly. I added a 480CC bottle and a longer rail. That's it. It's been rock solid for me. That same year, I traded for a .22 Impact full size. Used gun and it developed a leak. I attempted and failed to resolve it so I sent it off and it's been rock solid. Since then, I've added a .30 Maverick and a .35 Impact to the stable. I really like them. Might I regret it 5 years down the road? Maybe... but for what I do with them, they've all been great so far.
 
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Having shot something most days for decades from a blue streak to springers. Last 2 years my Impact has become the go to daily driver. Form factor works for me, and after a fair amount of tinkering for fun and eye of chipmunk accuracy, I haven't touch a dial in 12+ months. Stacking up the critters, plinking at gumballs, insects, flowers, you name it - the thing just shoots. No issues - clean the barrel every fill, which is over 200 shots with .177 at 20 fpe and a 580 tank.

Biggest test for me - I'm not shopping for a replacement or upgrades for this particular application.
 
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I just read thru this entire thread.

I can tell you; I have no dog in the fight. What I've observed in the last couple of years I've taken up Airguns is how incredible the designs and technology are. I'm fairly pragmatic on most things and when it came to Airguns, I waded in the shallow end after doing a lot of research. I was blown away with a simple $500 Cayden. The performance was like nothing I had ever seen from an Airgun.

It bit me hard enough that I wanted to up my game, but here's the thing, and I think I fall into the same category most guys do, I'm not quick to throw thousands of dollars for something that may be slightly better. When I chose my next PCP, price was a big factor. Sure, I believe in the buy once, cry once mantra, but within reason and within my means and priorities. So When I purchased my next gun it was just over $1200, which is ALOT to spend on any air gun.

We are a small minority of air gunners in the world. Most guys I've talked too, think that a $200 Gamo they purchase at their local Scheels is more than enough, and due to their experience is pretty amazing, vs. the Old Sheridan's and Crossman's they remember from their youth. So there already a tough sell on a $500 air gun.

I like simple and accurate with good reliability. I like to mod the guns a bit and personalize. Maybe someday I'll pick up an M3 just to see what all the buzz is about. But I've got so much room to learn and grow on the two I already have, that it would be years before that bug bit me.
 
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This may contradict the thesis of the thread, but I was unaware the Impact was desirable. I seem to know precious few air gunners on the planet, and they're all very long distances away from me. If I handicap airgunning as an activity, I still think fancy PCP rifles still aren't that popular. The most popular are the budget springer rifles, as far as I can tell. They're what you buy at the local hardware store, here in Canada. When I look at the Impact I feel like I'm looking at a Star Trek set, you know, the bridge of the Enterprise. Too many knobs and displays. We live in a world of specialisation, and I understand we have subcultures where that kind of thing is appreciated. But for me air rifles are for pesting and I don't see the need for all the bells and whistles.
 
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delooper said:
This may contradict the thesis of the thread, but I was unaware the Impact was desirable. I seem to know precious few air gunners on the planet, and they're all very long distances away from me. If I handicap airgunning as an activity, I still think fancy PCP rifles still aren't that popular. The most popular are the budget springer rifles, as far as I can tell. They're what you buy at the local hardware store, here in Canada. When I look at the Impact I feel like I'm looking at a Star Trek set, you know, the bridge of the Enterprise. Too many knobs and displays. We live in a world of specialisation, and I understand we have subcultures where that kind of thing is appreciated. But for me air rifles are for pesting and I don't see the need for all the bells and whistles.
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Boy somebody needs a hug from their mommy.

ThomasT
 
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madeintheuk said:
What is it with the impact? It’s like a love/hate relationship. It’s considered THE airgun to own, yet common issues continue to occur and they are known as unreliable guns.
what are the appeals of this platform, and what are the flaws. Are they still worth buying if you don’t want to tinker and repair them all the time?
There’s a lot of other brands out there, but non seem to be as popular. I’m fascinated!
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It's a very good high tech gun but not for non technical users.

Basically someone should be reasonably in the know to tap full potential out of it.
 
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Vetmx said:
With this new format and related topics popping up at the bottom of the page when you click on something, I’ve noticed a lot of resurrections. Lots of old dead topics being brought back to life. Turning us all into voodoo witch doctors.
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I wondered why i was seeing so many of them. This explanation makes perfect sense! The Walking Dead!
 
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