Pax to stop making the phoenix rifle.

[DCL_dave]

I have both the mk2 phoenix and ff10. Both are more capable than i can ever be. I will say though the full length barrel phoenix is a tad more accurate than my ff10. I am on the look out for a .22cal carbine next to complete the pax collection. Agree with you dave they are fabulous guns.

The action on my old Phoenix carbine was very slick and quick, honed through a lot of use I guess, it almost became an extension of me that inspired the fun of shooting for me, and filled me with the confidence to shoot that particular gun quite well...I would never claim to be a very good shot but then I didn't have to be...that gun made it easy for me be good enough for my own enjoyment and I knew where the shot was going with a split seconds thought...and that coke can was going to get a good bashing no matter what! ...The short throw lever on the Phoenix lends itself to very rapid fire by simply opening and closing the hand, with no movement from the wrist backward to affect aim...and this is where the swinging pistol grip cocking design on the FF10 falls a little short for me as it requires movement extending back to the shoulder the cock and fire it, feels a bit flappy too and not as positive as the Phoenix. Not as pretty but I do much prefer the stubby front end on the FF10 though, with a vertical grip mounted on the rail it makes for a very short and stable shooting position.

I have a FF10 in .177 for a number of years now and it’s on par with my HW100 on the accuracy front but a lot more fun to shoot. It’s definitely a keeper. I am very surprised they are not more popular as they are a fantastic piece of engineering.

Handling and looks I guess?...The gun may feel odd to some - air bottle is in the stock so the weight is shifted backwards, the pistol grip area is slightly fatter than most other guns due the neck of the bottle passing through it but I found it perfect for my big hands so it suited me just fine.

Couple other observations whilst the memory is being jogged

There is a short, raised section of wood inside fore-end stock piece on the MK2 Phoenix that braces quite firmly against barrel...when the forend was removed from my Phoenix the POI dropped by 3" or more IIRC!...Don't know why but I had the idea to remove the raised section and made the barrel fully free floating from the breech/action...this seemed to make a very marginal increase in accuracy but If I had another I'm not sure that I'de bother doing it.

You can use a MK1 PH bottle on a MK2 Pax Phoenix but this only works one way....you can not use MK2 Pax Phoenix bottle on a MK1 Parker Hale.