So that it ties up all the loose ends, here is the thread I should have googled and found before committing a large chuck of cash in exchange for a FAS6004

http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....iappa-FAS-6004

So, if you are sitting comfortably I'll begin......

Returning to 10m pistol after a considerable break brought on by the whole family/work/social pressures that eat into practice time I needed a pistol; budget was tight to non existent, which precluded going back to the Steyr LP10 I should never have sold, and wanted new, which further limited choices

I'd used an old FAS as a club pistol many moons ago, so the FAS6004 was really the only choice

Purchased one for less than the usual retail price having haggled over a couple of cosmetic marks on the pistol, and given the limited range of pellets the dealer had walked away with pistol and a tin of Bisley Practice

First shot failed to leave barrel, recocked, still failed to launch, had been tight in breach, so seated it in a bit further using a plastic pen lid; tried this for a further three pellets before I gave up, all three had to be seated, and were visible in flight on way to target

Closer inspection of pistol revealed elevation screw had been mauled (probably in an attempt to lift point of impact from the floor at 10m)

Pistol was returned to dealer, and a replacement provided, with no fuss from dealer at all - was a bit worried about their product knowledge when they told me the replacement had been tested with a heavyweight FT pellet and had grouped well, so they retested it using Matchpell and assured me it was all good

Separately purchased a tin of RWS Hobby and a 4.49mm sizer

Tested the new pistol with the Matchpell, unsized and sized Hobby, with very poor results - the Matchpell were so inconsistently sized that some fell into the breach while others failed to fire because they were so tight, unsized Hobby failed to fire every time until seated into rifling, and when sized gave varied results

Two separate range officers both commented (without any collusion) that the pistol didn't sound right, and even after a lengthy break I am experienced enough to be able to call shots that have gone off the mark, but experienced numerous flyers that simply dropped, including one that almost dropped off the card at 10m after two aims and rests before taking shot

At 10m both pistols tear holes instead of punching them

The finish on both pistols was poor, and the final nail in the coffin was when another member suggested I should replace the seals... on a brand new pistol?!?!?!

Pistol duly returned to dealer, and went to collect a worthy replacement, which straight out of the box (heavy trigger aside) outperforms the FAS6004 at less than half the price

Worryingly the dealer has both of the pistols I have returned as being not fit for purpose on the shelf labelled as new - So, in closing if you have money and time to spare to 'fix' a brand new £400+ pistol, buy a FAS6004, if you don't, either save for something better, go secondhand, or buy a Gamo Compact

Not going to publicly name and shame the dealer, but any prospective FAS6004 purchasers should certainly be wary of how 'new' some of the items that "'The' largest gun dealer in Europe" are when you find them on Google, and the importer of FAS6004 is obviously not to be trusted either as they appear to have provided an elevation screw to make the first pistol purchased appear new and revoked my registration of both pistols.... caveat emptor!!!!