I had a Pro X for a while. A .177 carbine length. Here are my findings:
Build quality and general usability were tremendous. Trigger felt pretty much the same as a standard/non-pupped rifle, so there are no concerns about ‘squashy bullpup trigger syndrome’.
Loading could be a bit of a pain as the muzzle needs to be tilted forwards when the mag is loaded, otherwise the pellets will fall out and worse, can get wedged in the mag well. Not a real problem if you’re at a bench and you have a pod fitted, as you can simply tilt the rifle forward with your trigger hand and load the mag in with the other - but in other scenarios, it’s a pain (forget carrying loaded mags in your pocket too, it’s simply not possible).
It’s a very ‘tall’ rifle with the rail fitted, which I found I needed to get a comfortable head position/sight picture. I used a 40mm objective VX3 on medium mounts and there was a sizeable distance in sight/boreline. Not a problem at all for target shooting but hunters presented with close up shots are going to have to work on establishing accurate holdover, or think of an alternative sighting setup/PBR zero setup.
Stability off the AirForce pod was pretty much the most stable I’ve ever found on a rifle. Whether that’s to do with the rifle hanging under the pod (it affixes to the top rail), I’m not sure but I could hold it on target as if it was clamped in a vice. Handling off the pod was also excellent, the rifle really does make you want to pick it up and point it.
Shot count was great, consistency was great and fit and finish were usual Steyr quality, no complaints.
It’s a loud rifle. That’s not because your ear is by the firing port, it’s just loud due to the mech. My LG110 with a mod was near silent but this ProX with the same mod still sounded like a SSP pistol at 4fpe. Again, not a problem at the range but if you’re shooting around skittish livestock it could be.
Semi auto feature is brilliant and as I said years back, I can see a load of opportunities for new disciplines with this type of air rifle. But on the range or plinking, the novelty wore off for me quite quickly and I couldn’t see the real advantage over a bolt action pcp such as a HW100 (at around a quarter of the price...)
I have semi auto rimfire rifles and shotguns and they offer a few advantages in certain situations in the field (although I’ve never emptied all eleven 12g rounds from my shotgun in one go, unless I was messing around) - but at the range for normal target shooting, they’re of no advantage at all - and a semi auto rimfire is never going to be as accurate as a bolt action, or single shot rifle which I why I use my Martini action for that type of plinking.
Accuracy, I have to say not brilliant...
At 25-30 yards it would single hole, move that target past 40 yards and the groups opened up significantly. I tried every type of quality pellet I had and although the barrel was pretty unfussy, it just wouldn’t group at extended ranges. Anyone who knows me will know I like shooting long range and that’s what I bought this rifle for.
I removed, cleaned, reseated the barrel correctly (just touching the mag and a number of other configurations) and got some ‘decentish’ groups at 60 yards - but when I switched to my TX200 and easily put in better groups, I was more than a bit disappointed. My TX cost sub £100 as it was a scrapper, plus more importantly, it recoils...Fair enough, I can shoot a springer well enough and actually prefer using them, so perhaps my TX was unfair to compare the ProX against. My Ripley XL9 is a fair comparison to the ProX - but again, the Ripley put in a group around a quarter of the size that ProX managed at 60 yards and easily outshot it without me putting in any effort.
So looking at the ProX’s real world capabilities, usability and then comparing its price against other models that would perform similarly, I just couldn’t justify keeping it and that’s why I sold it on (along with needing some money for my father in laws legal fees). It actually went to a hunter who wanted to use it with NV at quarry up to around 35 yards, so the accuracy wouldn’t be an issue for him.
I was truly gutted as I really wanted to like the ProX but as said, it couldn’t justify its place in the cabinet. I’ve asked my mate who has the Scout SA if he’ll allow me some time with his when lockdown is over and I’ll see how that performs. If that does the business then I’ll buy one because as harsh as the above may sound, they’re still great rifles. If it doesn’t then I’ll forget the whole thing and buy an Uragan which seems to tick pretty much every box and can be fired pretty much as quickly.
Hope this helps you make a decision anyway.
Originally Posted by Craig-P
I had a Pro X for a while. A .177 carbine length. Here are my findings:
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