New air arms break barrel rifle

[charub]

HW99S for £200! Plinking and farmyard a plenty, then how is anyone going to compete with that? The next level up is over £300.
AA TX or Sport all walnutted up is three times that price. We know why. We know at these weights the spring system can deliver and compete with a PCP within certain limits. A break barrel brings their own particular problems and few would pay the premium for a rifle that wasn't able to print pellets as fine as underlevers.

Basically, break barrels are fast and fun, but keep them within farmyard ranges to deliver. I love them and if I want to go further grab something else... usually a .22LR or .17 HMR. For Air Rifle target disciplines then no one would choose a break barrel. For plinking great fun they few can beat them, but would the market pay £500?? Don't think so.

I disagree about the problems with break barrel bit.
I have a vmach sleeved hw80 and a AA pro elite - both are every bit as a accurate as any of my fixed barrel rifles. As long as they are maintained and cared for in the correct manner.

[les allam]

I disagree about the problems with break barrel bit.
I have a vmach sleeved hw80 and a AA pro elite - both are every bit as a accurate as any of my fixed barrel rifles. As long as they are maintained and cared for in the correct manner.

I totally agree with charub regarding b/ barrel accuracy and performance,I also have the Pro/ elite and hw80 and Webley Tomahawk glided with reduced cylinder conversion and they are as accurate as my tx200 and then some.All guns great out to 60 yards if I do my bit.
Les..

[Muskett]

No dout when done right they can tackdrive. Heck some of mine do. But they are harder to shoot and more to go wrong.
Given a factory or basic tune break barrel or the same in a fixed barrel and the latter will "keep it there" longer. They probably have the same barrel fitted.

[Barryg]

I totally agree with charub regarding b/ barrel accuracy and performance,I also have the Pro/ elite and hw80 and Webley Tomahawk glided with reduced cylinder conversion and they are as accurate as my tx200 and then some.All guns great out to 60 yards if I do my bit.
Les..

I agree with Muskett because even though a break barrel might be as accurate as a fixed barrel they wont stay like it long term because the barrel hinges every shot this means that the hinge bolt, shims and what ever stops the barrel when closing must wear in time, if you have a break barrel without barrel droop or rise one day it will have rise and not only will the accuracy change the transfer port bore alignment will change, it will take a lot of use though

Although break barrels are fast and fun and we like them, fixed barrels are the ultimate springer

[FPoole]

I agree with Muskett because even though a break barrel might be as accurate as a fixed barrel they wont stay like it long term because the barrel hinges every shot this means that the hinge bolt, shims and what ever stops the barrel when closing must wear in time, if you have a break barrel without barrel droop or rise one day it will have rise and not only will the accuracy change the transfer port bore alignment will change, it will take a lot of use though

Although break barrels are fast and fun and we like them, fixed barrels are the ultimate springer

The Pro Elite was immune to wear in the hinge area as it had replaceable bushes. They were driven into the breech block and were large with thick side flanges as well. The chisel detent was also very consistent with a large hardened pin that ran across the breech jaws below the breech block. There was a groove in the block that lined up with this pin and this was the stop. I shot my FAC .22 PE 15,000 times in one year, and I only adjusted the barrel tension after the first couple of tins. It stayed where I put it after that.

[Barryg]

The Pro Elite was immune to wear in the hinge area as it had replaceable bushes. They were driven into the breech block and were large with thick side flanges as well. The chisel detent was also very consistent with a large hardened pin that ran across the breech jaws below the breech block. There was a groove in the block that lined up with this pin and this was the stop. I shot my FAC .22 PE 15,000 times in one year, and I only adjusted the barrel tension after the first couple of tins. It stayed where I put it after that.

Yes the PE is one of the best break barrels perhaps the best but the fact that it has replaceable bushes means BBs wear and change with time unlike fixed barrels.
Im not sure any other break barrel can boast what you mention about the PE.

[FPoole]

The bushings in the PE are some sort of bronze at a guess. When my gun was brand new, I didn't bother adjusting as I figured they needed to break in and seat themselves to the sides of the ears on the receiver. I then took the barrel off, which is very easy on the PE due to the removable linkage pin, and cleaned and lubed with 77% moly content grease. Adjusted and it stayed tight as a bank vault until the Field Target bug bit me hard. I had to have a TX for this and the .177 and .22 PE's had to go to fund more and more old abused TX's. I will say that the TX is even more robust than a PE or any break barrel for that matter. An HW80 is a flimsy thing up beside a TX200(I owned an 80 for 20 years, so I speak from experience).

[look no hands]

I disagree about the problems with break barrel bit.
I have a vmach sleeved hw80 and a AA pro elite - both are every bit as a accurate as any of my fixed barrel rifles. As long as they are maintained and cared for in the correct manner.

I have to agree with you regarding the Pro elite quote, I had a .22 a few years ago and on a 30 yard range with a crappy Chinese scope on it and only fired two shots, both pellets went through the same hole (as well as the following shots) and that was the first time I had ever used the rifle as I had just traded in a rifle against it in a gun shop I was passing on the way to the range, I honestly thought the second shot had gone off target, excellent rifle (apart from it's weight and length) and stunning accuracy.

Pete

[robs5230]

lets not get on the wrong track with the break barrel thing. The primary use of a break barrel is a field rifle. Whatever wear in the lockup may occur would only likely manifest itself years down the line.
What I was originally getting at was the production of a break barrel (hunter) more suited in size and performance to the UK sub 12 limit.
It would need to be smaller and lighter than the pro elite, 80 and such or definitely not worth producing as that market is already well serviced.

Its a real shame that a British manufacturer is ignoring the needs of shooters in this country but I do get why.

A break barrel rifle with the design but scaled down proportions of the pro elite would be a wonder of a rifle and i genuinely dont think it will happen, just wish it would.
i suppose ill have to buy a fenman and convert it to a springer

[rabbitwrecker]

i suppose ill have to buy a fenman and convert it to a springer

Noooooooooooooo...

[robs5230]

Noooooooooooooo...

I put a spring in a theoben scirrocco in the early 90's. Far better than it was as a gas ram

[Mole trapper]

I almost got a semi when I read the title! Now I'm deflated

[Rapidnick]

lets not get on the wrong track with the break barrel thing. The primary use of a break barrel is a field rifle. Whatever wear in the lockup may occur would only likely manifest itself years down the line.
What I was originally getting at was the production of a break barrel (hunter) more suited in size and performance to the UK sub 12 limit.
It would need to be smaller and lighter than the pro elite, 80 and such or definitely not worth producing as that market is already well serviced.

Its a real shame that a British manufacturer is ignoring the needs of shooters in this country but I do get why.

A break barrel rifle with the design but scaled down proportions of the pro elite would be a wonder of a rifle and i genuinely dont think it will happen, just wish it would.
i suppose ill have to buy a fenman and convert it to a springer

I genuinely do not understand this worship of the Pro Elite. Even in FAC it is capable of only a little bit more power than the HW80 which is a better bet in virtually every way. In legal limit the PE is a great big lump and that is why it was a commercial failure and quite sensibly was withdrawn by AA.
As I wrote before AA don't offer a break barrel because they consider that the market is well served in this segment. I know a lot of shooters on here like the 99 but quite a few don't so for them there is always the HW95. For those shooters harking back to a different age there are the lovely Webley Longbow (made in Birmingham) and the Theoben Fenman (which for me is possibly the best self contained legal limit general purpose air rifle ever made). Especially in .20.
OK these are no longer made but there are plenty around for those of us who want one.

[robs5230]

I genuinely do not understand this worship of the Pro Elite. Even in FAC it is capable of only a little bit more power than the HW80 which is a better bet in virtually every way. In legal limit the PE is a great big lump and that is why it was a commercial failure and quite sensibly was withdrawn by AA.

The pro elite is a dinosaur introduced in the heyday where power was king. Take away its massive power potential (same design but smaller) and a very good quality sub 12 break barrel appears. The pro elite was a big money rifle. I bought my last one one in 2001 from CH Weston aat a cost of almost £400.
I have fond memories of the PE and wish I'd never sold my last one as it was a top quality rifle but way away from what is actually needed. Quality though is far in excess of anything produced by Herman.

[Rapidnick]

The pro elite is a dinosaur introduced in the heyday where power was king. Take away its massive power potential (same design but smaller) and a very good quality sub 12 break barrel appears. The pro elite was a big money rifle. I bought my last one one in 2001 from CH Weston aat a cost of almost £400.
I have fond memories of the PE and wish I'd never sold my last one as it was a top quality rifle but way away from what is actually needed. Quality though is far in excess of anything produced by Herman.

I have owned and shot several examples of the PE and certainly didn't regard it as being made to a higher standard than the HW80. I looked seriously at buying a Venom tuned .177 PE but declined on the basis of both price and weight. It is important to judge both rifles on the basis of like for like- it is clearly unhelpful to compare a highly tuned example of one with a factory standard version of the other.
Just looking at the basic offering I remain of the view that the PE is just too large and heavy for a 12 ft lb rifle. For FAC I personally prefer the HW80 or if higher power is really needed, the Theoben Eliminator.
As for quality of build it is my understanding that several well known tuners in the USA refused to work on PE's as the cylinders just weren't concentric. I have never heard that said about the HW80.