FX Dreamline Lite Compact

[robs5230]

The rifle is shrouded, but I don't think its got any (or much) silencing ability, though to be fair, for a short barrelled rifle I wouldn't say its overly loud either.
But you'll need a silencer.
I bunged a Huggett Atom on the UNF fitting on the shroud. The Atom adds about 80mm in length and knocks enough of the bark off, to make it worth keeping on.
I also tried a HW silencer, which was ridiculously quiet, but took the overall length to about 38" inches.
Back on went the Atom and I reckon it will stay like this. Overall length around 34" with the Atom so remaining nice and compact.

Yesterday saw me get this out to the club indoor range, where we can shoot wind free out to 50 yards. Its only totally covered to 30 yards, but screened from 30 - 50 so whilst there is a small effect of wind, its far less than shooting outdoors.

The mag - The mag is easy enough to load, but you do have to be careful in .177 as its easy to accidentally drop a pellet in upside down. Do this and you pretty much have to empty and reload as you have to upturn the mag and all the pellets will fall out.
Mag inserts smoothly and cycling the sidelever gives a smooth operation.

At my chosen zero distance (33 yards) this continued to put shot after shot in a ragged hole. Shot out to 50 yards, the group opened up to about 20mm, but wind could have been a factor.

I'd kept an eye on both gauges and both showed no issues and particularly the reg gauge stayed rock solid at the set reg pressure.

For an out of the box rifle, it shot very well. The trigger has a short first stage and a very defined second stage. I may adjust the second stage a tad to make it a little lighter, but I may just leave it. Its a pretty good trigger.
The only real niggle in shooting is that I feel it could do with a larger grip, with more meat on the back of the grip. This would stop the trigger pull feeling a little cramped. The grip should be easily rectified with an aftermarket one.

The rifle feels well put together and even the removeable butt section has no wobble when installed

I foolishly forgot to count how many mags I'd used before it hit reg pressure, but theres at least 3 1/2 mags (could be 4 1/2) so thats a fair number of shots either way so there's more available shots than I'd need on the biggest pest control session.

Overall this is a very good rifle. The weight and length being particularly good for my needs. Balance is very good and it will make a corker of a standing shooter which is why I bought it.
This instantly puts a few of my rifles in question as there are no real compromises with this one, where there are with all my others. We'll see.

The only thing I'd advise a prospective purchaser, is to be careful when thinking about what scope you want to fit.
Compact scopes may cause issues in terms of positioning and the mag height means you will need mounts of a height to make sure your chosen scope will clear the large mag. I have an almost perfect cheek weld with how my scope fits.
Scope height above barrel centre is 50mm. Any higher than this and I wouldn't be comfortable as I see 50mm scope height as what I'm happy with as a max.

The last thing I'll mention is its going to be a little tricky fitting a sling. Its easy enough to carry around, but at times a sling is handy in the field at times when you need both hands free.
The only option to possibly fit a sling will mean it has to be shouldered barrel down. Good safety drills should mean its safe enough.

This is the first new rifle that I've bought in a few years. Comparing it to other rifles on the market at this time, I'd say its reasonably well priced.
I'll use it as is and won't be falling down the rabbit hole of bolting bits and pieces to it, or changing configuration in any way.

I'll report further after its been out in the field.

I'll quickly add here, that Rowan engineering make a single shot loader for this. One of which should be arriving here imminently.
I'll be happier using the loader than the mag, and I'll probably use the mag only for ratting trips if at all. I find it far easier to shoot and reload another single pellet than trying to remember how many shots I've taken from a mag. I also find single shot is better for accuracy. We'll see.