SMK Artemis PP900 Gen 2

[Shooter22UK]

SMK / ARTEMIS / GREYHOUND/ ETC PR900 Gen 2 regulated PCP rifle. Brief review.

I purchased both of my PR900s late 2022, they are a lightweight (about 4.4 pound) PCP Rifle, they are 37.5 inches or 950mm long. They are available in .177 and .22 calibre, they are made by Snowpeak in China a massive company that make airguns for themselves and other marques. They are noted for their P15 and P35 Bullpups among other guns. The UK importer is SMK in England.

As standard they come with a German beech stock, moderator, magazine and fill probe.

Some class them as rifles as they are over 3ft long , others classify them as carbines which may come about from their easily handling characteristics, light weight and compact overall size.

They have a manual safety catch, an adjustable trigger that is quite pleasant on my two guns. They come as standard with open sights and dovetail grooves for scope mounting. They do NOT come with sling swivels.

So out of the box they do benefit from a quick visit from the PULL THROUGH, a wipe over with the oily rag and a drop of gun oil on the cocking mechanism and trigger group. The mechanisms do ease fairly quickly.

The .22 magazine holds seven rounds whilst the .177 mag holds nine rounds. The magazines are the typical and broadly standard magazines used in multiple Snowpeak models like the CP2 and PP800. They are far from perfect but generally they do work.

There's a good YT video on how to tweak and adjust the magazines to get the best out of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0KF-XB_5vI&t=342s

So cutting to the chase and avoiding technobabble, What do they shoot like.

First mag full of seven rounds each gave me 11mm groups using JSB Exact Diabolo's 15.89 g 5.51 mm pellets at 18 meters using the rifle scoped with a Bug Buster 3-9 x 40 scope, which settled down quickly to 9 to 10 mm groups.

The second gun using open sights at 12 yards also gave me groups of 10 to 11 mm and was equally consistent. I'm adamant that the guns can do better and the only limiting factor is ME. I frequently get 6 to 8 mm groups using one of the 900s stable-mates the PP700 with a carbine stock fitted.

These guns can be very accurate once settled in from new and are good for pest control / hunting and target shooting. I get around 50 shots per fill and average 11.5 ft pound using the JSB Exacts of 15.89 grains.

I'm not keen on silencers so I never tried them more than brief few shots, they do reduce the bark from the gun so I suppose they work, but you may need to go for an adaptor and better silencer if you need one.

They are very comfortable to carry being lightweight and not physically bulky, they are easy to hand and well balanced, I view mine as my “ grab n go gun” or the gun by the back door you simple grab as you head out to hunt. I see them in a similar vein as the Ruger 10/22 or CZ22 bolt action rimfire rifles. They are just “there” when you need them. I suppose they could be viewed as the poor man's FX T12 carbine ??

What would I change?

Personally I'm a massive fan of carbines and SBR's (and bullpup's) so my dream PR900 would be around 32 to 34 inches long compared to the 37.5 inches of the standard gun. I have already started fitting second barrel bands to the fore end of the 900s to give the barrel a bit more protection. I don't like the magazines very much so I'm on the lookout for some after market magazines.

How do I rate them?

Overall 8/10 for a decent budget PCP rifle that only cost me about £200 , that's a lot cheaper than an FX T12.

Do I like them?

Yes very much, both are keepers ( for now)