Other airgun articles By Rada Plesinger ....

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TX-200 Mk III .22 Cal. (Accuracy Test Article With 8 Different PelletsTested)

 

 

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After reading a bunch of articles about the TXmyself. But what to -200 I thought I might want to get into the act write about?
The history has been covered, as was all the models from the factory and otherwise. So, I quickly looked through some of the old magazines that are in my archives for what I could cover in an article. I did notice the .22 caliber was not covered in any length. So, since I do some work for Top Gun Airguns I requested to cover the TX-200 in .22 and the TX-200HC (hunting carbine) also in .22. At first I thought I was going to compare them to my TX-200 in .177 with a bazmek tune from T.G.A.G. but that is comparing apples and oranges. The two rifles on loan are right out of the box, no tuning or alterations. The HC did have a barrel insert already installed to make it more pleasant to shoot in an indoor range. Velocities are an average of 10 shots using a Chrony chronograph set two feet from the muzzle. Here is an important note, The energy rating was two foot pounds less than the brochure that comes from Air Arms. But experienced shooters will tell you the velocity and energy will increase a little when the rifle has a number of shots through it. The rifles were taken out of the box. Both rifles were shot for accuracy at 25 yards simply because that is the most convenient distance I have available. Pellet selection is also the most convenient on hand
but the JSB. pellets were donated by T.G.A.G. I included some pointed pellets to the assortment since this caliber is used for hunting. Hollow point type pellets were omitted since I do not have any at my disposal. However, flat point or match were included since it is my opinion they are more accurate with the same function as the hollow point pellets. All testing was done from the bench with the rifle resting on my left hand between the stock and the sandbags. Scope is a Simmons 6-18x40 and it was used on both rifles to keep some continuity between the rifle accuracy. The scope was set at the highest magnification for all the shots.

Usually I shoot 10 round groups to show consistency and I believe it also shows the accuracy of the rifle better than the 5 round groups. But to ease the group measurement I shot two five shot groups with each brand of pellet. The best group for each rifle is is shown.

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Crossman Premier.--14.3gr.
JSB EXACT----------16.0gr.
Crossman Pointed---14.3gr. 
Meisterkugeln -------13.9gr
JSB Jumbo ------------16.0gr.   
H&N Match-----------13.7gr. 
Wasp RWS------------14.5gr.
Superpoint-------------14.5gr.

(TX-200 HC) 
.726
.516  
.636  
.589 
.387
.746
.536 
.671

(TX-200)
.626 
.428 
.532  
...466   
.371
.854 
.582 
.568

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 The biggest surprise came from the Crossman Premier pellets. They were the tightest in the bore. In fact they were a downright pain to force into the barrel. I am not sure what to make of it. The lot is from die #1 made in October of 1998.
Also surprising were the H&N Match that did not group at all when the other two match type grouped very well. But then again, I have had problems with other rifles and pistols with that pellet. Wasp was again very consistent if not the best group.
Superpoint seemed to give the most strung out groups. They for some reason shoot one on top of the other to make almost vertical strings. A pellet my brother termed "worthless." I on the other hand find some use in them. The targets I prefer are half inch circles with a simple cross in them spaced one half inch apart from the outside circle. The reason I mentioned this is, the rifles were sighted in using Premier Crossman. The scope was not re-zeroed for every pellet; just left alone. Some groups were more than an inch from the circle I was shooting at and high. For example JSB Exact, a round nose weighing in at 16 grains, shot low of center but only about a pellet width from the C.P. with which it was sighted in with. The JSB Jumbo, a flat head match also with the same weight, shot a full inch to the right and quarter inch high. So keep in mind if you change pellets, re-sight in the rifle, even if the pellet may look the same. That tendency was even more pronounced for the hunting carbine than the full TX but not by much. Could be the barrels' length of 7 inch for the hunting carbine vs. 14 inches for the standard TX has something to do with it. But just as with any airgun it is only a guess, or an observation. Expect all figures to vary with your rifle. Even the pellet it favors.
Now for some subjective observations. The hunting carbine ,while it seems to be lighter it is not. It is the same weight as the standard rifle but it could be handier in the hunting field. Energy also varied some from the brochure but they will come up when some more shots go through them. Now for the best kept sercret, T.G.A.G. not only handles the warranty work, it has parts and will do tunes for accuracy. The tunes are relatively cheap and make a huge difference in vibration and shootability of the rifle. Either rifle is worth a tune and it will make it more accurate because it does take out the vibration making it much less sensitive to your hold. For those that prefer the .22 it is hard to go wrong with either the TX-200HC or the TX-200.

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