Opinions on new guns

[Malt 379]

One of my shooting mates has just bought a Gamo CFX royal and a SMK XS20, includings scopes, 2 full tins of pellets, scopes, bags and a cleaning kit for £300 the pair second hand, but like new. The lad who he bought them off, hardly ever used them. Just wanting to know if any of you guys have had any experience with either gun in the field. I'm just being nosey, I guess!

[Sirocco 0]

One of my shooting mates has just bought a Gamo CFX royal and a SMK XS20, includings scopes, 2 full tins of pellets, scopes, bags and a cleaning kit for £300 the pair second hand, but like new. The lad who he bought them off, hardly ever used them. Just wanting to know if any of you guys have had any experience with either gun in the field. I'm just being nosey, I guess!

Sorry mate but i wouldnt touch anything from SMK with a bargepole

[Malt 379]

One of my shooting mates has just bought a Gamo CFX royal and a SMK XS20, includings scopes, 2 full tins of pellets, scopes, bags and a cleaning kit for £300 the pair second hand, but like new. The lad who he bought them off, hardly ever used them. Just wanting to know if any of you guys have had any experience with either gun in the field. I'm just being nosey, I guess!

Sorry mate but i wouldnt touch anything from SMK with a bargepole

So you've used one in the field have you mate? Not being cheeky, but I didn't ask if you would have one personally.

[Ratman2 2]

One of my shooting mates has just bought a Gamo CFX royal and a SMK XS20, includings scopes, 2 full tins of pellets, scopes, bags and a cleaning kit for £300 the pair second hand, but like new. The lad who he bought them off, hardly ever used them. Just wanting to know if any of you guys have had any experience with either gun in the field. I'm just being nosey, I guess!

Sorry mate but i wouldnt touch anything from SMK with a bargepole

So you've used one in the field have you mate? Not being cheeky, but I didn't ask if you would have one personally.

 

I have an XS79 and for the money it can't be knocked, it's deadly accurate, quiet and very light.

The XS20 is a good gun, bit twangy but does the job just fine. Most people who knock SMK haven’t even seen one let alone used one.

[SteveieP 0]

I have an XS20

Contrary to ill-informed opinion, it's a reasonable quality copy of the Weihrauch HW95K right down to the Rekord trigger.

On this one the Chinese have finally got their quality control sorted.

Apparently Weihrauch have been a little neglectful over their international patents, but the Chinese probably wouldn't care anyway.

There are minor cosmetic differences e.g no chequering on the stock or crosshead instead of slotted screw-heads on the stock screws

The only thing on both guns that's a little suspect in terms of quality are the mainsprings, which are easily replaced. Moreover, it's a good chance for a lube job.

Original spring on the XS20 is a bit too short & the spring ends were poorly finished (if you could call it finished)

I put a Titan XS spring in the XS20 with the stripdown being identical as for the 95K.

You WILL need a spring compressor if you fit a new spring.

I've replaced the muzzle weight with a mod'

A little TLC & you've got a budget springer that will shoot damn near as straight & hard as the genuine article at a fraction of the price.

Here's a couple of my Chinese team current score SteveieP 13 Squirrels Nil

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

Contrary to ill-informed opinion, it's a reasonable quality copy of the Weihrauch HW95K right down to the Rekord trigger...

 

what bollocks, my hw95 is 10 yrs old and never any problems.

yet the chinky copy broke within 2 days, i lad at work bought one and we stripped it to fit a new top hat, spring etc.

there just shit

[SteveieP 0]

Then BBB, your experiences are not the same as mine.

With the exception of the mainspring, the fit, finish & qualiy of components are all very acceptable.

Add a decent mainspring & you have a budget springer that's shooting hard & straight.

Not everyone can or wants to spend hundreds on a Weihrauch or top end scopes.

This is a sport pursued on many levels with budgets to match

I'm not for one minute suggesting you end up with a copy that is as good as the original on which it is based.

But, as per my original post, you can, for not too much more money, upgrade the odd internal component & end up with a useful piece of kit that didn't break the bank.

You dismiss the XS20 far too easily with a dose of unhealthy prejudice.

 

There, that was a nice diplomatic reply wasn't it?

[ChrisJones 7,975]

People will always have differences of opinions with different bits of kit. That's what makes this particular forum active and interesting.

 

As a former tester of new gear I love reading about what people find good and bad so I can add it to my enormous list of pointless information!

 

I'm not a fan of Chinese rifles. This goes beyond quality and accuracy but is partly to do with where they're made and the conditions they're made under. There is a reason why they're substantially cheaper than Western rifles. However my decision here is based purely on ethical reasons.

 

I've shot several Chinese guns over the years. None of them have surpassed less than average although I haven't shot the XS20.

 

Taking this back to the topic I'd go for the Gamo. I was sceptical about it's performance but having shot the CFX 16, I was converted to 'very pleased.' It was chrono'd, consistently, at low to mid 11 ft/lbs. I even ditched the scope for that addictive open sight!

 

In the brief time I had it, it took 6 rabbits and 27 rats, according to my notebook!

 

I'd buy one.