Airgunning

     Air Arms S400 .177      

In my quest for accuracy, I could not pass the Air Arms S400/S410 Series.  As I think that an airgun is by nature a single shot, I opted for the S400 Classic.  When I opened the box, all I could say was: "Wow".  

Picture don't do the gun justice !  It's one of the most beautiful rifles I have ever seen.  The stock is very nice shaped and even the beech is very good looking.  Build quality and finish are superb.

At about 2.7 kg, the S400 is about perfect, and so is the balance.  Right out the box, the S400 was shooting FTT's at 10.5 fpe which I found to be a little low so I increased the power using the power adjustment screw.  The maximum I could get was about 13 fpe although I had hoped to get about 16 fpe.  Accuracy right out the box is very good.  The first groups with FTT's and Baracuda's at 20 m were giving 1 ragged hole.

As most guns, the S400 likes domed pellets.  At first sight the Baracuda's are performing better than the FTT's. At 30 m I am getting 5 shots groupings around 0.3".  Further testing is still going on.

The S400 is fitted with a two-stage trigger.  The first stage is rather heavy but it was easy to adjust.  Although still a bit heavy, the trigger is crisp now and breaks as glass when fired.  However it's not as good as the Weihrauch Rekord trigger.

For those who think that 13 fpe is not that much power: just a little anecdote. I was considering candle wax to use as a backstop, so I did a little test with a floor candle.  The candle contains about 3" of wax and was shot at 25 m with the S400.  Look for yourself.

July 3, 2002 by Mario Severi