Air Arms S200 .177 calibre.

“Air Arms S200 .177 calibre.”

Written on: 16/01/2012 by mattycons59 (7 reviews written)

After shooting an Air Arms S410 and Pro Sport in .22 calibre for a year I decided to join my local (as local as a 50 mile round trip can be) air rifle club to gain a bit more experience and pick up some tips from more seasoned shooters. Great fun but after a couple of weeks I noticed that I was one of the only ones using a .22 rifle, everyone else had .177. So, I decided to get myself a .177 to see what all the fuss was about. Having used Air Arms rifles in the past I opted for an Air Arms S200. The S200 also came highly recommended by everyone I asked at the club. A couple of the members also had the rifle and couldn't find anything to complain about.

Anyway, a quick trip down to my local (well, a 100 mile round trip) gun shop resulted in the purchase of the rifle, Air Arms sound moderator, multi shot adapter and spare magazine insert wheel and a hard case. I was immediately struck by how light the rifle was compared to my others. The balance of the rifle is also quite impressive. I wasn't so keen on the styling of the stock but after a very short while it did grow on me.

Took it home, charged it using a stirrup pump, which didn't actually take that long from empty, fitted a 4-12 x 42 scope on it and proceeded to zero it at 15 yards. It says various web sites that the rifle produces approximately 50 full powered shots per fill, this is pretty accurate but I tend to recharge after about 30 or 40. The lack of an onboard pressure gauge is no big deal, just count out however many pellets you want to put through it and then recharge after that. With the sound moderator fitted the rifle is very quiet, certainly quiet enough to use in your back garden. The loudest noise is made by the pellet striking the target.

I took the rifle along to my club to have a play and to see how far I could shoot it accurately. We have targets out to 55 yards. Started off at the usual 10 yard targets and slowly increased the range. I know that a .177 pellet has a flatter trajectory than a .22 but I didn't realise it would make that much difference. I eventually started shooting the targets at 50 yards and was quite pleased with how easy it was with this rifle. Didn't have to use quite so much hold over. I can hit the same targets with my S410 in .22 but it's much easier with the S200.

Last week I fitted a new scope, a JSR Target Pro 6-24 x 44. I had read a couple of negative reviews on line where people had compared them to far more expensive scopes, but at the end of the day, it cost me £50, not £550. I took my rifle with new scope to the club last weekend to see how accurate the new combo would be. The sight image in the scope was perfect from 10 all the way to 55 yards at full 24x magnification. The extra magnification is definitely a benefit and only improves the accuracy of my shooting with this rifle. The only thing that makes the rifle miss a target is me.

Overall, this rifle is very good for the relatively low price compared to other PCP's and really does punch above it's weight in terms of performance. The only thing I don't like about it is the plastice filler connection cap and barel band. But that's it. If these things bother you then you can buy after market upgrades from various sources to "pimp" your rifle. I would whole heartedly recommend this rifle to anyone thinking of getting a lightweight, low cost, consistently accurate air rifle.