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od Tomayo » 06 črc 2011 23:41
Tady jsem neco nasel
The Holy Grail? FX Independence on Test...
Hello one and all - I know there are a few of you out there that have been waiting patiently for this. So here goes...
My main aim with this review was to test the functionality of this rifle with its' onboard charging mechanism, and assess the pro's and con's of this system when faced with common 'kiwi' shooting scenaros. I have purposely avoided accuracy tests with the rifle - these tests have already been done, and the FX Independence is known to shoot as accurately - if not more so - than it's 'parent' rifle, the Royale. As many of you will be aware, the Indy barrel is smooth for most of it's length, finishing in a mere few inches of rifling, not cut but hammered into the barrel from the outside of the tube. For the record, with a basic rest and 40 yard range, the Indy shot as well as any PCP I have used - suffice to say that it outperforms my abilities with ease.
Picking up the chunky-looking Independence is a pleasure. It is balanced beautifully and comes to the shoulder perfectly - a more natural feel than the bottle-fed Royale, which in itself is a lovely gun. The full-length shroud/silencer looks massive at first, but is an aesthetic match for the cylinder which holds the pump lever, running beneath. Add a grunty scope and you have a serious looking package. Interestingly, the superlative look is doesn't translate to 'heavy' - with many visible parts being constructed of lightweight materials. The stock is pure Royale from the pistol grip rearward, but with porting for the filler spigot and a massive manometer in the forend which is contoured to house the unique mechanism. The toggle-action familiar to Royale owners is unsurpassed, in my opinion by others in the PCP world.
Build quality is what you would expect on a rifle in this price bracket. I had to grease a couple of contact points and tighten the fastening arrangement for the pump arm, which came apart twice upon early use. Lucky I wasn't in long grass.... I felt that the use of lightweight materials paid dividends in a practical sense but failed to instill me with the awe one feels when holding something truly indestructable. A couple of porous areas in the stock caused apparently by bubbles in the wet synthetic mix only slightly detracted from a durable creation.
The twelve-shot mag is the same as the Royale's and frankly, not quite as easy to use as the Theoben unit is reminiscent of. Once you have the hang of it though, it is sweet - its perspex rear panel allowing verification of shots fired/remaining.
The Independence is clearly named for it's ability to operate as a standalone unit - free of the need for external filling kit. It does however boast the ability to utilise an external pressure-source if desired. the 12ft/lb version of this rifle (as supplied in the UK and parts of Europe) is likely to benefit from this feature, given the longer 'sweet spot' (or effective, accurate, minimal-deviancy shots from a given pressure-bracket). At 12ft/lb you could shoot a good many shots at your target, then recharge from a bottle - thus avoiding the physical process of onboard charging. However, you will see from the results of my tests that the FAC rated rifle available here in NZ requires charging more frequently than would be practical if doing so with an external source. Pre-filling the Indy to 200 bar with a dive bottle from zero will save you 50 or more strokes on the pump, but only once - as you will see.
From a 200 bar charge each shot dragged approximately 15 bar off the dial. Firing 16.36gr H&N FTT pellets at from this start pressure yeilded a five shot string of 1008, 992, 964, 937, and 891 fps - the last being fired from 135 bar. Similar 5-shot extreme-spreads can be experienced accross the pressure range, with the mean velocity dropping with a virtually linear relationship to the drop in mean pressure. You could pick the pellet you liked, identify the velocity range the pellet worked best with, then keep the rifle hovering at around this pressure with your charging regime.
(EDIT: Please note that when I first posted this review I listed a shot string from a higher charge level than the Manufacturer recomends - I was able to pump the rifle beyond the 200 bar recommended maximum, which resulted in higher energy outputs [unusual for a PCP] - upon relflection I have decided to remove these figures in the interest of safety. Overcharging PCPs to achieve more power can be dangerous. Read between the lines here folks. I have more testing I wish to carry out to establish consistency from a nominal start pressure - I will post results here)
Now to that charging process... To bring the rifle back to the same pressure readout after firing one shot requires 3 (sometimes 4) strokes on the lever. With the decrease in FPS for each shot, my estimation is that the longest you would want to go without re-charging is 7 shots - more perhaps, if your shooting is close-range. To get back to your original pressure would then require 21-25 strokes on the pump.
Pumping the rifle is easy. Very easy. And five shots, if you hunt in the manner I prefer to, is a good few dead animals. However, if you want to practice, plink or punch paper with the Indy, you are going to get tired of charging it up all the time - particularly if you choose to do it after each shot. My only major criticism of this rifle is that the FAC model does not come fitted with a switch to bring it to 12ft/lbs - an output at which only one stroke on the pump is required to achieve the original pressure-level, per shot. This power-setting could be used for practicing and target work, with FAC levels being available for hunting. I have forwarded this observation to FX.
In it's current form, the Indy is perfect for those who hunt for long periods during which recharging from a bottle or foot pump is impossible/impractical. It is also the perfect choice for someone who does not wish to have the ongoing cost or hassle of extra kit. My local guy is now charging $10 to merely top up my 207 bar bottle.
If I didn't allready own charging equipment and wanted to get in to the world of PCP's, or I wanted to get rid of excess gear and replace everything with one rifle. I would buy an Indy tomorrow. The Royale-based action is stunning to use, it is a multi-shot, it is .22, and it is moderated. Overall quality is excellent and the lack of ongoing costs of filling is certainly appealing. I would perhaps lament the thoughtless blazing-away I am afforded by 500cc of onboard compressed air that my Rapid sports - but I would get over it.
The FX Independence is not cheap - nor should it be. It is destined to rewrite how we think of the PCP, and along with it's peer, the 12ft/lb Webley Venom Paradigm (unavailable thus far in NZ), it represents the first major advance in PCP technology since Daystate brought silicone chips to the table. PM me if you would like to have a play with the demo model and live in AKL - I will have it for a wee while.
Will add more photos when crappy internet connection allows...
no jo rybacka je vetsi masakr na penize nez strileni......ale rozhodnout se pro nejaky prut taky neni lehke...nastesti v lepsi prodejne je mozne si to dobre osahat a pokud jsou tam znami tak i otestovat u vody. 
takze jen nejaky sraz nebo tak. A treba tuhle pusku tam asi nenajdeme 
kup ji, ja koupim druhou nebo se poohlednout nekde ze zahranici a muzeme testovat
