Air Arms S200 (PCP=Pre Charged Pneumatic) I was very excited when I received the Air Arms S200 for testing. I had heard some good things about this Czechoslovakian made rifle. At first glance its simple design and solid feel are very impressive. Upon shouldering the rifle I was amazed at how comfortable and natural it felt. I felt the need to get this gun scoped up and shooting right away. Air Arms S200 Sporter   Air Arms S200 Target

Overview: I had asked for the .177 caliber model. The S200 comes in both .177 and .22. However, Air Arms claims the velocity for the .177 is 700fps and the velocity for the .22 is 600fps. I have customized .22 CO2 pistols that do almost 600fps so I felt the .177 caliber model would be most representative of the manufacturer’s claims of accuracy and dependability.

The stock on this rifle is somewhat unique to the air gun world. It takes its styling from both the hunting and target world. The cheek piece and butt pad on the S200 Target are both adjustable and the cut away grip offers the same comfort a thumbhole or pistol grip stock would provide.       There is a nice finish on the metal parts and good match of wood to metal. The muzzle break is also very unique to this gun and  adds just enough weight to balance the short rifle and creates a steady hold.   The air reservoir screws out of the gun for fills and additional reservoirs are available for sale separately should you want them.      The rifle is sold as a single shot. However, a Multi shot kit is available.  I tested it as a single shot. Price: At $599, the Air Arms S200 is at the value end of the scale when considering a target rifle. It stays affordable by eliminating lots of the “Nice to haves” and focuses on the necessary elements of precision shooting.    Setup: When I first held the rifle I was thinking backyard plinker. With velocity claims of 700fps I wasn’t really thinking about long range shots and settled on a 4x32 Leapers Scope. I was thinking about keeping it simple and 4 X magnifications is more than enough to get me on target in any area of my back yard. This rifle will do well with a more powerful scope on it and I would recommend a 3X9 for most users. I used medium height Accu-Shot mounts. Filling the guns reservoir from my scuba tank offered no additional complexity and I was off to the bench. Performance: I had several pellets laid out to try in this gun. Crosman premiers, Crosman premier heavies, RWS wadcutters and Beeman Silver Ace. I sighted it in with The Crosman Premiers. The gun is extremely quiet with a well balanced trigger. Within 6 shots or so I was on target and lacing pellets into the same hole at 25yds. This gun is extremely consistent from shot to shot. I think I was at 50 to 60 shots before I noticed a drop in Point of Impact and had to refill the reservoir. I tried all the pellets and the wadcutters and domes worked the best. I wound up keeping it sighted in on the 10.6 gr Crosman  Premiere heavies. I had a lot of them on hand and they seemed to hit with some authority. Over the Chrony, I was experiencing pellet velocities as follows: I need to do the chrony results again (lost them)   Target: This is a target rifle and as such you will not be disappointed. If you do your job it will put the pellet where you want it every time. The gun is very quiet and perfect for the backyard enthusiast who wants precision without the high cost. I plan on giving this rifle a try at some field target events we will be holding soon and I think it will perform well. To date I have been able to try this rifle on targets out to 50yds and even at that range it maintains its accuracy and dependability. Hunting: Because of the low power, this gun is a very light hunter and best suited for backyard plinking or light pest control within 30yds. I was able to take a few starlings with it but I would have liked to take it on an indoor pest control trip for pigeons in a warehouse. Also Noted: Air Arms has a multi-shot rotary magazine available for this rifle. You may want to include it with your purchase. The gun is very economical on air and high pressure air pump would work well to fill this gun if other sources of high pressure air are not available. Summary: The Air Arms S200 is a very well made rifle equipped for target shooting and light pest control. It really is a rifle that will fill the niche of the backyard enthusiast or the beginner field target shooter. It would not be my choice for an all occasion hunter because of the low power but I still really enjoy shooting it and marveling at the accuracy of this neat little affordable rifle. Here is added review http://home.hiwaay.net/~ispellan/Cz200.html   Air Arms S200 review Generic Copyright Statement ©2005 All rights reserved. Copyright © 2005 CobraAirguns.com Last Revision: 16th September 2005 All Airguns, Pellets, Prochrono and Scopes for all Matt's Reviews are supply by CobraAirguns.com looking to purchase any of these items, they are available on this site