So, would we go for the 5 or the 10?
It would be the 5 for me. Love the stick magazines, never really jelled with the pro x one quite the same
Can you put your finger on why?
Coming only from experience with the 5-shot setups the rotary job seems a bit more convoluted / less elegant and obviously raises issues with scope mounting.
I do also wonder if you'd actually get a comparable / higher overall rate of fire in real-world use (such as a practical rifle type comp) from the 5-shot as they seem a lot more straightforward to reload - squeeze mag release while pulling out mag, stuff new one in - done; rather than pop open cap, pull out mag, put new one in (in a necessary orientation that's probably less obvious), wind it up, flip the top down...
As much as I love Steyr air guns (we have an LP10, Steyr Hunting 5A and a ProX), the Air5 and Air10 are too "Walter Mitty" ish for me.
IMO, they go against the ethos of Steyr i.e. serious guns for the serious shooter who demands accuracy and quality. No doubt they are well built and superbly accurate, but the perforated barrel shield (giving them the assault rifle look) is totally unnecessary.
IMO, Steyr would have been better designing an ambidextrous side loading gate for the 10 shot thus allowing the easier mounting of a conventional cope.
While I usually find myself also of this exact opinion and nothing "tactical" on the airgun market has ever really appealed, I do really like the look of these.
Personally I think it all gels really well as a package - being short and manouverable is in-keeping with the semi-auto format as this will typically sacrifice an amount of outright grouping performance for fast handling and high rate of fire - be this through engineering or ergonomic limitations.
The pistol grip, minimal butt and functional forend also play into this while I think the latter does add some practical value - such as mounting torches, lasers, forward-biased optical sights such as red dots..
It's not going to be a long-range tool, but then it doesn't appear that this was ever the designer's intention. I reckon this will make a great hunting gun for short ranges / confined spaces, target gun for existing smallbore rapid comps (for those who like shorter gear) and appears to be perhaps the most suitable rifle yet for any form of practical-style air rifle comp; should such an idea become a thing in future.
A much more interesting, coherent and appealing design than the Pro-X IMO.
I shoot turning target with a rimfire and my .22 AR had a dot on it.. Is there a an Air Rifle version of turning target comp that i don't know about.. Otherwise your restricted to large targets at even shorter airgun ranges with the 10..
Perhaps I am missing something
A lot of postal leagues will allow air rifles as well as rimfires across all "sporting" smallbore disciplines including rapid-fire comps.
Airguns offer several tangible performance advantages over a rimfire for such comps - including their lack of recoil and typically far better triggers..
I'd be flabagasted if any of the new range is less than 3k also.
I’m an optimist. Hoping for scout pricing on these
I spoke to a dealer and he said he recons H5 and Pro X prices, but also said that he doesn't know...
If they are I will get the 5; if they are silly money I'll have to pass. It only tends to be Steyr I buy new as practically all my other kit is secondhand, but that was before the huge hikes a couple of years ago.
Tbh I don't see why it should be (much?) more than the H5; the action looks fundamentally the same with the exception of the shorter cylinder and (threaded) barrel, as well as a boss that apparently screws into the rear in the vicinity of the striker spring preload adjustor to take the butt.. so one might call that a draw.
You're losing a big chunk of walnut and gaining an off-the shelf butt and pistol grip, along with the probably bespoke forend (which granted can cost a good wedge if you buy decent branded stuff like Magpul and the like).
While I have next to zero use for one of these this is the first new gun to market for years that's actually made me fear for the safety of my wallet..
... let's hope the pricing is sensible.
...no harm done as it was empty!
