Saturday 23 May 2015

That's not a rat.

Chicken coop ratting last night with the Evanix Sniper carbine and a Nitesite Viper.

"That's a big one."
"Where?"
"Underneath the coop. See it's eyes?"
"Yup,, on it."
"It's out eating the bait."
"Taking shot."
"No... Hold. It's not a rat."

So what is the size of a big rat and likes our Nutella and oil mixed bait? 
-Fat hedgehog! 

We sat watching a hedgehog till 1am last night! Not sure if it scared off the rats but we didn't see any. Hedgehogs have quite a large territory so hopefully he won't be there next time. 

Identify your targets before taking the kill shot! 

Monday 4 May 2015

Evanix Sniper K review



I have now had plenty of time out and about with my new rifle from Evanix the Sniper K (K for carbine!). It has it's good and bad points like any air rifle.

Adjustment: This is by far the most appealing thing to me on this rifle. The rear stock can be moved a good 4" and can even be totally removed if needs be and no tools are needed thanks to a spring loaded button above the pistol grip. The cheek piece is also completely adjustable although this requires an allen key. Shooting out of my jeep window on a cold day was much easier without the stock and if using a bipod etc its nice to be able to shift it in and out depending on my shooting stance.
The front foregrip can be moved using an allan key. It is well worth trying out different positions for this whilst changing the stock position. If you want to add a bipod you will need to move the foregrip back a little bit.  I found the foregrip and pistol grip to be fairly solid despite their 'plastic airsoft' appearance. The rest of the gun is fully metal (wood for the cheek piece)
Trigger and cocking: It has a nice trigger and the lever action is smooth. However the metal magazine supplied with the gun is a complete pain to load and takes a bit of practice to prevent jams. I switched over to a plastic one out of my GTL480 which works a lot better. (these are readily available and I wouldn't hesitate changing over)

My Evanix Sniper Carbine in .22 with BSA Silencer and Scope


 The safety button is nice and solid and clicks into position.

The front: It is supplied with a muzzle break and not a silencer, however the barrel is fully shrouded and is fairly quiet anyway. If you add an additional silencer bear in mind you will need an adaptor as well which allows any UNF threaded silencer to be added.
I put on a BSA R-10 one and all you hear is the click of the trigger mechanism but for most hunting applications it really isn't needed.
Filling is easy enough using a standard probe that fits into a port at the front end,  simply turn the dust cover and push the probe in.

Scopes: It has a weaver rail on the top, so you will need these mounts for it. The rails are all nicely built and the scope went on no problem. I am using a BSA Essential on mine at the moment.

Differences between the carbine and the rifle. In terms of performance; none. If you want the longer version, put a silencer on it (which is all the rifle version was!). Evanix UK are no longer importing the rifle version as far as I am aware. However the Carbine is more than adequate and very accurate.

The sniper doesn't have a regulator. This means there is a bit of a power curve, but as everone by now should know I use my airguns for hunting and pest control; so it doesn't bother me in the slightest. As a target rifle it will be fine but you will have to work out that 'sweet spot' as with any other unregulated rifle. I will get some 50 yard targets up next week so you get an idea of what it's like.