Panthera FX Panthera MKII .30 700mm My First FX

[Billm]

I think that plastic folding table is a huge impediment lol.

 

[duchunter007]

I think that plastic folding table is a huge impediment lol.

For sure not helping your shooting

 

[Billm]

Shot this today. A little windy. The FX Panthera MKII seems to suffer from needing a few warmup shots and at the very minimum a throwaway first shot. Similar to the Ghost. I didn’t include the first shot, but included a photo with it. As I mentioned, the first shot after a fill is pretty much a throwaway. AEA 52.2gr slugs 100yds.

 

[Billm]

I shot this with slugs and then I shot a 5 shot group with AEA 50.5gr pellets - bottom left of target. I had a strong right to left crosswind 8-15mph. I corrected for the wind when shooting the slugs at the bull. I did not correct for wind with the pellets but I did holdover for the drop the pellets experienced. There was no changes to the rifle settings between slugs and pellets. The far left slug was a sudden gust of wind.

 

[Solo1]

Looks like you are getting similar results as steve with the king

 

[Solo1]

So which gun do you now like better sonoran or panthera?

 

[Billm]

So which gun do you now like better sonoran or panthera?

I’m not sure I want to answer that. I’m usually pretty blunt with my opinions. It’s not a totally fair comparison. So, I will nuance it through the lens that the Sonoran is a different breed of air rifle.
I like both air rifles. If the FX Panthera MKII continues to perform six months from now, like it does right now. I’d say probably the FX. The FX is a purpose built rifle and it shows. Power wise the Panthera MKII wins hands down. Accuracy wise it’s apples and oranges, the Panthera is probably more accurate with slugs out of the box, the Sonoran probably wins with pellet accuracy. That makes total sense, the FX has a 1:16 twist which is ideal for slugs and the Sonoran has a 1:26 twist which is meant as a compromise. The FX is a competition gun by design, at least I think so. The Sonoran is a more of a sporter based upon its pedigree. I think a better Panthera comparison would be the Daystate Blackwolf Zero vs FX Panthera MKII. I sure wish I could compare the two.

 

[Solo1]

I wasn’t looking at it so deeply i was more thinking which is giving the results you were looking for.

 

[Billm]

I have some different slugs arriving today. I will try those today and tomorrow. Friday, I have a pellet liner arriving. Even there will be a shoot off.

I wasn’t looking at it so deeply i was more thinking which is giving the results you were looking for.

I’m not sure yet. I’ll have a better idea once I get the pellet liner Friday.

 

[Solo1]

Remember to write down your current settings and do a little tuning with the new ammo and write down those settings too. This is the bad thing about fx its easy to get lost on settings.

 

[Pumacarl]

I’m not sure I want to answer that. I’m usually pretty blunt with my opinions. It’s not a totally fair comparison. So, I will nuance it through the lens that the Sonoran is a different breed of air rifle.
I like both air rifles. If the FX Panthera MKII continues to perform six months from now, like it does right now. I’d say probably the FX. The FX is a purpose built rifle and it shows. Power wise the Panthera MKII wins hands down. Accuracy wise it’s apples and oranges, the Panthera is probably more accurate with slugs out of the box, the Sonoran probably wins with pellet accuracy. That makes total sense, the FX has a 1:16 twist which is ideal for slugs and the Sonoran has a 1:26 twist which is meant as a compromise. The FX is a competition gun by design, at least I think so. The Sonoran is a more of a sporter based upon its pedigree. I think a better Panthera comparison would be the Daystate Blackwolf Zero vs FX Panthera MKII. I sure wish I could compare the two.

Really good answer. I am guessing that once you start shooting the pellet liner you will be even happier with it.

 

[Danman]

I’m not sure I want to answer that. I’m usually pretty blunt with my opinions. It’s not a totally fair comparison. So, I will nuance it through the lens that the Sonoran is a different breed of air rifle.
I like both air rifles. If the FX Panthera MKII continues to perform six months from now, like it does right now. I’d say probably the FX. The FX is a purpose built rifle and it shows. Power wise the Panthera MKII wins hands down. Accuracy wise it’s apples and oranges, the Panthera is probably more accurate with slugs out of the box, the Sonoran probably wins with pellet accuracy. That makes total sense, the FX has a 1:16 twist which is ideal for slugs and the Sonoran has a 1:26 twist which is meant as a compromise. The FX is a competition gun by design, at least I think so. The Sonoran is a more of a sporter based upon its pedigree. I think a better Panthera comparison would be the Daystate Blackwolf Zero vs FX Panthera MKII. I sure wish I could compare the two.

You wanted a bench gun, and a rifle (vs a bullpup) is gonna be easier to shoot well and more suited to your needs for sure.
@Billm you say your first shot is usually trash, is it predictable though?
Ie: always shooting low or left or...? My TX200 (pre-tune) shot 2 inches low always on its first shot or two @ 30Y after sitting for a few days.
As a pester I would never waste a shot but let them fall on paper as they would or hold over and try to get em on the bull and learn its quirks.
Once you learn that, your golden. 75% of why I own airguns is pesting and first shot accuracy is a pretty big deal, wasting a shot is not usually an option.
Now get a .22 slug barrel and watch that group REALLY shrink
Oh & you mentioned your Ghost trigger being meh and I agree, but honestly since I did all my work on my Ghost trigger it is PHENOMENAL. Wish I did it sooner, so crisp and light and no longer a hindrance to accuracy! I feel like you could tackle that job yourself easily

 

[Billm]

You wanted a bench gun, and a rifle (vs a bullpup) is gonna be easier to shoot well and more suited to your needs for sure.
@Billm you say your first shot is usually trash, is it predictable though?
Ie: always shooting low or left or...? My TX200 (pre-tune) shot 2 inches low always on its first shot or two @ 30Y after sitting for a few days.
As a pester I would never waste a shot but let them fall on paper as they would or hold over and try to get em on the bull and learn its quirks.
Once you learn that, your golden. 75% of why I own airguns is pesting and first shot accuracy is a pretty big deal, wasting a shot is not usually an option.
Now get a .22 slug barrel and watch that group REALLY shrink
Oh & you mentioned your Ghost trigger being meh and I agree, but honestly since I did all my work on my Ghost trigger it is PHENOMENAL. Wish I did it sooner, so crisp and light and no longer a hindrance to accuracy! I feel like you could tackle that job yourself easily

I haven’t paid attention to whether or not the first shot is consistent yet. It almost feels like the gun has to warm up with a few shots. That’s probably my shooting warming up lol. I keep saying I’m going to do the Ghost trigger and just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I am going to get a .22 conversion for it.

 

[FL22]

I am going to get a .22 conversion for it.

I would have to borrow a page from @Solo1 playbook and just get another Ghost.

Have a hard enough time setting up an Airgun the way I want it. The thought of swapping barrels back-and-forth is a no go.

 

[Billm]

I would have to borrow a page from @Solo1 playbook and just get another Ghost.

Have a hard enough time setting up an Airgun the way I want it. The thought of swapping barrels back-and-forth is a no go.

I agree. But, I’m still feeling the need for a EVOL/Mora/Skout/BW and if one of those should happen to show up on my doorstep in .30, the Panthera seems to be really destined/designed to be a .22. I’m Just dreaming lol.

 

[FL22]

I agree. But, I’m still feeling the need for a EVOL/Mora/Skout/BW and if one of those should happen to show up on my doorstep in .30, the Panthera seems to be really destined/designed to be a .22. I’m Just dreaming lol.

Must be something in the lead, I’m having a shared delusion .

 

[Pumacarl]

I haven’t paid attention to whether or not the first shot is consistent yet. It almost feels like the gun has to warm up with a few shots. That’s probably my shooting warming up lol. I keep saying I’m going to do the Ghost trigger and just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I am going to get a .22 conversion for it.

It is common with FX guns to fire purge shots first, as Gerhard calls them, especially using Amp regs. If you're using them for target shooting this is no big deal really. It is a real pain for a hunting gun, for sure. One of the reasons I stopped using my FWB124 springer is that it needed warm up shots, at least 5 and 10 to be sure, to shoot normally. If I have the time it's easy enough to put 10 in the dirt, but it always bugged me. PCP never had the issue, the ones I had anyway, it seems FX do, but it's manageable and once ready, they are at a top level for accuracy.

 

[Billm]

It is common with FX guns to fire purge shots first, as Gerhard calls them, especially using Amp regs. If you're using them for target shooting this is no big deal really. It is a real pain for a hunting gun, for sure. One of the reasons I stopped using my FWB124 springer is that it needed warm up shots, at least 5 and 10 to be sure, to shoot normally. If I have the time it's easy enough to put 10 in the dirt, but it always bugged me. PCP never had the issue, the ones I had anyway, it seems FX do, but it's manageable and once ready, they are at a top level for accuracy.

Yeah, the Ghost does too. The FX is a little worse, but no big deal.

 

[Billm]

I would have to borrow a page from @Solo1 playbook and just get another Ghost.

Have a hard enough time setting up an Airgun the way I want it. The thought of swapping barrels back-and-forth is a no go.

I just realized, I meant a conversion for the FX. The conversion is half the price if a BRK conversion.

 

[Billm]

A little disappointed, I received the new pellet liner and carbon fiber tube today. The carbon fiber tube does not fit. It gets stuck part way in. I ended up using the one that came with the rifle. I guess I won’t be gluing the liners into the tubes anytime soon lol.