 |
Home > Reviews > BTAS Air Arms 410K |  |
BTAS Air Arms 410K
 BTAS Air Arms S410k Air Arms are well known for their range of air rifles and in particular the highly successful S400 / 410 ranges but for those that do not know, the BTAS stands for Ben Taylor and Son. BTAS are based just outside Cambridge and specialize in selling air rifles from Air Arms, Daystate, FX and Theoben. Of course, simply selling the gun would hardly warrant adding their name to the gun, but then they do a little more than that. Ben Taylor originally came from Theoben, in fact he is the Ben in Theoben. With that sort of background, perhaps its not surprising that Ben believes that he can improve upon many of the already very good guns that he sells. In this case the improvements involve adding a BTAS regulator and changing the standard guns valving in order to eliminate the power curve (changes in the power as the air in the cylinder depletes), reduce the amount of effort required to cock the gun by 30%, increase the power and perhaps most importantly, up the number of shots available from 60 to 120 per charge. First impressions on opening the case were of a totally standard but nonetheless very attractive Air Arms S410k .177. This example featured the optional Air Arms walnut stock and silencer both of which added to the visual appeal. Topping the whole package was an Hawke 3-12 * 44 Mil-dot scope. Of course, the looks meant very little, the work done by BTAS was all on the inside. My first task was to charge the rifle with air. This aspect of pre-charged pneumatic guns had always put me off owning one to a certain degree. Somehow the need for a diving cylinder and having to fill it went against the simplicity of a traditional air rifle. In practice, I needn't have worried, simply unscrew the rifles cylinder cap, slot the adapter on, open the valve on the diving bottle and let it fill. The whole process took no time at all and went a long way towards eliminating my earlier misgivings about the practicalities of owning this type of gun. A pressure gauge is fitted to the underside of the stock but once the BTAS modifications have taken place it no longer displays the fill pressure but the regulated pressure, the gauge only moves when you are down to the last few shots. This is a minor downside as it means that you have no way of knowing how much air is in the rifle. At the range, loading the magazine proved to be just as simple as charging the gun. The bolt pulls back cleanly and with minimal effort, allowing you to slide the ten shot magazine out and drop in the pellets. Replace the full magazine, slide the bolt home and it's loaded. The manual safety catch is located on the of the trigger blade. In order to familiarize myself with the gun I began with a few shots at a series of drop down targets. First impressions were of the guns relatively light weight compared to the springs and gas ram powered guns that I had previously been used to. When I actually came to fire it, the differences were even more pronounced with zero recoil and none of the mechanical clatter associated with more traditional air rifles, in fact it was almost silent. Reloading the gun using the bolt action mechanism quickly became second nature and I was able to empty a magazine at an incredibly rapid rate without taking my eye away from the scope. I was also hitting whatever I aimed at. The gun was well balanced and the trigger pull was predictable and clean. Before I knew it, the gauge had started to move indicating the need for more air but by that time the gun had already fired 108 shots. Continuing to shoot until the gun was out of air gave me another eight shots for a total of 116 - very close to Ben's claimed 120 and nearly a 100% improvement on the standard gun. The next task was to have a much closer examination of the rifles (and my own) accuracy with a series of paper targets at ranges between 25 and 40 meters. After another 200 shots, my suspicions had been confirmed. This was an extremely accurate gun, achieving 20-30mm groups out to 40 meters. The limiting factor was not the gun but myself. Finally, I ran the gun through a chronograph to see what power the gun was producing and with what consistency. I fully charged the gun and then shot over the chrono until the pressure gauge indicated that more air was required. It quickly became apparent just how well the BTAS regulator was doing its job, whenever a shift in velocity occurred it was within single figures. Power was a steady 11.4 ft/lbs. So, does the additional performance warrant the additional ?195 over the standard rifle? In a word, yes. Ben Taylor has taken a great gun and make it exceptional by dramatically increasing the shots per charge and improving its consistency. If you were considering buying a standard S410, think again. Gun Tested: BTAS Air Arms S410k External Links: Ben Taylor and Son Air Arms « Previous Article |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
Quick Search |  |
 |
 |
|
|
Dealer Search | |
 |
||
|
|
 |
|
Site Search | |
|
|
|
