S510 Extra FAC S/L Carbine vs Ultimate Sporter FAC?

[Mtl_Biker]

A friend of mine and I both are in the market for a new .22 rifle and we've effectively narrowed the choice down to between the Air Arms S510 Extra FAC S/L Carbine and the S510 Ultimate Sporter Extra FAC S/L Carbine. (Not that I want it, but is the Ultimate Sporter really also available in a non-carbine version?)

Please help us decide between the two.

My friend only wants it for very small game hunting and only plans to put a simple scope on it and nothing else. I plan to use a much nicer side-focus scope and MAY also put a bipod on it. I'll use it for some light hunting as well as general plinking. Unfortunately I couldn't convince him to consider field target competitions and a .177... he seems to be set on .22. My only .22 rifle currently is a Weihrauch HW50S and it's really great, but having some more punch would be welcome. The HW50S is shooting just under 600 fps with 18gr pellets.

The way I see it, the Ultimate sporter is about 1.5 lbs heavier (big deal to my friend who wants a light gun) but it has a much more adjustable stock and an barrel rail for mounting accessories. Plus the sling studs. The Ultimate Sporter comes with two magazines and the regular version with only one. (At least here in Canada.) Neither one is available with a moderator here so the guns would be noisier (quite a bit?) than what you can get in England or even in the US.

Regarding the variable power output on both these guns, in practice how do you folks use it? Do you set it once and leave it, or would you sometimes be shooting it at full power and other times reduced power? Varying the power must make it tough to know your zero point and the pellets trajectory. Do you use ChairGun with multiple settings for the gun, perhaps keeping the same zero for the power levels you use with only one zero point set to the optimum for the gun/power?

Any tips/suggestions about either of these guns would be much appreciated. My nicest (non-match) gun is an Air Arms S400 MPR FT which I love. And I use that for field target competitions.

Thanks.

[Roger5]

Really depends on the scope you are thinking of putting on either one, the standard stock being non adjustable could restrict you on your choice, the ultimate being fully adjustable doesn't have a problem with this, apart from that, they are the same rifle kicking out about 30ftlb, personally, even though it's a bit heavier my vote goes to the ultimate. Hope that helps. Rog

[Mtl_Biker]

Thanks Roger, yes it does help.

But what about the adjustable power levels? How do you folks use them in practice? Do you pick a power level, determine the best pellet for it and then find and set the optimum zero point? Or do you vary the power (and thus your zero point, etc.) in use? My understanding is that it's very hard (impossible maybe) to change power levels and then return to the exact setting you were on. Maybe it's easier to just use full power and lowest power? And if so, and you use something like ChairGun, do you set optimum zero for the power level you most often use and simply make do with that zero point with the different power?

I'm coming from the world of non-adjustable power level guns, but very precise ones, and use ChairGun all the time and I admit I'm having a hard time figuring out how to best use a variable power gun.

[Roger5]

For me, I would set the power to whatever I wanted, then lock it to that power, and use it like that, find it's best pellet, and not bother with keep adjusting it, you might prefer to do it differently, I don't think my head could handle trying to remember all the different settings . Rog

[Mtl_Biker]

For me, I would set the power to whatever I wanted, then lock it to that power, and use it like that, find it's best pellet, and not bother with keep adjusting it, you might prefer to do it differently, I don't think my head could handle trying to remember all the different settings . Rog

Thank you again. Without yet having that gun, that's the route I was leaning towards. I can't imagine having to try remembering or changing all kinds of settings if I change the power level. Maybe it's worth changing the power level if say, you'd be spending a week (several days at least) doing something where a different power level might be better. Then it would be worth chronying it and finding and setting the optimum zero point. Otherwise just pick what you think is best for your situation and pellet and set it all up that way.

If anyone does it differently with a variable power gun, I'd love to hear about how you do it in practice.