COMETA FENIX 400 CARBINE..ANY GOOD?

[dolly_daydream]

HI

im looking into getting a new spinger and was gonna get the bsa lightening,but when i got to the shop the bloke reccomended a cometa fenix 400 carbine,he said it was a great gun and only £175,i will be using it for mostly rabbits,woodies,and tree rats,would this do the job?

thanx

[laf]

i shoot with this rifle its great i have a hawke 3-9*40 scope on it does the job great its in the same league as the lighting it also has an adjustable trigger

 

i also use bisley pest control pellets aswell seem a good fit if thats any help

 

laf

[Keith]

I've had one for 18 months. V good value. nearly up to full power for a non-FAC air rifle. I've shot pigeons, magpies and squirrels with it - will kill pigeons up to 40 yards, but it needs to be a head shot.

 

I also use Bisley pest control but trying Power-Pell too.

[laf]

let me know how the power - pell goes and i am shooting round about 40 and taking down pigeon and rabbits

 

in my opinion its a good cheap rifle read the review in gun mart on the cometa 400

[darren m]

great gun , highly recommened

mines the 400s , comes with the walnut stock and moderator, handles great and makes clean kills at 40 yards no probs.

will also paper punch very well out to 50 plus yards on our club range .

 

one thing i would recommed is to get it over a chrono after a 100/200 shots , they can go up and down on power ( down to spring quality ) my first one dropped from 12+ftlb down to 9ftlb after 200 shots , but the one i have know is spot on ... and its had several 1000,s through it

[relivingmyyouth]

I have the full barrel 400 and I love it. But the springs do go off quite quickly and that put me off buying another one with a silencer. I bought the new Webley Stingray 2 XS instead. little bit more money but equally nice gun to use. Supposedly Webley Springs are very good so we'll wait and see.

[SteveieP]

Your not the first person to comment on the "variable quality" of the Cometa main springs.

Mate of mine also has the 400 & is well pleased, however.

The laws in Spain are a bit strange (country of origin for the Cometa).

The springers are designed to run at 20 Ft/Lb or more (legal over there) so when we get them over here there's some kind of lesser / inferior spring in it to keep 'em under 12 Ft/Lb.

I don't think they're allowed to shoot game with them over there.

So the guns are designed with a bit more power in mind

You can pick up a Titan XS spring for under £20 for most makes of gun & they sure don't wear out in a hurry.

I'm not advocating anything dodgy in terms of aftermarket springs, just something a bit more consistent & that will last you a year or three.

[relivingmyyouth]

Ox springs advertise that their No2 fits. Don't be fooled. It will take you a month of Sundays with a file and God knows what else. When mine went slack I gave up trying to fit the Ox. I stretched the existing spring and with a bit of Abbey moly,Hey Presto Better than new. By the way I have tested over 20 different pellet types through mine with a Combro chrono. Best pellets? H&N Field Target Trophy and Air Arms Hunter Point came out slightly above the powa-pell. Several others come out well and for plinking the 5.5 Eley Wasps are fab. However the Nickerson/AGS that the importers recommend... cr*p...worst pellets I've fired for velocity and power and it could well have been them that knackered my spring in the first place. All my rifles hate them. Go buy one..

[SteveieP]

There's a sweet spot for pellet weight for sub 12Ft/lb springers, to get the right balance between velocity & knock-down power.

For a .22 I reckon it's between 15 & 16 grains.

The AA fields or hunters are 16 grains, tho there are tiny weight variations, generally being under rather than over 16 grains.

I find both flavours of the AA's work equally well & probably are a little better than Accupels (well for me anyway)

The Accupels are about a grain too light (IMO) & don't deform as easily on impact.

There are theories that pellets that are too heavy have an adverse effect on the main spring & those that are too light expel too easily & don't allow for a cushion of air to stop the piston slamming into the end of the compression chamber quite so hard.

I tend not to use the likes of Milbro Caledonian, cos they're a tad light & tend to "come out a bit lively".

The light stuff by AGS is only fit for the old Hurricane pistol in .22

[misty00]

talking about springs are top gun springs any good?

[relivingmyyouth]

never heard of them. Stevie P?

[SteveieP]

Nope!

Heard of Ox, Air Force, Beast, Kasu, NMP, Maccari, Titan & V-Match.

If what you want is a top quality round section spring in Swedish chrome-vanadium with a bonded PTFE coating, then go for the Titan XS from John Knibbs & Co at Shustoke (just north of Birmingham)

A well-mannered top quality spring, last you years & cost you less than £20 quid posted.

None of that rough-as-a-bears-**** square section rubbish in my springers.

[misty00]

cheers!!!!

[2157]

Yeah, I have the 400 Fenix on ticket; very good standard of finish, light and powerful (Nickersons claim 18ft/lbs which I think is about right -goes straight through woodies) and excellent value for money.

 

Compaired with my HW97 it's ligter/easier to lug around and is very close to the Weirauch in accuracy terms. I'd definitely recommend them. It should be noted, however that I bought mine from a local RFD - they say they 'converted it to FAC' but in reality an out of work p/time mechanic out the back just bunged a bigger spring in.

 

After about six months it lost both power and accuracy. They sent it back to the importers and it's performed perfectly since. I use Bisley magnums for both hitting power and they seem to group well also.

[John_R]

An old thread, but of interest as I have a 400 Fenix Carbine also. Mine is sub 12lbs, and to be honest I only keep it so I don't forget how to shoot a springer. I enjoy it very much for that reason, but use the PCPs 90% of the time.

 

Mine came as part of a deal when I bought out someone's entire kit when he sold up, it included a Cometa 300S as well which I let a friend of mine take.

 

The Fenix seems a good gun for the money they cost from new, much better than the 300.

[edr]

After the importers changed a few months ago, i had to send mine back (worn out spring), i recieved it back quickly, i was concerned about the power as clouds of dust were coming out the breeze block wall i was shooting at. I sent it back to my dealer he chronoed it and it was FAC level boout 20 ft/lbs. To my amasment the new importer was fitting the springs that old importer brought in from spain (big 20 ft/lbs ones). My dealer conatcted them and explained the old importer had a gunsmith to cut them down and tweek the power to sub-FAC level. Any fenix 400 up to that point which had been fixed by the new importer was thorectically illegal, according to our gunsmith.

Both our gunsmith and i were amazed that they were coming back at that level, our gunsmith has changed his policy to chrono each one that comes back and was rarther anoyed at the new importer.

 

EDR

[2157]

Hi John, is the Cometa 300 a bit smaller/less capable of FAC power, presumably ?

 

Pete (2157) Looks a good 12ft/lber for starters, though. The 400 looks a bit better than BSA's lightning and I think performs better, P

[John_R]

The 300 is similar in physical size, but is slightly lower on power. I chrono tested both, and I think the 300 was around 10 lb/ft and the 400 was over 11 but well under the 12 mark.

 

The 300 is not as nicely made, and the trigger is a one stage creepy thing whereas the 400 is two stage and adjustable.