Target Sports

AIR RIFLE REVEW: THE ULTIMATE UNDERLEVER

Created on 19th May 2009

CHRIS SANDERS thinks the Air Arms Pro-Sport Deluxe is one step ahead of the game

AIR ARMS, like many other air rifle manufacturers, seems to be ‘upping the anti' on all their rifles, especially in the cosmetic department. With an in-house official Air Arms custom shop now offering fancy stocks and engraved actions for the S400/410 series of PCPs, it's good to see the company hasn't forgotten their solid and dependable range of top-quality spring-powered guns. New stock designs and mechanical modifications mean Air Arms is more than keeping up with the game, as I soon discovered.

The Air Arms Pro-Sport has always been right up there with the best, with the model on test being designated the Pro-Sport Deluxe: a name it certainly deserves not only for the upgraded cosmetics but also for its stunning performance. Some are calling this the MkII model, such is its status. However, the original Pro-Sport has long been known as one of the most rugged, robust and accurate of underlever action spring-powered sporters and its relatively recent facelift just makes it far more aesthetically pleasing.

First impressions

To some, first impressions will always count and in respect of the Pro-Sport Deluxe they'll count considerably due to the rifle's sleek and very attractive lines. But have no fear, it's not all about looks. Although the rifle has a definite fullbore appearance, it's a true die-hard springer in every sense of the word. I mention the fullbore rifle styling because although the action is a traditional underlever, the positioning of the mechanics make this a sleek-looking customer. There's nothing to give away the fact the rifle's an underlever until you actually look underneath. The rifle simply oozes quality and class and, though it may sound a little trite, this is the type of rifle you'd be proud to be seen with at any HFT event and it's certainly a rifle that can hold court there and stand alongside the best of the production spring class models.

Though its sleek lines are undeniable, it's quite a chunky chappy, but not overly heavy and much of the handling capabilities are down to the well-thought-out stock design, so let's take the tour from here.

Stock

The ‘Deluxe' models feature a top-quality medium brown coloured walnut that has a very smooth look to it with grain configuration being most noticeable around the butt section. Tuck the thick ventilated rubber butt pad in your shoulder and your cheek nicely meets the well-proportioned angular cheekpiece. It may well be true right-hand designed roll over and relatively high, but it is exactly as required on a scope-only rifle. Also, the neck at the grip is quite narrow in comparison to the rest of the stock, making for a very comfortable hold.

Incidentally, a bonus with Air Arms rifles virtually across the board is that lefties are catered for as the company can also supply true left-hand stocks. Whether you are a right hooker or southpaw, the stock now boasts a generous amount of attractive ‘skipline' chequering that Air Arms term as ‘High definition.' It's laser-cut and oil-finished so the chequering still looks defined and deep - not clogged or wishy-washy as can be the case on some rifles.

This wonderful chequering is applied on the pistol-grip and relatively lengthy tapered forend - it even has decorative floral cut borders that compliment these cosmetic changes very nicely indeed. An important point worthy of note is the chequering on the relatively lengthy forend. Though of a medium length, it is ideally positioned due to the balance of the rifle and it will suit most shooters leading hand holds. For those with a lengthy reach, the very front of the forend even has grooves cut in for a full and solid forward hold.

At the pistol-grip, which is stylishly finished with a rosewood cap and white wood spacer, chequering is hardly needed as the design of the pistol-grip affords a solid hold in itself.

Something not often credited but clearly visible in the photos is that the action is secured to the stock front and rear on either side by two sets of recessed hex-head stock-fixing bolts for total security.

Loading

We've become spoilt by the modern hi-tech ease of a PCP, especially a multi-shot. Once a magazine is in place, you cycle a bolt action and that's pretty much it: a spring gun, however, is a different animal altogether. You have linkages, pins, catches, sliding with unavoidable metal-to-metal contact - there's a lot of mechanical shenanigans even for just the cocking stroke. So what has Air Arms done to ease the burden? Simple, they've re-jigged and modified the linkage lever from underlever to piston head so the cocking stroke is not as strenuous. There's a lot more to it than that but just look at the detail picture of the linkage arm and you can clearly see how well-engineered it is, which goes for all the rifle's components.

To operate the underlever, you first need to put your forefinger into a gap in the front underside of the forend at the very front of the underlever so you can release the alloy lever from where it sits neatly in a full-length recess in the underside of the stock. The lever flicks down approximately 3" so you can now get a solid grip on it to draw it down and back to fully cock the rifle. This also automatically sets the trigger safety and anti-beartrap mechanism.

The Pro-Sport's piston runs on a set of synthetic bearings positioned at the front and rear whilst another set are installed on what is known as the compression slide. This results in a very smooth cocking and firing cycle but it still takes a bit of heft to cock, needing that final tug at the end of the cocking stroke to engage the trigger sear and safety mechanisms previously mentioned. The loading area at the sliding breech will also now have slid back and the loading bay will now be fully exposed. It's very roomy, and a practical feature is that the underside of the stock at this point has a perfectly sized cut-away slot so a dropped pellet will fall through the woodwork to the ground and not into an inaccessible area to potentially cause a problem.

Trigger and safety

The trigger on any full-power spring gun is a high-stress component, yet still needs to operate smoothly and release shots cleanly and consistently time after time. As many other airgun writers have noted in the past, the CD (Computer Designed) trigger unit is definitely good, if not the best one found on any spring-powered air rifle currently in production. The two-stage adjustable unit has a well-curved, setback gold-plated trigger-blade and combined with the grip position and slim neck a high level of shot release is soon and easily achieved. The automatic safety button, as mentioned previously, pops out to the left of the action when the rifle is cocked and is ideally positioned just above and to the left and rear of the cylinder and can easily be disengaged by the side of the thumb of your shooting hand.

Accuracy and performance

The Pro-Sport has lengthy deep-set dovetails along the top of the cylinder with three arrestor stud holes, but they shouldn't be needed as recoil is minimum due to the smooth firing cycle. Much of the mechanical action of the piston hitting the front of the compression cylinder is deadened by the weight of the rifle. Also, muzzle report is surprisingly low due to the full-length steel barrel shroud that conceals the small 9.5" long, Lothar Walther barrel. The extra length of the shroud internally holds baffles and expansion chambers. Air Arms has worked hard to perfect this built-in silencer unit and to my ears the Air Arms team couldn't have got it to perform more effectively.

I scoped up with a Hawke Nite-Eye 3-9X50 IR in a one-piece Sportsmatch mount and found the reasonably sized optic a perfect complement to this deceptively compact yet quite weighty rifle. Nudging the tape at 40.75" and weighing in at nearly 8.5lb un-scoped the rifle feels heavier than it is but balances perfectly on aim.

The Pro-Sport more than proved itself in accuracy; the .177 calibre on test here produced tight 1/4"groups right out to 40yd. Definitely not pellet fussy, it accurately spat out any quality brand of lead I fed it. If anything, it showed a slight preference towards Air Arms Field and H&N FT Trophys.

Conclusions

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better spring-powered standard production air rifle than the Air Arms Pro-Sport Deluxe. It's solidly built, exceptionally accurate and with the recent upgrades it certainly looks as good as it shoots. So, is the Air Arms Pro-Sport Deluxe the ultimate underlever? Considering that this is a production rifle and not especially tuned for competition it's little wonder that many HFT competitors favour it and hunters have them tuned to run even sweeter, if that's possible. Those that have had the rifle given the Lazaglide tune by Steve Pope reckon it does, and who am I to argue with that! Personally, I feel that the Air Arms Pro-Sport Deluxe is the most stylish-looking, highly accurate and ideally proportioned springer currently available.

Technical Specification

Model: Air Arms Pro-Sport Deluxe
Calibre: .177 on test .22 available
Weight: 9.3lb
Length: 41"
Power Source: Spring and piston
Loading: Underlever action - direct barrel loading single-shot
Stock: Fullbore styled walnut sporter
Price: £434 for the Deluxe Walnut Version shown on test

Distributor: Air Arms/John Rothery
T: 01323 845853

AIR RIFLE REVEW: THE ULTIMATE UNDERLEVER

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AIR RIFLE REVEW: THE ULTIMATE UNDERLEVER

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