The TX200 Mark III with the tuning kit from Tony Leach is the smoothest-shooting spring-piston air rifle I know of.

Link to the previous 8 parts of the TX200 report

This report covers:

• Here you go
• It’s not cheap!

Before we begin I want you to know something. Last week I was jammed with things that took my time away from the blog. I won’t go into what they all were but each one was important and had to be attended to by me. So I asked 45Bravo for some extra guest blogs. Here is why. His guest blogs only take me about three hours to edit and schedule for publication.

Other guest bloggers can take three to five times as long, making it harder for me to use them than to write a report of my own. I needed to save time last week, so I went with 45Bravo.

Yes, I do have some medical issues and I am scheduled soon for an operation to remove my 26mm kidney stone. I will be in the hospital at least one night and probably two, because the operation is a serious procedure. So there will be more guest blogs coming as required. That is what is happening, and I wanted you to know.

Today I address reader Honest Bob’s request for a report on a smooth-shooting spring-piston rifle. Let’s see what he said.

“I am on the hunt for a new to me gun. I am looking for the smoothest shooting springer (spring piston or gas piston, either is fine for this venture) with minimal to no recoil in the 10-12fpe power range. Vintage most likely I would guess. I have several in the 4-7fpe range but nothing in that 10-12 range in a springer. What are some suggestions to research besides the HW50s? (Accuracy is important as always) I have been reading a ton and looked at several options but hoping for some real world recommendations.”

Here you go

Bob, Ten years ago I would have said the Whiscombe series of recoilless air rifles were what you need, and they still are. But John Whiscombe passed away and the 475 rifles he made are as close to untouchable as air rifles get. If you can find one and if you can afford it, it’s is still the very best, but there is another springer that’s available now, new on the market — the TX200 Mark III.

You wanted power between 10 and 12 foot pounds. How does 11 foot pounds sound? That’s an 8.44-grain pellet going out at 767 f.p.s.

Reader Siraniko said, “The Tx200MkIII with a Tony Leach tune as documented by Tom in https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2022/02/tx200-mark-iii-part-5-2/ fits the bill. Best of all it’s still available. Now for a direct from factory rifle I think I’ll wait for Tom’s article on Monday.”

Siraniko got it exactly right. What he said is my choice for Bob. But Bob didn’t ask for a “direct from factory” rifle. Even if he had I will say that the Tony Leach tuning kit for the TX200 is very easy to install. Read Part 5 of this report (click on the link above) to see what I say about installing the kit.

It’s not cheap!

No, it’s not cheap. A gold wedding ring costs a certain amount, too. You can have a fake one that is not what you want for a lot less money than a real one. It’s the same for this question — you can have what you asked for — “the smoothest shooting springer (spring piston or gas piston)”. That would be a TX 200 Mark III, plus the Tony Leach kit. Or you can buy something less and hope that it turns out to be what you really want. If that works please tell me because my magic wand isn’t working anymore.

If you don’t already own a TX, and you must not if you are searching for a smooth-shooting springer, then I would either buy a used one or a refurb from Pyramyd AIR. Since you are replacing the powerplant guts with the Leach parts, who needs new?

Guys — I can’t give you cheap when you ask for the very best. I have to be honest with you. And by the way, I will say something else right now. I have been running lots of reports on the AirVenturi Avenge-X lately. Some are written by me and others are written by 45Bravo. I’m doing that for a reason — because it is the very best. Not the cheapest, though for what it can do it probably is about as inexpensive as is possible to go. But of all that are on the market, this one is the very best.

If some folks don’t want to buy an Avenge-X because of where it is made, that is their business. I’m not trying to convince anyone to go against their principles. I’m just trying to show you what I consider to be the very best for certain things. In the case of the Avenge-X those things are accuracy, power, owner-adjustability, the ability to change calibers and shot count in a precharged pneumatic (PCP).

That is also what I am doing in today’s report for Honest Bob. He asked for the smoothest-shooting springer and I am giving him the rifle that I consider fits the bill. To get the power level he wants and also to be the smoothest-shooting, the TX needs the Tony Leach tuning kit — PERIOD. End of report!