BSA Defiant Airgun Review

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BSA Defiant Airgun Review
Category: New Product Reviews

So let’s take a look at the NEW BSA Defiant Airguns, it is a PCP air rifle that everyone is talking about. The Defiant Air Rifles are indeed a striking piece of design work, and the stock, whilst angular and minimalist, cleverly combines form and function. The neat stippled panels on the forend and pistol grip, look great, but also brilliantly aid grip. Excess wood has been trimmed, leaving that thinned out back support for the thumb-hole grip, adding real strength to the stock configuration. Including sling swivel studs ready and waiting is a nice touch too, and one that will be appreciated by the hunting fraternity, which will undoubtedly invest in this newcomer. An adjustable butt pad is always a great feature, and here, the Wegu style pad is nicely concave, so it properly hugs the shoulder and anchors the gun in the aim. Just slacken the bolt at the rear of the butt, and the pad can be adjusted for height on its axis.

BSA Defiant Airgun Review

Looking to the action, the silencer and shroud are given a matt finish, which contrasts nicely with the traditionally chemically blued cylinder. The side-lever housing area all gets a matt finish too, and overall, finish and build feel up to BSA’s usual standards. The ECHF barrel is made in house by BSA and those initials stand for Enhanced Cold Hammer Forged.

Bullpups set the action right to the back of the stock, so we are then resting our cheek over the action. This means that the sightline needs to be raised further, to bridge the action and this is typically done using a new configuration. High mounts are preferable with this model, as is often the case with Bullpups, in order to get the sight line comfortably higher over the action, but personal physique will play a part here.

Charging the action is typical BSA, requiring the filling probe adaptor, (supplied) to be inserted into the front inlet valve, once the revolving cover has been twisted to open. Fill the Defiant to BSA’s usual stated fill pressure of 232-bar, and you are ready to go. Of course, the inclusion of a pressure gauge, or manometer if you will, is a great idea, and essential really with a PCP, to keep a proper check on the residual power supply.

BSA Defiant Airgun Review

Now, to fill the 10-shot magazine, and here just drop a pellet headfirst into each chamber in turn, twisting the drum each time until the spring-loaded mechanism makes the next available hole available. With the mag full, we can get started. To insert the magazine, first pull back that smart side-lever, which is spring assisted by the way, all the way until the action is heard to cock; effort is minimal. Now, insert the mag from the left side, and here, the mag is felt to be pulled into its slot at the last minute, which is very neat, so I suspect BSA have inserted a small magnet inside the housing. With the mag in position, push the lever forward to the closed position, and the shot is loaded. Subsequent cocking of the side-lever cocks the action and indexes the next shot, and in use, the whole operation is incredibly smooth and satisfying.

The soft-touch cheekpiece feels really comfortable, and on the reverse of that sits the manual safety, for those who feel inclined to use one. Balance is bang-on for the drop-down pistol grip, which will appeal to many, as will the compact design overall.

I am happy to recommend this NEW Defiant Airgun from BSA to our customers with a big budget, I personally think it is in my top three PCP air rifles.

For more information about the BSA Defiant PCP Air Rifles please see our website at www.justairguns.co.uk 

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