Turkey’s Best Kept Secret

Turkeys Best Kept Secret – Few things are without risk but when you get into the rarified air of spending upwards of £1,500 for a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle you can be confident you haven’t bought a pup. At that level, they will all serve up decent groups and whether a rifle is any good or not usually a subjective argument between passionate brand advocates.

It gets trickier when you have less to spend. Perhaps one that won’t stretch to even the cheapest PCP and instead you’re in the market for a break barrel. Again, top-of-the-range models that carry a price-tag, usually north of £500, are less of a risk.

But drop down to say a couple of hundred pounds and that’s when things really get difficult. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great rifles at that level, but there’s an awful lot of tat out there too.

At this point I should note an important caveat in that it is not reasonable to expect a sub £200 rifle to perform at the same level as a significantly more expensive model. I think most people get that. But with that understanding, all we want is a rifle that doesn’t cost the earth, is well made and performs at a reasonable level.

The challenge then, and therefore the risk, is to find such a rifle and avoid the tat.

I think I can help.

NO COLD TURKEY

Turkey is a hotbed for affordable Air Rifles that frequently outperform their price label. One of the newer brands on the market is Aselkon. I should qualify that as one of the newer airgun brands as the company is a prodigious producer of sporting and tactical shotguns.

We’ll be getting to grips with the company’s range of PCP rifles shortly, but for now, the RX1250 gas ram and spring piston range is something of a find.

Prices range from £149.99 to £209.99 depending on the model you opt for. Other than the choice between powerplants, the differences are largely aesthetic. On our bench for this review is the £189.99 camo stocked Aselkon RX1250 spring piston rifle.

STOCKING UP

Some people can get all sniffy over at the mention of a plastic stock. And. To be fair, there are some horrid ones out there. But the handle on the RX1250 is most certainly not one of them, which is not surprising as it carries the Realtree Camo logo.

The quality of finish is excellent – you really have to search to find a mould seam – and there are no rough edges or burrs. There is the very slightest hint of flex at the tip of the forend, but give the rifle a shake and there are no absolutely no rattles.

Measuring 1,070mm, the RX1250 is a full-size rifle but, probably largely thanks to the stock, only weighs just a few grams over 3.0kgs unscoped with the point of balance roughly 140mm forward of the trigger and a length of pull of 355mm.

The fully ambidextrous stock has a soft, ventilated shoulder pad. And the cheek piece looks like it should be adjustable but isn’t. The smaller of two cut outs in the butt saves weight and adds a little aesthetic appeal. The larger hole provides access to the pistol grip and trigger and will accommodate the largest of hands.

The pistol grip, which is also ambidextrous, is one of the most comfortable I’ve come across, certainly for a rifle at this price point. It bulges to fill your palm before narrowing at the top to provide a rest for your thumb on one side and to channel your trigger finger on the other. It is possible to shoot with a thumb up grip, but to do so would be to deny yourself one of the pleasures of shooting the RX1250.

Many potentially good affordable rifles are let down to an extent by the trigger which is often a basic folded metal component. Not so on the RX1250. Admittedly it’s not metal – cue more sniffing – but it’s either alloy or very hard plastic and is very comfortable in the finger.

More important than that, is the fact that the two stages are very distinct and the let off is predictable. Is it as good as the trigger on a Weihrauch or Air Arms rifle? No, probably not, but’s way better than the trigger on a sub £200 springer should be.

The slim fore stock tapers slightly to the end and the Realtree camo design on our test rifle, along with a couple of swoopy grooves also helped relieve the profile.

ON AIM

Breaking the RX1250 is made easier by the 535mm barrel that includes a 180mm plastic cocking aid-cum-silencer. It appears to be moulded to the barrel with no obvious means of removal so I couldn’t tell you whether it makes any difference to muzzle report but suspect it does, at least a bit.

A light tap is all that is needed to break the action and sweeping it down to cock the rifle requires little effort and should be easy enough for younger shooters. The cocking process also automatically sets the safety catch at the back of the action.

A white dot indicates the catch is in the safe position and if some reason you decide to push it in with the barrel broken, an anti-bear trap will prevent any accidents. Even if there was a reason for taking the catch off before the barrel is returned – and I’m struggling to think of one – it can be reset by pulling the barrel down again. The trade off is that you cannot de-cock the RX1250 and will need to fire an unwanted pellet safely into the ground.

Lock up when you return the barrel after cocking is reassuringly solid with no discernible play at the breech on our test rifle. And should you notice any in time, removing the stock will allow you to nip up a bolt again.

A 65mm dovetail rail provides ample room to attach a scope and the cap at the very rear of the action acts as a scope stop to discourage any scope creep. It is plastic though and whilst there were no issues with our test rifle, you’d be advised to invest in a metal arrestor block in the event your scope moves under recoil.

If you decided against a scope, or need to wait until funds will allow the purchase of one, the RX1250 has a more than adequate set of open sights – a green fibre framed notch at the back and a red fibre in the hooded foresight. Although the windage and elevation adjustment on the rear sight has no clicks, adjustment is smooth and precise.

ON THE RANGE

Given the options the RX1250 offers with regards to sighting, the question is whether the rifle is consistent and accurate enough to justify fitting a scope for precise target shooting and pest control, or whether the open sights will suffice for a bit of tin can bashing in the back garden.

One the range with 15.89 grain JSB Hades pellets, power and consistency wouldn’t appear to be an issue as the RX1250 returned a more than commendable variance of 23 feet per second (FPS) over ten shots with an average velocity of 572 FPS or 11.55 ft/lbs.

Such figures are more than adequate for pest control and hunting. But the key ingredient is, of course, accuracy. With a target set at 20 metres I gave the rifle a through clean using a pull-through kit before putting a range of pellets through the RX1250. In addition to this Hades, these included JSB Exacts, Air Arms Diabolo Field (5.52) and a couple of H&N brands.

The results showed that although RX1250 is not pellet fussy, some brands would not, in my opinion, be suitable for pest control or hunting. The Hades were just about the best, edging out H&N Baracuda 8 and JSB Exacts.

At 20 metres from a rested position and with a scope fitted, the RX1250 gave me 10-shot groups of around 30mm. At 30 metres, the best I could do was a little over 50mm. Undpubtedly both would improve with the benefit of a little running in and more lead down the barrel.

The trigger delivered on its early promise and was a delight to use. There’s no obvious means of external adjustment but I found it to be fine straight out of the box.

Like a lot of springers, even expensive ones, there is a little twang from the action – again something that could improve with use. If not then a light tune would sort it out.

SUMMARY – TURKEYS BEST KEPT SECRET

No one likes the idea of wasting their money on something that fails to impress. The flip side is that we all love a bargain – something that outperforms expectation set by the price tag.

The Aselkon RX1250 is one such rifle. Having spent a couple of hours on the range I had to keep reminding myself that contrary to its performance, this is an affordable springer. For sure, springers from Weihrauch and Air Arms, and a few from BSA, will outperform the rifle in many areas. But you’ll have to pay an awful lot for them and I’m not sure any gulf in terms of performance is worth the additional outlay.

At the end of the day, it comes down to what you want an air rifle for. If your expectations are to plink away at targets, including those more challenging than tin cans, in the garden, then the Aselkon RX1250 will do you proud.

If you’re requirement is a little more than that and you need to deal with a few rats and squirrels out to 20 metres, possibly a bit further, then with a bit or practice this rifle won’t disappoint either.

Turkeys Best Kept Secret – a look at the full range of Aselkon Air Rifles here at Just Air Guns.

RIFLE IN PROFILE

Turkeys Best Kept Secret – the Aselkon RX1250 springer is a well-made full size, full power rifle suitable for use in the garden and short to medium range hunting and pest control.

RECOIL PAD

There’s not much in the way of recoil, but the squishy shoulder pad absorbs what little there is.

RIFLE BUTT

The rifle butt is both good to look at and ensures good shoulder fit and scope/eye alignment. The comb is not adjustable though.

SAFETY ON

Indicated by the white dot, the safety catch sets automatically upon cocking.

SAFETY OFF

Located at the back of the action, away from the trigger, the safety catch is handily placed to switch off.

ANTI-CREEP SCOPE PLATE

Though made of plastic, the cap at the rear of the action will resist moderate scope creep.

REAR SIGHT

The rear sight is adjustable for both elevation and windage. The sighting notch is framed with a couple of green fibres.

FORESIGHT

The red fibre foresight is contained in a ventilated hood.

TRIGGER

The two-stage trigger is outstandingly good and would grace many more expensive rifles.

SPECIFICATIONS 

Turkeys Best Kept Secret – RX1250 spring piston at a glance

Price:                                       £189.99

Weight:                                   Approx. 3 kgs Unscoped

Length:                                    1,070 mm

Barrel length:                          3.0 kgs

Calibres:                                  .177 and .22

Test rifle power:                      11.55ft/lbs

10 shot FPS variation:             23 FPS

Safety:                                     Automatic, Resettable

Trigger:                                    Two-Stage