Alpha Militaria’s Rich Saunders gets delusions of grandeur when he tests the FX Crown MK2 Compact
Two cups of tea and half a packet of hobnobs and I still can’t come up with a royalty-themed pun that isn’t rubbish or been used before, so I’ll just get on with it…
Though perhaps best known for its market leading bullpups, such as the Impact, Wildcat and most recently, the Maverick, Swedish company FX Airgun’s take on a more traditional, sporter style air rifle is the FX Crown.
Now in its second iteration, the Crown’s family lineage is easy to spot, with plenty of adjustment features, high power models and the ability to swap calibres, barrels and liners. In fact, the line up comprises .177, .22, .25 and .30 with barrels ranging in length from 380mm to 700mm – all containing the Smooth Twist X Superior Liner apart from the .177, which uses the STX liner.
There are plenty of stock options too. Minelli designed walnut and black synthetic soft touch thumbhole stocks are complemented by Forest Green, Yellow and Black and Black Pepper laminate options. In addition, there’s a GRS designed Green Mountain stock with additional adjustment features.
The stocks wrap around a fully regulated, side lever action that is fed by a 480cc carbon wrapped bottle (aluminium on the entry level VP Edition) and a large capacity magazine that delivers 22 shots in .177, 18 in .22, 16 in .25 and 13 in .30.
High powered models range from 28 ft. lbs. in .177 up to 75 ft. lbs. in .30. In between you can have a 54 ft. lbs. .22 and 65 ft. lbs. .25. Adjustability to find the perfect set up for different weights and styles of ammunition has long been a feature of FX products and the Crown mk2 is no different. A dial on the left at the rear of the action adjusts hammer spring tension and another just forward of the breach alters power output by adjusting the transfer port. And whilst it’s denied to 12 ft. lbs. rifle users, high power owners can also change the regulator pressure.
Of course, all that flexibility is at its most advantageous when you have more foot pounds to play with, but the control afforded by the two dials gives 12 ft. lbs. shooters the ability to fine tune and optimise the set up for different pellets.
Once you have twiddled your knobs, the Crown sits comfortably in the shoulder. The butt pad can be adjusted for height and angle, and although there is no adjustment in the comb, eye alignment for a scope mounted on the split picatinny rail is spot on.
The pistol grip is acquired via a thumbhole cut out and has grooves either side to accommodate your thumb and trigger finger regardless of whether you are right or left handed. However, the biathlon style side lever and the switch style safety catch are designed with right handers in mind.
Shot count from the 480cc bottle, which takes a 250 bar charge (the aluminium bottle on the VP Edition takes 230 bar) is prodigious. I couldn’t get a figure from FX for the 12 ft. lbs. FX Crown mk2 Compact I tested for Alpha Militaria and got bored after 400 shots. When I checked the gauge, which is located under the fore stock next to the fill port and another gauge for regulator pressure, there was still plenty of air. This is a ‘tin of pellets on a fill’ rifle with no mistake.
Incidentally, the test rifle was fitted with an Element Optics Titan FFP 5-25x56 scope which did an admirable job of exploiting the Crown Compact’s prodigious accuracy potential. On the chronograph, the rifle returned test string of 11.7 ft. lbs. with a spread of just seven feet per second, and I’m sure it would have continued to do so if my attention span hadn’t been spanned.
The review FX Crown Mk2 Compact in the black synthetic soft touch stock has a 380mm barrel and weighs just under three kilos unscoped. With its 380mm barrel, it measures exactly a metre with the supplied silencer fitted.
