LET’S GET TACTICAL

When they first appeared, many dismissed bullpups as a flash-in-the-pan gimmick. Now, despite being true Marmite guns, they are an established part of our sport.

Manufacturers are always looking to give us the next thing and though they’ve existed for a while, the last couple of years has seen an increase in the number of tactical rifles.

So named because many of them mimic designs used by the military, just about every air rifle maker has added a tactical model to their line-up. In a new twist to the genre, many tactical rifles have a modular design, allowing you to swap out standard parts for third party items.

I don’t think it is quite accurate to say the FX Impact started things off, as military-style rifles predated it, but with the Impact, the Swedish company made many of us realise we wanted a tactical rifle.

The Impact is still regarded as the yardstick by which other tactical rifles must be measured, and rightly so in my opinion. But there’s no getting away from the fact that at £1,800 plus, it’s not cheap.

So for our group test this month we’re looking at whether it’s possible to get tactical without