Newbie TR wants your advice/opinion.

[Jabberwocky413]

Hello folks, I'm looking to buy my first Target rifle to use at club level at Bisley. Shooting mainly 300 to 600 m with the odd bimble on Thistldown. I'm looking at 4 rifles on the Fultons site. They are F2563 RPA at £2750, F2382 Paramount at £2100, F1626 another Paramount at £2100 and finally F2377 the Swing at £1400. I have cast my inexperienced over these guns in the shop and have my reservations on one or two of them. I'm well aware of peoples opinions on Fultons prices and I'm not wanting to discuss that here but I'm genuinely interested in what you think of the guns themselves, their good points and their bad, what you would do with each gun to bring it upto your standard? Have a look on their site or the next time your down there and let me know what you think.

Cheers chums!

[IainWR]

£2750 is pricey for a 2nd hand RPA - a new one in full fig with Gemini stock and fully adjustable sights comes in at about £3600 - so unless it's ex-showroom it's overpriced.

Be careful with Paramounts. The two you list are (by the serials) near the first and last in the production run. The Paramount has a design weakness in that the primary extraction is forced by a cam cut into the bolt handle movement slot. If it is cut incorrectly, there is very little that can be done to fix it. That said, if they are right in that respect, Paramounts are very good and robust guns. The prices are on the high side of average, but if the stock is in good condition, the sights are serviceable without backlash and the barrel is on the low side of half worn, they may be worth the money.

The Swing at £1400 may be a good buy, but you do need to look carefully. Which mark is it - they got better as they went on, and the Mk5 has a number of detail advantages over its predecessors. Does the bolt work smoothly? - Swings are hard to open compared with most guns. How old is the barrel? A new barrel is £600 worth before you start. What sights are on it? How is the stock and, in particular, the bedding?

I own both a Swing Mk5 and an RPA Quadlock. The Swing is 35 years old, the QL 10. Both shoot to international standards. The Swing is the one that set records. The QL is more comfortable to work, but a bit heavy to handle.

Iain

[Hauptman]

I looked at the aforementioned Swing F2377 a couple of years ago.......i. It's a mk4 if I remember correctly. They had 2 Swings, and I bought the thumbhole mk4. They're cracking rifles.
They'll possibly let you have a go on the zero range. After checking that I had a slot, they held my FAC, and I put a few rounds through it. Nice trigger, heavy bolt lift (they cock on opening) but they are easily fettled.
Whatever happens, make sure you haggle, it's been on the shelf a long time.
H/man

[Holds Tight]

For £2750 IMH, look at ; http://www.hps-tr.com/products/target-rifles-stocks/ £2800 brand new all in is pretty hard to beat.

[Christel]

The Swing, I would offer Fultons £1050, see what happens.

[mackie]

I'm sort on in the same boat except I'm a lefty and have access to a good club gun so I'm going to hold off and save up for something new eventually. Can you really get a gemini-stocked RPA-actioned rifle new for £3600?

[Dougan]

So there you go, a few opinions there...basically they're all suitable rifles, with some pros and cons, but a little pricey...

The main bit of advice I'd give is that as you're going to want to shoot it from 300 yards to 1000 you need to be able to get a good head position relative to the rear sight - If the rifle has neither an adjustable cheek-piece or an adjustable front sight then getting a consistent head position can be difficult...as you are a good shot these little things will make a difference.

If you could get the Swing closer to the price Christel suggests then it could well be worth it; but you need to check out the barrel - It doesn't state the barrel length on the advert, and a 30" would make it more attractive - Assuming the barrel still has some life in it, then at the rate we shoot it would be still be OK for several more seasons, and at a good price, there's even the possibility of re-barreling it in the future...and/or you wouldn't lose too much if you wanted to upgrade it after a season or two...

...it also has good sights, including a nice adjustable front sight, and you can always rig up a rear cheek rest at the height you want - the only 'con' is the stiff lift of the bolt and being a Mk.4 there is a technique to loading...but you didn't have a problem with mine (same action) so it shouldn't be an issue.

As Hauptman says, Fultons will let you try them...and will probably even let you take it on the range for a proper try-out...

...If you're not in a rush, then I'd be up for (I'm sure some of the others would be up for it too) booking a target when the weather
gets a bit nicer for a pre-season zeroing/practice....?

[Jabberwocky413]

Ladies and gentlemen thats the sort of information I was after, first class and thank you!
I liked the idea of having the RPA as its the most upto date but its rear sight mounting bracket covers the bolt release and makes bolt removal a right faff, so it needs to be replaced with a top mounted sight, more expense from the start!
Both Paramounts are good and will need a further good looking at armed with your advice.
I like the Swing as well but can't help wondering why no one else has taken it up for so long?
Holdstight, I have also seen the advert for the HPS Competitor and need to see one in the flesh first or at least hear from someone who owns one, any takers?
In the mean time, if anyone else has an opinion I'm only too pleased to hear it and I will keep you all informed on how things pan out in the future!

[kingburyshot]

My Paramount has shot very well for a long time. There have been no problems with reliability.

[amyjane]

I would recommend going to Ron Hilyard (Thames Valley Arms) and getting a new Barnard - spend a bit more but it will hold it's value.