Verminator II

Editor’s T EST: Verminator ii
Black with a
vengeance
The editor finally lands the test FX fans have been waiting for – as the
Verminator II comes under the spotlight
S
o, it’s here, then; the FX
Airguns Verminator MKII that
was unveiled over a year ago.
There’s only one question, really –
has it been worth the wait? Well,
there’s only one way to find out, and
that’s to shoot a couple of thousand
pellets through it, then compare it to
the MKI Verminator I’ve been using
for years. Here we go, then.
Overview
Let’s begin with the similarities. Like
its best-selling predecessor, the
Verminator MK2 is a takedown rifle
built around a removable buddybottle butt section, which screws onto
a multi-shot, sidelever-activated, precharged pneumatic action, and it
runs a precision, two-stage adjustable
trigger. The stock is formed from hiimpact, matte-black synthetic in an
ambidextrous design, and the rifle’s
butt section can be adjusted for
length and pad height. That’s it, the
resemblance between MKs I and II
ends there and the rest is new.
Royale pedigree
The major change brought about
during the development of the
Verminator MKII was the use of the
company’s top-of-the-range Royale
action as the mainframe. So, in place
of the standard, 8-shot alloy
magazine system, now sits the 12- or
16-shot ‘cassette’, with its ‘load the
first pellet backwards’ requirement
and its raised profile that dictates the
need for higher mounts.
Then there’s the fully-shrouded
barrel, that comes with a threaded
end-section to enable the fitting of
an extra air-expansion chamber,
The Verminator’s on-aim
stability is remarkable.
which will be supplied as standard
and makes an already-quiet rifle,
quieter still. The test rifle was such
a last-minute deal, that the rigid,
foam lined carrying case is still on
its way from the FX factory in
Sweden, but I’ve been assured that
they’re of the quality I’d expect from
Frederick Axellson and his topnotch airgun team.
Finally, the Verminator MKII carries
an on-board air pressure gauge and
the latest FX power adjuster, the latter
of which is a knurled wheel on the
side of the action, marked with one,
two and three ‘dots’ to denote its
triple-choice settings. On the test rifle,
the settings translated to 11.5 ft.lbs.
at full power, 10.1 on two dots and
6.3 on the lowest, one dot setting. As
with the previous model, I can see the
middle setting being used for close
range quarry such as feral pigeons
and rats, and the lowest setting for
plinking in the garden, or practising
those close-in standing shots.
I’ll see how ‘repeatable’ those
power settings are when I get the
MKII over the chrono, but having
tested this device during a visit to
AIRGUN WORLD
19
E D I T O R ’ S TEST: VERMINATOR II
FX earlier in the year, I’d expect it to
work as well in production as it did at
the factory test range.
rated rifles, and includes .22 live as
well as air-powered guns.
Interesting times, no doubt
about it.
SMOOTHTWIST BARREL
The new Verminator represents a
landmark in airgun production in that
it’s the first model to be fitted with a
SmoothTwist barrel as standard. In
far too basic terms, a SmoothTwist
barrel is a smoothbore until the final
few inches before the muzzle, where
external pressure from spiral dies on
the barrel blank impart a form of
rifling to the bore, only without the
grooves and lands associated with
the standard rifling process.
Ben Taylor is the
man behind the
SmoothTwist concept,
and I’ve seen the development of
his brainchild from concept to
production in .22. The .177
SmoothTwist has yet to be finalised,
but when it is, Airgun World readers
will see it first, but in the meantime,
I was interested to see if the 12inch, .22 calibre model on the test
rifle would be as ‘pellet non-fussy’ as
previous SmoothTwist barrels I’ve
tried. The SmoothTwist system has
the potential to be a genuine gamechanger, due mainly to its ability to
shoot extremely well with a wide
variety of pellets. The SmoothTwist
barrel has also shown a marked
resistance to ‘leading-up’, due it
must be supposed, to the lack of
conventional rifling grooves. This
barrel has also done some
remarkable things, accuracy-wise,
when used with high power, FAC-
Each 200-bar charge gets you
over 200 shots at full power.
20
AIRGUN WORLD
FACTS AND FIGURES
The FX Verminator MKII is charged
via a push-in connector which locates
a port in the truncated front air
reservoir. From each 200-bar fill of its
400cc bottle, the Verminator
MKII returns over 200
TOP TIP
shots at full power in .22, with the
distinct possibility of far more. I say
‘distinct possibility’ because I shot
200 pellets and the test rifle was still
going, but I was freezing and getting
decidedly fed-up, so I recharged the
rifle and went off for a warming
mooch around my shoot.
That mooch revealed much, as
these handling sessions invariably do,
about how the Verminator behaves
from shot to shot. As far as
consistency of output goes, this rifle
keeps its pellets flying within 14 f.p.s.
of each other over the 100 shots I
recorded in my notebook and the
power adjuster didn’t disturb that
consistency in any notable way, but
being a long term Verminator user I
knew that already.
The production Verminators will have a
screw-on expansion chamber supplied,
for even quieter shooting.
favourite close-quarters
I also knew that
pellet, the RWS Super
the accuracy figures
H-Point, which was
I’d recorded were
Take all the time you need
good news for me, for
right on par with my
to set up the Verminator’s
reasons I’ll soon explain.
previous Verminator
adjustable butt section
For now, I was
results, as pellet after
to suit your needs. The
pleased to confirm the
pellet snicked its way
better the fit - the better
inherent accuracy,
through the ragged,
you’ll shoot.
consistency, and pelletsub-inch holes in the
friendly nature of the
target at 45 yards. At
Verminator MKII, its Royale
35 yards, the SmoothTwist barrel
powerplant and that SmoothTwist
assisted me in producing group after
barrel. The real test results were, for
group of around half an inch, just as
me, about to be gathered as I took a
my MK1 Verminator does with
walk in the woods.
reassuring regularity.
Now here’s the big deal about the
SmoothTwist barrel; where my MK1
HUNTING WITH THE MKII
Verminator performs admirably with
You’ll have noticed that I’ve fitted the
three or four brands of pellet, the
Verminator with an MTC 3-12 x 32
MKII does the business with twice as
Viper X Connect scope and a Fenix
many. While the best will still be the
TK15 lamping kit, via the ingenious
best, the SmoothTwist system
Sportsmatch scope mount and
definitely seems to bring the best out
almost-as-ingenious Weaver base
of more brands.
lamp mount. This is hardware with a
On test, it was the Daystate
defined purpose and that purpose is
Rangemaster Li and Air Arms
shooting rats for the final part of the
Diabolo Field that topped the
Total Airgun Hunting II series.
absolute accuracy charts, so no
To shoot rats efficiently, you need
surprises there, but the list of
to be versatile, at least as far as your
runners-up was impressively long.
positional work goes. Shots could
Using the test rifle, I would happily
come at all sorts of angles, ranges
hunt with RWS Superdome, H&N FT
and awkward stances, and you need
Trophy, Bisley Magnum, Defiant,
to be confident of shooting quickly,
Accupell, Premier and all of the JSB
smoothly and accurately. The
derivatives I’ve ever tried, including
Connect scope gives me a
the FX own brand pellet. Drop the
magnification range between 3x and
maximum hunting range to 25 yards
12x, with an illuminated centre cross
and another shortlist of pellet options
and a multi-aimpoint vertical crosscomes into play, including my
hair. Just as importantly, with the
EDITOR’S TE S T : VERMINATOR II
The magazine works perfectly, and
you’ll soon get the hang of loading
the first pellet backwards.
The ingenious thumbwheel power
adjuster offers versatility.
rubber eye cup fitted, I’ve also got a
reference point for my head position,
as my eyebrow touches the cup in
the same place for each shot. With
the centre of the bore 45mm below
the scope’s sight line and the target
angles changing all over the place, I
think it’s vital that my head
alignment is perfect every time and
that ‘touch reference’ really helps.
That Fenix TK15 lamp will help, too,
thanks to its four-stage brightness
adjustment, small size, and
astounding 337 lumens output,
should I require that much.
Back to my walk in the woods, and
an extremely important requirement
of Verminator use. You must, repeat
stability comes from having the
balance point closer to the shoulder
– with the test setup the balance
point ran through the trigger – which
is due, you’d think, to the amount of
metalwork in the rear half of the
rifle. Anyway, this little rifle welds
itself into your stance, and that
drop-down grip has enough of a
shelf at its base to let you ‘hang’
your trigger hand off it, rather than
hanging onto it, and this reduces
tension while increasing flexibility in
the wrist, which you need for those
angled shots.
The fluted topline of the fore end,
plus the moulded ridges in the
contact areas, promote a variety of
“ITS ABILITY AS A RIFLE IS
ALWAYS PLACED AHEAD OF
ITS TAKEDOWN ASPECT”
must, make every effort to set up this
rifle to suit your exact requirements.
Try every permutation of setup with
the adjustable butt section, until the
Verminator comes to the shoulder,
and the eye, with comfortable
consistency. Every minute spent
getting this rifle to suit you will
translate to better accuracy where,
and when, it counts most.
With that job done, you can get
the full potential from this unique
rifle, exploiting its excellent trigger
and on-aim stability to the full. That
forward hand holds, and the overall
handling report on the Verminator
MKII is highly positive. Make no
mistake, this is an extremely stable
rifle, which inspires total confidence
in your ability to hit the target.
THINGS I MAY MOAN ABOUT
There’s just a single feature on the
MKII that I don’t regard as an
upgrade, and that’s the height of the
magazine. This sits a full 18mm
proud of the breech cut-out and
requires the use of higher mounts.
Cranking the scope higher over the
barrel is rarely ideal, especially for
close range work, because it
increases the disparity between the
sightline of the scope and the flight
line of the pellet, which demands
holdover to compensate.
At a push, I could moan about how
fiddly it is to adjust the butt pad, and I
might even whinge that the sidelever
has some too-sharp corners on it, but
overall, I’m seriously struggling to find
legitimate gripes about this rifle.
THINGS I REALLY LIKE
The sheer overall shootability of the
Verminator MKII is, for me, its finest
feature. The Royale action is better
than the MKI’s, and the SmoothTwist
barrel adds more usable pellet
options. The rifle’s stability on aim is
nothing short of remarkable, and
combined with the handling, boosts
confidence to refreshing levels.
There’s a ton of shots available, plus
the rifle can be taken down and
transported in the most convenient
carrying case possible. That said, it’s
always been a tribute to the
Verminator that its ability as a rifle is
always placed well ahead of its
takedown aspect. Make no mistake
about it, this is a genuine, full-on
hunting gun that will do the best
possible job of putting any and all
airgun quarry in the bag.
VERDICT
The FX Airguns Verminator II is
something truly special, and I’m
Plenty of precision
in the trigger.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
Model: Verminator MKII
Manufacturer: FX Airguns
Country of origin: Sweden
Type: Pre-charged, buddy bottle, takedown
sporter
Calibre:.22, .177
Cocking: Sidelever
Loading: Via removable, 12- or16-shot
magazine. .22 mag’ is 12-shot
Trigger: 2-stage adjustable
Stock type: Synthetic, two-piece, ambidextrous
Weight: 2.7kg (5.9lbs) unscoped
Length: 774mm (30.5ins)
Barrel: 317mm (12ins)
Fill pressure: 200 bar
Shots per charge: 200-plus in .22
Variation over 100 shots: 13 fps for .22 on test
Average energy: 11.5 ft.lbs.
Best group at 35 yards: 11mm diameter
Average group at 35 yards: 13mm
Favoured pellet of test rifle: Daystate
Rangemaster Li
Other notable pellets on test: Air Arms Diabolo
Field, H&N FT Trophy, RWS Superdome and
Super H-Point, Defiant, Bisley Magnum, all JSB
derivatives.
Options: 500cc air bottle, FAC (24 ft.lbs.) version
Contact: A.S.I. on 01728 688555
Price: £924.00
confident that this one will serve me
every bit as well as the previous
version – plus that vital bit more.
AIRGUN WORLD
21