Cometa Fenix Rises again.

[Petey]

Not long ago my poor 400 Fenix met an untimely end. It wasn't but a few weeks after having shoulder surgery that I decided to pull the Cometa from the locker . I had already been shooting my lighter springers but wanted a change and was really feeling up to the task. So off we went..I cracked it ,loaded a pellet and then cocked it.....so I thought. As I was returning the barrel to the locked position the unit went off...still holding on too the barrel I did my best to maintain some control .All to no avail, The Cometa was ripped from hands and literally , like a Baton, it twirled though the air over my head and eight feet away. After a short pause to take a quick inventory of all my digits and process what had just happened I walked over to my now dead Fenix. There it was on the floor, broken stock and bent barrel.
First thought was tear her down and chuck it in the trash bin.
 No...I'll wait a bit.
Ok tear her down and throw it away.
So With screwdriver in hand I grabbed the Cometa and headed for the bench.Then it hit me...
"Carbine".
I knew I could repair the stock but the barrel was a basket case.I had nothing to loose.
Wack wack with a mallet. Cut this .Crown that .
A QB79 brake from another project that never happened and bingo! A Cometa Fenix Carbine.
Light ,quick pointing and Accurate.
I de-tuned it so it's much more tame than stock form. Shoots 14.66 FTT's at 707Fps Av =16.28 FPE.   

Not too shabby for a pile a broken junk.

Happy Shootin To All!
Petey.


Before.


After.

The crack.can be seen at the wrist...not too worried about cosmetics. I see Camo on the Horizon.

[LAalex]

Love it Pete.  I think it looks better than before.

Scotty

[jusanothajoe]

Good lookin gun Petey. I like camo stocks, prolly gonna have my 97K camo dipped.

[thekid]

Nice gun, love the look of the stock.

What is your take on the Cometa's, if compared to other guns, which would it be closest too.

[flyer]

          It's a pity that such a thing happened!     
   
        The rifle looks like a new one - by the way what is the production date of this one? 
      Did you informed the shop where you bought it or the importer/representative of the firm about the event?
         
                 You did a very good job, both with the damaged stock and the barrel! 
         What is the new final length of the barrel? (after the repair)   It resembles to the "compact" edition of the rifle.

[Tater]

Very nice job reviving it.

[Petey]

Nice gun, love the look of the stock.

What is your take on the Cometa's, if compared to other guns, which would it be closest too.

Closest to the RWS 34.....Stay with your 34's . At the current price point the Cometa's are selling at , I say run away.
The 34 is a better AG and as you know a JM or Vortek kit will do wonders for it. No such kits are available for the Cometa's  and given the amount of time invested I say again..The 34 is a better path to take.


To Flyer>
The barrel length from the block to end is 9 3/4". 10" OA with brake. The Compact had a moderator...No longer available....No barrels either.
AG was made in 09.
Airforce Guns is now the current importer and supplier to PA and other dealers......I was fortunate enough to find what I needed .

Note: I drilled and tapped four holes in the underside of the brake for the grub screws. Didn't want it coming off in my hand.

[thekid]

Thanks Petey!

[Protos]

Petey you are one sick tuning mother haha,
Nice save !

Not sure I would have the patience for a spanish gun.
Fully agree with your recommend on a D34 as the 'starting point' for new shooters.

[robert w]

darn petey what the ell happened to cause that mishap ? glad you still got your digets , i think they might be needed and they are sorta handy when you need a hand . looks like you made scrap shine again . sorry it happened to ya my friend

[Petey]

Petey you are one sick tuning mother haha,
Nice save !

Not sure I would have the patience for a spanish gun.

Thanks Bro!


Robert,
You're right, Having the use of both hands is certainly an asset.
 Especially when digging in the yard..Ha! HA!  You coming over to lend a hand?

[WHITEFANG]

Glad you have the gun up and going now. Nice looking gun. I got you Pm.
Let me know if I can help you again. My new lathe should arrive next week. Then the fun begins.

FANG

[AirScopes]

What is your take on the Cometa's, if compared to other guns, which would it be closest too.

I think Cometas are drasticly under-rated. Perhaps not well known but the RWS 94, 93 and 92 were the Cometa 400 (Fenix), 300, and 200... That is, one of the fine German gun makers thought enough of Cometa to take them on in their own line.

Cometa is made in Eibar Spain where they have been crafting fine airguns for a long time, and have a history of over 300 years of airgun manufacture. If you look at the guns from Norica and Cometa, some are intensely handsome. They also incorporate nuances in some instances like air strippers and silencing.

Spanish guns, I think, get a little plowed under for several reasons... not the least of which is the popularity of Gamo...If someone is overcharging it is them. Distribution for Cometa and Norica have both been hit-or-miss...Hopefully the issues have been corrected, but my experience with attempting imports finds Cometa maintaining old-world ways that can work against them. On the other hand, even when the Manou Bros were doing the importing they seemed to have parts... I would think Airforce knows the importance of that and while they may not have a stock of parts yet, I would be surprised if they made no effort to stock them.

Personally the hold and balance of Cometa rifles fits me perfectly, and for that measure of comfort I find them easier to shoot than most other rifles.

Richard

[GunnerAl]

I too can go along with what you said AirScopes..

I too have a Fenix 400 (.177) and I think it's a great air rifle. I bought this about 5+ years ago and it was accurate and powerful right out of the box shooting BSA Wolverines, which are just repacked JSB Exacts. Mine had a plain barrel with a ramp sight at the end of it, no huge big whatever (sound moderator or weight) that you see stuck on the latest models. I can't say anything fantastic about it because I never stopped to take an objective look at it. It's a rifle that does what it's intended to in my opinion, so you just seem to use it without thinking, or worrying about it,, and it does all you ask, really well. It's as accurate as any other .177'er that I have and has quite a nice'ish trigger and is quite light and well balanced. The one thing it does have is plenty of power. It seems to have a slight edge in velocity over other similarly powered rifles,, just a tad and no more...

I should actually take it out and give it another leash on life as it was such a fun rifle to use, the last time I used it, a couple of years ago...