Aea airguns

[Zeddymon]

I took a chance on a .22 HP Varmint.   The feedback I read on carbine was positive vs. the problems I've heard with the semi-autos.  I'll report back when I've had a little time with it.

you will have fun with that little gun!!!

there are 2 AEA "Dealers" one authorized one not, ZAK out of Georgia is the real deal, the other coming out of Groton Mass is selling guns but offers no service, and the first shipments were dissasembled by chineese customs that is the main reason there has been sooooo much o-ring problems, they are working out the problems with the semi auto's

ZAK has reached an "agreement" with AEA to ensure even the ones he doesn't sell get fixed to protect the brand name, imo he is going above and beyond for AEA owners who have bought guns from this other "dealer" by fixing them,,,,,, remember ZAK is going through all of his guns to ensure they work properly

the other "dealer" has even changed his ebay business name to read aeausa, but he is not!!!!
Zak toke the fight to ebay and is also listing AEA airguns there but read the location and the full description and you will notice who is the real AEA

this is not AEA USA:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/AEA-Precision-PCP-rifle-22-HP-Varmint-Bolt-Action-Brand-New/143519098132?hash=item216a67a514:g:r1AAAOSwHr9eKgjs
this is the video from that "dealer" :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovdJ4JqQFD4&t=214s

this is the real AEAUSA:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/air-gun-rifle-pcp-AEA-Terminator-357-Semiautomatic/254484294170?hash=item3b40722a1a:g:udoAAOSw4tVeFUAL
this is ZAK and his video: 

[Lastdog]

Maybe I missed something but on the AEA website they list the weight of the HP semi-auto at Pounds and then I see on eBay 9.6 lbs. 9.6 lbs is the listed weight for the terminator which has to weight more that the HP semi. Any one that has one can you weight it and let us know the actual weight?

[Danny]

I took a chance on a .22 HP Varmint.   The feedback I read on carbine was positive vs. the problems I've heard with the semi-autos.  I'll report back when I've had a little time with it.

you will have fun with that little gun!!!

there are 2 AEA "Dealers" one authorized one not, ZAK out of Georgia is the real deal, the other coming out of Groton Mass is selling guns but offers no service, and the first shipments were dissasembled by chineese customs that is the main reason there has been sooooo much o-ring problems, they are working out the problems with the semi auto's

ZAK has reached an "agreement" with AEA to ensure even the ones he doesn't sell get fixed to protect the brand name, imo he is going above and beyond for AEA owners who have bought guns from this other "dealer" by fixing them,,,,,, remember ZAK is going through all of his guns to ensure they work properly

the other "dealer" has even changed his ebay business name to read aeausa, but he is not!!!!
Zak toke the fight to ebay and is also listing AEA airguns there but read the location and the full description and you will notice who is the real AEA

this is not AEA USA:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/AEA-Precision-PCP-rifle-22-HP-Varmint-Bolt-Action-Brand-New/143519098132?hash=item216a67a514:g:r1AAAOSwHr9eKgjs
this is the video from that "dealer" :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovdJ4JqQFD4&t=214s

this is the real AEAUSA:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/air-gun-rifle-pcp-AEA-Terminator-357-Semiautomatic/254484294170?hash=item3b40722a1a:g:udoAAOSw4tVeFUAL/

[/unquote]

I don't think it's fair to say the other dealership is not legitimate.  They have a good reputation with their existing customer base.  I've heard Zach is working hard to address issues and I wish him the best of luck.

[/unquote]

[Airgunhunter73]

James I have a HP semi 22 with a Hawke Vantage 6-24x44 scope on it and it weighs 7#10oz and feels liter to me very handy with the folding buttstock.

[Lastdog]

Thanks terry, that’s more like it. About to buy one any goods and or bads I should know first?

[Airgunhunter73]

Good is the one I have is pretty accurate shooting JSB 18.1 at 1000+fps still accurate at 25yds but that's really pushing a 18gr, also shooting a JSB 34gr at 900+fps good ragged hole at 25yds farthest I've shot it so far, now the bad it has a fairly heavy trigger but it's manageable. hopefully it'll warm up some with a little sunshine so I can get it out an do some more testing on accuracy hope this helps, zero problems with feed but be careful with the magazine don't turn it to far when loading it or the spring can pop loose a real bear to get back in place don't ask me how I know this Lol, it works like a Prod mag for loading.

[Danny]

Just received a .22 AEA Varmint.

Some quick unboxing and firing initial impressions. 

Overview:

I would put the basic machining quality at a level of many mid to high end PCP's…considerably better than Umarex or Hatsan.  Nice actually.

11mm airgun scope rail.

Trigger break is clean and crisp but very heavy.  Didn't measure but I'd guess up in the 4+ lb range.  Probably an opportunity to improve it by swapping springs.

Noise level is a little lower than the Umarex Gauntlet.  Not whisper quiet but perfectly acceptable for backyard IMHO.  There are 5 aluminum cups in the end of the shroud.

Cocking efforts are OK.  Not smooth and silky like FX Impact but not heavy and scratchy like Umarex Gauntlet.  There is no latch to hold cocking lever back which makes swapping magazines a two handed operation.

Adjustable folding stock is a nice feature…though it has some freeplay when latched.

500cc bottle is rated to 300 bar but fill is limited to a bit below 220 bar.  The sweet spot is even lower…203 bar down to 134 bar.  A reg would allow one to fill the bottle all the way up and increase the shot count considerably.

Magazine loading is your typical turn and load against spring then load the rest.  Nice and deep.  Polymags fit with no issues.

The bad/ugly:

Shipped with the wrong size magazine (.25 caliber) and the magazine had a broken spring plunger.  Seller told me they'd ship a replacement right out.  I wonder if the spring plungers might be adjusted too high which causes the magazine cover to sheer off the ball?  I'll check the height of the next one before moving it around much. 

No instruction manual.

[Danny]

Follow up:

Took a .22 gamble on an AEA HP Varmint.

Here’s my take on the platform and brand based on this one sample.

My initial impression is it is a solid platform with good accuracy and solid features.  Lightweight. Powerful. Good shot count. Accurate. Not pellet fussy (with a big caveat I’ll get to later.). It is plagued with build quality issues…none are insurmountable with good warranty support (another caveat I’ll talk about later) or rudimentary DIY skills.

Overview:

I would put the basic machining quality at a level of many mid to high end PCP's…considerably better than Umarex or Hatsan.  The receiver looks to be a machined alloy casting, which avoids the sharp touch edges of many brands. The machining looks good…clean cuts, but sharp edges abound.  I already snipped pieces off the fill probe o-rings. A lot of the assembly is held together with knurled press pins which might not bode well for disassembly and reassembly.  The AEA logo and caliber are painted on the receiver instead of etched or stamped…looks cheap and unlikely to last long.

It didn’t come with an instruction manual or exploded view.

It arrived with the following quality issues.

Wrong caliber magazine with broken detent ball plunger. To the seller’s credit that already sent me the proper replacement and it works fine.  They said they’d send me a spare magazine for my troubles once China was back online.  The supply chain is a big question mark in our current environment and there rocky start could complicate things.

Missing barrel locating pin (not a big deal considering other brands often do without these but might be handy when switching calibers/barrels.)

Loose stock tube.  It has free play/wobble in the receiver.  Not sure if this is typical.  Slid a slice of aluminum can in between the stock and the pin and that fixed it right up.  Nice and tight now.

Slowwwwww fill.  Possibly snipped o-ring migrated into fill hole???  Will require some investigation and disassembly as well.

A few minor scratches and scuffs you wouldn’t expect on a new gun.

11mm airgun scope rail.

Trigger break was clean and crisp but very heavy.  In the 6+ lb range.  I swapped out the springs and got that down to a respectable 2 and a half pounds...with a clean break.  Makes for a nice hunting weight.

Noise level is very backyard friendly.  Quite a bit lower than a Umarex Gauntlet.  Maybe slightly louder than Taipan Veteran. There are 5 aluminum cups in the end of the shroud.  It isn’t threaded for a mod but one isn’t really needed.

Cocking is straight back and efforts are not bad at all.  Not smooth and silky like FX Impact but not heavy and scratchy like Umarex Gauntlet.  There is no latch to hold cocking lever back which makes swapping magazines a two handed operation.

Adjustable folding stock is a nice feature.  Stock takes a lot of force to free up to fold.  This makes it nice and stiff...at the expense of folding ease.

500cc bottle is rated to 300 bar but fill is limited to a bit below 220 bar.  The sweet spot is even lower…203 bar down to 134 bar. A reg would allow one to fill the bottle all the way up and increase the shot count though it doesn’t look like that would leave much plenum volume so it would probably be only good for lower power setting.  As it is there might be 50-60 shots in the sweet spot but that depends on whether you are hunting or long range target shooting.

Magazine loading is your typical turn and load against spring then load the rest.  Nice and deep. Polymags fit with no issues. The .22 mag holds 12 rounds.

It arrived set up very hot and there doesn’t appear to be any way to adjust the power short of swapping to a lighter spring.

15.89 gr. Hades: 1055 fps, 39.3 fpe.

16 gr. Polymags: 1038 fps, 38.3 fpe.

I shot groups at 41 yards (the length of my backyard range.)

The groups tightened up once I lightened the trigger.  But it was pretty windy day so I need to wait for a less windy day to truly access the capability.

Given the power it was generating I tried some NSA .2165-.217 slugs in 17.5, 20.2 and 23 gr.  They all did fairly well…in fact they tightened up from the pellets. There were some ragged one hole groups with a weird flyer here and there messing up the group.  The 17.5 gr. slugs weren't loading reliably in the magazine, a problem I've seen with short slugs in other spring loaded magazines (like the FX Impact.)  The shorter slugs will sometimes tip over and then jam when you try to load them.  The problem went away with the longer 20.2 gr. slugs.

17.5 gr. NSA 953 fps, 35.3 fpe

20.2 gr. NSA 900 fps, 36.3 fpe

23 gr. NSA 775 fps, 30.6 fpe

My last group of the windy day  with the 23 gr. NSA's was under ¾.” 

She has become a go-to hunting gun, taking 3 squirrels so far with the 20.2 gr. NSA slugs.

[Lastdog]

Danny thanks for the follow up. Looks like a winner.