A.E.A. the gun of the moment ?

[buddyb]

I"m looking for the AEA .22 standard challenger. How stiff is the bolt action on these guns?

[Nomadic Pirate]

I"m looking for the AEA .22 standard challenger. How stiff is the bolt action on these guns?

The .30 I tested the bolt was anything but hard, actually very, very managable
I found bolts in Hatsans and Marauders way, way worse.

[Wayne52]

I"m looking for the AEA .22 standard challenger. How stiff is the bolt action on these guns?

Buddy that's the one that I've been waiting to see in stock again, it seems the only Challengers are the bullpups in .22 caliber and I don't even want a bullpup for hunting.

[Spacebus]

Just found this thread and haven't read through all 12 pages yet. I am really seriously considering ordering an AEA .45 or .50 Challenger Bullpup. I know the closest thing out right now is the .357 so I would love to hear from other's experience.

The .45 is more appealing to me with the higher availability of ammo. Is there anyone else besides NSA that makes good .50 slugs? There just don't seem to be a lot of .50 ammo out there. To me the advantage of the .50 is the ability to hurl some really heavy round ball ammo.

[Spacebus]

Just found this thread and haven't read through all 12 pages yet. I am really seriously considering ordering an AEA .45 or .50 Challenger Bullpup. I know the closest thing out right now is the .357 so I would love to hear from other's experience.

The .45 is more appealing to me with the higher availability of ammo. Is there anyone else besides NSA that makes good .50 slugs? There just don't seem to be a lot of .50 ammo out there. To me the advantage of the .50 is the ability to hurl some really heavy round ball ammo.

Just read through all 12 pages... very close to placing a pre-order for a .45 or .50 CH BP.

[jimbo]

Check out Mr. Hollow point, I got my .50 cal. slugs from him.

[Spacebus]

Anyone know the actual bore diameter of the AEA .45 and .50? It does seem like the AEA stuff likes Mr. HP ammo.

[Gone Fishing]

Just saw an impressive video on AEA. Pretty cool stuff. Been watching videos here and there. A couple models in particar are pretty cool. The semi auto in .25 is pretty nice.

[jimbo]

.495 to .498 is what Bin says.

[Spacebus]

I showed the Fox video to my wife and said I was thinking about getting it for myself for Christmas, she was impressed with the rifle. I'm very close to placing an order. Thanks for the tip on the bore. Also curious about twist rate if anyone knows that.

[Nomadic Pirate]

The big advantage for the .45 is if it's using the .452 bore there's a ton of .45 pistol bullets sold by many casters.

[Gone Fishing]

I wish their 50 and 72 cal were not so ugly. Their other rifles have a sleeker look. The Zeus looks aesthetically imbalanced. I suppose it is balancing with the power haha. Still a cool gun. The only other gun same size and larger being made was by Extreme Bug Bore. I haven't heard much from them, however.

[Spacebus]

The big advantage for the .45 is if it's using the .452 bore there's a ton of .45 pistol bullets sold by many casters.

Yes, I'm really leaning towards the .45 just due to the sheer volume of ammo sizes out there. The .50 is nice for shooting round ball, but that's the only advantage I can see. I don't know if the .45 Challenger is .452 or .457, but either would be fine, just wanting to know before I order so I can order ammo as well. The Fox website doesn't list the .45, but the other vendors do. I've heard of people ordering from Bin without issue, but his legal stuff makes me really hesitate, but also makes me want to order one soon in case there are no more coming in the future!

[Nomadic Pirate]

I wish their 50 and 72 cal were not so ugly. Their other rifles have a sleeker look. The Zeus looks aesthetically imbalanced. I suppose it is balancing with the power haha. Still a cool gun. The only other gun same size and larger being made was by Extreme Bug Bore. I haven't heard much from them, however.

The Zeus Carbine looks fantastic in my opinion
https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/aea-zeus-carbine-ready-to-rock/?referrer=1

Those longer barreled ones look funky in my opinion,...the 32" bullpups in particular look silly to me

[jimbo]

I ordered the .50 long stock because I wanted to make sure I met Indiana's Requirement of minimum .40 cal.and 400 fpe. So far I've had nothing but good to say about Bin. He answers my emails right away and has been very helpful to me. And as far as .50 cal. goes I think Mr. Hollow point makes about any thing you like.

[Spacebus]

I ordered the .50 long stock because I wanted to make sure I met Indiana's Requirement of minimum .40 cal.and 400 fpe. So far I've had nothing but good to say about Bin. He answers my emails right away and has been very helpful to me. And as far as .50 cal. goes I think Mr. Hollow point makes about any thing you like.

Mr. HP does make them, but definitely more expensive than .45 options on the market. I'm leaning towards the .50 bullpup because it should still deliver 400-ish FPE with Hornaday .495 round ball. With a .495 bore it should also shoot the Seneca .50 cal slugs pretty well, and they aren't too bad on price. The video Fox Air uploaded on the .50 Challenger Bullpup has them hitting 600+ FPE with a 300 grain slug at 950 fps, the Seneca should deliver pretty close. I'll have to go back and watch the video again and see if he says who made the slugs used in the test.

[Spacebus]

I sent an email to Bin asking about the bore size on the .45 and he confirmed it is .457 bore. I also sent an email to Fox to see if they have tried .495 round ball. Right now I'm leaning .45 but will wait a few days and see if I still want it.

[Nomadic Pirate]

The problem with .50 ammo is that there's way more .510 options on the market then .495

so if you get a .495 gun it's going to be hard to get higher weighs bullets

.495 guns usually shoot the EPP/UG and roundballs well.

I buy Hornady Roundballs, and EPP/UG either from Hunter supply ( price gouging at the moment ) or Air Venturi

[Spacebus]

The problem with .50 ammo is that there's way more .510 options on the market then .495

so if you get a .495 gun it's going to be hard to get higher weighs bullets

.495 guns usually shoot the EPP/UG and roundballs well.

I buy Hornady Roundballs, and EPP/UG either from Hunter supply ( price gouging at the moment ) or Air Venturi

What's EPP/UG? I'm really leaning .457 given the ammo options and the same muzzle energy as the .495. There are also more bullet molds for casting my own. Not sure if swaging is feasible at a small scale hobbyist level.

[Nomadic Pirate]

Yeah .457 and .495 is so close that the availability of .457 heavy store ammo surely would tip the balance,

EPP/UG



https://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=50-210A


Also I've not been able to find any sizing dies for .495 so that even makes the casting for that caliber harder.