Stoeger X-20 Initial Review

[longislandhunter]

A little over a week ago I finally ordered the .177 cal Stoeger X-20 that I've been wanting and it arrived today.  The rifle came with a "Advantage" timber camo synthetic stock, a 3x9x40 AO Stoeger scope and a 1 piece mount.  The rifle comes with the scope mounted on the rifle using the included 1 piece mount but I'll have more to say about that later.  I only got to play with the X-20 for about an hour so this is just an initial review.  I'll do a follow up review after I get to spend more time with the rifle and do complete pellet grouping and chrony testing.

After the UPS man handed me my package I retreated to my basement workshop and opened the box.  The rifle was nicely double boxed and survived the journey in fine shape.  The scope was indeed already mounted on the rifle using the 1 piece mount and shouldering the rifle revealed the eye relief was perfect for me, a good start

The stock was very comfortable to shoulder and pointed on target nicely.  It's also a very solid, nicely constructed synthetic stock.  The Advantage timber camo pattern is dipped onto the rifle, you can just barely see the seam on the underside of the rifle from the dipping procedure and the camo pattern itself is really nice.  This rifle will blend in fantastic in the woods.    

The metal fit and finish is very nice.  There were no mars, blemishes or scratches on the rifle and bluing was nice and consistent in color throughout.  Not the deepest color I've ever seen but still nice and consistent, as nice as any of my GAMO rifles.  The rifle was covered with a thin film of oil, but it cleaned up nicely and shined up nicely.  

I looked through the barrel and it didn't really look that dirty and since I was so eager to take it outside and shoot it I decided to dispense with cleaning the barrel just yet.  I grabbed some CPL's and headed out to the backyard range.  The rifle cocked nice and smooth and the barrel lockup was nice and tight.  With the first pellet loaded I took aim at 10 yards and fired.  The powder burner "crack" was so loud and sharp and resonated through my neighborhood so clearly that  I turned and ran back to the basement to hide from the police that I just knew had to be on their way    Of course the police didn't show up and I took  the time needed to thoroughly clean the barrel.  With the barrel squeaky clean I returned to the back yard with a few targets and proceeded to test a couple of brands of pellets and see if I could find one that the rifle liked.  

I spent the next hour just shooting the rifle and having fun testing a few different pellets.  The cocking effort on the rifle is not bad at all and the cocking cycle is very smooth.  No squeaking, grinding, creaking of any kind, just a nice smooth cocking cycle with a nice lockup each time.  You might think that the short barrel would make it hard to cock but it doesn't. The firing cycle is also very nice.  A nice, quick, solid "thunk" and not the slightest bit of twang, vibration or torquing.  The recoil at firing is a very quick solid push into the shoulder just like my Trail NP XL and my Nitro Piston Venom rifles.  The rifle has a nice rubber butt plate that helps make the rifle comfortable to shoot. I was very impressed with the firing cycle of this rifle.  

The trigger is stiff but I have to say it's not that bad.  It didn't take me long to get used to the feel for the trigger and from that point on I really didn't pay much attention to it.  I had no trouble shooting the rifle accurately with the trigger and I'm sure it will get even smoother with use, but if you're used to the wonderful feel of Bobs triggers then investing in one for the Stoeger is a must.  I didn't try to adjust the trigger at all as I'll eventually just order a trigger from Bob.  

I Really liked the shorter overall length of the rifle, it just has a really nice feel to it and it will also be appreciated when out in the woods hunting.  The balance of the rifle is nice and when shouldered it comes onto target very quickly and easily.  It's not a light rifle but it's not really a heavy rifle either,, it has a very nice solid feel to it which for me helps in shooting accurately.  

I mentioned that the rifle came with the scope already installed, which is prominently displayed in Stoegers advertising, but prior to shooting I checked all the screws on the scope mount and every single one very loose.  When I went to tighten the screws I also noticed that 2 of the scope cap screws stripped during tightening.  Removing the two hex screws revealed that the metal on the screw threads was so soft that it just peeled away as I tightened them down.  I swapped out these screws with a couple of spare accushot mount screws and the problem was solved.  The 1 piece mount itself seems fine and very sturdy, it even has a stop pin that fits nicely into a notch on top of the rifle receiver, but Stoeger really needs to use some better screws.  Once the scope mount was cleaned with alcohol and everything tightened down I didn't have any scope movement or creep at all, the mount held just fine.  

As for the scope itself I found the Stoeger 3x9x40 AO to be very nice.  It had clear optics, the AO was pretty accurate, the mildot reticle is very sharp and easy to use, the eye focus adjusted nicely and the vertical and horizontal adjustment turrets adjusted easily with audible clicks for each adjustment.   As with all "combo" scopes time will tell how long it will last but so far so good.  

I didn't do any chrony testing today, it was just to cold for me to sit out there and methodically test pellets, but I can tell you this rifle is hitting very hard.  One of the targets I have on my range is a set of metal spinners designed for .22  rim fire rifles. The spinners themselves are pretty beefy and it takes a really hard hit to spin the small middle spinner completely around and the Stoeger flipped it over time after time.  Most of my medium powered .177 rifles will get that spinner to swing a bit but not flip it over completely,, the Stoeger did it no problem.  The rifles not dieseling at all so I know it's just the rifle.  I can't wait to run it through the chrony.  

As for accuracy.  The pellets I tried today were CPL's, CPHP's, Crow Mags, FTS, JSB Exact 8.3 gr and JSB Express domes 7.9 gr.  Out of that group the rifle only liked  the JSB pellets, with the Express 7.9 gr domes being the clear winner.  The 8.3 gr JSB's gave me nickel sized groups at 30 yards but the 7.9 gr domes gave me ragged hole groups at the same distance.  I have a lot more pellet testing to do, along with chrony testing, but for now at least I know the rifle loves the JSB Exact Express pellets which is fine with me as I have a large supply on hand.  

After an hour of shooting I was just so cold that I took the rifle back into the workshop, took the stock off, took the scope and mount off and then proceeded to thoroughly clean the rifle with denatured alcohol to remove any trace of oil or grease.  I put the rifle back in it's stock, reinstalled the scope and mount and the stock screws, applying blue loc-tite
and  now have the rifle sitting in the rifle cradle where it will stay for 48 hours until the loc-tite cures.  Once the loc-tite cures I'll continue with my pellet grouping tests and chrony tesing.  

So far I'm extremely happy with my Stoeger X-20. It a nice package and  I  really like it    I can't wait to let it loose on the starlings at the duck farm.  

Ok, that's it for my initial review.  I'll post the results of my pellet grouping and chrony tests once they're done.  

Jeff

[lastedtiger]

nice bro!congrats on the rifle
i bought one as well from cobra airgun few weeks back.
i am happy with this rifle as well.i just dont like the plastic part at the front end of the barrel.I have been shooting with RWS superdome at 25yards and happy with the grouping.The scope came mounted on the rifle like you said, all i had to do was sight-in.The gun is a little louder than my marauder.
For the price you can't go wrong with this rifle.I didn't get the chance to shoot anything so far because i live in NYC ,ggrrrrrrrrrr.
Talking about fps, the guys at cobra told me the chrony showed 900fps and a little bit above.

[longislandhunter]

Thanks.  Glad to hear you like yours as well.  I will be trying superdomes, as well as a few others as soon as we get a nice warm, calm day.  Glad to hear your rifle is shooting 900 fps, I'm looking forward to running mine across the chrony.

Jeff

[fperez0209]

nice bro!congrats on the rifle
i bought one as well from cobra airgun few weeks back.
i am happy with this rifle as well.i just dont like the plastic part at the front end of the barrel.I have been shooting with RWS superdome at 25yards and happy with the grouping.The scope came mounted on the rifle like you said, all i had to do was sight-in.The gun is a little louder than my marauder.
For the price you can't go wrong with this rifle.I didn't get the chance to shoot anything so far because i live in NYC ,ggrrrrrrrrrr.
Talking about fps, the guys at cobra told me the chrony showed 900fps and a little bit above.

Don't feel bad I live in the Bronx, Throggs Neck area. I shoot out of My basement in to the backyard.Its the only way to get the pesky Starlings without been seen by them. LOL

[lastedtiger]

JEFF:I am pretty confident it is better than most entry level springers.i would really appreciated if you post the chrony,compare it to your gamos and the best pellets for the x-20.    i wanted to buy a gamo instead of this......
post your impressions.

felix:Lol,i thought i was the only one .i also shoot from the basement to the backyard !my neighbors have tall trees ,i always shoot starlings with my marauder(the x-20 is not too quiet,can't fire it outside the basement..).

[gene_sc]

Jeff, that was a good take on the Stoeger. Looks like we are on the same page with these babies... The one I bought last year was a sweetheart as well. I had tuned her up and she was raffled off at the SC fun shoot. I do not know about your model Stoeger but the ones I have been buying in the wood stocks are carbine's. Shorter barrels. Can't wajit to see your numbers.

[gamo2hammerli]

Jeff, great review on the Stoeger X-20.  Looks like you've got a winner there.

[dk1677]

Looking good there Jeff!

[longislandhunter]

Thanks guys, I'm just waiting on the wind to die down so I can do my pellet grouping and chrony testing.  Gene, the X-20 I got is also the shorter barreled carbine version.  I really like the shorter barrel, gives the rifle a nice feel to it and will be of great advantage in the woods and at the duck farm 

The wind has been howling here for several days now, soon as it calms down I'll get to the rest of the testing.

Jeff

[lastedtiger]

I shoot this this morning at 30 yards witht the stoeger.Thought i should share it.It was pretty windy around here too.

[Remo]

Hi Jeff,

Just to clarify...are you talking about the X-20 Suppressor model that just came to market?

Eric

[shadow]

Great review Jeff and another reason to add a Stoeger to the collection. Ed

[josh3rd]

Jeff,

Do you have any pellets that you would like to trade or sell?  I have 11.57gr beeman silver arrows if you're interested?  PM me either way please.

Josh

[longislandhunter]

pm sent Josh

Jeff

[Smaug]

Great review. It pretty much confirms what mine's like, except that my 3-9 scope is not a mil-dot model. I wouldn't do any accuracy or chrono testing until you shoot a couple hundred pellets through it. Mine got noticeably better after 200-300 pellets.

Mine also likes the JSB Exact RS pellets. I thought they'd be a little light. But after break-in, it liked the CPLs even better! It also does really well with the heavier Meisterkugelns. Bad with Hobbys and Superpoints. OK with Superdomes or Super H-points. Good with 10.65 gr. Kodiaks.

I'll post a review on mine soon. Keep your eyes peeled.