The Maverick is FX Aiguns’ perfect mash-up of the FX Impact and the FX Wildcat. This very reasonably priced and highly attractive package offers a great versatility, combined with the power to fire even heavy pellets and slugs with an optimal accuracy.
It’s without a doubt a very attractive platform that FX created when they drew up the Maverick. A compact bullpup with a relatively easy to produce construction, making it possible to offer this PCP air rifle for a very decent price. That price is reflected in the fact the trigger mechanism is still a conventional bullpup configuration with pull rods, but it does feature the well-proven 2-stage match trigger and has surprisingly direct feel to it. The production-friendly design has the added advantage of having less O-rings. These will inevitably have to be replaced during the FX Maverick’s lifetime and less O-rings means less work and -more importantly- less chance of leaking when you carry out the maintenance yourself.
Don’t think for a moment the attractive price reflects the quality, accuracy or performance; an FX Maverick offers the best you can get and it’s purely the easier production process that keeps the price low. The quality and accuracy are on par with every other FX air rifle, but the Maverick has another trick up its sleeve and that’s a very high number of regulated shots per fill. But more about that in a minute.
Perfect for heavy slugs
So, what makes an FX Maverick earn its place alongside the already impressive line-up that FX Airguns offers? Its power is exactly that: its power. Of course, lightweight pellets can be used with pinpoint accuracy, but the FX Maverick is designed to excel in using heavy pellets and slugs for long distance shooting. The power to do that is partially retrieved by using an impressively large plenum. The plenum is -simply said- an air chamber right in front of the transfer port. In this chamber, the perfect amount of regulated air is at the ready for the next shot. The more air that will fit into this chamber, the more power it will give to the projectile. Think of it as being able to push the projectile through the barrel for a longer time before the air runs out. Funnily enough, it’s the simplified construction that offers the possibility to use a large plenum like this.
About flow and pressure
The pressure of the air inside of the plenum can be regulated with two AMP (Adjustable Match Precision) regulators. The first one reduces the pressure coming from the air reservoir, which helps reduce the strain on the second one.
As the second regulator can do its job under less demanding circumstances, it can be adjusted with more refinement, resulting in an even more consistent pressure for every shot.
The combination of a system with a carefully designed flow, double regulators and a large plenum, makes the FX Maverick extremely powerful. But it also makes for an impressive air-efficiency. The number of shots per fill is extremely high. If you eventually do run out of air, it’s good to know the bottles (air reservoirs) feature a valve. This enables you to carry some pre-filled bottles with you when you’re out and about.
Finetuning and barrel changes
If you think tuning is purely done with the two regulators, you’re in for a surprise. The power can be adjusted by setting the preload of the hammer spring. This is done with an external adjustment wheel with seven pre-set steps and you have the option of stepless manually finetuning too.
You can even change the calibre of the FX Maverick, using a different barrel. The barrel can easily be taken off and also features interchangeable liners with which both calibre and twist rate can be changed.
And finally, up to calibre .25, the FX Maverick features a dual hole transfer port with a small hole for light pellets and a large hole with enhanced flow for heavy slugs. How’s that for adjustability?!
Suitable for use with many accessories
We’ve told you plenty already, but there’s even more. The FX Maverick also happens to be a perfect platform for those who want to accessorise the air rifle to suit their specific needs. For this, it features Picatinny accessory rails on both sides, and there’s one at the underside too, making it easy to -for example- mount a bipod.
