53
GUN TEST | AIRGUN
The well defi ned drop-down target grip, is
nicely shaped, managing to offer fi nger
grooves, a thumb-up shelf, and palm recess
- all within a fully ambidextrous specifi cation.
No mean feat, and with that scalloped away
butt section, fl ared forend, and extensive
Picatinny-style rails, the confi guration has
more than a touch of fullbore sniper rifl e
about it!
STOEGER POD
Whilst focusing on the stock, the design
allows for the length of pull to be altered by
removing that spacer plate just forward of
the butt pad. Two Phillips screws hold the
pad/ spacer assembly in place, so the
switch is easy. As for the stylish cheek-piece,
that defi nition is just cosmetic, with no
movement possible.
Fancy a bipod (and many will with this
model) and Stoeger’s two-piece design, sold
as an optional extra, can be clamped onto
the side Picatinny rails. Again, it’s a simple
matter of clamping into place with no special
tools needed. Shooting a recoiling gun from
a hard surface is never recommended of
course for ultimate accuracy, but at least
with spring loaded feet to soak up some
recoil, Stoeger’s bipod design is better than
many.
It should be noted at this juncture, that
the ATAC Suppressor comes supplied as a
complete kit, with a Stoeger branded
4-16x40 Mil-Dot reticule scope, and two
piece Picatinny-style mounts, all part of the
deal. Herein lies a curious detail. As
previously mentioned, Picatinny style rails
feature on this rifl e, for the scope rail itself
and those twin side rails, but one
observation which became apparent during
my test concerned the exact specifi cation,
since the rails are actually non-standard.
This only happened to come to light when a
one piece mount designed for Picatinny
came through for testing, and failed to mate
up with the top rail.That said, single bar attachments, such
as the bipod legs and the two-piece scope
mounts provided, all work and locate
perfectly, so it should only ever be an issue
with a one piece mount, where the spacing
of the gaps within the rail, to receive the
small cross bars, is critical.TEST REPORT
Bolting on the Stoeger scope soon revealed
that the parallax range markings (in keeping
with many budget scopes) didn’t tally up with
reality. In use, viewing a target at 25 yds
came in at 18 on the dial. A minor detail and
no real problem since home markings are
the best route anyway. More importantly,
clarity was pretty good through the ranges,
and turrets adjusted with a positive click.
When I fi rst took delivery of this model, I
suspected a blocked breech, as I literally
couldn’t shift the barrel from its détente.
However, in desperation, and before making
an embarrassing phone call to the UK ▲Full-on
Tactical!
The Stoeger
ATAC Suppressor;
unashamedly
tactical it’s not a
bad rifle either!