This is a review of the AirForce Airgun Edge Rifle by Scott West, Owner of Little Rascals Wildlife Specialists.
I want to thank Scott for the time and energy for writing this review for all of us to learn from and enjoy. What a great job you have Scott.
And here is his Review:
Air Force Edge
Field Tested
Before I get into the Edge and how it performs, I want to take a little time and tell you a little about myself, what I do and why I had a need for a pellet gun of like the Airforce Airguns Edge.
My name is Scott West and I reside in Jacksonville, FL. I am a former U.S. Navy Rescue Swimmer and a Small Arms Marksmanship Instructor (SAMI), certified through the United States Marine Corps. Now I make my living as a Nuisance Wildlife Specialist throughout the United States and I do everything I can to return wildlife back into their natural habitat when they become labeled a nuisance in both a residential and commercial urban environment. Unfortunately, sometimes this is not an option. Recently, bird removal has become a constant area of work for me. When I am dealing with a commercial business that involves food, the health of customers and employees, time is of the essence. This pushes trapping out of the question, as birds pose a serious issue due to the diseases they are capable of passing on to humans, the insects/mites that infest their bodies and the merchandise they can also cause damage to can cost thousands of dollars. Health & Agriculture departments across the country keep a watchful eye on these types of businesses and conduct scheduled, surprise inspections as well as follow up on customer initiated complaints. When this occurs and birds are found within the store, many times the store is given a warning, fine, and/or a designated time to remove the birds or be forced to shut down completely until the problem is resolved. This makes for an immediate resolve situation for the business. Trapping is out of the question at this point and the birds must be humanely removed in a quick and timely manner. The quickest, humane way of removing them is by shooting them.
Not only is a quick clean kill required, look up in these stores next time you’re shopping and look at all the things that must NOT be hit with a stray pellet or ricochet. You have sky lights, fire sprinkler lines, light bulbs, T.V.’s, and the list goes on. I require the store to be closed and employees off the floor at the time I am performing my duties. I want to get in the store, get the job done and get out in minimal time so they can reopen in a timely manner after working around me so they can get back to making money as well.
In comes the Edge
I had been using a break barrel, spring type .22 caliber outfitted with a scope and a velocity of 800+ FPS. While it was very quiet, it lacked the dead on accuracy I was really looking for and it was way too much power for what I needed it for. Ricochet was a serious consideration as well as worry not to puncture a fire sprinkler line in the overhead or for that matter, the roof! It was heavy and very large. I needed a change!
I needed a pellet rifle that was compact, quiet, low to mid velocity (500-550 FPS), and very accurate in a .177 caliber that I would feel confident with every time I looked through the scope. Time to start looking ASAP!
Hello R&L AIRGUN SUPPLY
I had done my homework and contacted Randy @ R&L and gave him a little background on why & what I was looking for and asked about the new Edge from Airforce Airguns as I have had experience with some of their more well known high velocity rifles. I wanted something with a little less velocity that was made for accuracy and the Edge seemed like a good fit for what I was looking for. Randy confirmed my choice and also recommended a scope to go with this gun and pellets that worked best in his “in house” testing which is on the R&L blog section of their website. Customer service was second to none and Randy had the rifle, scope, pellets and pump headed my direction and it was set to be here by Friday so I could put it to work on Sunday at a Big Box store that had sparrow issues and had already been warned, fined and two other companies had already failed at trying to resolve their problem. The pressure was on to show what I was made of and what the Edge was made of!
The Edge
I scope mounted my Edge with a Leapers Golden Image 3-9 x 32 Mil-Dot, supported in 1” rings. I removed the front sight from the barrel as it would not serve a purpose for me. There is plenty of scope mounting room on a 3/8 rail. There are two more 3/8 rails with one being on top and one on the bottom of the barrel. These allow for the addition of other accessories.
Out of the box, the trigger felt good and I opted to leave it right where it was as it was a fit for me at this point. It is adjustable for both vertical and pressure. It is very crisp! The bolt action has a dry fire position so you can practice breathing to sight control without live firing.
The cheek rest is adjustable, but with limitations. It is a fit for me, but some may want to look to modify for more travel for fit. This is where the air tank is located as well.
The butt plate is adjustable horizontal & vertical. Choose your adjustments carefully. If you choose some hole positions on the butt plate setting, you will have to loosen it every time to refill the air tank. The foam padding on the butt plate is almost none existent as is the recoil. Speaking of refilling, this is a nice set up with a one way male foster valve fitting protected by a rubber boot to help keep dirt out. I simply unscrew the bottle from the gun and attach it to the pump. This prevents any chance of stepping on your rifle or knocking your scope out of zero.
The main grip is plastic and has a custom mold to it that fits the hand nicely. The fore grip is also made of plastic and aluminum and it slides horizontal on a 3/8 rail allowing for a wide variety of positions as well as additional accessories.
The last five inches of the barrel is removable and is like a balance weight more than anything. I am curious if there is a plan for different weighted ends or muzzle breaks. I have not shot the Edge without this installed, but you could.
The Edge is a Pre charged Pneumatic (PCP) air gun and Airforce Airguns was back ordered on their 3000 psi air pumps for charging the air cylinder, so I purchased a Benjamin pump which is the same pump as the Airforce, except the Benjamin has a 14” steel braided fill line on it. Your first fill will make your biceps burn a little, but it is actually very manageable to pump and fill. I opted for this pump as it is easier to travel with and no need to drag a scuba tank around locally and when flying out of state. Don’t drain the tank all the way down and it will not be so hard to fill using the pump also. The rifle is good for 100 shots.
I quickly sighted in my Edge within 6 shots to my liking and then shot the tightest groups I have ever shot with a pellet rifle!
Sunday came and I put the Edge to the true test. It performed flawlessly and I never have to shoot at one bird more than one time! As I write this field testimonial, I am sitting in my hotel room waiting for the store to close so I can put the Edge to work once again.
