Beginner enthusiast confused between NX 200 and SX200

[jijin]

I am a 35 year old male and want to start picking up air rifle shooting as a hobby. I stay a little from Kochi, Kerala with no gun shops in my hometown. At my hometown there is space for me to practise shooting at home and I intend to do it there. But I travel a lot and therefore have months of intervals between the periods that I am at home. I read about the maintenance required for gas piston air rifles and therefore decided to go with spring piston. Since the shops are a little far for me, I won't be able to visit the shops frequently to do maintenance. I prefer to go with Precihole since they seem to be the major domestic brand. So I chose SX200 to be my first aurgun. I called a gun shop nearby and they told me they don't stock it because it has spring number 27 and has frequent issues. Is that true?

They suggested NX200 to me and said there won't be any gas leakage or other issues. Considering there will be long periods of disuse, would NX200 be a good choice? And compared to SX200, would I have to frequently visit the gun shop for maintanence of NX200?

[hornet22]

The only advantage I see of a springer gun is that it's cheaper to replace the spring, it's similar to the braided line or monofilament line debate in fishing

[Bishop]

Hi Jijin,welcome to the forum.
Regarding your query ; Nitropiston is expensive both initially and for replacement but is joy to shoot compared to Spring piston. If you are interested in Precihole products let me tell you that NX200 is more powerful at around 14.5ftlb and SX200 produces just 12.5ftlb.NX200 power will eventually decline as air leaks and so does SX200's as spring becomes weaker.NX200 is harder to cock compared to SX200.Replacement cost of NX200 Nitropiston is Rs 3500+service charges,while that of SX200 Spring is just 400+service charges.You've the option of sending Nitropiston to be refilled by the precihole but it'll cost you close to 2.5k to 3k,almost same as new piston.Both comes with single stage tuned trigger. You can buy any of the two,but make sure you buy the RF(Rust Free) version.The extra amount for the RF version is well worth the money.
Other air rifles to consider,
1)Precihole NX200 Athena Ultimate
Pros:Nitro piston,2 stage trigger.
Cons:None
2)Precihole NX100 Club Elite Plus
Pros:Smooth operation,hole in hole accuracy,Even Children can hadle it due to low cocking effort.
Cons:Power is just around 7.5ftlbs
3)SDB Sniper Nitro Gen 3
Pros:Nitro piston which is very cheap to replace at just Rs750 for new piston,Fiber Optic Sights,Powerful,producing power around 15ftlbs,Beautiful beach stock,2 stage trigger.
Cons:None
4)SDB Xena Gen 3
Pros:Spring piston,Power 14.5ftlbs,fiber optic sights,Beautiful beech wood stock,2 stage adjustable rekord trigger.
Cons:None
5)SDB Gennex Pro
Pros:Extremly smooth,light weight,low cocking effort and 2 stage Rekord Trigger.Beautifully Crafted Beech wood stock.
Cons:Power at around 8ftlbs

Note:You can have SDB air rifles with Metal sights or Fiber optic sights.
Apart from these there are products from Camstar sports,Ak and other manufacturers,but i personally didn't try them.

[Automatic1947]

The weight of NX 100 club elite should be brought down, considering its less powerful than the NX 200 but there is not much difference in weights in both the rifles

[jijin]

Hi Bishop,

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the detailed response.

Your response has made me partial to the SDB Nitro Gen 3. It looks to me that SDB Nitro Gen 3 has similar power as NX200. It is also cheaper to replace SDB's Nitropiston. I know you have mentioned no cons. I read some online reviews and there are some complaints about quality of internal components used (barrel connector if I am not mistaken). Would you know if there is any reason to think NX200 might be more reliable over the long term compared to the SBD nitro Gen 3?

Thank you again for taking the time out to answer my post.

Hi Jijin,welcome to the forum.
Regarding your query ; Nitropiston is expensive both initially and for replacement but is joy to shoot compared to Spring piston. If you are interested in Precihole products let me tell you that NX200 is more powerful at around 14.5ftlb and SX200 produces just 12.5ftlb.NX200 power will eventually decline as air leaks and so does SX200's as spring becomes weaker.NX200 is harder to cock compared to SX200.Replacement cost of NX200 Nitropiston is Rs 3500+service charges,while that of SX200 Spring is just 400+service charges.You've the option of sending Nitropiston to be refilled by the precihole but it'll cost you close to 2.5k to 3k,almost same as new piston.Both comes with single stage tuned trigger. You can buy any of the two,but make sure you buy the RF(Rust Free) version.The extra amount for the RF version is well worth the money.
Other air rifles to consider,
1)Precihole NX200 Athena Ultimate
Pros:Nitro piston,2 stage trigger.
Cons:None
2)Precihole NX100 Club Elite Plus
Pros:Smooth operation,hole in hole accuracy,Even Children can hadle it due to low cocking effort.
Cons:Power is just around 7.5ftlbs
3)SDB Sniper Nitro Gen 3
Pros:Nitro piston which is very cheap to replace at just Rs750 for new piston,Fiber Optic Sights,Powerful,producing power around 15ftlbs,Beautiful beach stock,2 stage trigger.
Cons:None
4)SDB Xena Gen 3
Pros:Spring piston,Power 14.5ftlbs,fiber optic sights,Beautiful beech wood stock,2 stage adjustable rekord trigger.
Cons:None
5)SDB Gennex Pro
Pros:Extremly smooth,light weight,low cocking effort and 2 stage Rekord Trigger.Beautifully Crafted Beech wood stock.
Cons:Power at around 8ftlbs

Note:You can have SDB air rifles with Metal sights or Fiber optic sights.
Apart from these there are products from Camstar sports,Ak and other manufacturers,but i personally didn't try them.

[Bishop]

Yes,there were few issues in the early models which are sorted now.Both Precihole and SDB products will last you a lifetime if properly taken care off.Precihole has good supply of spares through their dealers and their online store.Same cannot be said about SDB,though directly contacting the manufacturer will get you the required spares and some dealers stock them.Even Precihole had issues with gas ram in NX200 model,which used to leak gas within first 1000 shots.I forgot to mention in my previous post that if needed, both SDB Sniper Nitro and NX200 can be converted to spring piston.

[Knifologist]

Hey! I totally get your situation. With long gaps between shoots, I think NX200 sounds like a solid choice. It’s known for being pretty low-maintenance compared to other models, so you won’t have to worry too much about it sitting unused. As for the SX200, I’ve heard mixed reviews about it, especially regarding the spring issues. It might cause headaches down the road if you’re not able to frequent a shop for repairs. Overall, NX200 should serve you well, especially since it fits your travel lifestyle.