Not a satisfied customer.

My new AF Talon SS,

Well, I felt into the trap.  I did believe the adds and official presentations for the Talon SS, just to find out their vague statements were just that, vague statements.

I got the one in .25.

First surprise was the smallness of the hole in the tophat (2.7 mm).

I installed a 90 gr hammer and proceeded to make a run of pressure vs. feet per second and the results were dismal.  The highest speed I was able to achieve using AA 25.4 gr pellets was 654 fps @ 1800 psi.  That is about 24 fpe, which is about the same to my modified Crosman 2260 in .22 at 1100 psi (21 fpe, 14.3 gr pellets, 817 fps).  Really discouraging. A very wimpy carbine.

Thankfully I have a valve from a CO2 adapter.  This one has a hole of 5 mm.  I proceeded to make the change, and now the speed of the pellet maxed out at 796 fps at a pressure of 1800 psi.  That is 35.7 foot-pounds of energy.  This, was a lot much better performance and I think I can live with it.

In general, I think the AF Talon SS is overpriced.  I bought it for ~$700, but looking at what it is, the price should be in the $400- $500 bracket.

The other factor is parts and accessories.  They are beyond being way overpriced.  I called AFA to get the new Ring-Lock valve.  They quoted me $220.00 (including the extra tophats).  That was very infuriating.  I canceled the order.  I’m not putting more money on this carbine nor in AF products if they insist in pricing themselves out of the market.

In retrospect I should have follow my instincts when I didn’t see much action in the forums with respect to either the Condor or the Talon.  Most of the comments and deep discussions were from many years ago.  Nothing recent.