Airgun expert Mat Manning believes Reximex is on to another winner, after putting the Turkish gunmaker’s new Zone bullpup to the test. Should this airgun have pride of place in your store?
Like all the other recent Reximex airguns I have handled, the build quality on the Zone is reassuringly solid. It’s a bullpup and its compact proportions make for very nice handling. It weighs 3.5 kilos, measures 890mm from butt to muzzle and has a 365mm length of pull. I’m tall and have long arms, and found it very comfortable to shoot, but it’s also a gun that should be quite manageable for smaller shooters.
Both stock options are ambidextrous, and I think the walnut version is a real looker with some really nice figuring in the grain. The fore-end features vents that look good, shave off a bit of weight and improve grip for your leading hand and its underside is fitted with a neat brass thread to accept a supplied Picatinny rail for fast and secure accessory attachment.
The trigger guard is incorporated into the woodwork of the walnut stock, which I really like. Some shooters have questioned the strength of this feature, but it looks and feels quite robust to me, and it really would take some ham-fisted handling to damage it. The guard sweeps back into the pistol grip, which despite looking quite simplistic, incorporates some very thoughtful design features. It is very comfortably contoured, adorned with panels of tidy stippling, and most importantly, it set me up very well for the trigger.
Behind the pistol grip is a large, stylish thumbhole cut-away. This skeletonised design delivers more valuable weight-saving at the butt section, which is finished with a rubber pad – the butt is adjustable on the synthetic model.
Features and function
I’ve already mentioned the Zone’s impressive build quality, and that is also apparent in the clean, black anodised finish of the metalwork and the neatness of the engineering. Scope-mounting is via a long Picatinny rail which gives a very generous 250mm of clamping space. The front section of the 580mm barrel is housed inside a chunky shroud. The shroud performs surprisingly well as a sound suppressor, and is threaded for silencer attachment if you really want to mute the muzzle report.
The Zone comes supplied with two magazines and a single-shot tray. Magazine capacity is 12 shots in .22 calibre and 14 in .177. Loading the magazine is very simple, and you do it with the clear plate facing you. Turn the plate clockwise until it stops as the hole aligns with the first chamber, then drop a pellet in nose-first – being careful not to let it fall all the way through – to hold the inner drum under spring tension. You then simply rotate the plate back, pushing a pellet into each bay as you go.
Rapid cocking and loading is something of an expectation with multi-shot PCPs, and here it is delivered by a sidelever action. Adorned with a dropdown handle that’s grooved for a secure purchase, the lever can be reversed for left-handers, which is a nice touch. Although it is positioned right toward the rear of the gun, it doesn’t take long for your hand to start finding its way there quite instinctively. In operation, the mechanism is smooth and reliable, and it kept the shots coming without any snags during my weeks of testing.
I find that it pays to manage my expectations when it comes to triggers on bullpup airguns, because the extended linkage required by their configuration can result in some sponginess. However, the Zone’s trigger unit is actually pretty good, especially at this price point. The match-type blade can be adjusted for height and angle, and the two-stage mechanism is also adjustable, although I like to test triggers straight out of the box. As with several Reximex airguns that I’ve used, the first stage on this unit was very short. There was a tiny bit of creep in the second stage, but it was consistent, so its break-point soon became very predictable.
Power and performance
The Zone has quite an elegant cylinder, which has a 260cc capacity and a maximum fill pressure of 250 bar. Air pressure is displayed on a gauge at the front of the cylinder and, from a full charge, you should be able to expect 170 shots in .177 and 200 in .22. When it’s time to refill, it’s just a matter of removing the collar from the front of the cylinder and plugging in the supplied probe.
This bullpup has adjustable power. It’s not a feature I tend to use very much with sub-12 ft.lbs. airguns, but the option of winding down muzzle energy could be handy for backyard plinking, and small reductions in output could also improve grouping with some ammo. The power dial is positioned just in front of the magazine slot. It has nine clear stop positions and takes power down to about 7 ft.lbs. on the lowest setting.
The Zone has a regulated firing cycle and is pretty consistent as a result. Full power output on the .22 calibre test gun was around 11.4 ft.lbs. and consistency was within 7fps over a string of 10 shots – and that was with pellets taken straight from the tin. Regulator pressure is displayed on the gauge in front of the power adjuster.
Accuracy-wise, I have been quite impressed with this little bullpup. That consistent power output plays a big part, but the fact that it’s a comfortable gun to shoot also helps. Shooting rested and in windless conditions, I was hitting 40mm spinners at 50m without too much trouble.
How to sell this gun in your store
To effectively market and sell the Reximex Zone bullpup in your shop, utilise positive reviews from experts like Mat Manning in your promotional materials to highlight the gun’s quality. Create an engaging in-store experience with dedicated displays where customers can handle the firearm, supplemented by interactive demonstrations at your shop or local shooting ranges to showcase its performance. Enhance your marketing efforts with special promotions, comprehensive staff training and a strong online presence that includes social media and video demonstrations. Offer excellent after-sales services, engage actively with local shooting and gun enthusiast communities.