Air Arms S510

The Air Arms S510 follows on from the highly successful 300 and 400 series rifles. I bought this one used although I wasn’t specifically looking for an S510 – I just wanted another multi-shot PCP and this just happened to come up at the right price. I’d never actually seen an S510 in the flesh before: This is a Carbine version and is of a very pleasing, almost Pro-Sport like, appearance with most of the cylinder hidden away in the stock. On first impressions, the S510 is also a very fine handling rifle – lightweight and supremely well balanced and I really can’t fault it for looks or ergonomics.

The S510 differs from the Air Arms S410 in having a biathlon style lever action instead of a bolt, practically begging comparison with the HW100. Personally, I prefer the Air Arms system although, in fairness, Air Arms have doubtless benefited from Weihrauch having gone first. On the S510, the cocking slot is a lot smaller than on the HW and much less of the innards are exposed to the elements – making it more resistant to dirt ingress. The Air Arms side lever also feels more refined than the HW’s with a very smooth action, although it is possible to double load the S510, unlike the HW100. The S510 also has a shrouded ‘bull barrel’ which acts as a built-in silencer. This has been criticised for not being as quiet as some external silencers which is fair comment. However, I find it quiet enough to use as is although it is still possible to fit an additional external silencer.

On the downside, my S510 was low on power and this appears to be a common issue with the S510. Having tested with a dozen or so pellet types, I found that Bisley Magnums gave the most power. Sadly, even they recorded an absolute best of 10.9 fpe with quite a few popular pellets failing to do much better than 9.5 fpe. Now, I’m well aware of the arguments stating that 10fpe is sufficient for hunting. But while that’s true, it’s also true that an unnecessary loss of 30-40fps makes a noticeable difference to the trajectory. Compounding the problem is the anti-tamper system - which means that adjusting the power is not a straightforward matter for most owners. That said, there are ways around this and my S510 is now set at a more satisfactory power level.

My S510 is a .22 cal and gets approx 80 shots from a full charge. It can also be uncannily consistent: I chrono’d a 20 shot string, mid charge, with Air Arms Field 5.52 and recorded an extreme spread of just 2fps! Amazing for an unregged PCP. Needless to say, accuracy is also spot on. Crosman Domed / Webley Accupells (which appear to be the same pellet) gave very similar groups and are currently my pellets of choice because they also fit the mags well and are usefully cheaper than the JSB variants.

Overall, the S510 is a fine handling, accurate rifle but I'd strongly suggest checking the power of any prospective purchase.