I am a simple man living a simple life, snippets of which I publish on my blog www.1nomad.blogspot.com.
The
meat I and my family eat is procured from the wild, and I choose to
hunt it with an air rifle. Recently, I found myself in the market for a
new rifle and not wishing to dice with the uncertainties of the second
hand market, I desired a brand new one. But which one? The market place
is awash with offerings but very few within my budget of £250. I went
direct to SMK on the strength of their 40 year reputation for affordable
rifles, and put my plight to them in writing describing my situation
and my needs. The recommendation from them was their flagship model, the
SMK TH208 .22, and shortly after, I had one in my possession.
Upon
inspection it was quite apparent that here was a rifle that was loaded
with the sorts of features I had only seen on those costing nearly twice
the £199.95 price tag of the TH208. The first to jump out of course is
that thumbhole in the hardwood stock. I am a big fan of this feature due
to the way it enables the shooter to comfortably tuck the rifle butt
into the shoulder and gain a secure hold.
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| The Thumbhole Stock is both comfortable and practical. |
The light chequering on the foregrip is a welcome bonus and added to
my overall impression that this was most certainly an outdoor hunting
rifle.
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| Chequering aids grip in wet conditions. |
At the rear of the action, sits an automatic resettable safety. This,
for me, is exceptional. I cannot tell you how valuable the ability to
reset the safety is in the field and many hunters will attest to the
piece of mind gained by being able to make your rifle safe if your
quarry evades you.
Moving forward along the action of the TH208, you have a scope
arrestor plate fixed to the sight rail. Evidence again of attention
to the hunting shooters needs, after all, accuracy is paramount and
ensuring your optic doesn't creep and constantly re-checking zero
saves a lot of pellets!
The TH208 is finished off at the business end with a barrel weight
intended to reduce muzzle flip and enhance accuracy. Yet another
feature with the shooter in mind.
Needless to say I was itching to get this equipment out into the
field, but as is my habit after only being able to afford second hand
rifles, I stripped the gun down and gave the internals a cursory
clean and regrease. By doing this, I was able to fully acquaint
myself with the essence of the rifle and was most impressed by its
simplicity and the workmanship I discovered.
Next, the SMK 3-9x40 mildot scope was mounted on solid Sportsmatch
mounts. Now I had an excellent sight picture right out to the limits
of my hunting range in a very sturdy looking optic.
I'll admit I struggled at first to get consistent groups until I
realised my over exuberant 'breaking' of the barrel had knocked the
barrel weight loose. This was quickly remedied by simply tightening
the two grubs screws located on the underside and the resultant
accuracy was staggeringly good. I later removed the barrel weight in
favour of a silencer, but found it needless as it added considerably
to the length and muted a muzzle report that was already acceptably
low.
I found the factory setting of the trigger to be just a little too
far back for my personal taste, but as the trigger is fully
adjustable, I had it exactly how I liked it within seconds thanks to
the easily accessible screw and found the trigger release to be fast
and crisp.
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| Among the many features, deep blueing like this makes the SMK TH208 exceptional value for money. |
The TH208 punched consistently tight groups from 10 yards zero out to
25 yards (the limit of my woodland 'range') with the phenomenal
ThUnderBolt .22 zinc pellets that had been supplied. This performance
bodes very well as the rifle has yet to settle down and 'bed in' and,
hopefully, this shooter will improve too!
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| The ThUnderbolt .22 Pellets were not only accurate and consistent, they packed a punch too! |
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| The SMK TH208 is capable of putting the pellet exactly where you want it. |
Results were equally encouraging over the chronograph with the
ThUnderBolts giving low (18fps) fps variation at 10.7 ft/lbs. Ample
power for hunting that usually rises over time and with use,
therefore, investing in a small chronograph is highly advisable for
all airgun owners.
Interestingly the TH208 did not seem to mind which pellets were used
unlike some that can be very pellet fussy.
AA Field Diabolos, Bisley Superfields, RWS Superdomes, RWS
Superfields, Norica Apaches and SMK Spitfires all grouped very well.
I did find that the pellets with smaller heads and thinner skirts
fared best and the ThUnderBolts appeared overall to be the perfect
match.
The TH208 truly is a pleasure and a joy to shoot. I confess that I
probably got carried away with my accuracy, pellet, and power tests,
but I firmly blame the TH208 for the enjoyment it imparted, willing
me to fire just one more pellet. Be warned, this feeling does not
appear to wear off and firing nearly a whole tin of pellets and
making small ragged holes in at least one packet of paper targets
happens far sooner than you would expect!
I set out to buy a capable hunting rifle. Weight wise, the TH208 is
heavy enough to keep the effects of recoil minimised, but still light
enough not to wear out your arms and this makes target acquisition
very quick and easy indeed. It is sturdy enough to take the numerous
knocks and bangs any gun that lives outside of the cabinet can expect
to receive and, for me, therein lies its beauty.
Like many others, I wanted a rifle that delivered benefits and
features far exceeding its price tag. If you are one of them, you
need look no further as I have certainly found it in the SMK TH208.
This time, the proof isn't in the pudding, it is in my dinner!
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| This is a Hunting Rifle that delivers performance far exceeding the asking price. |
