Canadian Airgun Forum

Hello Everyone,

Managed to get outdoors with the new Dreamline Classic Walnut PCP .22 airgun for a little Benchrest FT today, and thought members might appreciate my experience and a little more information in regards to this latest offering from FX Sweden.

As I also own an FX Streamline, the predecessor to this new model, allowing for some very interesting comparisons between the two. Both have gorgeous Walnut Monte Carlo style stocks with a simple flat oil finish on natural wood. With the exception of a notch to accommodate the larger 18 shot Dreamline self indexing magazine, both stocks are identical in terms of fit, finish and shape. The Dreamline Stock is approximately 1/4 inch taller, hardly noticeable at all. Both rifles have free floating shrouded barrels mounted above the main air reservoir, with main pressure gauge and probe type filler on the end. Personally I'd prefer not to be looking down the barrel of any airgun to read the air pressure, but this design is pretty common. The Dreamline sports a secondary pressure gauge on the right hand side of the firearm, indicating set regulator pressure. On my rifle the factory setting was approximately 120 Bar (1740 PSI) - this can be adjusted up or down on the Dreamline Classic by removing the stock (two Allen head Screws) and adjusting an Allen head grub screw located on the underside of the air cylinder. Like the Streamline, there is also a three position power adjustment wheel conveniently located on the top left hand side of the rifle for quick adjustments. It should be noted the owner's manual cautions against changing the position of the power wheel when the gun is cocked, as this may cause internal damage to the mechanism. There's also a warning about operating the rifle when the reserve pressure drops below the preset regulated pressure, as damage to the regulator may also occur as a result. Two very important points to remember! A third power adjustment is available in the form of a trigger spring tension screw, again, only accessible on the Classic Walnut model with the Monte Carlo stock removed. Clearly lots of adjustments possible for fine tuning power, ballistics and shot counts.

A number of reviews already on the web state high scope rings will be necessary in order to use the high capacity 18 shot (.22) FX magazine, but I found my MTC Viper Pro mounted with medium height extension rings offered a good 1/8" clearance between mag and scope tube. The reason for this is that FX has lowered the magazine slot on the Dreamline to accommodate the taller mag, so overall height is about the same as the Streamline with it's smaller 11 shot (.22) magazine. The 11 shot mags will also fit the Dreamline, offering an extremely low profile, the top of the smaller magazine being almost flush with the 11 mm dovetail mounting rail. Both rifles are very light indeed, even with a large objective side wheel scope mounted on top. I'd like to have seen some kind of barrel support incorporated on both airgun models, as it's quite possible for barrel droop to throw out scope settings. I believe this could be easily "McGiver'd" with a little ingenuity. As there are no open sights, you will need some form of scope or red dot to take aim on your target.

Now for some shooting ...... I set up several targets at 30 and 35 yards, and after sighting in the MTC Viper Pro, got into some serious FT on the lowest power setting. FX Radar Chronograph recorded every shot flawlessly, with factory set regulator delivering around 600 FPS with the JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.13 Gr pellets this air rifle was specifically designed for. Given this is a brand new gun which hasn't yet broken in, a velocity spread of only 12 FPS over 18 shots seemed pretty impressive to me. Half inch groups @ 30 yards equally impressive on a windy day to boot! The smooth and effortless side-lever cocking action is second to none, surpassing that of the Streamline, which is saying allot! Of all the quality airguns I currently own, the Dreamline is by far the best of the lot in this regard. Simply a joy to cycle through the shots, like slicing butter.

Alas, all was heavenly until I rotated the power wheel from low to power level II ....... first shot I took was followed by a mighty loud bark from the muzzle of the Dreamline. Chronograph recorded 980 FPS, which didn't sound right compared to my Streamline @ level II. I was expecting something in the 700+ FPS range. Out of curiosity, I rotated the power adjustment wheel to position III, and was very surprised to discover exactly the same velocity and noise level as setting II ...... clearly something is amiss with my shiny new toy! I would also like to mention by comparison, this particular Dreamline rifle on power level II and III, produced a whopping 104.3 db SPL, almost double that of the Streamline shooting virtually the same FPS. As it stands, this is an extremely loud airgun! Level I is about the same SPL as the Streamline, but something is not quite right with levels II and II on my Dreamline. I currently have no explanation for this huge difference in noise level between two very similar rifles, could be a result of the same defect responsible for the power adjustment wheel problem. In any case, I have a message in to the boys at AGS for help with this -will keep you posted. I shall therefore defer the remainder of this review to a later date when I have some answers regarding power adjustment of this rifle.

Short of the aforementioned power / noise issue, which I'm certain will be resolved, I'm very impressed with the fit, finish and performance of this new model from FX. Out of the box it's proven to be consistent, accurate and silky smooth to operate. Given the Dreamline's very attractive retail price, and the fact it can be customized into a variety of different guns and calibres with the addition of OEM accessories, I'd say this is currently one of the best airgun values on the market today.

Thanks for looking!

Avianmanor

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*Air Arms S510 Extra*Artemis M11 MK II*CZ 200S*Benjamin Marauder*Brocock Concept*Cometa Orion*Daystate Huntsman*Daystate Revere*FX Dreamline*FX Streamline*Hatsan BT65*Kral Puncher*Reximex RPA*QB78D*Weihrauch HW100S*Artemis PP700SA*PP750*Snowpeak CP1-M*

At least it wants to group.

Probably something minor with the power wheel, I hope.

Nice looking rifle!

-D.S.

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"Ain't no half-way"
-S.R.V.

What a beauty! Interesting warning about shooting past the regulator drop-off.

Hopefully the little power wheel issue gets fixed up soon...

Hello everyone!

Well I'm very pleased to report my new FX Dreamline Classic Walnut .22 PCP Rifle is, and always was, in perfect working order. Turns out on this model the three position power wheel has a low setting for all calibres, and a second max setting in position II (for .177 / .22) and position three (for .25 / .30), which varies output power / velocity ever so slightly for the two calibre ranges.

Travis @ AGS was kind enough to pull several rifles out of stock and check performance against mine. He also removed the power adjust wheel and observed the transfer port size was almost the same for levels II and III, which explains the velocity results we both recorded. Looks like nature of the beast and not a defect. This differs from the function of the power adjust wheel on the Streamline, which has three distinct levels. A printed owner's manual was not included in the box with the rifle, however a downloadable PDF is available online from the manufacturer's web site -it explains the operation of the three position power wheel as follows:

"Adjusting the power. Setting the power on the Dreamline can be done with three external adjustments.1. Front power adjuster (1) - The airflow adjuster is located on the left front side of the breech block. This gives you the ability to adjust the power from high to low. Low setting is for low power on all caliber. Caliber Setting is max power for selected caliber. Variations in appearance might occur. NOTICE –NEVERfire the airgun without air. Doing so may damage the valve assembly and will void your warranty!"

In conversation with Travis on the telephone, it sounds like those with the necessary "McGiver" skills, it's quite possible to modify the power adjust wheel / transfer port size to obtain a different range of power levels. I may explore this option in the future.

The other curious issue of higher SPL level on the Dreamline over the Streamline at same velocity can also be rationally explained ....... the shrouded barrel has been cut off right at the end of the replaceable twist liner as per current Canadian requirements, making the report of the Dreamline somewhat louder than that of the Streamline.

There you have it my friends, looks like I have a close to perfection PCP rifle that's a joy to behold and a "dream" to shoot. Will post some high velocity shooting results in the future for those who are interested.

Thanks again Travis @ AGS for your prompt attention to my query!

Avianmanor

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*Air Arms S510 Extra*Artemis M11 MK II*CZ 200S*Benjamin Marauder*Brocock Concept*Cometa Orion*Daystate Huntsman*Daystate Revere*FX Dreamline*FX Streamline*Hatsan BT65*Kral Puncher*Reximex RPA*QB78D*Weihrauch HW100S*Artemis PP700SA*PP750*Snowpeak CP1-M*

Very nice! Good to have that peace of mind as well on knowing how it's designed.
Cheers,
Wes
Sent from my EML-L09 using Tapatalk

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Website: https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/

A very nice review! Thank you!

I was watching the AGS site earlier this year and wondering why the Dreamlines weren't listed.... Wonder if they had to modify the shroud to comply with Canada regs, so it took a while to get them to Canada?

Do the Streamlines barrels run right to the end?

Thanks again for your review


Lucky

Hey Lucky,

Looks like approximately 1 inch space between the end of the barrel liner and the end of the shroud. My Dreamline is definitely louder than the Streamline, but still quite acceptable in the low power setting (600 FPS thereabouts).

Avianmanor

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*Air Arms S510 Extra*Artemis M11 MK II*CZ 200S*Benjamin Marauder*Brocock Concept*Cometa Orion*Daystate Huntsman*Daystate Revere*FX Dreamline*FX Streamline*Hatsan BT65*Kral Puncher*Reximex RPA*QB78D*Weihrauch HW100S*Artemis PP700SA*PP750*Snowpeak CP1-M*

Finally got around to having a look at the three position power adjust wheel on my new FX Dreamline PCP Rifle. It was quite esy to remove and inspect -as you can see, the transfer port hole for the "Low" setting is significantly smaller than the other two, with the larger pair having minimal difference between each other in terms of velocity. Rather than modify the original part, I'm going to see if my machine shop buddy can work his magic and come up with something that will give me a better range of adjustment over six positions instead of three -will keep you posted. Attaching a few photos -sorry about the dust - the angle of light accentuated it.

Avianmanor

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*Air Arms S510 Extra*Artemis M11 MK II*CZ 200S*Benjamin Marauder*Brocock Concept*Cometa Orion*Daystate Huntsman*Daystate Revere*FX Dreamline*FX Streamline*Hatsan BT65*Kral Puncher*Reximex RPA*QB78D*Weihrauch HW100S*Artemis PP700SA*PP750*Snowpeak CP1-M*