Tactical airguns with functional, militaristic styling are currently very popular, and the new FX DRS Tactical meets that demand extremely well.
This air rifle is styled very much along AR15 lines and has been built with such an emphasis on adaptability that it doesn’t come supplied with a butt stock. This keeps the price down to a very competitive £831.99 from Sportsman Gun Centre and means that you aren’t stuck with a stock you don’t want to keep. Instead, you can choose from folding options and even different colours – obviously, that does mean some additional cost, and remember that you will also need the tube on which the butt section rides and the Castle Nut that fastens the tube to the gun.
FX Airguns have struck a very good balance between cost and performance with the DRS platform. I have a DRS Classic of my own and it has given almost a year of excellent service with absolutely no problems. On first impressions, the DRS Tactical promises to be just as reliable; build quality feels very sturdy, engineering is exceptionally neat and the black anodised finish of the metalwork looks flawless.
There are 500, 600 and 700mm barrel options. The model featured here is the 500 and, as supplied, its total length is 660mm long and it weighs just 2.3kg. Fitting a fairly standard butt stock took the weight up to a still rather modest 2.7kg and – with the butt set to give the long length of pull required by my arms – increased overall length to 960mm.
The FX DRS Tactical has a full-length Picatinny rail (with no built in MOA compensation) for scope attachment. Offering more than 450mm of clamping space, the top rail should accommodate any optic that takes your fancy and, because it rides over the magazine slot, you don’t have to worry about the magazine getting in the way of your scope or mounts.
Maintaining the theme of tactical functionality, the forend incorporates a 250mm Arca rail with MLOK slots in its underside as well as a QD sling mount connection. That offers a lot of options for accessory attachment, and the square profile should also make for a very secure hold in a standard tripod clamp. Despite its square profile, the front section of the FX DRS Tactical feels surprisingly good in the hand.
You can swap out the pistol grip on the DRS Tactical, but I really like the supplied UG1 grip – which will be instantly recognisable to owners of the FX Impact M4. The UG1 grip is nice and wide, so it really fills the palm and its stippled rubberised finish is very grippy. It is contoured for a very comfortable hold for left or right handers and, most importantly, it guides your finger instinctively to the trigger.
The 500, 600 and 700mm barrel options should cater for everyone’s needs, whether you’re a hunter who wants super-compact handling or someone who needs something longer for long range slug shooting. The 500 and 600 models, referred to as the Compact and Standard, come with the FX’s STX Superior Liner. The longer 700mm option, known as the Sniper, has the STX Superior Heavy liner, making it very well suited to slug shooting. All barrel options incorporate a half-inch UNF thread for silencer attachment.
On the outside of the barrel is the very clever FX wrap-around air cylinder. Capacity on the DRS Tactical is 210, 260 and 310cc, depending on barrel length. Maximum fill pressure is 230 bar or you can upgrade to a carbon fibre clyinder with a maximum fill pressure of 250 bar, which will increase shot capacity. That wrap-around cylinder is a very distinctive feature, as is the FX DRS plenum, which is incorporated into what looks like a box magazine in front of the trigger.
The DRS Tactical is fitted with an AMP Mk2 regulator, which makes for reliably consistent performance. The .177 calibre sub-12ft/lb review gun was producing 11.6ft/lb with variation staying within five feet per second over a ten-shot string. There is no regulator gauge – the gauge on the left side of the stock shows pressure in the main cylinder.
Running at sub-12ft/lb with the standard cylinder and 500mm barrel you can expect more than 200 shots from a full charge in .177 calibre and around 250 in .22. When it is time to refill, just plug in the supplied probe and you’re good to go.
The FX DRS Tactical comes supplied with one magazine, which holds 16 shots in .177 calibre, 14 in .22 and 12 in .25. The ammo-friendly magazine is easy to load – following the standard FX process – and has sufficient depth to hold longer slugs.
Cocking and pellet probing are taken care of by a familiar looking FX sidelever action which incorporates a dropdown handle. It can’t be revered, which will be frustrating for lefthanders but this tried and tested mechanism is very dependable and has provided fast, reliable reloading during my weeks of testing.
I am very fussy about triggers, and I think the one on the FX DRS Tactical is one of the best I have used – and arguably the best in this price bracket. The long blade has a gentle curve and a flat face and can be adjusted forwards and backwards and for height and angle. Its two-stage release mechanism is adjustable, but I prefer to test triggers straight from the box to see exactly how they leave the factory. This one was just about perfect – first stage weight and travel felt just right and concluded with a clear stop before a super-crisp and totally creep-free second stage break.
The safety catch is positioned just above the trigger blade. It is on the righthand side of the action, which is great for righthanders, but can’t be reversed. The location of the safety catch makes for very easy operation; you flick it down – so the arrow is pointing up – to make it safe – and then flick it up – so the arrow is pointing forward – when you’re ready to take the shot. I must confess that it has taken me a while to get used to those positions because they are the opposite way around from an FX Panthera I have recently been using.
Going from previous experiences with the FX DRS, I had high hopes when it came to accuracy testing. Assuming that it would justify a quality optic, I paired the DRS Tactical with an Element Optics Helix scope.
The square underside of the DRS Tactical makes it very stable on the bench and, in windless conditions, it was soon single-holing at 30m. I was also getting single-hole groups (albeit ragged ones) at 40m and, as long as I did my bit, I managed a few sub-20mm group at 50m. As expected, this airgun has potential to serve up exceptionally accurate shot placement, and it didn’t appear to be particularly pellet-fussy either.
I think the FX DRS Tactical is another great step for this versatile platform. It delivers awesome performance at a sensible price and should be very well received given airgun shooters’ current taste for functionally styled airguns with an AR15 twist. I only test the sub-12 review gun with pellets but, with high power models capable of energy levels up to 85ft/lb, it should also be able to put in a very solid performance when it comes to long range slug shooting.
From: https://fxairguns.com/
Manufacturer: FX Airguns, Sweden
Model: DRS Tactical (500)
Length: 660mm (26in) without butt
Weight: 2.3kg (5lb) without butt
Barrel length: 500mm (19.7in)
Maximum fill pressure: 230 bar
Shots per fill: 200 in .177 sub-12, 250 in .22 sub-12
Muzzle energy: 11.6 ft/lb
RRP: £831.99 without butt
First published 17th March 2025
