Theoben Eliminator

[open season 21]

Hi guys and girls can any one shed any light on what the Theoben Eliminator is like in 25 cal

22 cal

177 cal

please and what range they can be used at for rabbits rats and pigeons

thanks

Openseason

[pianoman 3,584]

Let me give you an honest review. based on actual experience of owning and shooting the Eliminator 'openseason. I had one for a little while back in the late 1990s when these were relatively new from Theoben.

 

It's a powerful rifle in all calibres..up to around 30 ft/lbs and over. It looks and handles beautifully....

 

And that's about the best you can say of these.

 

The downside is, it has a truly savage level of recoil. It will smash your average Hawke scope in about 5 shots or less and even wreck the reticle out of a pretty decent, better quality one...Like a £350 Bushnell Scopechief I had on my .22 Eliminator inside a day's zeroing and target shoot session. You will need a really top dollar quality optic to be capable of withstanding the lash from an Eliminator. Unless Theoben have reduced the power levels a deal. And even then, an FAC gas ram can be a really choppy sod. The best I got out of it was no greater than what you'd shoot a sub-12 ft/lbs rifle to as far as effective range goes.

 

Also, the one I had was very pellet fussy. It shot well on Bisley Magnums but was not a precision tackdriver. A sub one inch group at 40 yards was the best I could get from it. I can shoot a bit tighter group than that with a quality .22 air rifle at that range!

 

I found it a bit like trying to tame a wild horse. Consequently, I didn't use it much and sold it on to a dealer. They may be better now, but, I didn't like the experience of this .22 version back in the late 1990s.

 

Tune an HW80K to around 20 Ft/lbs, fit a slimtech silencer from Webley Venom and fit its action into a Custom Stock of Sheffield CS700 sporter stock in walnut and you'll have a better rifle that will look almost exactly like an Eliminator. Custom Stock will even make one with Schnabel tips for a bit extra!

 

But. if an Eliminator is what you've just got to have...Get the seller or RFD to give you a really thorough test shoot session with it. Especially in the smaller calibres. A rifle of this power is one thing. BUT... If you can't hit a sausage with it, there's no point in having one.

 

And I cannot stress how important it is to spend serious money on a serious optic that can handle this level of recoil. An upper range Niko Stirling or Simmons Whitetail might withstand it as far as a decent quality, inexpensive scope goes. I think a Schmidt & Bender certainly would but I wouldn't like to speculate further.

 

I might add that, in .25 it may be superb. A big hefty round might tame it a bit better than .177 and .22 may do.

 

Other owners of Eliminators may have a different view and love theirs to death!

 

However...My experience of the .22 version left me decidedly against owning one on my ticket for very long.

 

Approach it with common sense and caution; and do not get fooled by anyone singing it's praises, until you've tried it for yourself!

 

Pianoman

[open season 21]

Thanks pianoman for the honest and in depth explanation it is much appreciated i didnt realise there was an agressive recoil to them so might think again if i decide to go fac if they are as bad as you say then i think i will look at Rapid 7 thanks mate

Openseason

[andyfr1968 772]

I've never owned one but I've used a couple before and I totally agree with Pianoman's reply. They are a very tricky rifle to master and even if you do, they're not that great in my opinion.

 

If you want a springer to put on ticket, have a look at the Diana side levers (52, 54 or 48). They'll happily return around 30ft-lbs in .22 while still being a pleasure to shoot. The HW80's a good candidate too but much more than around 20 and they start to turn rough.

[pianoman 3,584]

You are welcome openseason. The Eliminator could well be a very expensive mistake. But by all means give it a fair try at least and see for yourself. But, as Andy here says, they are not all they're cracked up to be.

 

Diana air rifles are truly superb at FAC levels of output. I quite like the idea of a .177 54 Airking on my ticket. That would make a superb all-round sporting rifle with its near-recoiless sledge action. But, my 15 year old HW80 .22 hits like a sledgehammer, is as accurate as it gets and is sweet as a nut. So, I'll be sticking with my dear old workhorse '80 when the Mink start biting again! 21 ft/lbs of muzzle energy is all the power anyone could want from an air rifle. Any more and I'd be looking for a nicely tricked-out .22LR or 17HMR for a lot less money than an Eliminator.

 

All the best.

Pianoman.

[pete123 45]

Good comments guys. I had a go with one I was thinking about at local gun shop. Recoil didn't seem that sharp it's running at 25 not 30 tho and the dealer recommended to drop it to 20 if I took it. Have been stewing over it but the comments of it going through standard scopes has put me right off now!

[open season 21]

cheers guys for the comments i never thought of the Dianas to be honest ive always like them so will possibly look into them they are a realy nice looking gun too

 

regards openseason

[optelic2 48]

I had a .25 'Eli' that was running at 30ft lb when i bought it but i dropped the ram presure to 26ft lb and it was a nicer beast to shoot but still interesting to cock in the prone! Mine was seriously accurate with H&n ftt's and i could head shot bunnies at a lazed 60yds.

They do take skill to shoot due to the recoil but give a lot of satisfaction. Scope you want a Simmons pro-air. Seriously tough and more than capable of taking the recoil for the big Eliminator.

Pic of my old one below.

 

Edited February 18, 2013 by optelic2

[pianoman 3,584]

There you go. Nothing wrong with that! Nice one optelic2!

I tried .22 H&NFTT with mine, but, it just 'shotgunned' these all over the target. Bisley Magnums were the only pellets it could get hunting level accuracy with. It does seem these rifles perform better with heavyweight rounds like the bigger .25 calibre and a reasonable drop in power to around 20-25 ft/lbs max. I reckon it would be a much better rifle at around these performance levels.

 

And a Simmons Pro Air. Great scopes for FAC spring and gasram these. I have a 6-18X40 Simmons Pro Air and a Simmons Whitetail Classic 4.5-14x40 for my FAC HW80. With 30/30 reticles and built to take high recoil. These scopes would be perfect for a reduced-power Eliminator.

 

Why the hell don't Simmons still make these, I don't know???

 

Simon/Pianoman

 

Edit to add. That is a beautiful looking example you have here optelic2. Don't you still have this one? You write of it in the past-tense.

Edited February 19, 2013 by pianoman

[open season 21]

bloody hell Optelic2 thats impressive at 60 yards with a .25 this is what im after hopefully and the gun had no problem at all taking rabbits at 60 yards in the big calibre was there any aiming high or was the rifle zerroed for 60 yards

[open season 21]

can i just ask is the barrel longer on an Eliminator than it is on an old scirroco as the old scirroco had a pump with them to increase power if i remember right was just wondering as with most fac is it right to say the barrels are slightly longer

[pianoman 3,584]

I think it is a bit longer in the barrel than the old Scirroco was. Generally, an FAC rifle has a longer barrel. Adds a bit more spin stability to the pellet though this is by no means a set-in-stone rule of ballistics. FAC PCPs certainly seem to come with longer barrels.

[louisvanhovell 5]

I had a .25 'Eli' that was running at 30ft lb when i bought it but i dropped the ram presure to 26ft lb and it was a nicer beast to shoot but still interesting to cock in the prone! Mine was seriously accurate with H&n ftt's and i could head shot bunnies at a lazed 60yds.

They do take skill to shoot due to the recoil but give a lot of satisfaction. Scope you want a Simmons pro-air. Seriously tough and more than capable of taking the recoil for the big Eliminator.

Pic of my old one below.

 

Hi optelic2, I've just bought a .25 fac Eliminator producing 26 FP. Was looking for info on the gun, and then I came across your post, which made me decide to join this forum. Is it possible that I've bought your gun? That would be cool! Mine belonged to a former Theoben employee. I'm new to this forum, will write an intro, now I'm going out to see if I can bag a bunny with my .25 48 FP Bobcat . If you ask me the logical question, what's the serial no. of your Eli?, then I can't answer you yet, it's going to be sent to my rfd somewhere this week. But it would be a bit of a coincidence to have the same gun as I think there aren't many 26 FP .25's. Many thanks Louis (Dutch vet living and working in Devon)

[Rez 4,957]

 

I had a .25 'Eli' that was running at 30ft lb when i bought it but i dropped the ram presure to 26ft lb and it was a nicer beast to shoot but still interesting to cock in the prone! Mine was seriously accurate with H&n ftt's and i could head shot bunnies at a lazed 60yds.

They do take skill to shoot due to the recoil but give a lot of satisfaction. Scope you want a Simmons pro-air. Seriously tough and more than capable of taking the recoil for the big Eliminator.

Pic of my old one below.

 

 

Hi optelic2, I've just bought a .25 fac Eliminator producing 26 FP. Was looking for info on the gun, and then I came across your post, which made me decide to join this forum. Is it possible that I've bought your gun? That would be cool! Mine belonged to a former Theoben employee. I'm new to this forum, will write an intro, now I'm going out to see if I can bag a bunny with my .25 48 FP Bobcat . If you ask me the logical question, what's the serial no. of your Eli?, then I can't answer you yet, it's going to be sent to my rfd somewhere this week. But it would be a bit of a coincidence to have the same gun as I think there aren't many 26 FP .25's. Many thanks Louis (Dutch vet living and working in Devon)

Bloody 'el man... you've gone back through some pages there...

[j j m 6,481]

never knew they were that bad on scopes,you live and you learn