RAW TM1000

There are times when something just catches your eye, something you have seen a few times but not taken too much notice of, and then suddenly you think “hello!” This was the process behind the latest FT rifle I find myself fondling, the Rapid Air Weapons TM1000. I know a few folk on the FT circuit have started using the TM and sensible scores have been submitted, so I thought it was about time I sampled some good ol’ American workmanship.

Rapid Air Weapons was started back in 2006 to supply parts and accessories based around the Theoben Rapid. From there the business grew and now produces a range of air rifles for hunting, benchrest and FT / HFT. Some of their rifles are ‘very’ FAC, like the .357 HM1000x, which runs at around 100ft/lbs, others are seriously suitable for the UK market. Looking at the TM1000, you can clearly see its heritage, but things have been refined, materials changed and everything generally beefed up, in other words, it’s very American. It is also an impressive rifle and almost everyone’s first reaction is whoa! So, lets take a look, back to front and see what we have.

Real Wood

Very obviously we have a nicely carved piece of walnut for the stock. There is also a laminate stock option but I preferred the look and weight of real wood. At the back is a rubber butt pad, very much to my taste but easily changed to a more technical hook if that is what you prefer. The pad is adjustable up and down and looking at the design I may well be able to slip a couple of wedges in there to angle it across a little.

Forward of the butt is the adjustable cheekpiece, which has more than enough height adjustment to allow me a head up position. It is worth noting that the cheek piece itself is more convex than concave, with a subtle shelf to rest your cheekbone on should you wish. Adjustment is by an easy to get to Allen key on the right of the stock.

Next we come to the pretty complex grip. This is a combination thumb up and thumbhole design stippled and with finger grooves. I have long fingers and sometimes this style of grip is too small; not the TM, it fits me like it was made for me. The stock incorporates a trigger guard, which unsurprisingly contains the curved flat trigger blade. Unusually for an FT biased rifle, the reach and height of the blade are not adjustable, but the weight and feel of both the first and second stages are. It is also possible to adjust the trigger to become a single stage. The blade itself is well placed and comfortable, so, job done.

Getting Cocky

Above all this, of course, we have the action. This is coated aluminium and has a brushed finish with all the lettering etched into it and left without highlighting, this makes for a very understated look, which I like. On the right is the cocking side lever, which is aluminium with a matt finish, and although quite chunky, it is profiled on the inside to give a smooth feel in use.

In front of the cocking lever is the breech opening, which is easily large enough to thumb pellets into the barrel from either side, and above the opening there are a substantial pair of dovetails cut along the entire length of the action.

The Loather Walther barrel has a stainless steel shroud installed, which according to RAW’s website is precisionaly fixed! There is also a carbon shroud option should you want a quieter rifle. Below the barrel, exactly where it should be, is the air tube, which has a silver painted finish to more or less match the shroud. At the front of the tube is the screw-on cap, under which is the quick fill nozzle. At the back of the air tube on the left had side is a very visible pressure gauge.

It is in an excellent position that does not require you to point the muzzle at your head or swing your very expensive rifle/scope combo upside down. Instead you just drop the rifle from your shoulder and look at the front of the action, other manufacturers please take note. Below the air tube, the stock has an accessory rail let into it, which is almost de rigueur for any FT/HFT rifle these days.

Home, Home On The Range

Although I have said the TM1000 is substantial, it is not overly heavy and is also naturally well-balanced. I didn’t want to upset that balance but wanted a real world set up, so I installed a Sightron SIII FT on my tallest scope mounts, put the cheekpiece up nearly as high as it would go and popped the buttpad down a little, yup, that’ll do it.

First job was to visit the chrono with a variety of pellets. The chrono showed with 4.52 JSB pellets that the TM was legal, but at 793 to 798fps, a little on the hot side for my liking. We will revisit the chrono at the end of the test. While getting the scope on zero, I noticed two things. First, you have to work a little bit to get correct eye alignment with the scope, this is due to the shape of the cheekpiece, but once you get the knack, you get a clear picture every time. Second, is the damped feel of the cocking lever. It feels like it’s running on O-rings and is as far from the light, almost floppy feel of the EV2, FTP or Steyr as it is possible to get. Once the lever is pulled back it stays there and leaves fantastic access to the breech, which makes thumbing in a pellet a breeze. Closing the lever allows the long pellet probe to position the pellet into the breech proper.

The first stage of the trigger is long and light, just my style. Keep squeezing and the second stage breaks cleanly, totally predictably and with a slightly soft feel, there is no noticeable backlash. When you release the shot there is also absolutely no movement from the rifle, no jetting, no kick from the hammer, nothing.

After running through a few different pellets, I found this particular rifle is quite keen on Air Arms pellets, both Express and Field, and on a still but cold day I managed to print some very respectable 12- to 15mm groups at 50-yards, with the groups getting tighter the shorter the range. This is really the kind of accuracy I expect from an FT rifle, but is not always achieved quite so easily.

On The Course

Having set the zero and sorted some good pellets it is now the time to take the TM and introduce it to an FT course. First off, let me say that like many standard FT rifles, the fore end of the stock is pretty shallow, most people overcome this with anything from a simple leg and plate type hamster, through a fully adjustable lifter, to a much deeper custom stock. For the sake of this review, I shot the TM1000 as it came from the factory. Sitting shots with the TM1000 are stable, given a little concentration, so that if you do your job properly, the TM will reward you with hit after hit.

Kneelers are not quite so straightforward, as the stock does not allow me to take up my natural kneeling position. However, by raising my forearm a bit and changing my grip I was able to get a reasonably stable position, allowing me to hit targets out to 45-yards, not as easily as usual, but on a regular basis.

I am a rubbish standing shot and need all the help I can get, the slightly nose heavy feel of the TM combined with a balance point right where my hand naturally rests (under the breech) make this an excellent rifle for standing shots, even in my hands. I did not try anything too ambitious, but targets at 25- to 30-yards tumbled at my first attempt, although a couple at 41-yards defeated me, but they do that most of the time whatever rifle I am using.

So, a good showing in all three positions and promise of something better still with the addition of a hamster. I really like the side lever operation, the way it kind of locks in the open position and the general beefy feel of the TM. The trigger improved over the course of the review, at the time of writing the second stage break is still a little soft, but only really noticeable when I am feeling for it. I am told a clean and a light re-lube after a few thousand shots makes a world of difference.

Before completing the review, a second trip to the chrono was called for. As I suspected the velocities had crept up a little, and the TM was now far too close to the legal limit. A few adjustments later it was happily running at 784fps using Air Arms Field pellets and over a 30 shot string this varied by only 8fps, which is much more like it.

A Bit Of A Lift

Just as I was completing this review I got hold of a RAW Knee Riser. The Knee Riser is made of aluminium throughout and has a nice matt silver finish, with the name of the company engraved on both the parallel arms, both sides. It is 130mm between pivots and has a single mechanism that allows both pivots to move freely when released. It is supplied with either a laminate block or walnut block, to match the two stock materials that the RAW rifles are sold with.

The unit I have has the heavier laminate block, which I will probably change to walnut later.

It is mounted on the rifle using the accessory rail and has a thumbscrew to secure it in your chosen position. This allows a quick adjustment fore or aft to be made between lanes, or even while sitting if needed. The RAW Knee Riser weighs 530g without the block fitted, the block itself weighs 200g, so 730g in total (1.6lbs). That is a bit of weight to add, but although it was apparent during standing shots, it was not intrusive. The level of engineering throughout is excellent, real precision stuff, with nice free moving pivots but without a hint of slack.

After my previous comments about mainly kneelers, and to a lesser degree sitters too, out on the course the riser made a noticeable difference. Sitting shots are just that little bit steadier, with the whole rifle in a more elevated position, but it is kneelers where the substantial improvement can be felt. The increase in fore end depth improves hand position and so stability. Gone is the slight left/right weave, and now I am able to put the crosshair just where I want it, and most importantly, keep it there.

Conclusion

The TM1000 is a big looking rifle, everything is generously proportioned in comparison to its slimmed down British or European counterparts, and yet in the walnut stock it is a relatively lightweight 9.5lbs. The cheek piece is an interesting shape, comfortable once you are used to it and reasonably easy to find the same position behind the scope, it will not suit everyone but which stock does?

All round, the TM 1000 is an easy rifle to live with and in both calm and windy conditions I found a reliable point of aim, which took down targets right out to 55-yards, not every time of course but often enough to show the rifle has a lot of potential. Some manufacturers put a few tools or Allen keys in with the rifle; RAW don’t, you get a filler to suit the nozzle, a handbook and a full set of O-rings and lube, which is a very unusual addition, and most welcome.

I like most rifles I test, let’s face it, they are top of the line competition machines, but I really like the TM1000 and feel it has a lot of potential. I know one top shooter who didn’t get on well with his and soon got rid of it, I know others who feel it is the best rifle they have ever had, it is that kind of a rifle. One final note, the stock fixings are American, not metric, so watch that when reaching for the Allen keys.

I’d like to thanks Michael Tawn for answering numerous e-mailed and telephone questions and also Ronnie Sunshine’s in Devon for doing the RFD bit for me.

PRICES:
Walnut stock £1399.00;
Laminate stock £1599.00;
Knee Riser £230

CONTACT:
Tawnado Air Guns 01945 420 770
www.tawnadoairguns.com