BSA launched its R12 CLX Pro a couple of years ago, and from the word go it has been a huge seller for the company. It was only logical, then, that BSA released additional models with slight tweaks and special, limited-edition stocks to further bolster the range.

When it was launched there were only three parts of the rifle that had been used in previous BSA PCPs, those being the excellent trigger system, the famous cold hammer forged barrel and the air bottle – everything else was designed, developed and manufactured from scratch. This is still the case with the latest incarnations, except they now feature a new 480cc carbon bottle.

A SEXY, ADJUSTABLE STOCK

The original R12 is available with either a walnut stock or a black pepper laminate, both of which are crafted by Minelli in Italy. These two new additions also feature Minelli laminate stocks and are designed to suit the tastes of even more shooters.

First up we have the Wilderness Edition, which is a subtle blend of natural brown, green and grey wood laminates. It certainly looks the part and is sure to be a big hit with hunters, providing a camouflage of sorts in the field.

Then there is the rather striking Cayenne Edition, a deep red, natural brown and grey wood laminate that’s sure to stand out on the club range.

Who doesn’t like a thumbhole stock? It’s sleek, feels great and looks the part to boot. The pistol grip has also been ergonomically designed to fit all hand sizes — everyone I know who either owns or has at least shot one has commented on how comfortable it is to hold. I think the honeycomb stippling throughout also adds to the overall feel of this rifle — it’s very grippy indeed.

Then there’s the soft-touch, adjustable cheekpiece, which feels really nice up against your face. Having the option to raise and lower the cheekpiece is a brilliant addition to the stock, and it means you can use either low or high mounts depending on the scope you choose.

These rifles feature BSA’s CCS (Customer Configurable Shroud) system. As the barrel is shrouded, you may well have to use high mounts for scopes with a 50mm lens, or you can simply remove the shroud. It’s extremely easy to do, and it’s just another level of customisation that can be performed by the owner. The same goes for the adjustable butt pad, which can move in the vertical plane by unscrewing a single Allen bolt with the key provided.

NEW REGULATOR AND BOTTLE

The first thing of note is that BSA developed a completely new regulator for this rifle two years ago. It delivers lower internal stress loading, greater stability and in turn reduced wear. It’s no secret that a few of the very old BSA regulators had minor problems, but this new design has changed all that.

Yet again, BSA has listened to its customers and has now gone down the carbon fibre bottle route — it seems that’s what a lot of shooters want these days. This new 480cc bottle has massively increased the shot count, too, providing around 400 shots in .177 calibre and 440 in .22 calibre.

IMPRESSIVE BLOCK AND SIDELEVER

One of the key design features of the R12 is the monoblock platform, which the entire rifle is based around. Using a single piece of machined alloy has allowed BSA to reduce the number of components required to build this rifle, which in turn reduces its complexity and helps improve its reliability and overall performance.

On one side of the block you’ll find the loading port for BSA’s excellent 12-shot CLX magazine, which, incidentally, provides 12 shots for both .177 and .22 calibres. These self-indexing magazines are really easy to load and they feature a large “countdown” window that is clearly visible, telling you how many shots you have left.

On the other side of the monoblock is the final piece of the puzzle: the sidelever.

With the huge success of the Ultra CLX, it was clear that more BSA customers wanted a sidelever cocking mechanism, so BSA has delivered (and then some).

It’s a short-stroke lever, barely pulling back past 90 degrees, and the operation is silky smooth as well as being near silent. The 30mm-long drop handle rotates freely on the lever and has a stippling effect for added grip. I really like it, and although I’m a bit of a bolt action purist I absolutely love this new sidelever on the R12.

On the very rear of the block above the top of the pistol grip you’ll find the manual safety lever. In the upright position it’s in “safe” mode, but a quick flick to the left and you’re ready to fire. I was expecting a click as I switched from safe to fire, but there wasn’t one. It’s got some sort of dampener in there that makes it almost silent. It’s all very positive though, and very easy to operate at the same time.

NEW FOREND

BSA listened to feedback from owners of previous BSA PCP models, namely the R10, and as a result they shifted the fill port a little further back from the sling stud on the R12 to make filling it easier.

The company also designed a completely new fill port cover. It’s a rather ingenious little rubberised plastic disc that fits over the fill gauge and covers the fill port. It’s held on with three strong magnets and is slightly recessed when attached, so there’s no chance of you knocking it off out in the field. It’s the subtle design tweaks like this that make the R12 stand out from all previous models.

I’ll quickly mention the trigger here. It doesn’t really need any introduction, but it is three-way-adjustable for pull length, lateral and radial positions. The blade is nice and wide, and it comes set with a nice long first stage, with a very crisp release with absolutely no creep whatsoever. It’s one of my favourite hunting triggers, for sure.

THE PELLET’S OUT OF THE BAG

I’ve been lucky enough to shoot each and every incarnation of the R12, and I’ve spent countless hours on the range with them. These two new models are no exception and a thorough testing out in the field produced the expected results.

Using the BSA Blackstar pellets provided, I was putting pellet on pellet at 30 yards with the .22 Wilderness Edition rifle, with almost identical results using the Goldstar .177 pellets in the Cayenne Edition rifle. It usually takes me a great deal of testing time to find a pellet that each particular review rifle I test likes, so I was chuffed to bits when I started hitting my mark with pinpoint accuracy with the tins supplied. This brings me nicely onto why these particular pellets are so good.

For a start, each and every BSA rifle is tested at the factory with Goldstar pellets in .22 and Blackstar in .177. This gives BSA a benchmark to work with for each and every rifle produced, but, more importantly, I have recently discovered that BSA’s Premium Pellet range is actually 

manufactured for them exclusively by H&N. And that’s not all. It turns out that H&N actually uses a BSA R10 rifle for its quality control tests. If that’s not a marriage made in heaven, I don’t know what is.

NEW 20-SHOT MAGAZINES

Seeing as how I’m talking pellets, right about now is the perfect time to announce the launch of the all-new optional extra BSA 20-shot magazine system. There are currently three calibres available with the .177 and .22 magazines holding 20 shots each, whilst the .25 magazine holds 16 shots. These new magazines work in exactly the same way as the two 12-shot magazines supplied with each rifle, they’re just bigger and have more capacity. Gone are the old plastic BSA magazines, both the new 12- and 20-shot ones are constructed from a metal alloy, making them much sturdier.

They’re very easy to load, too. Simply drop a pellet in headfirst into the loading port, then rotate the inner dial of the magazine anticlockwise to reveal the next hole and drop another pellet in headfirst. As you continue doing this it effectively winds the magazine up via the internal spring system.

Another great design feature is that each time you drop a pellet in, it locks the internal spring in place, so you don’t have to keep hold of the magazine in fear that it’s going to whizz round in your hand if you let go of it. There’s a clear window on the left-hand side that tells you how many shots are left in the magazine while you’re shooting it, which I have found really handy when out hunting.

I don’t know how BSA has done it, but these new 20-shot magazines slot neatly into the rifle without any fuss, and there’s a strong magnet on the end of each magazine that ensures it stays put and is held in the rifle securely. I tip my hat to the research and development team at BSA, because these new magazines are going to be a game changer for pest controllers.

As I mentioned before, these fantastic new magazines are an optional extra. They retail for around £75 each and they will last you a lifetime. A fantastic investment if ever there was one.

WOULD I BUY ONE?

I have a soft spot for the BSA R10. Nearly all the rifles that I own are .177, which is my preferred hunting calibre. BSA knows this and sent me a .22 Wilderness Edition and a .177 Cayenne Edition for me to test. I’m really glad they did, because having put a fair few hundred shots through both rifles already, I’m more than confident that I could use either calibre when out hunting. I’ve long been an advocate of .177 for hunting, mostly due to the increased accuracy at varying ranges, but I’m finding the .22 R12 to be just as consistent.

If you’ve been toying with the idea of buying a new rifle then I really can’t recommend this new R12 CLX Pro enough. It has the looks, functional design and performance that you’d expect from a top-notch British manufacturer.