Taipan Slash: the PCP air rifle becomes semi-automatic

Taipan is a company based in Hlučín, Czechia, that can boast twelve years of experience in the manufacturing of high-powered pre-charged pneumatic air rifles. Thanks to their qualities, Taipan rifles – the Veteran II model in particular – enjoy great popularity in the USA, where they are used in competition by many of the most successful long-range field target and benchrest shooters with PCP air guns.

The new full power Taipan Slash rifle

Now Taipan adds a revolutionary new model to its catalogue, and moves the performance bar even higher, at least as far as firing speed is concerned. The new Slash is in fact a PCP air rifle with bullpup design and semi-automatic operation. Unlike other PCPs it is not necessary to operate the charging lever after each shot to chamber a new pellet. The twelve rounds contained in the rotary magazine can therefore be fired in quick succession and without interruption. Combined with a revolutionary new patented valve with extraordinary opening and closing speed, this the Taipan Slash rifle's feeding system offers superior performance while having minimal air consumption. The icing on the cake is the ability to shoot slug-type pellets without the need for modifications.

The Slash rifle is powered from a 300 cc carbon fiber bottle with a max working pressure of 300 bar, and a power plenum capacity of 46 cc. The rifle is offered in four calibers (4.5mm, 5.5mm, 6.35mm and 7.62mm) and two barrel lengths, 420 and 550 mm. The front stock is also made in two variants, Standard and Tactical, while the AR-15 compatible pistol grip allows for an infinite number of aftermarket variants should you not like the standard one.

The muzzle energy delivered by the Taipan rifle is 80/140/80/220 joules (with a 550-mm barrel) and thanks to the redesigned valve with high opening and closing speed, air consumption is optimised to the maximum, giving the rifle an excellent shot count.

The standard stock version has a fully floating barrel clearly separated from the fore-end, which makes it easier to shoot supported. The fore-end also features a series of M-Lok slots at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock that allow for various accessories to be fitted. The Tactical version, on the other hand, has an octagonal-section fore-end that wraps the barrel shroud tightly. Each side has a set of M-Lok slots.

The rifle has no sights, but given its elective use, which involves the combination with a scope, it has a 20 MOA Picatinny rail to which any type of optic mount can be attached.

The barrel of the Taipan Slash is shrouded along its entire length integrating a highly effective sound moderator.

The Slash features a manual slide safety, located inside the trigger guard, and an automatic safety that prevents firing if the magazine is not properly engaged. The charging lever located on the right side of the buttstock also serves as a decocking device.

The Taipan Slash is not built on the cheap and is therefore not a cheap gun: the target price is around 2,400 euro regardless of caliber and version. To its credit, It offers an innovative operating system which is very interesting from a technological point of view. As always, it will be the market that will determine the value of the concept and its implementation.

Taipan Slash technical specifications and price