This is not a gun that anyone should feel afraid to expose to the rigours of real use. The Defiant is no exception, and its extra weight can certainly be attributed to very solid build quality. The Defiant runs the latest version of BSA’s tried and tested 10-shot magazine – a unit that’s renowned for its reliable performanceīSA has an enviable reputation for producing robust airguns that are built to last. The Defiant’s generous cheekpiece has a smooth curve and a soft-touch finish, which makes it a pleasure to nestle your face against. Too many of these guns demand that you push your face against a sharp-angled piece of metal or rest it against an insufficiently sized pad. One really nice feature of the stock is the cheekpiece, which is extremely comfortable by bullpup standards. There’s a rubberised butt pad and it’s height-adjustable – that’s a nice touch – but I would also have liked to have seen angle adjustment on an ambidextrous gun costing over a grand. Its aggressive angle makes for brilliant trigger attack, and the large thumbhole cutaway behind it has plenty of room for big hands. The same stippling is present on the very steep pistol grip, which is contoured to really fill the palm. The rubberised soft-touch finish provides loads of grip, and that’s further enhanced by a stylised panel of stippling that spans both sides of the forend. The curved trigger blade drives a two-stage unit that delivers exceptionally crisp and predictable shot release