Absolutely go and shoulder some guns, fit is the most important factor here. Price wise, it's not just that a magazine system adds cost, it's that Weihrauch make better guns in this market segment sadly. I'm not a fan of AGC, in fact I can't think of anyone I know who is, usually down to negative experiences when it comes to the quality of work done under warranty, but if they're local and you get on with them, ignore me.
The Sxxx platforms are still very capable guns, they just require you to operate in the sweet spot of the fill pressure range and know how many shots you have/count them, much like manual chokes and re vulcanizing tires, the world has moved on. Lets start with the obvious on that 'deal', it's smoke and mirrors just like DFS. Nobody else is selling that scope for £249, why? Because it was discontinued and is now an AGC exclusive, so they can claim it's a £999 scope and nobody can really say otherwise, realistically, it's a £200 scope on a good day (they used to sell them at £229). In effect you are buying something that is mediocre with an inflated claimed value because it sounds like a bargain and Hawke warranty is generally well regarded, even if they terms of supply by them at trade are... questionable, but that's another story.
The S400 is £649 in beech, the S410 is £859, all you are getting for that is a magazine system, neither is regulated. By the time you pay the upgrade to the 'package' deal, it's £903 (£254 extra) for a 400 or £1063 (£204 extra) for a 410 which gets you a cheap case that advertises AGC, a warranty you will hope to never use, and a £2 pack of targets along with a scope they made up the RRP for. Just to throw another option on your preferred platform into the mix, they'll sell you a 10/10 condition S400 with scope/bag for £649 used and the same warranty if that's what you want, and honestly that seems like a much better value buy if that's the path that's the path you decide is right for you.
For comparison, you can get a HW110T (the polymer action/laminate stock version) for £899, it's feels smaller, the trigger is better, two 10 shot magazines that are about as good as it gets, the regulator works reliably and cosnsistantly, and the HW barrels are very decent, the Veyron and mounts I mentioned earlier is £180 from Optics Warehouse and is a much, much better scope (they do go on sale for around the £150 mark occasionally and are less on Ali-Express etc.). I'd suggest at least shouldering one, as fit is most important, it's a mere £17 more than an S410 and a at least worth considering. Objectively speaking, the 110 does have a polymer block, nobody has ever reported a failure, but some people are still living in the dark ages and will bemoan Daystate electronics despite decades of proven reliability if not neglected, so 'plastic' is black magic. The 110 does have one known weakness, the power is known to drop off after a few tins of pellets. It's a reasonably simple and inexpensive fix, one I may even be tempted to let AGC attempt
You also have the BSA R12 Wallnut SE at the same price point, again i'm not personally a fan, i've seen enough of the internals to know how that's going to end sooner rather than later. Kral/Reximex will be cheaper again, but they're rough and ready and really do need a strip/rebuild to get anywhere near as good as the HW or AA in terms of accuracy. I own two, but I went in with my eyes open and treated each as a project, and they don't disappoint as you can see the improvements just removing the machining burr on the transfer port makes.
Honestly if it were me? A used HW100 is basically my benchmark gun at this point, there's a lot of them out there and the prices are flat as it's a buyers market, much like the S4xx/S5xx, they lack the 'new' and desirability factor. If you go used, things like the Cricket and Vixen/Vulcan are worth looking at, Daystate Revere and Huntsman or even the Renegade and Pulsar (a Redwolf bull-pup) are all doable under £1k used. Not much will out shoot a Pulsar from the bench, and the Renegade isn't far off, Huntsman/Revere are proper tack drivers as well, as is the MK4is and for very little at this point.
Do you have a local range that rents other guns out? It's a decent way of trying a few different platforms and working out what actually fits you, it may be an Sxx, but it may be something else.
