Best PCP? Hunting.177 vs .22 vs .25

[Crackshoot]

What are your experiences with PCP rifles?

Intended use: small game and target shooting

I love my Remington 513T but interest in getting a PCP rifle. Can they be as accurate? I can shoot the same hole.

Also, what’s your actual field experience with small game with .177 vs .22 vs .25?

Leaning towards .25 as I prefer 45acp over 9mm or 40. My gramps loved 45 because it would spin people and not just punch a hole.

Also, thoughts on charging? Compressor or tank?

Been reading online but nothing like first hand feedback

Thank you in advance

CS :twisted:

 

[AZ_Five56]

Gunslinger has a pretty sweet setup and some great input...
https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11797&p=87634&hilit=pcp#p87634

I was originally going to get another break barrel, but now I'm in the same boat thinking about getting a PCP. I'm a little concerned about re-charging in the field. It seems like they can put out a decent amount of pellets before that's required, but it's still a concern.

 

[QuangTri]

Some thoughts off the top of my head:

I was spring piston for years, starting with a side-lever Sig-Hammerli 401 in .177. Rotating loading port was easy to manipulate the tiny pellets. Hyper accurate.

Decades later, got a Benjamin nitro piston rifle in .22, break barrel. Not accurate stock, but I learned a lot about tuning air rifles and got it quite accurate before I gifted it to my brother down in Tubac.

Got a Benj Discovery PCP in .22 finally. I use a scuba tank to fill it. Fill is only 2,000 psi, so a low pressure tank works fairly well. Dive shops charge only $6 or so for a tank fill that covers many rifle fills.

I get maybe 20 shots from a fill, but the Disco has a rather small tank. The more pricey PCPs would have a larger tank and a regulator for more consistent and greater shots. Some have interchangeable tanks that would give a field refill capability.

Hand pump is just an expense I did not want to pay, and a compressor really jacks the cost up.

Far as caliber, I prefer .22 these days, easier for clumsy fingers to deal with. They generally stay subsonic, for a bit less noise. The Disco and an old spring piston Diana 48 are my only pellet rifles. Both crank out over 800fps with the .22, so plenty of energy to nail any small critters.

Only have a couple pistols in .177 for target use. I think .22 is a good middle ground between velocity and energy. .25 pellets are not as cheap, IIRC.

PCP is a lot easier to shoot accurately than a spring gun of equal power. With a decent "lead dust collector" they are far more quiet as well. PCP also does not tear up scopes like a magnum springer.

Other than the investment in air fill of your choice, PCP wins for me. I keep the old Diana artillery around to remind me of how the magnum springers are not tools for the faint of heat.

 

[pvreb]

I guess I'll show my ignorance again. What does PCP abbreviate?

I have a .177 caliber break barrel. It is super accurate and quite effective on rabbits and small pests.

 

[XJThrottle]

“Pre-Charged Pneumatics”

 

[QuangTri]

I guess I'll show my ignorance again. What does PCP abbreviate?

I have a .177 caliber break barrel. It is super accurate and quite effective on rabbits and small pests.

All pellet guns are "pneumatic" in that they used compressed air to accelerate the pellet.

Spring is obviously a powerful spring that drives air in a piston in a chamber to high pressures.

PCP carries a tank of compressed air (the "pre-charged thing) charged to 2,000-3,000 psi let out in bursts to do the same thing.

PCP guns are usually louder, but very amenable to being legally suppressed.

In between are the old CO2 guns using the little cartridges of compressed CO2. They are usually limited in velocity due to the CO2 expansion rate yielding a rather low pressure (or so I was led to understand).

 

[QuangTri]

I guess I'll show my ignorance again. What does PCP abbreviate?

I have a .177 caliber break barrel. It is super accurate and quite effective on rabbits and small pests.

All pellet guns are "pneumatic" in that they used compressed air to accelerate the pellet.

Spring is obviously a powerful spring that drives air in a piston in a chamber to high pressures.

PCP carries a tank of compressed air (the "pre-charged thing) charged to 2,000-3,000 psi let out in bursts to do the same thing.

PCP guns are usually louder, but very amenable to being legally suppressed.

In between are the old CO2 guns using the little cartridges of compressed CO2. They are usually limited in velocity due to the CO2 expansion rate yielding a rather low pressure (or so I was led to understand).

Sorry for the pedantry, it was just for the confused, as i was for quite a while, knowing only springers.

 

[Gunslinger808]

I’ve been shooting PCPs for years, and in about the last 4 they’ve really come out with quite a few nice ones.
You can get one in .177, .22, .25 .30 and all the way up to .50 depending on what you want to hunt and of course want to spend.
You can get a good entry level PCP for about $300, and they go all the way up to about $5000, or more.
For small game I’d suggest a .22, at 900 fps using a 14.6 grain pellet gets you 26.27 foot pounds of energy at the muzzle, more than enough to take rabbit size game out to 75 yards humanely.

One thing to consider when getting into PCPs is the refill source your going to use, there are hand pumps that will air it up to 3500 psi, but are a real workout, I use a Hatsan electric pump that works off of 110 or 12 volt so I can air mine up pretty much anywhere.
There are also a lot more types of electric pumps as well, with ones like I use all the way up to ones that’ll fill scuba tanks also.
Once again the only limit is your budget.

I’d honestly suggest a Benjamin Marauder, they cost about $500 but for that price they are powerful, extremely accurate, and very quiet.
Additionally they come in .177.22, and .25, so it’s also available in the caliber you want.

PCP guns are usually louder, but very amenable to being legally suppressed.

Not necessary so, mine are extremely quiet, and have internal “moderators” which is the same as a suppressor.
And as to suppression, any aftermarket attachable silencer MAY fall into NFA territory, its a real touchy subject with multiple possibilities and even more convoluted than regular NFA language.

And finally, on to hunting regulations, there are caliber restrictions on air gun hunting as well here in Arizona, for instance the minimum caliber for coyotes is .22, but I personally wouldn’t trust a .22 for a clean humane kill without almost perfect shot placement.
For that I go with a .30 caliber.
I have a few PCPs, if you ever get down around Florence I’ll let you shoot them to help decide if it’s something you really want to get into, as they are as addictive as regular firearms.

I’ve been playing with this one a lot, lately I’ve been out in the back yard at night...

 

[pneuby]

Guys, the one of the nation's foremost dealers is right here in our very back yard. On Elliot, just east of Arizona Ave, is Airguns of Arizona. Most of staff are super knowledgable, and several even have an agreeable personality. You do need patience, as most of their biz is internet/mail, and sometimes someone has to come up front from back in their warehouse.

My two cents on the PCP. They can be every bit as loud as a .22LR, or more in the big-bores. Get a built-in moderator/shroud. I would hate to see someone be an ATFE test-case for a screw-on can that is supposedly legal "for use on airguns only" blah blah blah.

Get tanks, a compressor, or both. I was talking to a father and son pair of customers in there one day. The son played college football, and said he didn't want to mess with the 'workout' of a hand-pump again, LOL.

Oh, and they carry and sell used guns, also:
https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/usedguns-page-2.html

 

[QuangTri]

Not mentioned that I saw, but in these days of ammo scarcity, airguns are an excellent way to keep shooting skills sharp. A tin of high quality pellets like 500 H&N FTT are less than most firearm ammo boxes of 20.

Even in gun-hating Hawaii, airguns are legal in your backyard as long as the pellet does not leave your property.

 

[QuangTri]

Is that a Hatsan?

 

[Gunslinger808]

No, a Benjamin Akela.
About a third the price of a Daystate, FX, or Edgun bull pup.

I did a small write up on it here...
https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11797

My Marauders...

And this is a typical 5 shot group at 25 yards with the .22 Marauder.
Lothar/Walther barrel, 14.6 Crossman match pellet @ 850fps (23.43 foot pounds at muzzle) sitting with forend rest...

 

[curtmini14]

how long can you leave these charged do they leak.

 

[Gunslinger808]

You’re supposed to keep them charged, it prevents moisture or contaminants from getting in the chamber.
And mine don’t leak at all, I can leave them for months with no noticeable drop in pressure.

Also, you should never clean the barrel unless accuracy really starts dropping off, if you do it’ll take at least 20 shots to “settle” back to shooting consistent.

 

[electrohawk]

This is an interesting video of a simulated Hog penetration test
Layered this way:
2 Layers denim, 3 layers cotton t-shirt, rack of ribs, bag of oranges, second rack of ribs.
The PCP used is a Hatsan Blitz in .25 and .30 which I was looking a buying.
It is single shot and full auto (1000 rounds per minute).

After looking at the Rib test, I am thinking this would be a candidate for a self defense air rifle, if you had no option to get a real firearm.

Rib test
[bbvideo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpczzhvQcNc[/bbvideo]

Ballistic gel (10%) test
[bbvideo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLM8xZybvvg[/bbvideo]

Just for fun blasting through cans, watermelons and cinderblock with the .30:
[bbvideo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu0ak_Cf-eg[/bbvideo]

 

[XJThrottle]

This is an interesting video of a simulated Hog penetration test
Layered this way:
2 Layers denim, 3 layers cotton t-shirt, rack of ribs, bag of oranges, second rack of ribs.

Paul Harrell shots PCP too?

 

[martyd]

I have purchased several PCPs from Arizona Airguns and highly recommend them.

For cost savings I use a Scuba Tank which is no longer usable for diving. I have no problem getting it filled, the scuba guys know about PCPs and will fill the tank for you. You may have to sign a release stating that the tank is not and will not be used for diving.
Used scuba tank around $50-75

PCP tank $400 - 800.
Compressor $500 - 3500

 

[iammaxwell]

No, a Benjamin Akela.
About a third the price of a Daystate, FX, or Edgun bull pup.

I did a small write up on it here...
https://www.arizonashooting.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=11797

My Marauders...

And this is a typical 5 shot group at 25 yards with the .22 Marauder.
Lothar/Walther barrel, 14.6 Crossman match pellet @ 850fps (23.43 foot pounds at muzzle) sitting with forend rest...

Sweet!
Been eyeing one of these for a while, but the weight has kept me on the fence. 8.2# for bare rifle (as per website) is too heavy for me for anything but bench shooting. Any experience with the Maximus? Supposedly only 5#.

 

[iammaxwell]

Anyone have experience with big bore pcp (.35 cal)?

 

[AZ_Five56]

I'm looking at getting the Umarex Gauntlet 2 in .22 caliber as soon as they're available. They seem incredible for the money since they have a 4500 psi cylinder with about double the volume of the previous model. For $450, I don't see anything else that looks like it could compete with it.

I wanted to use it for plinking and small game hunting. I seriously considered getting a .25 caliber, but I'm concerned about pellet availability. It seems like they're harder to come by and much more expensive.