Not your daddy's airgun

allen-1

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Earlier this week I was at the range, playing with a .22. Stopped shooting to go talk to Mark over by the connex and gave him a hand with some props. While we were doing that, a guy walked over and plugged his gun into a compressor he had running on a bench; (there's electric at the connex).

I took a look at his gun, chatted a bit, and shot it a couple of times.

I have a Crossman pellet gun; and I've shot a couple of BB guns and pellet rifles. This is NOTHING like that.

It's chambered in 30 caliber, and apparently can be used to hunt. Has a circular mag that holds 23 (?) slugs, and he had an ATN digital day/night scope on it. And a suppressor. All legal, no paperwork required for any of it.

I was hitting shotgun shells with it at 75 feet with no difficulty whatsoever.

IMG_2142.JPGIMG_2139.JPG
 
I've been looking at PCP for a long time. They look like a lot of fun but the cost to get started is too rich for my blood. You either need a scuba tank that you go somewhere to get filled and charge it from there or a compressor like your friend had. Add that to the cost of the rifle and I'm out.
 
Depends on your budget but yes it’s very expensive like all hobbies these days. A high end PCP like the FX pictured above is $1.5K-3K. A carbon fiber 4500 psi tank is $600. It can be refilled at a scuba shop for $15 or you can spend $1K on a high pressure compressor. But you get the freedom to shoot in your back yard and with suppressors (1st circuit of all courts ruled suppressors are ok for air rifles because they are not firearms). You do need a robust backstop as the FX and others sling a .30 cal pellet at 900 FPS.
 
Depends on your budget but yes it’s very expensive like all hobbies these days. A high end PCP like the FX pictured above is $1.5K-3K. A carbon fiber 4500 psi tank is $600. It can be refilled at a scuba shop for $15 or you can spend $1K on a high pressure compressor. But you get the freedom to shoot in your back yard and with suppressors (1st circuit of all courts ruled suppressors are ok for air rifles because they are not firearms). You do need a robust backstop as the FX and others sling a .30 cal pellet at 900 FPS.

Don't get me wrong, if money wasn't an issue I would love to get into PCP. For all the reasons you mention they look like a good time.
 
I Have a Benjamin .25 Cal PCP. It is a blast to shoot, and quiet. The two stage hand pump to get the chamber pressure to 3,000 psi is No Fun! If I shot it more I would go the tank / compressor route.
 
Depends on your budget but yes it’s very expensive like all hobbies these days. A high end PCP like the FX pictured above is $1.5K-3K. A carbon fiber 4500 psi tank is $600. It can be refilled at a scuba shop for $15 or you can spend $1K on a high pressure compressor. But you get the freedom to shoot in your back yard and with suppressors (1st circuit of all courts ruled suppressors are ok for air rifles because they are not firearms). You do need a robust backstop as the FX and others sling a .30 cal pellet at 900 FPS.

The owner, (that's him shooting it), said it cost about 2200 before he made some mods and bought extra gear. He said he was into it all told for about 3K.

I was practicing on steel when he showed up, rimfire pistol w/iron sights. We shot the steel a few times with his airgun and it made a very satisfying "clang!", but it was simply way too easy to hit it with that scope. So we started shooting shotgun shells and pieces of clays that were on the back berm.

The ATN was interesting. It's digital and I've never used anything other than glass. It was kind of like a video game, or a computer screen. It pixelated a bit when I ran it up to 20X, but at 5X it was pretty clear. He said it's both a day and night optic, with the ability to transfer what you're seeing to a computer/phone for later viewing. He did say that he'd had a few issues with it, it wouldn't turn on unless it was plugged into the charger sometimes. So he's not 100% satisfied with it. I thought it was pretty interesting technology.
 
Pyramyd Air and Airguns of Arizona are two of the larger air gun shops. There are a number of other as well. Checkout at Edgun West the Leshiy 2, which is semi-auto. There is a push to semi-auto and full auto. Only a matter of time before MA regulates these despite the fact that they are never used in crimes. Same with airsoft. I think Canada is proposing to ban airsoft b/c they look like real guns.
 
I Have a Benjamin .25 Cal PCP. It is a blast to shoot, and quiet. The two stage hand pump to get the chamber pressure to 3,000 psi is No Fun! If I shot it more I would go the tank / compressor route.
My scuba diving days are way behind me, but do you need to be "certified" to get the tanks filled nowadays? Jack.
 
$2000 bux?
For an airgun?

I was thinking "hey, maybe its time to buy a new one".

Uh, i think my benjamin is doing just fine.
 
4500 PSI carbon fiber tanks?
no thanks. i have enough stuff around me already that can kill me in horrific ways.
daam, we do think absolutely alike. :) it was the first thing on my mind - what body part will be taken off first when it goes bang.
 
I wonder if they have some kind of "safety" valve that bleeds off hi pressure? Jack.
it is not a matter of valve, it is a matter of the tank material to handle only certain count of inflations until structural stress builds up to the limit. 4500psi is quite a bit.
especially if you run in the forest and, say, hit a rock of something with it on your side/back.
 
it is not a matter of valve, it is a matter of the tank material to handle only certain count of inflations until structural stress builds up to the limit. 4500psi is quite a bit.
especially if you run in the forest and, say, hit a rock of something with it on your side/back.
i would imagine the connection between the tank and the threaded adapter must be a real stress point also. If that top went off, that tank would punch a 4" diameter hole right thru your chest with the force of a AMRAAM missile!

:eek:
 
it is not a matter of valve, it is a matter of the tank material to handle only certain count of inflations until structural stress builds up to the limit. 4500psi is quite a bit.
especially if you run in the forest and, say, hit a rock of something with it on your side/back.
Folks have been running 4.5KSI tanks for paintball for 20+ years. If CF makes you uncomfortable, you can always go with Al or steel, I'm sure.

Just like a scuba tank, shops worth working with won't fill them if the hydro is out of date. Take care of your gear, it'll take care of you.
 
Earlier this week I was at the range, playing with a .22. Stopped shooting to go talk to Mark over by the connex and gave him a hand with some props. While we were doing that, a guy walked over and plugged his gun into a compressor he had running on a bench; (there's electric at the connex).

I took a look at his gun, chatted a bit, and shot it a couple of times.

I have a Crossman pellet gun; and I've shot a couple of BB guns and pellet rifles. This is NOTHING like that.

It's chambered in 30 caliber, and apparently can be used to hunt. Has a circular mag that holds 23 (?) slugs, and he had an ATN digital day/night scope on it. And a suppressor. All legal, no paperwork required for any of it.

I was hitting shotgun shells with it at 75 feet with no difficulty whatsoever.

View attachment 470186View attachment 470185
Thats for 100 yards. Air guns have come a long way , check out wackenbush 50 cal hunting rifles

i know a farmer with a similar set up for rat and coyote control on his farm. The ATN thermal scope is lots of fun at night on the rats.
 
Some good info in this old thread.

I've got a few PCP guns, mostly Airforce, including a couple of integrally suppressed models I bought from a member down in Mass (being one of the only way to legally suppress in MA). Yes, the guns and the accessories can be expensive, but the ammo is cheap, and molds/dies are available to cast your own slugs if you want to be really frugal.

The .308 slugs can be had as cheap as 11cpr and in weights from 100-198gr. And that's basically the smallest of the "Big Bore" airguns:
Texan-SS308.jpg

Smallest bore that is, this thing is huge. (bought it without optics, since remedied)
 
I wonder if they have some kind of "safety" valve that bleeds off hi pressure? Jack.
Some thing let go on my benjamin discovery the other day its only a 2k psi unit . Was just sitting there in corner and it went BOOM , still need to tear it down and see what went
 
Folks have been running 4.5KSI tanks for paintball for 20+ years. If CF makes you uncomfortable, you can always go with Al or steel, I'm sure.
Just like a scuba tank, shops worth working with won't fill them if the hydro is out of date. Take care of your gear, it'll take care of you.
CF in such application does make me very uncomfortable, yes.
The tank there does seem like something proprietary made for the gun, not a generic wider body paintball design, and i do not quite like the way how it is mounted also.
but, to each his own. it was only my first impression, i looked at it and thought - well, that is designed to get off with a bang.
 
Thats for 100 yards. Air guns have come a long way , check out wackenbush 50 cal hunting rifles

i know a farmer with a similar set up for rat and coyote control on his farm. The ATN thermal scope is lots of fun at night on the rats.

Mike said that he was getting ready to go hunt iguanas in Florida with a couple friends. If I understood him correctly, he'll be shooting at night.
 
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