Hello all,

I'm in the market to buy a pellet rifle, preferably .22 caliber (though I'll settle for .20) for use in target shooting, but also to take out squirrels, birds, and the occasional raccoon.

My primary concern is accuracy. I'd like to get something that is very accurate out to at least 25 yards (I'm looking for 1/4" groups or less) Power is also an issue, as I want something that can make a clean kill on a raccoon using a head shot. I'm fine with single shots and don't need a repeater.

My last criteria: I want something that I can maintain without having to buy CO2 canisters. So spring guns or pneumatics I can pump with a tire pump would be my preference.

Thank you for your time!

HW95 or Beeman R9 should do everything you want. They're good to go right out of the box, no mods needed.

Would the Beeman R9 be a good fit for a left handed shooter? I noticed the HW95 Luxus has iron sights. Is this model comparable to the Beeman R9?

Check out this site for advice and comparisons
Accuracy will vary from gun to gun, and with pellet choice, so "brand" won't tell you much about that aspect

http://www.pyramydair.com

Highly recommend the Benjamin Marauder. Very accurate, very quiet and within your budget. I have one and couldn't be happier with it.

Given your parameters,
in a break barrel spring gun, the Beeman R9, R1 is slightly faster
side cocking, look at an RWS 54.
under barrel cocking, I'd get an Air Arms TX200. HW97 worth a look too.

I currently have
break barrel, Beeman Crow magnum .20
side cock, RWS 52 .22
pumper,Benjamin 347.177 Big fun, too small for my hunting needs.

Check Pyramid Air, Straight Shooters and Airguns of Arizona.
Or course do a youtube search for videos of those you're wondering about, some good information in the reviews.

I bought one of the AirForce Condor SS rifles last year and could not be more pleased. After I found the pellet it likes and the barrel broke in quarter size groups at 40 yards are the norm.

As to power...I had to get the .177 rated tank to get the pellets SUBSONIC. Right now I am running a .20 14.3 grain Crossman Premier at 1000 fps. With what the factory provided, the standard valed .20-.25 tank, the gun would not go under 1050... At 1000 fps I am getting 40 shots before I have to pump the tank back up.

Caliber...take your pick as the gun is a switch barrel .177, .20, .22 and .25. I bought the setup in .20 and now have a .25 that I have not tried yet.

I have several springers and while nice, don't come near the power of this gun. Springers also take a lot more concentration to shoot accurately. With a PCP gun all there is is a pop and no vibration. With the Condor SS there is hardly any noise at all.

AirForce also has a smaller less powerful version called the Talon series and that gun comes in a suppressed version also.

Bob

Here is the old post...need to update this some time...

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7932864/1

Accuracy is even better now....

Bob

Thank you all very much for your replies. I was initially leaning towards a spring-powered like the HW97, but you've given me more options to consider.

Thanks RJM for the link. That is a very interesting thread.

Best wishes to all,


David

Hijack

RJM,

I've been pondering a PCP rifle for a while and don't want to be tied to a Scuba shop for an air supply.

How many pumps to fill the Condor tank and how many shots per fill with the .20 barrel?
I'm not going to jump into a rifle without being sure and am also looking at the FX Indy and Independence.
The Marauder looks good too but I'll be pumping to fill so it makes me hesitate.
I'd best know what I'm in for before I buy.
Thanks

The FX independence is on my wish list also. Marauder is probably what I will end up with realistically..

Waiting on more .22 marauder reviews of the new design. Still seems to be barrel quality control issue.

Just curious here - How do you pump up a pre-charged rifle? I see the tank on the Air Arms S510 is rated at 2,900 PSI. Is there a special hand pump for this, or is the owner limited to refilling from a scuba tank?

several companies make hand pumps for pcp's.

Pumping time...look at it as exercise. You don't need a scuba tank unless you do a LOT of shooting or are using it in competition. Yea the first time the cylinder is pumped up takes a while to get it from zero to 3K psi but from that point on I only let it get down to about 2K psi , which is about 40 shots, before topping the tank back off. Number of pumps...not really sure but it is several hundred...that sounds like a lot but I have come to enjoy the exercise.

Doc...if you look at that AF thread again there is a pic of the airgun with the pump...

Bob

Thanks, Bob. I did a little research on the hand pumps and it looks like the Hill Mark 3 is the way to go. It's pricey, but I like the included desiccant container. I'm ok with the exercise in pumping, as I don't shoot all that often.

Decisions... decisions... I'm probably going to end up with a Marauder, but that FX Boss is really looking good.

David

Thanks Bob,
I'm still pondering which will be my first PCP but your reply was exactly what I needed.

A friend who bought a .25 AF Condor SS and the Talon pistol at the same time I bought mine bought one of the Hill pumps. I just bought the AF one that was in the set...it gets the job does about as well as the Hill...but I have only used his pump once.

I like the FX airguns.... But if you can try and handle whatever you plan on buying before you buy... Some of the PCP guns are REALLY BIG and clunky...

Bob

The Hill Mk3 is a top performing pump. Shameless plug here, but I can sell you one new in box for $225.00 shipped.

HW95 or BSA Supersport in .22 .
Need more power Diana/RWS 350 or 460 also .22 .

PCP's are neat, hard to beat a springer for simple - depends on what you want to do with the gun and how much you will shoot it. I have an R-9 after going through several others - finally satisfied.

http://www.straightshooters.com/

I started my air gun obsession with a Diana 46. Awesome accurate setup but didn't have the power I wanted. Bought a model 52. Got it doing 840 with 16.2's with es or 8 fps. Needed more bought 2 BSA pcp's my lonestar I got to do 1100 with 16.2's. Bought a scuba tank and a pump and almost bought a compressor. Bought a lightning xl tactical at some point too. When it's all said and done I have the model 46 and a benji 392 I sold the rest. The 392 being my favorite. I have more kills with it then I had with all the others combined. It does 625 with 16.2 jsb's. And cutting the center out of a target at 25 yards is no problem. Lots of power sounded great but enough is enough. I don't mind pumping and not dragging 12 lbs of crap around is nice. 4 lbs in a nice small setup. Perfect out of the box. Little trigger work aside. Oh and the one undeniable truth my journey taught me: if you need more power, burn powder. My lonestar was louder then my .22 with sub sonics by a lot.

Good prices there - Thanks for the link!

I'm going back and forth on this. I like the idea of the power & accuracy of a PCP, but I'm not thrilled about having to shell out the extra money for either a scuba tank or an expensive hand pump.

A springer would be more economical, but I'm concerned about the accuracy being sufficient. I'd like to be able to shoot 1/4" groups at 50 feet and ideally out to 25 yards.

At this time, however, it's a moot point. We got clobbered on our electric bill (Beware: If you're on a fixed-rate plan and that plan ends, you can get nailed with a HUGE bill), loss of power for four days (had to stay in a hotel for 3 days and lost everything in the fridge and freezer), and the cat needed emergency surgery (my wife wouldn't let me resolve the issue with a .22lr). Things are going to be tight for a while, which gives me more time to pine over which air rifle to buy once we're flush again.

Doc
If you search the website link I sent. you will find a useful tab on the specific rifle page called our take. It is a review of the air rifle and includes velocity data.

Doc get the Benjamin Discovery, come with a hand pump and you only have to fill to 2000 psi which isn't that hard from a hand pump. Great little PCP gun without laying out big buck, I have 3 Mauauders and one Discovery, they all work fine.

Got to shoot a benjamin nitro trail in .25. Longer and heavier than the .22 version. It hit with authority and seems to be more accuracy stable - only had the first 20 round through it and was grouping pretty good. Will get an update when my bro shoots it past the recommended break in 200 rounds.

I would push golf tees into the ground at 35 yards and cut them in half with my RWS 52. Accuracy is not a problem with a springer. you just have to be consistant in how you shoot it.

I picked up a Marauder .25 a few weeks ago for 550 shipped off CL with the Benji' pump and 400 pellets, I believe they are Premier's. I grabbed the only spare scope I had, a Revolution 3x9 and even though parallax is horrible, I sighted in at 35 yards shooting 1/2" and have at least 20 kills so far, mostly Grackle's, a couple of squirrels that were hell bent on chewing up my bird feeder and a half dozen rabbits. Most of the shots have been 35-50 yards.

The pump works fine for me, it took about a 100 strokes to get it up to 3000 on the gauge, takes about 50 to go from 2000-3000. The last 20 are some work but every time I smoke a Grackle it's worth it.

The stock is very clunky, in fact, it flat sucks A$$. When I have an hour I will take my angle grinder and flap disc and thin it way down...a chainsaw and woodcarver blade is probably more appropriate for the job.

The magazine is somewhat problematic, I tweaked it after watching a few videos to increase the tension and minimize the spring from popping out of the retaining hole. When it does get flaky, it only takes a few minutes to fix.

It is pretty darn quiet, quieter to me than CCI CB's out of a 24" barrel.

I am thinking about re-setting the parallax on a VX2 2x7 CDS I have on a 223 and trying it on the Marauder, I bet that will improve my percentage a little.

RDW, Is your Marauder one of the new ones? I see they redesigned the wood stocks along with a new synthetic stock. I have one of the .25s also. Incredibly accurate. JSB Exact Kings are the most accurate out of my rifle. The Predator Polymags get rave reviews but I haven't tried them yet. I really get a kick out of the pellet making more noise hitting the target than the rifle firing. This woodchuck, not so much.

The Marauder is definitely on my list to consider. I've read a number of good reviews and watched a few YouTube videos on it as well. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is having to drop so much money on a pump. As so much in life, it's probably going to be one of those "you get what you pay for" situations.

It was basically new in the box, looks the same as your rifle.

I smacked a duck decoy at about 70 yards last night, talk about "smack"





The pump cost is high but I didn't want to mess with filling tanks, chose the pump over an RWS or Beeman but either would be the next choice for me. After shooting the .25, I would not even consider an air rifle smaller than .22.

A .25+ may be in my future

Just posted a LNIB .22 Synthetic MROD cheap in classifieds. Just need a Benjamin or Hill pump and go slaying pests.