PCP to replace my springer?

simko

simko

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Been shooting rimfire and centrefires for ~20 years or so, and since I was younger Ive had a weirauch hw80 in .22 with a hawke scope on it. Anyways, i find this rifle is great, but its pretty loud with the mechanism. I was thinking of getting a PCP air rifle for pest control and shooting at the range. Likely .22 cal as well, or maybe .25 if I can find some economical priced pellets in bulk.

I guess the first thing I'd like to figure out is how to fill the rifle... I dont think I want to buy a floor pump, I've seen some mentinos of a chinese compressor off of ebay, is this a decent idea? Seems like it needs a large volume of water for cooling, inline dessicator and filtration. Would this coupled with some scuba tanks be appropriate? Or should i simply get some scuba tanks and haev them filled at a nearby scuba shop?

If my filling idea is good enough, lets move onto a rifle....

I basically want a compact rifle that will last, if i understand correctly, will the only thing i need to replace for maintenance be O-rings? Will this last as long as my springer has? I think my budget for rifle is going to be 1000 cad. If i could get a better deal for a used rifle im not afraid to buy second hand. I One of my friends has another friend who is willing to sell their air arms hunter s200 for 600, not sure if this is good for a beginner as i've seen people talking about lots of plasic components even though im not sure thats a bad thing. Also, if the rifle suggested has aftermarket support that would be appreciated too....

I guess I'd be looking for the honda civic of air rifles, dependable, aftermarket support, longevity etc.... any suggestions for this?
 
I use a hill mk4 hand pump and it can be tiresome depending on which air gun I’m filling and shooting so a tank and/or compressor isn’t a bad idea, if you were to buy a Chinese compressor it would probably be in your best interest to get it from one of the Canadian dealers just for warranty or parts.

As for compressor or just tanks to be filled at a shop, is there a shop nearby to fill tanks for you?

Air arms is a great manufacturer with a solid reputation
 
I started with a hill hand pump, it works but gets old pretty fast. Went to a Chinese compressor and a carbon fiber tank, that is good, but you will have a learning curve to deal with and the total cost of tank and compressor for me was over $1,000.
The filter supplied with the Chinese compressors is all you need for water/oil control, just dry/check the filter material after each use.

I have just gone to a Nomad II compressor, cost is under a $1000.00, no tanks needed, much easier to use, and parts are available.
The New Warrior compressors appear to be the same as the original Nomad compressor, and are a bit cheaper.

As for rifles, if you want a gun that is very well made, will last, and that parts will probably be available for go with, Weirauch, Air Arms, FX, or Daystate, all are pricey but worth it ( I think )
Other makes will cost less but parts, and service may be hard to come by if you have problems.
 
I've had my Nomad 2 compressor for 1 year and it's been great, up until I used it in the field. The table wasn't stable enough and it had a lot of vibration. I think there might be a loose wire now as I had to kind of move it around to get it to start yesterday. I'll be looking to get a small tank as well in the near future so I can up my shot count when I'm out for target practice. The Condor is probably the least problematic of all air rifles, but the trigger isn't the greatest due to the design. If you are a trigger snob it will bother you. Daystate rifles are very reliable from what I've read, not the cheapest though if you are looking to go higher end, but that's like most things.
 
Or... You could spend $100 on a tune kit for your springer which will calm it down and make it quieter and easier to shoot well - still with a bit of practice. That's what I did when I started thinking about going to the dark side of PCP.
 
I bought a nice rifle... Air Arms 510 Bolt action 10 shot repeater ... shoots a heavy.177 pellet about 950 with extremely fine accuracy. I also bought a 4500 psi tank to fill it from and a small compact 220 volt 6000 psi compressor to fill that tank. Scuba shops can't fill to 4500 psi.

s-510-right.jpg
 
I grabbed a PCP Webley Raider in 177 back when they were on sale in 2017.

I put a Bushnell Banner 4-12x40AO on it with Weaver Steel 22 Rings (high IIRC) and a Hatsan PCP pump.

Shoot ragged little holes ;)

18880314_285914818541245_176619294276232451_o.jpg
 

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simko said:
Been shooting rimfire and centrefires for ~20 years or so, and since I was younger Ive had a weirauch hw80 in .22 with a hawke scope on it. Anyways, i find this rifle is great, but its pretty loud with the mechanism. I was thinking of getting a PCP air rifle for pest control and shooting at the range. Likely .22 cal as well, or maybe .25 if I can find some economical priced pellets in bulk.
Click to expand...

If a springer is too loud, a PCP will not be quieter. Unless you have a model with a shrouded barrel or a moderator, a PCP will be relatively loud.

Filling the air reservoir can be done in several ways. One is to use a hand pump, which are $200 or more, but that can be tiresome. An alternative is to use a high pressure tank such as a scuba tank. The larger the scuba tank, the better, as they can usually be filled to just over 3000 psi, depending on the tank. Better still is a carbon fiber tank that can be filled to 4500 psi, but as noted above many scuba shops will be unable to fill them to that pressure. Some folks report satisfaction with inexpensive compressors to fill the tanks, but like so much you usually get what you pay for and they may not have the desired lifespan.

There's no inexpensive route to go when getting into PCP shooting. For occasional pesting your Weihrauch HW 80 should do well. An alternative is to use a .22LR with quiet ammo.
 
grauhanen said:
If a springer is too loud, a PCP will not be quieter. Unless you have a model with a shrouded barrel or a moderator, a PCP will be relatively loud.

Filling the air reservoir can be done in several ways. One is to use a hand pump, which are $200 or more, but that can be tiresome. An alternative is to use a high pressure tank such as a scuba tank. The larger the scuba tank, the better, as they can usually be filled to just over 3000 psi, depending on the tank. Better still is a carbon fiber tank that can be filled to 4500 psi, but as noted above many scuba shops will be unable to fill them to that pressure. Some folks report satisfaction with inexpensive compressors to fill the tanks, but like so much you usually get what you pay for and they may not have the desired lifespan.

There's no inexpensive route to go when getting into PCP shooting. For occasional pesting your Weihrauch HW 80 should do well. An alternative is to use a .22LR with quiet ammo.
Click to expand...

Sorry what i meant was the noise of the mechanism being worked is the loaud part. Also my wife perceives this as having recoil which she doesnt like.... also im using this as an excuse for another gun.... likely the most important, and truest reason
 
The Marauder is supposed to be about the quietest rifle available in Canada. .177cal would be the quietest option in any PCP rifle. Least perceived recoil also in 20fpe and under.
 
KDX said:
The Marauder is supposed to be about the quietest rifle available in Canada. .177cal would be the quietest option in any PCP rifle. Least perceived recoil also in 20fpe and under.
Click to expand...

I was told by a bystander at the range that my .25 cal marauder was quieter than my .22 cal s410 tdr
 
Don gk said:
I started with a hill hand pump, it works but gets old pretty fast. Went to a Chinese compressor and a carbon fiber tank, that is good, but you will have a learning curve to deal with and the total cost of tank and compressor for me was over $1,000.
The filter supplied with the Chinese compressors is all you need for water/oil control, just dry/check the filter material after each use.

I have just gone to a Nomad II compressor, cost is under a $1000.00, no tanks needed, much easier to use, and parts are available.
The New Warrior compressors appear to be the same as the original Nomad compressor, and are a bit cheaper.

As for rifles, if you want a gun that is very well made, will last, and that parts will probably be available for go with, Weirauch, Air Arms, FX, or Daystate, all are pricey but worth it ( I think )
Other makes will cost less but parts, and service may be hard to come by if you have problems.
Click to expand...

They make parts to fix nomad if it breaks? How reliable are they?
 
Yes parts are available for both Nomad 2, and New Warrior pumps from Canada Shooting Supply. ( Pretty sure New Warrior parts would work in Nomad compressors )
You can also send the Nomad compressors to Venturi in the US for repair if you can't manage to repair it yourself.
No idea as to long term reliability, but if properly maintained and cared for they should last a good time.
Nothing lasts forever, and anything can be broken.
 
I graduated to PCP after a few decades shooting high end FAC spring rifles and the transition is simply incredible. Air Arms is what I've used for the past 20 years but this past month I switched to FX (Crown). The technology has come a long way. They're powerful, accurate, cheap and safe to shoot. The issue will be filling it.

I bought a compressor to fill the rifle direct but it takes time to fill the rifle tank. They're totally unsuitable to fill the divers tank. I ended up buying a carbon wrapped 75ltr cylinder made by Air Venture and bought it from Airgun Source. Its $800 but it has a 15 year life. I used to buy old Scott packs that had a few years remaining but this Air Venture is cheaper in the long run. Its a lot to spend on an air rifle but I shoot it far more than any centerfire I own.
 
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