Interested in PCP, but scared of the price of admission, any advice?

[corbinace]

I read all of the posts that come up here about air guns, and it looks intriguing.

The entry point seems to start near 1K, once you get the gun, scope, compressor and small parts needed.

I know that a hand pump works, but I do not think I want to go that route, with cheap Chinese compressors available.

Are there ways to get into a gun that someone else is just tired of and it is still serviceable for a lesser amount? I see on a lot of air rifle forums the posters have a list of several to dozens of arms in their collection, so maybe selling them is unheard of unless they are just trash.

Can you recommend a "good" airgun forum? Hopefully one that is kind to the neophyte airgunner. Maybe they have a good buy and sell sub-forum? This forum is good as far as it goes, but it is not really airgun optimized.

My area is pretty much devoid of PCP participants, so I have not a lot of nearby guidance.

Just rambling now, so I will be quiet and listen.

Thank you, Tim.

[HollowPoint]

Fear not Young corbinace:

For I will help you. I will uphold you with the right hand of my Umarex Gauntlet. OK I'm just messing with you, with a Biblical slant.

There are now more than a few entry level PCPs on the market that are really quite accurate right out of the box. I happen to own a Umarex Gauntlet that shot well out of the box but being the chronic tinkerer that I am I've modified it to suit my needs.

Anyhow, you don't have to plink down large amounts of cash to get started. I bought mine for a bit over two-hundred bucks delivered and then I bought a $35.00 high pressure pump off of Ebay. Every thing has worked well for me other than having to shim the HPA tank to align the fill gauge with the small window on the side of the fore-stock and the fact that it was kind of loud for backyard plinking but other than that, I'm happy with this particular PCP. It's also now available in .25 caliber and they've added some upgrades to the newer Gauntlets.

There are others of course but I don't have any experience with them personally. Some of the other guys here can fill you in on those other brand and models of PCP air rifle.

HollowPoint

[corbinace]

While not gifted in prose, I bow in the presence of your vast knowledge and sage wisdom o learned one.

I have looked at the Gauntlet, and it was looking like it could possibly get me in the door. Thank you for the vote of confidence.

Backyard is my intended use. Nearest house is about 100 yards but it is kind of open with little in the way of sound dampening trees.

[Baja_Traveler]

Benjamin Marauder or Discovery will fit your needs very nicely, and be at the 500 dollar and 300 dollar mark respectively. I own both, and they both shoot extremely well. Stay with a .177 or .22 to keep noise level down. I like my .25 Marauder, but it is vastly louder than my .22 Discovery. Boyd's also makes a really nice stock for the Discovery to replace the youth sized Benjamin version.

[corbinace]

The smaller stock may well be better for my diminutive stature. I normally cut my LOP back to 12" for arms that I will shoulder quickly. Yep, in my Cowboy action days, I went by Shorty Kansas.

[clodhopper]

www.gatewaytoairguns.org Is a good web site devoted to airguns.

Give a rifle like this a good look, sure you can buy something for hundreds less.
The 200 series air arms are well built, have good triggers, accurate, and sized for the shorter shooter. The one in this link is a refurb, they are cheaper, but the warranty is weak. Buy once, cry once.
https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Air_A..._Repeater/2640

[georgerkahn]

I have an Air Arms T200 -- https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Air_A...et_Sights/2622 -- which runs (now) $449.00; I bought mine as a factory return for a few pennies less than $400.00. It works great, and -- money (mine ) being the governing factor, I went with a GOOD air pump -- the Hill -- which appears to now be marketed by Air Venturi -- https://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/Air_V..._4500_PSI/5501 -- and runs $269.00. Additionally all that's needed are pellets -- and I strongly recommend "good" ones.
The total is $718 -- considerably lower than a grand, and might be worth considering. In addition to dedicated blogs and sites, Pyramid Air offers some pretty good dialogues. I concur with Post #4 -- I have one each .177 and .22 -- they "do the job" and are loud enough.
BEST!
geo

[MT Chambers]

Have you considered a good quality springer from Air Arms or HW? You can't get a good pcp, a tank, etc. for the cost of a TX200. The trouble with cheap means plastic, lots of it, leaks, produced in places not known for good products.

[georgerkahn]

(Just an added note on the Air Arms PCP I suggested: 1/ It is WOOD -- no plastic; 2/ It is made by a very well regarded manufacturer in what is now the Czech Republic, distributed by one of the highest regard in the United Kingdom. FYI
geo)

[igolfat8]

Airgun Nation is another forum chocked full of info. I started out with a Crosman Marauder Pistol / carbine which may appeal to your stature? It’s light weight, easy to fill with a hand pump, extremely accurate and made in the USA. If you enter the code AGNATION at Crosman.com at checkout you will get a 25% discount.

[Silverboolit]

I have the Benjamin Discovery and run it off CO2, not HPA. Lots of shots per fill, just plain fun. Academy fills the bottle for about $4 IIRC.

[GARD72977]

Airguns are........ Important to me. Quality air rifle will serve you well. If you love to shoot and live where you can shoot at home then don't be afarid of investing in a quality gun.

I have as much money in my airguns as in my powder burners. My physolphy is put your money in what you are going to use the most.

[Greg S]

I got into PCPs with an AA410 in 177. I started off with an AA HPA Pump but when I started plinking away from the house picked up a CF tank. If your going to go CF Tank, make sure there is a local fill station. If your going with a tank, CF is 2-3x the price of AL but 7-10x amount of fills compared with AL.

[nvreloader]

corbinace

Try here, best price I have found so far. You have a choice of all 3 calibers, I would stick with 22 or 17 calibers,
unless you have larger varmints to deal with.
https://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...unds?a=2135988

Hth's,

Don

[TCLouis]

Nother place to look.
https://www.airgunnation.com/

There were two different Discos for sale at a reasonable price. 2,000 psi guns are fairly easy to pump up with the chinese hand pumps.

[PerpetualStudent]

put your money in what you are going to use the most.

This really is good advice.

I guess the real question is: what job do you want it do OP? The Benjamin wildfire and the Chinese compressors (that cost what a hand pump cost 5 years ago) keep me intrigued in the PCP world but I'm not looking at a purchase in the near future. If you want just precision practice, the CMP rebuilt daisy's will give you the most quality for your money.

[corbinace]

This really is good advice.

I guess the real question is: what job do you want it do OP? The Benjamin wildfire and the Chinese compressors (that cost what a hand pump cost 5 years ago) keep me intrigued in the PCP world but I'm not looking at a purchase in the near future. If you want just precision practice, the CMP rebuilt daisy's will give you the most quality for your money.

I live in an area where the nearest house is 150+ yards and a couple more at 175+. I would like to sit on the porch and shoot steel at varying distances around the perimeter of the property (20-80 yards). In the county, so totally legal to shoot, just better for neighbor relations to be considerate of them. I have mostly rising terrain around my place, especially in the direction of houses, so impact control is easy.

We also have an invasive Eurasian dove that can be population controlled at will.

While I am sure most would not find enough challenge in these pursuits, they have been fun for me with my springer and single pump air pistols. I just want to reach out a bit farther than either of these arms are capable of doing accurately.

A good bit of the allure is the spontaneity that is available when you only have to open the door, versus loading all the gear up to go to the range 30 minutes away, only to find all the bays full.

[GARD72977]

I'm a 177 shooter. I mostly shoot 45yds off hand. Sometimes I shoot 8" plates @ 100 yds at my local range. Any wind makes this hit or miss literally. For 80 yd shots I would suggest a minimum of 22 Cal and perfer a 25cal. In general the larger the caliber the greater the distance.

If you would like precision inside 50yds and accept less performance to 80yds heavy 177 are very acceptable. This is where I prefer to keep my airguns intrest.

I think most people would be well served with a quality non regulated 22 Cal.

[PerpetualStudent]

For your purposes one of the intro PCPs in .22 that was mentioned earlier might be the ticket. Since your aim is to ring steel the extra accuracy you get in mid and high grade airguns probably isn't needful.