Nitro pump airguns are they any good?

[firefly1957]

I was looking at a .25 caliber Nitro Pistol pellet rifle if i understand correctly they have a high pressure nitrogen filled piston instead of a spring do they last long or will they leak ?
Form the reviews people seemed to like them i was wondering about long term i have had a Sheridan 5mm pump gun for 30 years nd it still works great but i am looking for a bit faster second shot without going to CO2 or compressed air.

[TAC14]

You mean a Nitro piston air gun. A quality one is superior to a spring gun. Neither measures up to a PCP gun.

PCP guns are available with magazines and shoot as fast as a bolt action rifle.

Get on the Pyramid Air gun sight. Lots of info there.

Good shooting !

[firefly1957]

Thanks Tac14 i was more wondering if they last over some years i see the reviews on them when fairly new i am looking at something needs a single cock unlike my blue streak i pump 6 or 8 times per shot.

[GhostHawk]

I have 2, both Hatsan, a 135qe vortex and a 95 vortex, both in .22.

Seem to be very good so far but I have not had either one that long yet.

I don't think anything lasts as long as a Sheridan streak though. Love mine, I bought a spare in case mine lays down on me.

[wildwilly]

Quality gas springer airguns are excellent and durable. My Beeman RX2 (20 cal.) has served me well for ten years with over 3000 shots, Has not yet needed a recharge, or seal replacement. It can drill through a pigeon at 40 yds (14 gr. @850fps). Only downside.....it is heavy; requires some muscle to cock the thing.

[MT Chambers]

A good quality spring piston gun will outshoot the nitro piston gun in most cases, the nitro piston guns are rough shooting, hard on scopes and in the case of the best nitro piston rifle, the hw90, they are quite heavy. It is almost unusable in .177, the only advantage I can see is they can be kept cocked longer, although they are tougher to cock.

[GunGuy2756]

Yes, NP rifles are good but they're like cars, they all do the same thing but they're all different. How long will they last?? Don't know the answer to that but if they do fail they aren't all that hard to fix.
They are usually heavier than a springer and as others have noted, hard on scopes.

I have several NP's and never had a scope fail yet. NP's also do not have spring twang like most springer guns which I find annoying. As far as being different, here's an example.

My Benjamin Trail NP2 in 22 caliber shoots 14.3gr pellets at slightly over 800fps, is fairly light, and easy to cock. The firing cycle is harsh.
My Stoeger ATAC shoots the same pellet around 750fps, is a little harder to cock due to a shorter barrel, and a bit heavier. The firing cycle is smooth. Both are quiet, the Trail being slightly louder.

I have owned my Trail for 2 years now and never had a problem. Same goes for my ATAC which I've had for a year and a half. I own a half dozen NP rifles ranging from 22 caliber to 30 and haven't had a bit of trouble with any.

One thing that I have read but can't confirm is that NP's do not like to sit for long periods, meaning years. Something about the main seal taking a set and sticking or damaging itself in the compression tube.

There is lots of info on the net about the pros and cons of NP rifles, much more than can be discussed here. It would be worth your time to check it out.

[Smoke4320]

If you really want to edge-macate yourself on airguns visit GTA forums .. all you want to know and more there
personally I would skip all the way to PCP's and never look back ..
Benjamin Discovery or Marauder are great airguns

[jh45gun]

Nitro piston rifles (gas piston) are fine I have two a Crosman Nitro Venom 177 and a Hatsan Edge Vortex 22. Those that now have pcp guns tend to put down the other types of air guns yet with the other types of air guns you don't need all the extra accessories to operate a pcp gun.

[GhostHawk]

Smoke is right about the "Gateway to Airguns" it is its own community, huge, with big groups of people. For almost any airgun there is someone who knows almost all there is to know. Or who knows how to get a hold of them.

There are several of us here who are active in both. Me not so much. I slide into airguns then I slide out for a year or 3, then dip back in again.

[HARRYMPOPE]

A good quality spring piston gun will outshoot the nitro piston gun in most cases, the nitro piston guns are rough shooting, hard on scopes and in the case of the best nitro piston rifle, the hw90, they are quite heavy. It is almost unusable in .177, the only advantage I can see is they can be kept cocked longer, although they are tougher to cock.

My rx2 .177 laminate is wonderful with heavier pellets.i wouldnt say its unuseable.the 25 barrel i have for it doesnt get much use.i dont think its any better than my R1 .177 but i like it

[firefly1957]

Thanks for the responses everyone .

[firefly1957]

I have now shot my Nitro Piston gun two days and over 50 shots i like it it is a effort to cock i am using Benjamin 27.8 grain domed pellets .
The pellets weight 27.5-28 grains and the bases are irregular effecting accuracy more then i like .
Average Velocity is 638 f/s with std dev. spead of 3 f/s the pellets will exit a 3/4" treated lumber board at 25 yards.
I seem to get two distinct groups lower one a inch below the other and about in 4 o'clock position @ 15 yards. I think this is me more then the gun . I did have to get it from Amazon walmart would not even send it to a Michigan store? Price was the same either place mail lady delivered it (ha ha) in box with no wrapping to hide contents!
I am working on dies to swage my own pellets on a mini lathe the first results were a bit over size but shot well for me . I can remember the butthead neighbor hitting me with his .177 pellet rifle i sure would not want to get hit with this one! P.S. when he attempted second shot a marble from wrist rocket "Bruised his EGO" His father later bruised his rear when he whined about me hitting him with marble.

[35 shooter]

firefly1957,

Which one did you wind up with? I know you said .25 cal., but which one?

[reivertom]

I like them because they don't go BOING!! like a spring gun......they just go thump a little bit.

[firefly1957]

35 Shooter I got the Benjamin Nitro Piston Trail Wood thumbhole stock .

[35 shooter]

That's a nice looking air rifle and they get good reviews.
Nice.

[Multigunner]

I wonder about long term storage. Would the nitro piston seals be subject to degradation like common pump up gun seals often are. The conditions of storage being the major factor with air guns. Temperature and humidity being the most important factors.

Nitrogen filled scopes under little of no pressure take many years to leak if ever, unless the seal is broken by mishandling. I would hazard a guess that the non reactive nature of nitrogen would preserve seals much longer than with air.
A leaked down nitro piston is not something one could easily fix at home or in any out of the way place.

Nitro pistons should be easier to replace than the spring of a spring piston gun which requires a great deal of force to compress and should be done with the proper tools to avoid damage to the gun or injury.
Has anyone here replaced a nitro piston?

[opos]

Kind of piggybacking on the thread but maybe I can get an answer..I have an older airgun and want to find out a bit about it...it's not one of the newer fancy guns..it's a Daisy Gamo spring rifle..any help with sources would be much appreciated.

[GhostHawk]

As a matter of opinion only. Most of those nitro gas rams are essentially developed from the gas rams used to help lift and hold car rear hatch's.

How often did they sit under pressure before being used? Temp extremes from -40 to over 120 F.

How many did you see fail before the car was say 8-10 years old?

We are talking about essentially the same thing. In fact some enterprising air gunners have modded spring piston guns to Nitro gas ram guns with a trip to their auto salvage yard and by making a plastic adapter to hold it.

Does that answer your question?

Yes in 1000 units you will get a % that leak, lose power, etc. Normally a pretty small percentage.
But mostly they are pretty trouble free. And mostly not that expensive to replace.

[Multigunner]

As a matter of opinion only. Most of those nitro gas rams are essentially developed from the gas rams used to help lift and hold car rear hatch's.

How often did they sit under pressure before being used? Temp extremes from -40 to over 120 F.

How many did you see fail before the car was say 8-10 years old?



Actually I've seen quite a few of those hatchback cylinders fail in far less than 8-10 years.
Those pistons also get very little cycling compared to those used in an air rifle. You aren't likely to open and close a hatchback fifty times a day. Those I've replaced failed completely, complete loss of gas , and both sides were kaput when the owner got around to replacing them.

[Boolseye]

My Crosman Vantage NP .22 shoots great after maybe 800-1000 shots.
Bare-bones gun but very well-built and hard hitting, it makes about 19 fpe on average with 14.3 hps. I’m sold on the nitro piston design. Mine is smoother in every way than my spring guns.




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[TCLouis]

Apparently from what I read, the steel springs break too so it might be interesting to compare MTBFs for both as well as failure rates.

[glockfan]

all i know is my benjamin 1200 fps nitro rifle has swallowed thousands of pellets without an hiccup and i've put down countless squirels and different critters with it in the past 3 years . just keeping the pressure seal and hinges lubed and it will last for years no problems.