GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => PCP/CO2/HPA Air Gun Gates "The Darkside" => Topic started by: Zachary Hoy on June 30, 2016, 11:45:53 AM
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So title pretty much sums it up. I'm coming to the dark side and need help picking first rifle and accessories. I have access to filling stations up to 4500 psi , I'm a fit 220 lbs so pumping is not an issue. I will be using it for target shooting , pest control up to raccoon size , and most of all personal enjoyment. I am an engineer by trade so enjoy tinkering for improving general performance. I would just appreciate any input from the experts
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Being a Hatsan fan, I would recommend a Bt65 in either .22 or .25 . Good rifle right out of the box ,can be made into a great rifle with some tinkering. The rifle is quite hefty ,but for the price it's pretty hard to beat. With the left over money ,a good quality scope and spare air tube fits into your budget. They can be bought refurbished for under 500$ from the airgun pro shop online . I haven't shot or seen one in person but the Galatian is one fine looking rifle also ,same size air tube as the BT65.
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Thank you that is definitely on my list. However how would you recommend I fill it? purchase a pump, scuba, cf tank? I am just venturing into the dark and have no accessories
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Since you have access to a fill station I'd say get a tank. Not that hand pumping is terrible but it would be more enjoyable to shoot I would think. Mrods are also good but do take work as well in my opinion to get them great. Easy to mod and rather cheap. .22s are hit and miss on accuracy department but have great aftermarket replacements. .25s are usually very accurate out of box.
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I think you are a good candidate for a Benjamin Marauder (Mrod).
A synthetic stock Mrod is a Synrod. And there is the Armada, an Mrod tac'd out.
So you already have a versatile platform to start with, and being one of Benji's sales leaders for a few years, support is likely for a long time.
Also, replacement parts and spares are inexpensive and available from the factory.
The aftermarket support for custom and upgrade parts is very large. Your decent into the Dark Side is assured.
Subscribe to notifications from the bargain gate and you will eventually find a sale on Mrods.
Then I would get a tank and do tank filling.
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I think you are a good candidate for a Benjamin Marauder (Mrod).
A synthetic stock Mrod is a Synrod. And there is the Armada, an Mrod tac'd out.
So you already have a versatile platform to start with, and being one of Benji's sales leaders for a few years, support is likely for a long time.
Also, replacement parts and spares are inexpensive and available from the factory.
The aftermarket support for custom and upgrade parts is very large. Your decent into the Dark Side is assured.
Subscribe to notifications from the bargain gate and you will eventually find a sale on Mrods.
Then I would get a tank and do tank filling.
Yep!!! This is how I would go.
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Thank everyone for the suggestions. I think I'm going mrod from wicked air rifles. Only confusion I have now is what tank, adapter, and connectors I need.
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I would recommend skipping the pump if at all possible. It's not super hard and strenuous, but it does really sap the fun right out of shooting. That's how I started....
I'd also recommend starting with the best quality rifle you can afford, even if that means buying used. I'd recommend anything from Air Arms, most of the BSAs, the HW100 in .20 or .177 only, or a Daystate Huntsman or Regal. These should perform top notch right out of the box, and do what you need to do.
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WAR turns a Marauder into bonafide, beautiful Euro Trash (I mean that in a sexy, good way). The .25 cal I had shot well out of the box. I added an SSG and it really made a big difference in shot count and predictability. Welcome to PCPs. The tank and pump cost more than the stock Marauder!. I'm a penny pincher and sometimes I get burned. Buying the small carbon fiber 4500 psi tank is a good example. I should have purchased the larger one. Also, I find a pump essential (I have two). I use the bottle to fill as much as it will, and then I hand pump to the desired pressure. Also, the pumps keep me from having to drive down to the paint ball park for bottle top offs! The cheapest place to buy the high pressure pump (the Benjamin) is Walmart. It was invented by Duane Sorensen at Sun Optics. Give him a call and purchase a few o-ring rebuild kits. One of my pumps fails more frequently that the other, so I go through about 4 rebuilds a year. Having said all this, I sold my Marauder (Synrod) in May and purchased a .22 cal BSA R-10 MKII. I'm an engineer too, and that crappy regulator took a lot of finesse to get it even halfway right. I took five squirrels out of my fig tree and put them in the freezer with perfectly placed head shots. Its a shooter, but I bought the HuMa regulator yesterday anyway LOL. Have fun, air rifles are a deep addiction.
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I wish you good luck at staying under $1200. Once the bug bites you are doomed. My fill tank alone cost $918 and I am now looking for a compressor. :(
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I wish you good luck at staying under $1200. Once the bug bites you are doomed.
So true :o
By the way you made a great choice on the WAR Mrod
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Yea I started off saying "Ok, $2000 is the max"
Just don't look up the Slayer .308 or Talon Tunes Vulcan .25 unless you're ready to be right back to square one of the decision process and in a deeper hole than a 25 lb groundhog ...
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Yea I started off saying "Ok, $2000 is the max"
Just don't look up the Slayer .308 or Talon Tunes Vulcan .25 unless you're ready to be right back to square one of the decision process and in a deeper hole than a 25 lb groundhog ...
Do not look at these two guns either. :)
(http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b548/Philidor58/Daystate%20Bros_zps8q1k8cuc.jpg)
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*transfer to checking account intensifies*
Magnificent
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Since you like to tinker, i would go with the .25 M-Rod and pick up a 4500psi tank. Right now there are unused 45 minute tanks on Ebay for under $250.
these tanks have 7 years left and another 15yr recert test available, they are a great deal. I would highly advise one of Joes 2 gauge setup.
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WAR Mrod is a great choice. Travis will set you up real nice. Go with the .25 that's a great caliber extremely accurate. I had a Gen I tuned by Travis, great gun! Another choice that is great for hunting and plinking at a low velocity is the Sumatra .25 or .22 Long gun. On low power a lot of shots on higher power settings great hunting gun. Very accurate and I have had zero troubles with mine. A Will Piatt tune will make them even better. The Daystate Regal is a great gun. I have one in .22 and love that gun, AOA has them for $1200 right now. Oh I almost forgot about the Brocock Compacto .22 Jim Chapman did a review on this gun. Best of luck staying on your budget.
Have fun Brother Man
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Ok I won't lie you guys are killing me. When you tell me not to do something by instinct I automatically just have to do it.........already thinking what harm would it do to up the limit. The talon tunes, great white 4500 tank , and a shoebox would be a pretty nice entrance. Just may be sleeping with them for a bit as the wife cools down enough to even attempt communication.....definitely fell right into the trap of the dark side and haven't even squeezed the trigger on a pcp that is my own.
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Take it easy on the guy y'all are a bunch of enablers ::) it's a slippery slope but no need to over do it in the first one cause you'll be back for more...or maybe that's a reason to over do it and get what you really want so you won't want it later ;D BUT I do think your decision on your Mrod would be a great starter to see what you like and don't like for your next one
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Take it easy on the guy y'all are a bunch of enablers ::) it's a slippery slope but no need to over do it in the first one cause you'll be back for more...or maybe that's a reason to over do it and get what you really want so you won't want it later ;D BUT I do think your decision on your Mrod would be a great starter to see what you like and don't like for your next one
Get her dead and done. Once I bought the Daystate MK4 & Air Wolf I started selling off my collection. Once you have tasted Steak you have no need for hamburger. LOL
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Since you like to tinker, i would go with the .25 M-Rod and pick up a 4500psi tank. Right now there are unused 45 minute tanks on Ebay for under $250.
these tanks have 7 years left and another 15yr recert test available, they are a great deal. I would highly advise one of Joes 2 gauge setup.
x2 on the scba suggestion.. I picked up one of the 60min ebay drager bottles and a JoeB slow fill valve. Great valve!
(http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r563/mkdive/Airguns/C3F34D37-699C-4561-95DD-823400FC6F0B_zpsrnqv7axq.jpg) (http://s1172.photobucket.com/user/mkdive/media/Airguns/C3F34D37-699C-4561-95DD-823400FC6F0B_zpsrnqv7axq.jpg.html)
(http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r563/mkdive/Airguns/3D59E9D7-C127-4236-806E-296C1CBE0427_zpsu8wlqxni.jpg) (http://s1172.photobucket.com/user/mkdive/media/Airguns/3D59E9D7-C127-4236-806E-296C1CBE0427_zpsu8wlqxni.jpg.html)
(http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r563/mkdive/Airguns/2791D74C-FF86-480F-AD3C-DB69008AED47_zpsbqtrld7t.jpg) (http://s1172.photobucket.com/user/mkdive/media/Airguns/2791D74C-FF86-480F-AD3C-DB69008AED47_zpsbqtrld7t.jpg.html)
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Contact bwalton. He is all over this form www.bwaltonpcp.com (http://www.bwaltonpcp.com) he can hook you up with a great hatsan at44 or bt65. He will tune it to your needs. He's a very great guy
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A chronograph I think is a must for a airgun tinkerer. Just to add to the cost. If you really get into it next comes the lathe and mill. ::)
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I'll 2nd the chrony and for PCP I'd stay away from the Chrony brand. They are set up to function in 10 shot strings which is fine if you're checking performance of your springer but kind of a pain if you're checking a curve and shot string for a PCP because unless you're into a very high caliber you'll get more than 10 shots. Hopefully A LOT more.
If you're getting a tank set up make sure you have enough length in your fill line to allow you tether the tank directly to the gun. This is a huge time and air saver when you're on the bench shooting a lot to test and adjust for performance. If you're buying a gun that's already been adjusted from WAR or bwalton then that's not as important, for THIS gun. The next one you get might be coming to you unadjusted.
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As you have access to the fill station, a 4.5K bottle makes sense...that bottle and good fill gear is likely to eat up a good part of your 1200 budget (but in the PCP world, can use that bottle with a second, third, or fifth PCP and spread the cost out..it's $ spent that can make your 2nd PCP less cash-hurtful).
So I'd go for a big 4.5K bottle...like the 97-100cf models or at least the 72-75cf versions.
Which leaves you about $600-700 for the rifle (and I hope you have a scope/mounts already).
Hand pumping kind of suxs with large volume rifles. Just not worthy all the fun out of it when you have to pump fill anything over 180-200cc's or air volume. But is would be a $180-$280 expense (and I'd go with the higher number and get a Hill's pump). Which leaves you $900-$1000 for the rifle, but it would better be a smaller air volume, 3K fill pressure rifle.
OR...as a confirmed pump filler...if you are NOT including scopes/mounts, could just manage to swing TWO PCP's. A .177 Crosman Maximus ($200) set up for mild power/lots of shots for when you are just plinking or shooting pest birds at moderate ranges AND a .25 Rex ($700) for when low shot count but high energy/long range is on the agenda. The smaller volumes could easily be handled by a Hill-pump ($290) for a total of $1190.
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Marauder .25, scope 4-16x40/44/50, scope rings 11mm x 30mm/1", 2 extra magazines, Fill hose adapter, Scuba tank (cheaper than SCBA tank), shoulder strap/ sling, Bi-pod, .25 Pellets,
Marauder .25 @ PA-------------------------------------------------------$529.99
UTG 4-16x44 side AO SWAT scope@ PA--------------------------------$139.99
UTG max quick detach 30mmx11mm med rings @ PA------------------$24.95
2 extra mags @ PA---------------------------------------$14.95 ea------$29.90
Fill hose adapter w/ 1/8" fosters @ Ebay-valuensmart------------------$22.99
Catalina 80cu/in Scuba tank @ Ebay------------------------------------$169.95
UTG quick detach Bi-pod 6.2-6.7" w/ picatinny rail adapter@ Ebay----$34.00
strap/sling @ Walmart-----------------------------------------------------$12.00
JSB match diablo .25 25.39grn pellets @ PA ----------------------------$16.99
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Sub total-------------------------------------------------------------------$980.76
Estimated shipping--------------------------------------------------------$150.00
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Grand total----------------------------------------------------------------$1130.76
total may vary from different items, vendors and taxes/shipping but this should be close, you can get certain discounts from PA......
Hope this helps...
Kevin.
Add a hill hand pump from PA--------$289.99
1/8 fosters quick connect from PA-----$19.99
for backup or topping off
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Only problem with an 80CF scuba tank (3K to 3.2K) is the number of full fills for an M-Rod. 80CF is going to give something like 5 full-fills. Yeah, it's cheaper than a 4.5K tank, you could tune the M-Rod to work well at lower pressure (say 2.5K) to extend the number of full fills, or you could just live with partial fill ups.
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Only problem with an 80CF scuba tank (3K to 3.2K) is the number of full fills for an M-Rod. 80CF is going to give something like 5 full-fills. Yeah, it's cheaper than a 4.5K tank, you could tune the M-Rod to work well at lower pressure (say 2.5K) to extend the number of full fills, or you could just live with partial fill ups.
It's not that bad, it doesn't have to be filled to the max every time, I use it almost all day, I get about 15-20 fills till it reaches about 2000 psi, I use mine all the time , besides the gun shoots better at a slightly lower than max fill, plus you cannot over fill the gun which is good for a newbie to PCP, I have a couple Scuba tanks for Target and an SCBA tank for hunting refills and the Walther Dominator 2500, it can be filled to 4500 psi, since I have 4 PCP's the extra tank come in handy, but I do have my own Nardi Compressor to refill any time I need too.
you can always top off with a pump too.