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All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Air Gun Gate => Topic started by: Bryan Heimann on March 18, 2012, 10:19:25 AM
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If you had to settle for one airgun, and hunting and field target were of equal importance to you, what would it be and why? How would you accessorize it? Maybe switch between a tune kit fore hunting and another for FT, etc.
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For me it would be a .25cal springer. Something that would cover all of the above.
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The reason I'm asking this is because I'm seriously considering unloading ALL my airguns, again- but this time because I want to- and investing in one super-sweet air rifle that covers all my bases. I primarily hunt and plink, but I want to shoot field target. I'm leaning heavily toward picking up a RX-2 in .25.
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Just me, but I would buy a Beeman R11/HW98 and ship it to Paul Watts for his adv tune. Probably stick with .177 or .20 cal.
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Does it have to be a springer ? There are several PCP's with adjustable power that would do what you ask. Dial em down for FT, then turn em up for hunting.
Dave
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The choice for FT would have to be .177 or maybe .20 cal certainly not .25 as it's pretty well impossible to squeeze a .25 cal pellet through a .25" hole which some of the kill zones are.... even a .22 would be at a handicap for FT.... You are then left with the question of what are you hunting?.... The bigger the game is, the more difficult your choice becomes.... It would also matter if you are talking a 12 FPE limit for International FT rules or the 20 FPE allowed in North America....
Bob
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Air Arms s500 or 510. My .177 shoots the 16gr eunjins about 820 at the high, and the low 600's in the low settings.
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Maybe the FX Cyclone in .177. I have one in .22 and the adjustable power is a great feature that allows you to do just about anything with the gun.
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I thought about your requirements and even though I don't own or plan to own one, I would say a .177 Marauder with a Leapers 3-12x scope. Good for Hunting and Hunter Class Field Target. You can do well in FT with .22 but you may give up some of the smaller targets.
I prefer spring guns and I prefer single shot PCP but for one do-all rifle, I think a Marauder would be good.
If you want a spring gun, get a TX200HC or a Prosport.
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Thanks for all the info. guys. Looks like for FT my only good choice would be a .177 rifle, and if it's going to double as a hunter then it would be best to have a PCP in order to handle the heaviest .177 ammo well without tuning it to shoot heavies. I'd probably get burned out swapping different tune kits all the time, and with Springers the zero varies so much between ammo even without changing the internals. Probably a .177 m-rod out of the box, because with it's shroud it would be more backyard friendly. For hunting and FT only, however, I think a Gamo Dynamax might be a better choice. I could always invest in a shroud later down the road.
EDIT- Brother Scotchmo, I think you hit the nail on the head with the .177 M-ROD. I picked up 2 paintball tanks at the flea market the other day for 5 bucks apiece because it was a bargain, and I figured it'd be great for a future project. I can fill her on those for plinking and sub-12 FPE field target, and eventually get a nice pump to fill her with air for hunting and American rules FT. I recently picked up a 4-16X40 Centerpoint Adventure Class and a lazer/flashlight comb to hunt with, and eventually I'll get my hands on a 12X Hawke scope for FT. I can zero one to my preferred hunting pellet and zero the other to my preferrred FT pellet =D Best of all, I can get the M-Rod at AoA for under $400 brand-new and AoA will put it on layaway for me while I sell my stuff to pay it off! Even if I have to invest a little more money, my wife will be happy just because I have less stuff and I will spend less time in the garage experimenting with weights, spacers, etc. in my favorite springer!! Darkside, here I come...
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Bryan,
Where are you at? I'm in California.
You still may spend a lot of time experimenting with the PCP. There are not as many variables as with the piston guns but there are still plenty.
A couple of other things:
Do you plan on doing open FT or stick with hunter FT? I currently shoot hunter FT but may try open in the future. The best scope for hunter FT is a 12x scope. And that is about the maximum needed for hunting anyway. With a 12x scope, you can run it to the stop and get consistent mil-dot spacing.
I just modified a 48ci paintball tank to fill my B50. I re-shimmed the regulator to 1600psi and made a fill adapter with a fill gauge (my B50 has no pressure gauge). Because the 48ci tank is regulated at what the gun uses, the fill gauge is mostly for reference and to make sure that the regulator is doing what it is supposed to do. Since I only run 1600psi in the gun, the 48ci tank should give me several fills while in the field. I'm still working some bugs out of the setup. 1600psi is the same pressure that my son runs in his Discovery. When I want a workout, I use the hand pump to pump up the paintball tank. I only pump it up to 2500psi as it gets very difficult above that. If you want to manually pump, consider a Discovery or a detuned B50. Both are easy to pump at their lower operating pressures. I'm not sure about the Marauder.
The B50 and Disco are loud compared to the Marauder. The Discovery makes a very handy hunting rifle. My son shot HFT for awhile with his .22 Disco and did well.
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fx indy for plinking and hunting
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fx indy for plinking and hunting
You really want to hunt with a 10+ lbs gun? You must have some muscles LOL
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fx indy for plinking and hunting
You really want to hunt with a 10+ lbs gun? You must have some muscles LOL
the indy covers the self filling so no need to carry a pump or a tank around, and it has the power and accuracy of pcp's.. throw a sling on it or find a place to get comfy and hunker down.
it would be my choice for a dream hunting and plinking gun, or a condor would cover both needs hunting and ft but you have to carry a tank or pump around
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Bryan,
From your other thread, I see your in NC and soon to be TX. They have a few FT clubs in TX. I drive over 200 miles for my matches in California but is is a lot of fun. FT is a better simulation of hunting than shooting paper targets at known distances.
The Marauder is a good choice.
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One for all and all for one, huh?
Hard to make that happen, with anything, most of the time....your rock crawling 4by can really not run the road well, your hotrod track bike really doesnt lend itself to road running that well.
Lets look at hunting for a min......generally you have on 10-15 lbs of clothes, you're hot, carrying a pair of binocs, a knife, a tomahawk (ok, maybe just me on the tommy) and then your airgun, ammo, etc....
When I hunt, I want short,light, accurate, and 12-17 ft lb power range.
Hard to get those characteristics in a FT gun too.
I would agree and say DONT go with .25 cal....just doesnt lend itself to the FT application well at all.
I would agree with a Disco, even though the one I had wasnt that stellar.....
Get a .177 or have it LW .20'd.....have some (or do yourself) some hotrodding done, with a power adjuster. Good scope, maybe a custom thumbhole stock so you can add mass/weight if needed for FT comfort, but remove for hunting. Then shoot heavy stuff for hunting, and just what works best for FT.
The benji pump doesnt weigh much, so you could back it in your hunting pack, and then fill from camp.
God bless,
Farmer
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I often think about going the "one gun for everything" route myself.
If I were to move in that direction, I already own the gun I'd keep. Hands down my Rob Hawkins tuned .177 pro sport.
It shoots at about 14fpe, is stunningly accurate with every pellet I've tried, easy to cock and it is quieter than either of my R7s.
A bit heavy for hunting, but trade-offs are inevitable with one gun and the pro sport is very capable for plinking, FT and hunting.
R
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Air Arms s500 or 510. My .177 shoots the 16gr eunjins about 820 at the high, and the low 600's in the low settings.
+1
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Farmer, I know what you mean. To tell you the truth, I'm really not ready to up and get rid of everything. The only one that I have that I can't stand to lose right now is my X20S. It's freshly tuned and sanded, not even painted yet. I'll probably sell everything else, but I will have to hang on to this one for a while. She is a tack driver brother, let me tell you! Antd I have some experimenting to do with her yet. Plus i've got half a dozen unopened tins of kodiaks here, might as well keep her at least until those are all gone. Everything's all packed up now as it is, and I won't be trying to post any ads or anything until we get settled in in Texas.
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I am so glad I started my reentry into airguns with a Ruger Air Magnum. It taught me so quickly how to master the hold of a magnum springer and then taught me what I didn't want for my future with its noise and recoil. I then added to my arsenal with magnum Dianas but began to detune each one of them, except the 350 22. I would plink all day while pulling a 35-40 lb breakbarrel.
Then light shown down from airgun heaven....and I ordered a Weihrauch HW30s.......a small, diminutive breakbarrel with about 15 lbs of 1 finger cocking....accuracy with almost no recoil...and sufficient gravitas to annihilate rabbits, squirrels and birds under 30 yards. This in a small very light structure that benefits from a small light 4x scope. Hmmmmmmmmm...I thought....for most people with an acre or less of land.....why would you ever need more except for the rare raccoon, 'possum, or unusually larger varmint. Not that I am selling my tuned Diana collection which I love......but now, after sitting all day with the Weihrauch, I can hardly cock my 350 which I used to never think about. I could 'hunt' all day and FT (if there was a 7 FPE category)! It, to me....seems like a one gun for the modern smaller footprint world we live in....
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Ever think of a Beeman R series, like an R9?
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Just remember that a true do-it-all-airgun needs to have one very important feature......easy to work on.
If you have just one, it needs to break down easily, with a few basic tools. Why? Well, if its hunting/survival...you want to be able to keep a total repair kit handy, and easy to install.
If its just your only airgun, you want it to be fixed quick, cause you aint doing any shooting when you're working on it.
I have spring guns, ssp, and co2 guns, and like them......
But if it were JUST one, it would be the Steroid Benji, for do it all. 3-4 pumps, you can plink/punch. 14 pumps, you can stomp a mudhole in something.
Another good choice is the Benji HB 22, same concept just smaller power. But easily kept out of sight, and can be toted just about anywhere.
Same with a Crosman 1322.
But since we ARE talking field target, pump isn't really gonna cut it.
Since weight might not be a limiting factor(or even a friend, during FT) the diana 48's still hit hard in .177, are rumored to be superbly accurate, should have no droop to compensate for, good stable platform. I would think the stock could be easily modded to work for FT with some careful attention, and still work for hunts. You could probably get by with just one pellet, too.....maybe Kodiaks, for both applications. Talk about really knowing your rifle, when its the only one you shoot...
If funds warrant, I'd also second the pro sport. All accuracy reports aside, they just look great too.
God bless,
Farmer
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Mac1 Hunter is probably the most versatile air rifle available.
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Airgun Depot just had RWS 48 refurbs for $250. Naturally they're gone. I'd vote for this as a good choice for both FT and Hunting.
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Lambchops, I've seriously considered an RX-2. Especially since it's now available in .20. Good trade off between small diameter and flat trajectory for FT and plenty of smackdown for hunting. At that price, however, I could get a .177 mrod/pump/nice scope and crank the power up or down however I like it. 30-60 shots a fill in .177 depending on the setting and up to 27 fpe with 16.1 eunjins, down to 11 fpe with 7.9 premiers. Oh yeah, and groups smaller than .21" at 20 yards, not holdsensitive.... could have saved a ton of money blown on chinese breakbarrels and tuning if i'd have just started with an mrod!
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.... could have saved a ton of money blown on chinese breakbarrels and tuning if i'd have just started with an mrod!
But you probably had lot of fun and learned a lot in the process.
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A lot of fun and learning! And if I started with an more I'd have went through the same process, but it would have cost me a lot more $$
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.... If you want a spring gun, get a TX200HC or a Prosport.
+1 on the TX200. If I went PCP, the Marauder is nice. Personally I've also been eyeing the RWS 460.
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Are the Disco's accurate enough for FT? If so, I would say got with something like that. You need something that is easy to shoot, there being not much easier than a PCP. If a springer, the TX is competitive but, going by my B40 clone, it's gonna be a boat anchor in the woods. And a look at the standings in most FT matches put springers down near the lower end of scoring. Those that do manage to rank high also appear to be very good shots to begin with.
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Are the Disco's accurate enough for FT? If so, I would say got with something like that. You need something that is easy to shoot, there being not much easier than a PCP. If a springer, the TX is competitive but, going by my B40 clone, it's gonna be a boat anchor in the woods. And a look at the standings in most FT matches put springers down near the lower end of scoring. Those that do manage to rank high also appear to be very good shots to begin with.
Yup, plenty accurate for FT with its favorite pellets and maybe a trigger mod.