PR900W Predator pcp Broken handle off of bolt.

[bandg]

No nooses or pitchforks necessarily.  A good swift kick in the *** might be warranted though.

[Ribbonstone]

Only time will tell....been several high cost rifles dropped from the market within a year or two, not all becasue they wouldn't sell.  Have seen cheap ones fall by the side of the road as well.

I can not fault an PCP for a bad o-ring...o-rings aren't custom or fancy parts, they're just generic.

I can fault poor design...and that bolt handle is a poor design.  Really too skinny/brittle for the forces applied to it. 

This goes for the expensive and the cheap: the ones that stand the test of time are likely the ones that are "good ones"...lets meet back here in 2022 and see what's shooting.


That's not a lot of time...although some folks change their airguns like normal folks change their socks.


Oldest "cheapie" is the original cheapie: Discovery.  So it's likely 8 years old and still working fine.  Standard Crosman barrel really can't hang with the Chinese barrels on newer "cheapies", but it's good enough that I left it alone all these years.


In the medium-inexpensive category, there is a Sumatra from about the same era (about 9 years old) and an AA s200 that's about 15.  All working fine.

[Xraycer]

Ok I am stopping now, before I have you guys chasing me down the street with nooses and pitchforks.

You'll be fine, should we give chase. After all, how will we ever catch you, with you, in those fine Gucci footwear.

[TunedAccuracy]

You'll be fine, should we give chase. After all, how will we ever catch you, with you, in those fine Gucci footwear.

lolol

[SpiralGroove]

We can see the masses who bought and own cheap junk , come out in droves to defend their cheap junk.
With statements like , " Cheap junk is just as good as the upper echelon." " Cheap junk is made in the same place as a Daystate". And my all time favorite, " Cheap junk is more accurate and better built than higher end airguns."

You Know........... I don't think anyone (w/any sense) thinks that BAM products, QB's or PR900W's & equivalents are better than AA, Daystate, Weihrauch or Walther guns.  That's ridiculous .

However, I will say, these Chinese airguns can be tuned/adjusted/modified/refinished to be about 80% to 90% as accurate as the above Purebreds and look pretty good too.  Many GTA members buy them to tinker with and have fun learning to make them better.









The Journey is just as important as the final product.

If you just want to shoot ....... buy the best and send it to Motorhead for the premier tune.

Scott even removed the guts of his (2K) RAW, to make it all custom. 
It just depends on how far U want or need to go.

[Wayne52]

Hey Guys,
I may soon be a member of this esteemed club .  I really enjoy working on junk and own a Diana Stormrider.  The bolt hasn't broken yet .....
 


Has anyone tried Hardening the threaded end of the bolt handle?  Just heat it up with a torch and quench in oil to harden. 
After all the problem is soft steel-> Right?

Kirk that scope looks like the BSA that I have on my Airmax Dominator

[Sfttailrdr46]

Quigley, There is no debating that the higher end production rifles are generally better made with superior materials however the members of this forum are a diverse eclectic group from every level of the social and economic ladder. Many shoot the "Cheap Junk" because they enjoy shooting pellet rifles and the tinker factor for them is what they can afford rather than sending to a pro tuner. You have to admit that tweaking a bargain rifle to shoot dime size groups at 50 yards can be a very satisfying experience.

I Play with my rifles and pistols to relax my brain and that is why I love to tinker with my AG's. When I tinker with my higher end AG's I tend to have this little voice telling me to be extra careful because a damaged part will be extremely costly to replace. Some here don't have the discretionary budget that others have so again they will buy the cheap junk just to get into the game.

I won't be one of those chasing you down the street with burning torches and pitchforks but I will be the guy that will sit next to you at a fun shoot and do my darndest to out shoot you with whatever rifle I am holding at the time whether my mass produced cheapie or my one off custom from Colorado, California or wherever . Be safe and shoot well

Regards
Don

[Bob Pratl]

Quigley, There is no debating that the higher end production rifles are generally better made with superior materials however the members of this forum are a diverse eclectic group from every level of the social and economic ladder. Many shoot the "Cheap Junk" because they enjoy shooting pellet rifles and the tinker factor for them is what they can afford rather than sending to a pro tuner. You have to admit that tweaking a bargain rifle to shoot dime size groups at 50 yards can be a very satisfying experience. I Play with my rifles and pistols to relax my brain and that is why I love to tinker with my AG's. When I tinker with my higher end AG's I tend to have this little voice telling me to be extra careful because a damaged part will be extremely costly to replace. Some here don't have the discretionary budget that others have so again they will buy the cheap junk just to get into the game. I won't be one of those chasing you down the street with burning torches and pitchforks but I will be the guy that will sit next to you at a fun shoot and do my darndest to out shoot you with whatever rifle I am holding at the time whether my mass produced cheapie or my one off custom from Colorado, California or wherever . Be safe and shoot well Regards
Don

Don, you are 100% right on. I have been tinkering with firearms for 40+ years and just got into Air Guns about 3 years ago because of the tinkering factor and I can shoot, with my grandsons, in the backyard and garage at a moments notice. To me the tinkering is 90% of the fun and I get a great amount of my pleasure in modifying and making better the "Cheap Junk". My new hobby is complemented by a fully equipped machine shop.   

[Wayne52]

Don and Bob I give both your last two posts in this thread a big thumbsup   I drive a Ford and Chevy truck and if I all of a sudden got really rich I'd probably buy me a brand new Ford truck but it would have to be a standard cab, I might even get the Harley Davidson version if they're still available new

[avator]

It's much less embarrassing to report in an international forum that I bought a $200 gun and it broke so this is how I repaired it with awesome results and made it shoot as well or better than a 2k gun than it is to report that I paid 2k for this gun and it broke... or maybe it didn't break yet because I'm so afraid to get it dirty. But that's ok because that guy sitting next to me at the fun shoot has out shot me 4 out of 5 times with that frankengun. Just maybe that's why we hear the stories of cheap gun failures a fixes.

[TunedAccuracy]

Quigley, There is no debating that the higher end production rifles are generally better made with superior materials however the members of this forum are a diverse eclectic group from every level of the social and economic ladder. Many shoot the "Cheap Junk" because they enjoy shooting pellet rifles and the tinker factor for them is what they can afford rather than sending to a pro tuner. You have to admit that tweaking a bargain rifle to shoot dime size groups at 50 yards can be a very satisfying experience.

I Play with my rifles and pistols to relax my brain and that is why I love to tinker with my AG's. When I tinker with my higher end AG's I tend to have this little voice telling me to be extra careful because a damaged part will be extremely costly to replace. Some here don't have the discretionary budget that others have so again they will buy the cheap junk just to get into the game.

I won't be one of those chasing you down the street with burning torches and pitchforks but I will be the guy that will sit next to you at a fun shoot and do my darndest to out shoot you with whatever rifle I am holding at the time whether my mass produced cheapie or my one off custom from Colorado, California or wherever . Be safe and shoot well

Regards
Don

Yeah I know man. Im just messin with you guys.
Someones gotta whip yall into a frenzy every now and then.
They all break. Every last darn one of them can break.
It doesnt matter if it costs 200, or 2 thousand dollars.
It can break.
And it can also be fixed.

[avator]

No worries Quig... pretty sure everyone here would have a list just like yours if they could. I know I, for one, spent enough money on sub $300 guns in the last 4 years that I could have a list like that. On the other hand, I had a heck of a lot of fun and learned a boatload.

[Xraycer]

Coming from humble beginnings, its just been heavily ingrained into my being, to not over spend. While I typically have the money for things I want, it is difficult for me to simply buy whatever my heart desires, without a lot of considerations. Sure, I can afford to drive a Lexus to work, but I opted (and content) for a Corolla.

[Sfttailrdr46]

I'm just the opposite sort of grew up rather poor but did well for myself and family over the years and recently in the last 10 years have decided that I want the last money in the bank pays for a nice dinner for friends and family after they throw the dirt on my Mahogany coffin 

Ps I'm planning to stick around and annoy the heck out of all of them for at least another 25 or 30 years

[avator]

Me too.... BTW.... does McDonalds cater?

[Xraycer]

Me too.... BTW.... does McDonalds cater?

They're all independently owned, so if you asked the owner, it could just happen. Except for the dollar menu items

[TL100]

Thank you for stopping. Obviously, we do not seem to agree or move from our respective positions.
Nothing wrong with that. Good thing is, we have choices and are wiling to make the ones that suit us best.
Have fun shooting whatever you like, and enjoy!

[Wayne52]

Me too.... BTW.... does McDonalds cater?

I almost stopped by McD's on the way back from the woods today but decided against it in favor of the last of some deer heart stew poured over boiled potato's.  I think I'll mix up another batch using the bottom of a front quarter for my next batch.

[Ribbonstone]

Not going back to expensive PCP's.

Started with fill tanks and more expensive PCP's.  I pretty soon gave up/sold the tanks. Then figured out that whatever I was doing with $900 air rifles could be done just as well with $200 air guns.

Still makes sense to me...obviously not to everyone.

[TunedAccuracy]

 Then figured out that whatever I was doing with $900 air rifles could be done just as well with $200 air guns.

This is absurd. I mean , this takes the cake.
Yes the 200.00 air gun will fire a pellet and that is where the similarities come to an abrupt halt.
If you truly believe this then you should enter a Gamo or gauntlet in EBR next year, if for nothing else but to see how far down the list you place.
If you even make the list. Ok look, I understand some people like to tinker. I even understand that some cannot really afford to go out on a limb with a 1400.00 airgun.
But to blanket the statement with,.,,,,,,,,,"oh the 200.00 airgun is just as good as an FX Crown" is completely misleading. It's not. It never has been. it never will be no matter what you do to it, it is NOT ever going to be the same level of Airgun as a Crown, RAW, air arms, etc etc.

I posted this here some months back. I have quoted it a few times on occasions exactly like this.
And it is more than deserving , here.


I have posted this before and nowhere does it apply more, than here. And now.
I have seen this debacle time and time again on rimfire central. Go back further to shooters dot com, before they shuttered the windows 14 years ago.
To this day it can be seen on Rimfire Central dot com. Average Joe buys the bargain brand then compares ( sometimes with highly exaggerated claims) to his CZ and/or factory spec 10/22 to an Anschutz, Kimber or Cooper.

Average Joe swears his 400.00 rifle is just as good as the three top tier brands, goes on to claim he saved more money for beer and ammo by purchasing the bargain brand and advises the masses to do the same ( because that's what he did). Meanwhile, the CZ forum gets hammered with problems consisting of everything from ( incurable)  horrible cold bore flier problems ( anywhere from 2 to 4 inches out in any direction) requiring warm up shots for the gun to become accurate ( rendering it utterly useless as a hunting tool) ; to bad barrels and groups that look like shotgun blasts. Along with a host of other accuracy robbing problems that are seldom, if ever seen, from the top tier brands.

Fast forward 2-4 years. Average Joe purchases his first Anschutz, Kimber ( no longer made in rimfire) or Cooper. Average Joe then does  a complete about face and goes on to praise this new love he has found while proudly proclaiming to the masses ," I don't know why I didn't buy one of these from the start."
It happens all the time, to this day.