Advice for big bore PCP

[Blowpipe Sam]

I never thought I would join the darkside but the more experienced I get with air guns the more attractive (seductive) it gets. So here is my problem.  I live in Florida.  The current Florida hunting regulations require a .30 caliber or larger air rifle or air bow for hunting turkey or deer on the public WMA's.  My springers are more than adequate (and legal) for hunting small game but I want to be able to legally hunt turkey on public land.  I personally think that the prices of the average PCP are ridiculous.  For the price of a quality big bore PCP I could build a custom 7mm08 on my old Mauser action or buy a couple of first rate turkey shotguns.  None the less, I find that I want a PCP turkey gun.  I generally do a lot of research before I buy any gun.  So I'm starting now with a budget limit of $1000.  Preferably less.  My requirements are: At least .30 cal.  Preferably American made.  Durable (I'm talking TOUGH).  I'm not interested in shooting arrows but an arrow shooter option is acceptable. Less than 1MOA accuracy at fifty yards.  A large shot count is not necessary.  Does not have to be a repeater. It must be light, preferably under 8 lbs. without a scope.  Powerful, at least 55fpe. Bull pups are acceptable.  Synthetic stocks are acceptable.  Adjustable trigger.  It does not have to meet all of my requirements except caliber, accuracy, price, and power.  The toughest requirement to meet will be aesthetics, so no Senecas please (ugly IMO).  Please let me have your opinions.  They will serve as a starting point for my research.  This will be a hunting gun so that is my main emphasis.  Thanks!       

[markjs]

I think your most affordabe option would be the Hatsan BT65 Carnivore, but if you're going that far, why not a Benjmin Bulldog .357, capable of deer and hog hunting too?  I've never owned either gun, but reseach sugegsts both are good value, and meet the requireents affordably, and are by good companies that support their products.

Edit: Sorry, I just checked, the Hatsan is almost 10#, but the Bulldog comes in under 8#, and far more power.

[Nomadic Pirate]

I would seriously look into the Recluse .357 that T3Pranch is selling, with a set of arrows I think it was under 600 bucks

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=172934.0

[Nomadic Pirate]

And if you don't want the arrows I'll buy them off you ...like that the gun would be super cheap

[Blowpipe Sam]

I would seriously look into the Recluse .357 that T3Pranch is selling, with a set of arrows I think it was under 600 bucks

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=172934.0

That is a screaming deal. I don't think I'm going to move fast enough to get it though.  I tend to agonize over gun purchases for a while before I make up my mind.  It does fulfill almost all my requirements though.  I just wish I liked the looks of the Sam Yang/ Senecas.  I'm sure that if I bought it I would come to like the looks.  Stupid to put that much emphasis on the way a gun looks I know but I think of myself as an artist and aesthetics are important to me.

[Blowpipe Sam]

I think your most affordabe option would be the Hatsan BT65 Carnivore, but if you're going that far, why not a Benjmin Bulldog .357, capable of deer and hog hunting too?  I've never owned either gun, but reseach sugegsts both are good value, and meet the requireents affordably, and are by good companies that support their products.

Edit: Sorry, I just checked, the Hatsan is almost 10#, but the Bulldog comes in under 8#, and far more power.

.357 is good.  I just don't want to go .45 or .50.

[Nomadic Pirate]

I would seriously look into the Recluse .357 that T3Pranch is selling, with a set of arrows I think it was under 600 bucks

https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=172934.0

That is a screaming deal. I don't think I'm going to move fast enough to get it though.  I tend to agonize over gun purchases for a while before I make up my mind.  It does fulfill almost all my requirements though.  I just wish I liked the looks of the Sam Yang/ Senecas.  I'm sure that if I bought it I would come to like the looks.  Stupid to put that much emphasis on the way a gun looks I know but I think of myself as an artist and aesthetics are important to me.

I totally agree with you, if I don't like the looks of a gun it will not be in my house


One thing about Sumatras and Sam Yangs, once people actually have them in their hands all say that they look much better then they though.

I don't think that gun will sell fast, I think you have plenty time to look around an ponder

[VaporTrail]

at first glance the Sumatra didn't really nudge me. I was more drawn to the power and how for the most part they're not really pellet picky. When I finally had a chance to get one, I hesitated slightly because the looks were still very different from everything that was in my stable.

When the rifle finally came in and I had a week with it, that's when it started to grow on me. Yes, it looks different and perhaps a little outdated...but she is an absolute beauty. On top of that, she shoulders extremely well and for me, it's very hard to feel the weight because she balances so well. And she's deadly too; that lever action makes for some extremely fast follow ups.

I'm pretty sure the Recluse is going to be the same thing. The only thing that keeps me from getting one is the single shot; in a jungle setting with quarry being less than 30yds away most of the time, a fast follow up shot is a necessity for me. For a turkey, though...I think it'll work out great. Maybe a tad overkill, but it'll thump them pretty good.

[Blowpipe Sam]

Thanks Paul.  I thought a first that I didn't want to consider the Sam Yangs because the of the price and the looks.  But you guys are talking me into it.  I'm reading up on them right now.  I was thinking I'd have a little more time to accustom my better half to my getting something that expensive.  She has to be introduced to these things gently.    Yeah that Recluse is looking mighty tempting.

[Blowpipe Sam]

So I PMed T3PRanch about the Recluse.  I wanted some more particulars about that specific gun.  You guys are bunch of enablers, you know that?  I'm thinking about starting a new thread asking for suggestions on how to sneak this sort of thing past your wife. 

[Nomadic Pirate]

 

[Ribbonstone]

Lie

[VaporTrail]

Thanks Paul.  I thought a first that I didn't want to consider the Sam Yangs because the of the price and the looks.  But you guys are talking me into it.  I'm reading up on them right now.  I was thinking I'd have a little more time to accustom my better half to my getting something that expensive.  She has to be introduced to these things gently.    Yeah that Recluse is looking mighty tempting.

Not a problem, Carter! My opinion is that the pictures you see online don't really do it much justice. I took my Sumatra over to a friend's house (I sold him my .25 Bullboss), and he fell in love with it pretty quickly. He said it looked like a gun that you put over a mantle, not take out in the field. And then he started pestering me to take back the Boss and sell him that one.

If possible, start putting some money aside for a tune...then you're really going be surprised. Lucky for me, my Sumatra had a tune done on it already; she shoots 100FPE for a full mag. The Recluse with a tune is going to be a monster, no doubt...and should be enough to thump a hog or a deer. At that stage, though...waaaay overkill on a turkey. 

[Nomadic Pirate]

Remember,

The recluse has 2 power levels, so you can shoot Pellets at low power and heavy bullets at full power.

[Dan H]

I have and old sam yang 909 x gun ported  from Tom Basil " the pellet man " from years ago who supplied pyramyd air with slugs they used to sell ... we did a custom 308 cal barrel on this  gun at 2600 psi it will shoot .310 round ball  9-10 shots at 965 fps down to high 800's  .. pretty accurate at 50 yards  ,and will tear threw 3 sheets of 3/4 plywood like butter ... .. still a lot of fun to shoot ….

The Hatsan BT 65 carnivore .30 shooting jsb 44.75 at 900fps 7 shot mag= 2 mags 14 shots on a charge that I have is laser pellet stacking accurate out to 100 yards,  and very accurate going out past that with just trigger /hammer adjust …that gun will smoke turkey at 150 yards all day long ! …  they are a bit heavey ,but  they do now have a new side lever version out now that is easier than the old bolt action to work .. they have the 357 but you need to tune that gun to get the power out of it around 950 fps with the jsb 81g is the highest I seen tuned … tkeerigan did the tune on that one and he has a thread showing everything he did to get it there ,... 

[Dan H]

I never thought I would join the darkside but the more experienced I get with air guns the more attractive (seductive) it gets. So here is my problem.  I live in Florida.  The current Florida hunting regulations require a .30 caliber or larger air rifle or air bow for hunting turkey or deer on the public WMA's.  My springers are more than adequate (and legal) for hunting small game but I want to be able to legally hunt turkey on public land.  I personally think that the prices of the average PCP are ridiculous.  For the price of a quality big bore PCP I could build a custom 7mm08 on my old Mauser action or buy a couple of first rate turkey shotguns.  None the less, I find that I want a PCP turkey gun.  I generally do a lot of research before I buy any gun.  So I'm starting now with a budget limit of $1000.  Preferably less.  My requirements are: At least .30 cal.  Preferably American made.  Durable (I'm talking TOUGH).  I'm not interested in shooting arrows but an arrow shooter option is acceptable. Less than 1MOA accuracy at fifty yards.  A large shot count is not necessary.  Does not have to be a repeater. It must be light, preferably under 8 lbs. without a scope.  Powerful, at least 55fpe. Bull pups are acceptable.  Synthetic stocks are acceptable.  Adjustable trigger.  It does not have to meet all of my requirements except caliber, accuracy, price, and power.  The toughest requirement to meet will be aesthetics, so no Senecas please (ugly IMO).  Please let me have your opinions.  They will serve as a starting point for my research.  This will be a hunting gun so that is my main emphasis.  Thanks!     

The XP air guns Badger .40 cal is $1000 ... its the best in its class 7lbs ,and change ,and hits 350 fpe with ease ,and can get close to 400 fpe with the right slug … a pic of the one I have with oem stock on it … and the Richards micro fit stock … shoots my cast 150g slug around 950fps ...

[Wayne52]

The Badgers have gone up since they were first introduced, I appreciated Bobs (Mr. Hollowpoint) recent videos about them, very informative testing the gun with his slugs.  If I was going to fork out the money for a big bore I'd probably get one of those and from what I've seen they're not all the easy to get hold of these days