American Airgunner Round Table - Gas Pistons

[Bullit]

Thanks Nathan

[Nathan]

Theoben had the worldwide patents on their gas springs for 25 years or so. They enforced those patents religiously, stopping other mfg’s from trying to bring anything to market. IIRC my airgun history correctly Tom Gore @ Vortek dabbled with the idea of a gas ram, but never pursued it for just that reason. Theobens were/are essentially custom guns, their overall market share was small and they could afford to be very strict with their tolerances and mfg process of their rams. That’s a big reason why they had such a reputation for quality and longevity. Crosman has a larger market share of lower price point guns and has chosen to go with mass production in China. You’ve heard of way more Crosman/Chinese ram failures then of Theobens. At the same time Crosman has sold more rams in 5 years than Theoben did in 20 years, so there are more to fail.

Nathan

[Bullit]

$12.00 Chinese  vs. $120.00 Theoben or Industrial rams.
Hoping Gamo gets it right in quality, with their rams.

[RedFeather]

Sat through the whole discussion and found it to be well balanced.  Understand that they are not talking to a journeyman's level but to the complete novice.  One point I was surprised to see was the perceived issue of quality in the low end rammers.  This was demonstrated here by Gene when he compared the original NPSS with the Chinese follow ups. Also, I believe Charlie addressed galling due to poor piston/ram alignment or tolerances.  As to all three saying start with a coil spring, they may have the quality issues in mind when doing a dollar for dollar comparison.  While the one gent appeared to be very gas biased, it was obvious he isn't on a budget and to buy the type of gas gun he favors you are looking at a Theoben ram which is pricey for a beginner gun.  Does HW even offer low powered rams?  Start witha spring gun, of either flavor?  Sure.  The low powered guns are not that hard to shoot well. What is the alternative?  CO2 which is power limited and cold sensitive, not to mention expensive if using bulbs.  Multi pump?  Can be the easiest to shoot well but requires lots of muscle work per shot. PCP, as mentioned, is expensive.  Even a Disco with pump will set you back some and you still get a work out filling it.  OK for a young man.  Not so much fun for us geezers and a chore for kids.  All in all, it was good advice to the newbie.

[39M]

Interesting video.
Although all three picked the spring piston over the gas ram if it was your "ONLY" airgun(which I have also), I'll agree with Jim that for a specific carry/hunting gun that the gas ram has the advantage of being lighter and less hold sensitive from typical field positions.
And the gas ram is generally quieter.

[Hobbyman2007]

$12.00 Chinese  vs. $120.00 Theoben or Industrial rams.
Hoping Gamo gets it right in quality, with their rams.

I wouldn't place any bets on Gamo doing it right ,we're already seeing their input on the BSA lineup and how well the new barrels are doing . As for the cheap Chinese  rams I've got yet another crosman product in pieces for a ram failure again , less than a tin of pellets through it . This will be the third ram in this rifle . Rams leak , especially if they are cheap . I'm going to try the industrial route this time ,at least it can be rebuilt . Or might just buy a good quality spring from Maccari and call it good for another 20k pellets .