Comparison Between Benjamin Discovery and FD PCP 2nd Generation

[mouka]

Hi All,

First let me apologize to Mike for starting this thread. I don't want this to sound as I am bashing Mike's PCP. On the contrary, I am looking for a reason to buy the FD PCP 2nd generation. I purchased an XS60 rifle from him last year. This was the first generation. I have not used it much and started having some issues with it lately. Anyway, I bought the rifle with the pump and both cost me exactly $240. The rifle did cost $100 and the pump $140. Now I am interested in the 2nd generation FD PCP but at $160 it's very close to what Walmart had for the Benjamin Discovery. It was on sale for $187. That's only $27 difference between the 2. Walmart ships the Benjamin Discovery for free to your home or to a store.
What would be the benefits of buying the FD PCP over the Benjamin Discovery? Price wise they are very close when the Discovery is on sale. I know that Mike is invaluable when it comes to recommendations for his PCP.
Please feel free to let us know your opinion. I am very interested to hear from everybody, including Mike himself.

Thanks

[StevenG]

If you want to play that game, why not buy a B50?
Only a little more than the disco and even nicer, from all reports.

[Midwestairgunner]

If you want to play that game, why not buy a B50?
Only a little more than the disco and even nicer, from all reports.

too bad no .22 cal

[mouka]

If you want to play that game, why not buy a B50?
Only a little more than the disco and even nicer, from all reports.

 Who sells the B50 and how does it compare to the Benjamin Discovery?

[StevenG]

If you want to play that game, why not buy a B50?
Only a little more than the disco and even nicer, from all reports.

 Who sells the B50 and how does it compare to the Benjamin Discovery?

Flying dragons. It is a clone of a very expensive air gun the daystate huntsman, so it should be much nicer. If you search the forum you will find many posts on it. The flying dragon website shows them for a little over $200.

[MartyB]

Let me start with, I do NOT have a disco, but a homebuilt 1760 which is close to a disco except co2 carts.
Not talking about power, but the disco has a large ecosystem of aftermarket parts and accessories, is very customizable and flexible.
It is also a fairly light rifle with a 2000psi fill level.  My 1760 has a disco .177 barrel on it.  I did get a good one, quite accurate for the 10m shooting I use it for.

I do have a B50 in .22 which are getting hard to find.
It is a tank.  Heavy wood and steel.  Makes my FDPCPs weight feel like a childs toy.
3000psi max fill.  They all shoot hot from the factory and usually need a little work.  Mine had a tune from jtb530.  He got it down to 33fpe and it is very accurate.  Do a search for "the book" which has been referenced in the forum a lot.  It is a tuning guide for the B50 and will really show you how these things are put together.

Comparing them further requires your use case.  What are you planning to do with it?

[mouka]

The 2 main reasons why I bought the XS60 in the first place are:
1. It was a very cheap entry into PCPs. You can't beat $100 rifles.
2. It only requires 1500 psi. So a pump is more than enough. I don't want to invest into a scuba tank and valves and deal with hydro and certification and all the stuff that comes with that. I wanted something simple that I can do at home.
Now the main reason I am looking for alternatives is because my air rifle is putting pellets all over the place and I am getting velocities that make no sense. If it's all because the valve and that the 2nd generation has solved all of these issues, I might buy the new air valve or buy another air rifle altogether.
I was simply trying to compare the G1 XS60 with a Benjamin Discovery. The reason for this comparison is because both operate on low pressures but I have never heard of a valve failure on the Discovery. Am I missing something here?

[StevenG]

1. The B50 is not much more money than the Gen 2. $209.95 vs $165.
2. You can tune just about any 3000 psi gun down to 1500 psi.

I was only trying to be helpful.


The 1.5 generation FDPCPs have valves from the second generation, are only $100, and use mostly 1 generation parts so your old gun could be a source of spares. Have you considered that?

What makes you think it is the valve, and not the barrel o'rings, or the bolt o'ring? I would think the valve would either seat or not. I have had some issues here and there with mine, but it either leaked or shot one ragged hole at 10m. That's all the distance my basement has.

[mouka]

I would have purchased gen 1.5 if Mike did not tell me that the shot count is extremely small. I don't remember the exact figure he mentioned but I think that it was so low that I wouldn't be satisfied with it.
If gen. 1.5 air rifles are as good as gen. 1 and have the improved valve. I definitely would go for one. And just as you mentioned, if not for anything, it would be a good source of spares for my gen. 1 rifle.
Can somebody please clarify what the differences between these 3 types of PCP from Mike are?

Thanks

[StevenG]

Did he say why the 1.5 would have a low shot count?
If the airtube is the same, I wonder what would cause that. Did you ask about one tuned for maximum power maybe?

[farmerjoe99]

Can somebody please clarify what the differences between these 3 types of PCP from Mike are?

Thanks

The Bam B50-51(B51 is the same thing only with a thumb-hole stock)
Is a Chinese copy of the Daystate huntsman.
Its air tube is rated for 3000psi but most people tune them to run
on lower pressure air normally from 2500psi down to 1300psi
(depending on the power you seek.) Its has a much larger airtank than either the Fdpcp or disco so you will get more shots per fill.
Its trigger can be made to go down to about 4 Oz(If I remember right...ask JohnB)
When tuned its proved to be a very efficient rifle.
It is heavy being made of wood and steel...
And from what I've heard the B50's stock tend to have a long LOP.

The FDpcp's I don't know to much about ...
The XS60c(FDpcp) gen1
Didn't have a safety the gen 2 does.
And the valve is different...(sorry can't tell you much about them...)

The disco has the advantage of Tons of after market parts, mods,and tuners.
Has a similar shot count to the FDpcp and they both are very light guns.

I personally went with a refurb .22 disco from Norm at Disco-R-Us
And am very happy with it! Its very easy to shoot and is very accurate.
Reason I went with the disco it had a safety(got it before gen 2 FDpcp was released)
And I wasn't sure I was up to the task of tuning the B50...
(most need a little tinkering to get them shining but not all.)
Sometimes I wish I had went with the B50 for its shot count...
But with a some very simple tuning the disco can get around 30
good shots at about 20fpe.(from factory you'll get about 12.

too bad no .22 cal

Unless he sold them all(which I haven't heard?)
Mike has a limited supply of .22 B50's
They do cost a little extra(not sure how much?)
But .177 is a handy caliber especially if you want to target shoot or shoot FT...

Joseph

[Midwestairgunner]

too bad no .22 cal

Unless he sold them all(which I haven't heard?)
Mike has a limited supply of .22 B50's
They do cost a little extra(not sure how much?)
But .177 is a handy caliber especially if you want to target shoot or shoot FT...

Joseph

[/quote] Not sure. Just know the website says"E-mail or call us for tuning and upgrade options. These are a limited supply item and available only in .177 caliber and as long as the factory maintains stock."

[cwlongshot]

I am in a similar boat...

I too bought a XS60c First gen PCP. I liked it allot! Then it would not hold air. I sat on it for a while then contacted Mike and he took it back and fixed it... week later it did same. That was last October. I have again been sitting on it.
Along came a deal on what I WAS gonna buy before discovering the XS60c... a MAC1 Tuned Disco in 22. So I grabbed it.

Well in reading I decided to make the time to repair the XS. New valve on its way to me. I found a bad O Ring and a Bad stem seal in the valve. The O ring I think I cut pulling out and putting I the valve\.

BOTH guns are gonna do what I need, having two might be nice we will see if I can get the XS going gain...

CW

[Gertrude]

here's a recent thread where I asked the membership about the differences between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 FDPCP's. hope this helps

http://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=79292.20

[mikeiniowa]

I would have purchased gen 1.5 if Mike did not tell me that the shot count is extremely small. I don't remember the exact figure he mentioned but I think that it was so low that I wouldn't be satisfied with it.
If gen. 1.5 air rifles are as good as gen. 1 and have the improved valve. I definitely would go for one. And just as you mentioned, if not for anything, it would be a good source of spares for my gen. 1 rifle.
Can somebody please clarify what the differences between these 3 types of PCP from Mike are?

Thanks
[/quo
If you had not asked for a rifle shooting 1100 fps with a 10.5 gr. pellet I would have answered differently. As almost any air rifle that's shoots over the speed of sound will show you it isn't going to be as accurate one shooting a little slower.