BigBore questions from a noob. Perhaps someone can steer me in right direction.

[steve_77]

Ive been contemplating getting a PCP big bore.... granted that this would be my first PCP airgun I thought I would seek some advice with some of the more seasoned people on this board. 

Personally I believe only accurate rifles are interesting... hence my love of the 260rem (.264) the SD of these bullets makes them very good at long range – however form my understanding of using these big bore (> .25)  airguns (as opposed to a rifle)  for hunting you don’t get any hydrostatic shock/expansion and your just making "bleeder" holes (like an arrow)… perhaps I am wrong but with this thinking in mind i was looking at the .357 and .45 calibers (as casting pellets for these might be easier & have more options available) although it would be even better if I can use Barnes lead-free or power belt muzzle loader bullets, or maybe even resize and shoot the .452(?) balls for my new model  army revolver. Perhaps others can comment on this if this is even feasible.  The only reason im interested in lead free as im out in CA in the lead-free zones.

Digressing a bit  – these two issues of take down (bleeder holes]) for hunting and accuracy –seem to be at odds and im wondering perhaps this isn’t the right market for me or that im overlooking something. So I was hoping some of the more experienced people would chime in as this would be my first PCP air rifle.
Ideally I was looking for something that can take a large deer at 100-150 yards , something  solid, reliable, and light weight, and somewhat quiet that can be filled with a manual foot pump.

My research so far had me looking at the Crossman bulldog, the Sam Yang recluse as well as this new AirForce Texan PCP. Personally I like the look of the airforce, and don’t know if this is possible but in my paintball years  – I used to use a remote bottle to shoot. I don’t know if you can remove the bottles on some of these PCP’s and use a remote, as some of these rifles are really long and bulky., but that would be pretty awesome to have a really compact air rifle. (will try to attach pic)

Can anyone help point me in the right direction? The concept of the bulldog as a pseudo-bullpup design seems cool for some maneuverability but guess I was really looking for something more compact. Perhaps Im looking for more of a custom job, but ive been reading some zines and just want to find out what my other options might be.  Is .45 just too big, Is .357 a good compromise? I’m just looking for some real world advice from people with more experience that have used these types of air-guns in the field.


See airforce pic (dont know if this is even possible)...

[jaraxle1zx]

The 357 slayer should be out, I think 1st of next month.
I'm going to give it a try. The gun is getting great feedback from members here. I trust member feedback more than I trust paid for reviews.

[jaraxle1zx]

Welcome to GTA forum!
Lots of info in here. Have fun.

[QVTom]

Welcome Steve,

You mention deer in the CA Condor zone with an airgun.  First, deer in CA and only be taken with soft point centerfire, we have no airgun season for big game.  Current regs. do allow lead ammo for airguns and rimfire in the Condors zones at this time but as stated above neither are legal for Deer.  Unfortunately for us Californians Deer and airguns is a no go but small game and predators are allowed.  So it's coyotes and bobcats for the big bores.

The Texan on a tether to make it shorter in an interesting idea but the execution would require at least a 300cc plenum attached to the gun to feed the valve or a massive drop in power will occur.  The tether just doesn't have the airflow capability to feed the beast fast enough.

If you are planning to hunt outside CA then there are many possibilities to hunt more species with a big bore.  Somewhere Crosman has a chart of which game species can be legally hunted with airgun in each state.

Tom

Found it http://www.crosman.com/get-hunting/hunting-resources/state-by-state-species-hunting-chart

[steve_77]

moderator: please remove this reply (#4) for this thread

[steve_77]

Thank you all for the warm welcome i had originally started to reply to each message (hence the request to remove post #4) but thank you all for the provided info - this helps a bit.   I guess ill keep an eye out on some of the ballistic/range questions regarding an overall consensus of caliber vs range tradeoffs in the .30-45 calibers but do want to thank you all again for the detailed info, and nice welcome.

The 357 slayer should be out, I think 1st of next month.
I'm going to give it a try. The gun is getting great feedback from members here. I trust member feedback more than I trust paid for reviews.

Thanks ill def look into /read up on american air arms and see what its all about. (looks pretty sweet!)

The Texan on a tether to make it shorter in an interesting idea but the execution would require at least a 300cc plenum attached to the gun to feed the valve or a massive drop in power will occur.  The tether just doesn't have the airflow capability to feed the beast fast enough.

This is really good info - i figured a small reservoir might be needed,  was just a thought but thanks for the realistic info. it makes sense.

If you are planning to hunt outside CA then there are many possibilities to hunt more species with a big bore.  Somewhere Crosman has a chart of which game species can be legally hunted with airgun in each state.

I also wasn't aware of the airgun prohibition for deer - seems like i may need to reread a few regs -- But do really appreciate the info/link you sent - very helpful. Thank you