PCP air rifle.

[copper]

I'm very interested in getting a PCP air rifle for small varmits and target shooting. I was wondering if there
are any enthusiast here on Ingo?... My main question is how are you charging your air tanks. By hand or some place
local?

Thanks.

 

[rugertoter]

I don't own a PCP, but I do own two "pumpers". I would like to have a PCP, for they are powerful and accurate as all get out, but I don't want to invest in the compressor to recharge the air tank. There are no dive shops near me, and I don't feel like using a hand held....that would take too long to get the pressure up to 3500 or so, not to mention worn out arms.

 

[Tin Cup]

I have a Benjamin Discovery .22 that I got from pyramid air.com. I bought a special air tank online and it works great (pricey though). The Disco can even use plain old C02 from a paintball tank. And you can get those filled almost anywhere. I get my HPA (high pressure air) tank filled at a local paintball field. Only bad this is the tank can be filled to 4500psi and they can only get to 3k with there equipment.

Benefit to hpa is it is more stable in the cold than C02. If I did it over again I would have tried C02 first and seen bow it did. Those tanks are 20-30 bucks. I spent 300 on a carbon fiber tank... works great though.

Pretty accurate. Well enough for squirrels and chipmunks.

 

[WhitleyStu]

I have a Steyr LG110HP and fill it from an air tank just like firemen wear. I fill the tank from a Shoebox compressor.

 

[BE Mike]

I use a scuba tank purchased and filled by the local dive shop for my Morini 162EI air pistol. I got a K valve tank, so I have an adapter to DIN. The scuba air is dry. You can use a hand pump, but it is considerable effort to charge a big air rifle cylinder and the air will not be dry. Here's an article you might find useful: Pilkguns

 

[copper]

I use a scuba tank purchased and filled by the local dive shop for my Morini 162EI air pistol. I got a K valve tank, so I have an adapter to DIN. The scuba air is dry. You can use a hand pump, but it is considerable effort to charge a big air rifle cylinder and the air will not be dry. Here's an article you might find useful: Pilkguns

thanks Mike that was a good read.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Copper, you tube has a load airgun videos, including PCPs.

Here is a review of a Weihrauch (why not start at the top, lol) to get the juices flowing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tftf3y6ZU18

Lots of different ways to charge PCPs. Last I was in Europe many were using bicycle pumps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ulTA5iySk

 

[shibumiseeker]

I have several from.22 to .45. I have the cheap Benjamin hand pump, the nicer Hill pump, and adapters for my SCUBA tanks. I love shooting them!

 

[shibumiseeker]

Lots of different ways to charge PCPs. Last I was in Europe many were using bicycle pumps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ulTA5iySk

Not a bicycle pump as these pumps go up to 3000+ psi ...

 

[Tactically Fat]

If y'all want some good pest control via PCP rifles - then look up Ted's Holdover on YouTube. His voice can get a little grating at times, but the equipment and video he does are fantastic!

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Not a bicycle pump as these pumps go up to 3000+ psi ...

I should have put "bicycle pump" in quotation marks. Thank you for correcting any confusion.

 

[BE Mike]

I should have put "bicycle pump" in quotation marks. Thank you for correcting any confusion.

Some folks will use a scuba tank for filling and a "bicycle-type pump" to top off the cylinders. I still like to put clean, dry air in my expensive Morini, so it's just scuba for me.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Some folks will use a scuba tank for filling and a "bicycle-type pump" to top off the cylinders. I still like to put clean, dry air in my expensive Morini, so it's just scuba for me.

My Hill pump has a filter and dessicant and I've put maybe 2000 rounds through my Disco and when I took the tank apart to repair a leak around the pressure gauge there was zero evidence of moisture or corrosion. And that was filling it with the Benjamin pump for the first year of its life. But I love the convenience of my SCUBA tanks now, though I will still use the pumps on occasion.

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

I have had a springer for about 15 years and got into the PCP game upon the last NRA show in Louisville. I have a .22 Marauder synthetic and the Benjamin hand pump ordered from the show. If you have the coin and a local shop for fills, SCUBA or PCP specific tanks would be nice. If you have a lot of coin, a box compressor and tanks would be ideal for portability and home-fill convenience. I'm not sure if the rules have changed on hydro testing of tanks but when I dove a couple decades ago, shops wouldn't fill your tanks if not current on testing (within 5 years hydro and annual visual). That is something you'll want to consider when looking at the overall scope of tank ownership along with the distance to a SCUBA shop.

I do feel better about sitting & waiting on the next 20 starlings or house sparrows after doing a bit of work with the hand pump. If I was field hunting, I'd want a small bottle with me or just limit my distance from the truck and pump to coincide with about 18 to 20 shots (3000 psi - 2400 psi).

 

[BE Mike]

I have had a springer for about 15 years and got into the PCP game upon the last NRA show in Louisville. I have a .22 Marauder synthetic and the Benjamin hand pump ordered from the show. If you have the coin and a local shop for fills, SCUBA or PCP specific tanks would be nice. If you have a lot of coin, a box compressor and tanks would be ideal for portability and home-fill convenience. I'm not sure if the rules have changed on hydro testing of tanks but when I dove a couple decades ago, shops wouldn't fill your tanks if not current on testing (within 5 years hydro and annual visual). That is something you'll want to consider when looking at the overall scope of tank ownership along with the distance to a SCUBA shop.

I do feel better about sitting & waiting on the next 20 starlings or house sparrows after doing a bit of work with the hand pump. If I was field hunting, I'd want a small bottle with me or just limit my distance from the truck and pump to coincide with about 18 to 20 shots (3000 psi - 2400 psi).

The Hydro (pressure test) is still required every five years. I dropped off my scuba tank a couple of days ago at my local dive shop. The lady at the shop said it would take a week to get it Hydro tested, inspected and filled. The annual visual inspection isn't a big deal and the local shop does that before filling the tank. Luckily I have time since the first air gun match of the season isn't until Sept. 24th in Columbus, IN. Since my dive shop is convenient to me scuba is the way to go. One other consideration is that the pumps usually have problems once in a while and need to be repaired and the pumps are pricey, IMHO. I've heard that some fire stations have their own compressors to fill tanks and will fill scuba tanks, but I have no first-hand knowledge of that. My scuba tank usually lasts me a few years on one fill and I practice quite a lot. Of course a rifle requires more air than a pistol.

 

[copper]

Thanks everyone for your input, I guess now all i need to do is decide how much
$$$ to spend.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

I shoot 10 meter with a FWB P70Jr, and also use a Air Arms 200 for the 4H kids. Both fun about 620 fps, so I only hunt chipmunks around my shed. So far this year, Team Chipmunk has 8 players that went on the permanently disabled list. We had been getting scuba tank filled at a dive shop but they went out of business. The local fire station told me I could take it to the main station for refill. I would of course give them an appropriate donation.

 

[JimH]

I've owned a .25 Marauder for a couple of years,fill with an Air Force hand pump.Shooting a 26 gr. pellet @ 850 fps,I get 16-18 shots before velocity drops.The key is not to let it get to low,so you don't have to do all the pumping at once.Mine will shoot 1/2" groups at 50 yards pretty regular.Killed 70 squirrels last year.I own probably 15-18 excellent .22 rf squirrel rifles,but haven't used them since getting the Mrod.

 

[Leo]

I have a Feinwerkenbau for 10 meter. While the accuracy is superb, there just is not enough power to hunt anything very big. My sensibilities prefer that even rodents have a quick clean kill. A regulation 500fps target air rifle does not deliver that. By the time you get to full sized squirrel or rabbits, I think .22 air rifle is vastly superior.

 

[copper]

Update: I picked up a used Maurader .25. I am very happy with this rifle. It's accurate and fun to shoot. But***,
this hand pumping has got to go..Talked with a local dive shop today and I think I'm going to get a used tank for
my high pressure air.