What would be your setup for a compact “travel” PCP?
- Thread starter Blackpaw
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How about a Hatsan Sortie? New ones seem to work well. Mine runs fine, it's a simple design especially for a semi-auto.
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So I am assuming you want to fly with this item and not shoot up an airport...
There's nothing wrong with flying with a gun, people do it all the time.. you just have to check it and there may be signage and a safety check that you have to do when you enter the airport. Usually it takes about 5-10 minutes, someone from security will walk you over to a side area or room and set the gun on a table. They'll ask you why you have it, if you can legally own it, and ask if you have any ammunition for it on you. Lead pellets are going to be iffy, but ammo is supposed to be in a lockable container and original packaging (10lbs max) and you can have it with the gun in the hard case. If you are all clear then they will check the gun and make sure its empty and put one of those zip tie locking things through the gun to tag it as been searched. You'll then be ready to proceed (they may walk you straight to baggage check). And yes the airlines consider air rifles as weapons (guns/firearms) so dont just walk past that sign or say no if someone asks if its a firearm.
You will have to remove the air cylinder/bottle and have it open for inspection (regulator off), if it is a PCP.
Any air tanks have to be open, just like the pcp air cylinder.
Has to be in a secured locked hard case. They'll put a security tag on your case when you check it.. You can have your own lock but they'll cut the lock if they need to get in it to inspect it. Also remember its about to be smashed with 100 other bags of who knows what so most expensive gun case you can afford!
I dont know if you could fly with a compressor or not, you are going to get a lot of questions to what it is and they may open it up and look inside since its not something normally seen in an airport and it has a lot of wires... be aware of that. Hand pump you could definitely check, keep your hose with the gun so it doesnt get lost and it wont look any different than a bicycle pump. They'll definitely xray the crap out of it and take it apart if they need to, good place to hide drugs in tubes like that and their thought process is going to be "who flys with a bicycle pump". A small 4500psi pony bottle might be your best bet, then just put the valve back on and have it filled wherever you are going.
Bottom line, you don't want this to look like you are trying to hide the gun. You are going to get put in an interview room for sure if you put a gun in a guitar or tennis racquet case. That little sign that says "declare weapons here", when you say its an air rifle they are just going to hear "rifle" and see you holding a tennis racquet case and are going to escort you right to an interview room to ask why
So my opinion, any light gun that you wont cry over if it gets lost or damaged. Light so you dont have to pay out the butt to check it, but you might as well pick a decent gun because its not going to make a difference in the whole flying process. Could be a red ryder or a daystate, going to get treated the same way with TSA, baggage handlers, etc.
In the end, I would probably just box it up real good and ship it to someone you trust at your next location.. insured and signature required.
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Oh and one more thing. take your scope off and put it in your carry on! Dont let them throw that around. Every other part has to be checked, but your scope can go with you.
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The PCP should be a tube gun, one you can charge using a simple hand pump. Folding or collapsible stock. No need to travel with a compressor or bottle. If the pesting is that good, you won't notice the pumping.
Less things to travel with.... And just as theoretically effective as your original envisioned set up.
Less things to travel with.... And just as theoretically effective as your original envisioned set up. Upvote 0
The pcp should be anything you want.
for me, i would take anything light, accurate, reliable and easy to work on. Currently, mines a PP700 in carbine form. I can take the barrel off, fold the stock, and take bottle off for transfer. then get to destination. assemble and shoot. dont forget, pick your power level, range and intended game in mind. mines 45 fpe shooting 34gr NSA .25 slugs. Single shot and able at sub 85 yards.
Bring your 12volt portable compressor. they are not that bad or bulky compared to a pump.
I went to the beach and all the little critters around there dont stand a chance.
for me, i would take anything light, accurate, reliable and easy to work on. Currently, mines a PP700 in carbine form. I can take the barrel off, fold the stock, and take bottle off for transfer. then get to destination. assemble and shoot. dont forget, pick your power level, range and intended game in mind. mines 45 fpe shooting 34gr NSA .25 slugs. Single shot and able at sub 85 yards.
Bring your 12volt portable compressor. they are not that bad or bulky compared to a pump.
I went to the beach and all the little critters around there dont stand a chance.
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The pcp should be anything you want.
for me, i would take anything light, accurate, reliable and easy to work on. Currently, mines a PP700 in carbine form. I can take the barrel off, fold the stock, and take bottle off for transfer. then get to destination. assemble and shoot. dont forget, pick your power level, range and intended game in mind. mines 45 fpe shooting 34gr NSA .25 slugs. Single shot and able at sub 85 yards.
Bring your 12volt portable compressor. they are not that bad or bulky compared to a pump.
I went to the beach and all the little critters around there dont stand a chance.
That's a special rig you have there! I though of the PP700sa as a shooting tool, to suggest for this thread, but seems like most guys want to over-complicate the solutions and spend triple what is necessary. I shoot at two dairies and have a pretty good idea of what is needed.
I have filled my PP700sa with an Air Force hand pup and it's super easy.
Your setup is a great travel rig especially since the barrel and stock are so easily removed... it would fit in a laptop bag!!!!!
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Artemis PP750...and wont break the bank. Just open up the ports and it will be a perfect gun, small and compact, and just slide the butt out and it is a rifle
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Leishy 1 folds fits perfect with extra barrels in Harbor Freight 17" knock off hard case. Edgun Leyla under 24 and a potential powerhouse with top shelf accuracy. Compact Cricket in 22. 24.5 inches around 30 ft. Lbs. Energy ( hate the algorithms) As mentioned might be worth while to eat the shipping.
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I really like my Marauder Pistol, Prod. I have it tuned to 17-18 fpe. I gets about 20 shots before it needs about 35 pumps. Pretty hand pump friendly. At the stock tune it would take birds or squirrels with brain shots and would get closer to 50 shots between fillups. Scoped, mine weighs 5 lbs.
I will probably buy a FX dream lite. I am thinking of a longer one in 30 caliber and probably a 177 barrel too. But there is a compact version. The butt stock comes off with one screw. If your budget permits I am sure it is a nicer gun - how much I don't know. It seems like having more than one caliber available in one gun will be handy. Switching only costs a little less than a Prod, however. I am looking at the bottle version.
I've never checked the airline regulations for air rifles. I have traveled with powder burners and it is a bit of a hassle but doable. Some gate agents freak out when you tell them the case you are handing them contains an unloaded rifle. They have to know it's unloaded and don't know how to verify it. So I offer to help but you have to be careful. The nice thing about air rifles is you can ship them. Definitely I would ship a Prod. Not extremely valuable and pretty easily replaceable. I would probably ship a FX too. It would just be much easier.
I will probably buy a FX dream lite. I am thinking of a longer one in 30 caliber and probably a 177 barrel too. But there is a compact version. The butt stock comes off with one screw. If your budget permits I am sure it is a nicer gun - how much I don't know. It seems like having more than one caliber available in one gun will be handy. Switching only costs a little less than a Prod, however. I am looking at the bottle version.
I've never checked the airline regulations for air rifles. I have traveled with powder burners and it is a bit of a hassle but doable. Some gate agents freak out when you tell them the case you are handing them contains an unloaded rifle. They have to know it's unloaded and don't know how to verify it. So I offer to help but you have to be careful. The nice thing about air rifles is you can ship them. Definitely I would ship a Prod. Not extremely valuable and pretty easily replaceable. I would probably ship a FX too. It would just be much easier.
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Well, my ideal scenario is drive there, bu lets see on flying. Delta was very cool about traveling with the air rifles while I was on the USA side, KLM had more drama on their end, and why I left guns in USA.
With Delta I get a free checked bag. Working on the plan so hopefully it comes through...in some form or another.
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Thanks for the input everyone and giving me some suggestions I didn’t think or know of.
With Delta I get a free checked bag. Working on the plan so hopefully it comes through...in some form or another.
. Thanks for the input everyone and giving me some suggestions I didn’t think or know of.
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Custom Tear down version of a marauder with its full length gm barrel. Under 6 lbs without scope. Travels well enough in a 32" bag with back straps. Definitely not super compact but far from cumbersome. Its my setup for "pcp" be it compact/full length, bench rested or travel / carry, because I'll never need to buy another
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yep. bottle off, fx slug liner off and stock folded. It fits. But gotta have a shorter barrel. this is 600mm slug liner. maybe a bigger bag and maybe FX bottle and valve system so i dont have to pump it back up. still have to degass if flying though. 
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My Prod will fit, kind of, in a medium size backpack. I've done it. I just take the buttstock off and put it in. But the barrel really wants to poke out a bit. I was traveling by car but want it to not be overly obvious. A larger backpack would hold it and a pump easily. Or, I could take the scope off and it would fit the medium backpack. Without the buttstock it is 18 inches long but I have the scope mounted such that it projects an inch behind the bolt. That extra inch makes it want to poke out. If I still had a hard sided briefcase I would try putting it in diagonally. Might fit.
I like the nicer packed guns. Clearly you guys have given it more thought than my "just stuff it in a backpack" idea.
I like the nicer packed guns. Clearly you guys have given it more thought than my "just stuff it in a backpack" idea.
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Good morning, in between meetings now and thought to get something off my mind. I have been looking for options for a travel gun, it isn't a rush yet nice to look at options.
It was suggested a couple of times that the Leshiy Classic gen 2. When I was working out this morning I came back to Leshiy Classic, which has the option of 177, 20, 22, and 25 cal barrels, depending on where you buy the barrels. My mind came up with a crazy idea about how the Leshiy Classic would be great with a .20 cal and 25 cal barrel for a under 50 yard travel gun.
A Leshiy Classic with a 350 mm in a 20 and 25 cal set up, to me, seems VERY flexible. Gun easily adjusted, barrel change out is brain dead, simple configuration, tough as a hammer and easily goes into a "small case." I would go with a 4x16ish compact scope. Main downside is shot count.
So lots of HHMMMs.
It was suggested a couple of times that the Leshiy Classic gen 2. When I was working out this morning I came back to Leshiy Classic, which has the option of 177, 20, 22, and 25 cal barrels, depending on where you buy the barrels. My mind came up with a crazy idea about how the Leshiy Classic would be great with a .20 cal and 25 cal barrel for a under 50 yard travel gun.
A Leshiy Classic with a 350 mm in a 20 and 25 cal set up, to me, seems VERY flexible. Gun easily adjusted, barrel change out is brain dead, simple configuration, tough as a hammer and easily goes into a "small case." I would go with a 4x16ish compact scope. Main downside is shot count.
So lots of HHMMMs.
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After going to Canada for bear hunting and bringing the Marauder .25 for relaxing and to an Elk Hunting in New Mexico and bringing a brake barrel that was a very bad rifle, I decided to buy a FX Indy in .30 Cal for those ocassions.
From there to now, whenever I go to a real hunting, that FX Indy goes with me, notwithstanding I have other PCP with me for the hunting.
The Indy has required to be careful of ocassionally tighten the parts in the pumping lever and put some grease there to avoid damage of those lever parts and also few silicone grease inserted by the small breathing hole of the pump to lubricate the internals o'rings. But has worked perfectly well for many years and is extremely accurate.
In my opinion is the best option if you want to have independence form the air source and are in a possition to pump after shots.
The .30 Cal at 70 foot pounds is more than enough for the use I expect from this rifle.
The problem is that FX decided not to make the Indy anymore.
From there to now, whenever I go to a real hunting, that FX Indy goes with me, notwithstanding I have other PCP with me for the hunting.
The Indy has required to be careful of ocassionally tighten the parts in the pumping lever and put some grease there to avoid damage of those lever parts and also few silicone grease inserted by the small breathing hole of the pump to lubricate the internals o'rings. But has worked perfectly well for many years and is extremely accurate.
In my opinion is the best option if you want to have independence form the air source and are in a possition to pump after shots.
The .30 Cal at 70 foot pounds is more than enough for the use I expect from this rifle.
The problem is that FX decided not to make the Indy anymore.
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