N/A Lightweight pcp for squirrel hunting

[Axel88]

Hi all,
What would be a good lightweight starter pcp for squirrel hunting? I don’t want to sink a ton of money right off the bat into this. I am debating the komplete and put a tube on it so I can fill it that way. High end I have looked at avenge x carbine and zelos. For me starting out that is the high end anyways. Just curious what you all would recommend? I hunt with a Mountain Cur so I put on the miles hunting which is why light is a nice touch.

 

[1handwill.gc]

Pinty bull pup beeman comodor regulated

 

[MongooseV8]

Hello welcome to the forum. Do you have a compressor? How far will you be making your average shot? What do you consider light weight?

I would suggest looking at:
GX CS3 compressor
Umarex Notos Side Lever 22Cal regulated, little on the low power side but has a good reputation for accuracy.
Gamo Urban non regulated but laser accurate and amazing ergos for off-hand shots. I have one that has taken down a mountain of pests.

GAMO URBAN PCP .22 AIR RIFLE, W/WHISPER FUSION 800FPS.

Check out the deal on GAMO URBAN PCP .22 AIR RIFLE, W/WHISPER FUSION 800FPS. at MGW

www.midwestgunworks.com

 

[beerthief]

Like i always recommend Marauder . Very solid can be hand pumped , accurate for head shots , If hunting is primary use .22 would be good choice.

Welcome to the best A G N

 

[Dstrac]

Hi all,
What would be a good lightweight starter pcp for squirrel hunting? I don’t want to sink a ton of money right off the bat into this. I am debating the komplete and put a tube on it so I can fill it that way. High end I have looked at avenge x carbine and zelos. For me starting out that is the high end anyways. Just curious what you all would recommend? I hunt with a Mountain Cur so I put on the miles hunting which is why light is a nice touch.

You are probably looking for the umerex notos. If you want lighter, and more affordable than a Zelos.

 

[Axel88]

I do like the look of the marauder but it’s a bit heavy at 8 pounds throw a scope on and that is a 9 pound woods gun. I have considered the notos. Would like a micro strike but they are back ordered and I would probably miss most of my squirrel season if I got one. Most shots are going to be under thirty yards.

 

[xsarfc9x]

Hello welcome to the forum. Do you have a compressor? How far will you be making your average shot? What do you consider light weight?

I would suggest looking at:
GX CS3 compressor
Umarex Notos Side Lever 22Cal regulated, little on the low power side but has a good reputation for accuracy.
Gamo Urban non regulated but laser accurate and amazing ergos for off-hand shots. I have one that has taken down a mountain of pests.

GAMO URBAN PCP .22 AIR RIFLE, W/WHISPER FUSION 800FPS.

Check out the deal on GAMO URBAN PCP .22 AIR RIFLE, W/WHISPER FUSION 800FPS. at MGW

www.midwestgunworks.com

2nd the Gamo. They have BSA barrels and are super accurate. The small cylinder and low fill pressure are also nice features if you're hand pumping.

 

[maxtrouble]

I do like the look of the marauder but it’s a bit heavy at 8 pounds throw a scope on and that is a 9 pound woods gun. I have considered the notos. Would like a micro strike but they are back ordered and I would probably miss most of my squirrel season if I got one. Most shots are going to be under thirty yards.

Check out the Marauder Pistol. Get the standard plastic grip stock, a couple of tins of good pellets and a decent red dot. The OG squirrel killer.

Benjamin Marauder | Multi-Shot Shrouded Air Pistol | Pyramyd AIR

We've got a great price on the Benjamin Marauder Air Pistol. Get a great price and expert advice at Pyramyd for your next outdoor adventure!

www.pyramydair.com

 

[pan60]

my concept of not a ton of money right off the bat might be diferant then others I use a EVOL mini but for a budget I got the wife a BRK ATOMIC and it is a sweet gun.
AOA has the we the plinkers package deal that are very attractive looking.

 

[Neu]

Gamo urban all day, light, accurate, simple design, most can shoot pellets and slugs. Hand pump friendly and not to taxing on cheap compressors if you go that route. You can find them in the classifieds often sub $200.

 

[KatoKevin454]

Notos, it's Cheap in price but not in quality, it's light, compact, very accurate with cheap crosman premier domes or HP's, Quiet and upgradeable, I've taken lots of Squirrels with mine.
here's some deals from gundeals

https://gun.deals/search/apachesolr_search/723364548475

 

[OneAcreFarmer]

May I suggest the Stoger Bullshark if you want a bullpup, or the Stoger Scout/Ranger if you are looking for a more traditional rifle. Check out the Airgun Revisions site. Here is my Bullshark. Shoots ragged one hole groups @40 yards if I do my part.
From this…..

To this.

 

[Vana2]

I've used my .22 Maximus for squirrels with excellent results.

The Maximus is an accurate, light weight, single shot PCP that can easily be filled with a hand pump.

There's a simple mod that really improves the trigger.

Cheers!

 

[3Crows]

I do like the look of the marauder but it’s a bit heavy at 8 pounds throw a scope on and that is a 9 pound woods gun. I have considered the notos. Would like a micro strike but they are back ordered and I would probably miss most of my squirrel season if I got one. Most shots are going to be under thirty yards.

The Gamo Urban is no lightweight. Unlike the Urban there are aluminum tubes still out there from JSAR for the M-Rod and a hybrid from AGR and while it looks to me like the Tim Hill site is going down hill, he still has short shrouds available if not much else. Which can produce very light rifles.

My .25 M-Rod will make around 60 fpe for 24 shots, the last few are off the reg on a Bell curve but still dead accurate and on power. The 3622 below is also extremely light weight, makes more than enough power to take squirrels and with a 2,000 psi fill is very easy to pump, 24 shots at squirrel power level. The Cabelas and Bass Pro store near me has the 3622 kit with pump.




Separated by 60+ years, Crosman 140 multi-pump and Crosman 3622 PCP (and the pumper 362).



People will give all sorts of fantastic ranges, killing squirrels at 300 yards with a flexi-flyer like the FX MX rifles. For practical hunting I consider the .25 M-Rod a 50 yards rifle and the 3622 a 20 yards rifle. A 34 grain pellet leaving the barrel of my M-Rod at 900 fps has the same energy as any air rifle at similar velocity, but pellets are not ballistically efficient losing energy rapidly regardless of platform and thus both good and bad. The good is that pellets do not carry as far as a .22LR bullet and also less ricochet potential to do harm at a distance. The bad, well, is that pellets do not carry as far and that limits practical range and energy and they are just not aero stable at velocities much above 900 fps give or take.

In the zillion some odd shots from that Crosman 140, you can bet I shot sliders off logs and sparrows at 150 yards. Some of it might have been skill and 20/15 eye sight of a 12yo and the rest would have been coincidence, chance, dumb luck and probable exaggerated memory of my skills as a rifleman at that time in life.

 

[oldmojo]

I do like the look of the marauder but it’s a bit heavy at 8 pounds throw a scope on and that is a 9 pound woods gun. I have considered the notos. Would like a micro strike but they are back ordered and I would probably miss most of my squirrel season if I got one. Most shots are going to be under thirty yards.

I think that 9lbs is off or maybe with a big scope, I'd highly recommend a marauder and better yet put a hill matched parts kit in it, best 50 sum you can spend ,I have one and its the lightest gun I own, I put a kit in from hill, left it unregulated and get 3 mags very consistent, it'll probably go 4 mags but I fill a little 500cc tank and top off after 3 usually

 

[james722]

Another vote for the Notos. It's my primary gun for house sparrow and squirrel pesting and I've taken several out to 50 yards. CPHP (the USA made ones at least) shot like lasers and I've had good luck with other pellets as well. Some people don't like the trigger but for my pesting purposes, it has served me well.

 

[6gun]

I do like the look of the marauder but it’s a bit heavy at 8 pounds throw a scope on and that is a 9 pound woods gun. I have considered the notos. Would like a micro strike but they are back ordered and I would probably miss most of my squirrel season if I got one. Most shots are going to be under thirty yards.

I use my pair of long since discontinued benjamin discoveries or my fx dreamline tactical compact for most hunting(im exclusively hunting pigeons and ground squirrels for the time being). The dreamline tactical folds up nicely into a backpack case for a woods walk and can reach out just past 100 yards with pellets, the discos are light and nice to carry on a sling and great for 80 yards and in(for me).

My benjamin marauder 25 is heavy and chunky/long enough it just sits in my office at work now for the occasional pest shot. It's good enough to do the work, it just wouldn't be my 4th choice out of the collection for the job.

My best advice is buy once cry once. Buy what you really want and you'll be happy.... Or build a massive money pit collection like me

 

[MongooseV8]

Te Gamo Urban is no lightweight. Unlike the Urban there are aluminum tubes still out there from JSAR for the M-Rod and a hybrid from AGR and while it looks to me like the Tim Hill site is going down hill, he still has short shrouds available if not much else. Which can produce very light rifles.

My .25 M-Rod will make around 60 fpe for 24 shots, the last few are off the reg on a Bell curve but still dead accurate and on power. The 3622 below is also extremely light weight, makes more than enough power to take squirrels and with a 2,000 psi fill is very easy to pump, 24 shots at squirrel power level. The Cabelas and Bass Pro store near me has the 3622 kit with pump.




Separated by 60+ years, Crosman 140 multi-pump and Crosman 3622 PCP (and the pumper 362).

My Urban was 7.5lbs with scope with a perfect balance for offhand shooting. I would still classify the naked 6.6-6.7lbs as light weight, and anything under 6lbs as ultra light weight. In pcp land the Urban is certainly one of the lightest, but there are surely a good many lighter still. But remember many of the modern compact pcps are 8-10lbs naked with terrible balance.

Something else many people dont think about when building a pcp hunter is too light is often worse than too heavy. Some people have a tough time holding a 4-5lbs setup still while hunting offhand. But a balanced 8lbs setup can be more stable and feel lighter than a poorly balanced super light weight setup.

 

[6gun]

My Urban was 7.5lbs with scope with a perfect balance for offhand shooting. I would still classify the naked 6.6-6.7lbs as light weight, and anything under 6lbs as ultra light weight. In pcp land the Urban is certainly one of the lightest, but there are surely a good many lighter still. But remember many of the modern compact pcps are 8-10lbs naked with terrible balance.

Something else many people dont think about when building a pcp hunter is too light is often worse than too heavy. Some people have a tough time holding a 4-5lbs setup still while hunting offhand. But a balanced 8lbs setup can be more stable and feel lighter than a poorly balanced super light weight setup.

It can help mask a jittery or waivey shooter with long barrels and increased mass up to a point. I use high magnification levels to accentuate my poor stability and make more shots. Aim small, miss small right?

 

[JimD]

I prefer bullpups but the OP sounds like a long gun guy. The Notos, Zellos, Stoeger Bullshark, Scout, and Ranger area all made by Snowpeak. They are all regulated. I have three P35s, a Bullshark, and a P35X. None leaked when I got them. All needed the hammer spring adjusted but that is very simple. The P35s are the lightest at about 5 lbs. The Bullshark is almost the same gun but weighs about 6 lbs due to the stock. The Bullshark stock is just bigger. Like OneAcreFarmer I like wood stocks and made them for all these guns except the P35X which comes with a wood stock.

The Notos is the lightest and cheapest. It has adequate power for small game. I think it is in the 20-25 fpe range. My Prod, while tuned up, is less than this and works fine at the ranges you expect. The other guns would make more fpe and provide more shots per fill.

I like my SPA made guns. I find them to be reliable and very accurate. If I am right and you like long guns I would look hard at the Ranger and Scout. Looks like they should be under $350 so pretty inexpensive for a solid PCP. In a 22 (which would be my recommendation I would expect about 30 fpe. My P35-22 has killed 10 squirrels and one small raccoon. I don't think you really need more power in a small game airgun.