1st PCP Air Rifle

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I enjoy using 25 cal the most but if I was only going to buy one PCP rifle, I would make it a 22.

You can genuinely make a 22 cal quiet enough not to bother even the most annoying of neighbors and they still pack enough of a punch for small game hunting at suitable distances. 

If somebody forced me to choose a single PCP gun to be my only air rifle, I would probably choose a Mutant Standard or Daystate Huntsman 22 if the aim was to keep it close to the $1000 mark.

There will obviously be different opinions on this but I think those two guns are the best bang for your buck in that range. 

If I had an additional $500 in the budget, I'm not sure I would choose any differently. 

I haven't tried a Streamline yet but I am particular about build quality and I know the Daystate and Mutant to be up there in this respect. Maybe someone who has a Streamline could comment on how they compare to the Huntsman (if they have owned both). 

If there is one area you can save money without suffering for it, I recommend buying a used scba tank. I have 3 of them. If you get one from the right place, you can get the tank and fill adapter for the same price as a hand pump (or less). 

The store where I buy my tanks always has tons of used carbon fiber ones in stock. I paid $115 for the last one with 8 years of life left and a fresh hydro. Pm me if you need the info. 
 
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.22 Cal is the perfect place to start. Unless you plan on trying your hand at Field Target and can find a club near you. They have a 20 foot pound power limit and the lighter weight .177 pellet will give you a flatter trajectory at that power limit over the heavier .22 pellets. Example you could shoot a 10.3 gr JSB pellet at 900 feet per second for 18.5 FPE, where as you would have to shoot a 14.3 grain much slower to meet the 20 FPE limit at say 790 FPS to stay under the limit.

I've never had a Daystate or a Mutant but would agree with Zebra on their worthiness and value for the money. I've had an Air Arms S500 as well as several Kalibrgun Crickets and can vouch for those easily. Another rifle I would could consider is the .22 BSA R10.

I've had an FX400 and they are fine rifles. I even have no complaints from my Benjamin Marauders they are superb entry level guns, and lots of guys who have climbed the PCP food chain still have theirs and cherish them.

Speaking of Benjamin Marauder. Most guys start there as they are a deal for the money and easily modified to suit your needs. The problem is going to be the cost or hassle of filling your rifle to the required 2900-3000 psi. You'll either have to get a specially designed hand pump, or a high pressure compressor than pump up to 4500 psi.

Most guys buy 4500 psi tanks with fill assy and either buy the high dollar compressors or go to Scuba shops and paintball stores to get their tanks filled. I have the SCBA tanks but decided to contact my nearest welding shop to provide me with a 6000 psi nitrogen bottle. I fill my 4500 psi SCBA tanks from that and in turn fill my guns from the SCBA tank.

It's a long learning curve. Good luck with your choice and welcome to the Dark Side. Be prepared to part with lots of cash ;-)

Regards Jimmy
 
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Zebra and Camp l, thanks for all the good advice. Zebra I'm going to inbox you and see what kind of deal I can get home a good tank. I have been thinking for the last 3 hours and I am backing up on the Streamline just because by the time I buy the gun the fill station and the scope I'm at $2,000. Just not sure I really want to do that for what I'm going to be doing. I want good quality but I think I'm going to have to scale back. So the journey continues. I looked at getting a Marauder, but by the time I do all the upgrades, I'm going to be at the same price as the Streamline.... I guess the only thing there is I don't have to do the upgrades right away. I can do them as I can afford them. But in the end will I still have a nice rifle... is it still going to shoot very accurate?
 
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"steves"Zebra and Camp l, thanks for all the good advice. Zebra I'm going to inbox you and see what kind of deal I can get home a good tank. I have been thinking for the last 3 hours and I am backing up on the Streamline just because by the time I buy the gun the fill station and the scope I'm at $2,000. Just not sure I really want to do that for what I'm going to be doing. I want good quality but I think I'm going to have to scale back. So the journey continues. I looked at getting a Marauder, but by the time I do all the upgrades, I'm going to be at the same price as the Streamline.... I guess the only thing there is I don't have to do the upgrades right away. I can do them as I can afford them. But in the end will I still have a nice rifle... is it still going to shoot very accurate?
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Steves, 

Most of us have done what you're doing now, or at least I know I did. I got into the hobby a few years ago after growing up as a kid with a bb gun and was amazed at how far air guns had come. I, like many here, figured "x" amount of dollars is surely going to be good enough. Then we all get the shiny new gun and it is fun for a while as you begin to shoot and learn it. Afterwards, as you read the forums to try to learn how to make your gun better, you continue to see the results other are getting that you are not able to achieve. (or at least I wasn't, not being a master tuner and all) Then the shiny new gun you have becomes "If I had just put that money toward gun "x" to begin with, I wouldn't be out "x" amount of dollars right now. 

I wen't from a Diana 54 (around $600) at the time, which seemed like all the money in the world for "just an airgun" to a TX200, to a HW97kt, then to an AA S-510, and finally to a FX Royale 500 which at the time was $2200 or so. I would have saved a LOT of money if I had just started at the Royale 500 first.

You nailed it earlier when you said "spend once, cry once". Folks are able to get some respectable results with their Marauders. I had one after owning the FX Royale 500 and it was such a step down for me that it only took a few days before I knew I just didn't want to shoot it any more. No amount of tuning or adjusting that I did to that thing made it anywhere near as comparable to the higher end PCP's I've shot. It was heavier, clunkier, less efficient, less accurate, less ergonomic, worse trigger, etc etc. This is also when I began to learn the importance of a regulator, when I finally got to shoot a pcp that didn't have one. Efficiency and accuracy both suffer.

I would say if you were going to skimp on something for the time being, get a cheapy scope and used tank. It is far less expensive to upgrade those later.

Not trying to tell you how to spend your money, I'm just offering to you the advice that others gave me and I wish now that I had followed. My bank account would have a much higher balance haha 

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Best wishes, 
Cliff

 
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 I bought a used 4500psi SCBA 45 minute tank for $100 off ebay that had one hydro left before the tanks life span expired.Then had it hydro tested for another 25 and that will get me by for 5 years then I will repeat still cheaper than a new tank. I get it filled free at a fire station the guys are happy to fill it . Then I bought the fill valve assembly for $150. Some buy the parts the build the fill valve assembly themselves and save a few bucks but I found quickly that with the time I spent looking to find the best deal for the pieces I was easier to buy one complete. As for The rifle I started with the Benjamin Discovery 22 really accurate out to 40-50 yards but low shot count and it doesn't have a magazine/clip. Then I moved to the Marauder 25 night and day difference between the two and just as accurate as the most high end PCP's out to 50 yards but I have made head shots on ground hogs out to 100 yards with ease but I still wanted more out of my air rifle like shot count. I only get 24 "good" shots before refilling which is good for hunting but for plinking not enough for me.. Then the Vulcan bullpup 25, now this is what I was looking for from the beginning but didn't know it! Or was it? Fast forward a few months and now I have a RAW HM1000x in 30 cal on order. Like others have said welcome to the club!!! Sorry for the ramble :) just wanted to share my experience.
 
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steves - sounds like you're leaning towards a .22 in which case a Marauder Gen 2 would be a crap shoot as their accuracy with that barrel is hit or miss no pun intended. Unless you can pick up a used one that has documented accuracy you might not be satisfied. As others have said, the Marauder can be an excellent entry level gun if you understand its limitations and if you're someone who likes to tinker (sometimes almost endlessly) it can be modified as your budget allows to bring it up to the level of a higher tiered gun, albeit at additional cost, time, and potentially lots of frustration. There's another saying that comes to mind, and this isn't to knock the Marauder, but "you can't polish a sneaker."

If you can budget around $1000 for the gun it will bring you to more of a level where you're likely to be satisfied and "buy once, cry once" especially if you forego the adjustable cheekpiece requirement which will significantly limit your options. You could get around that with a model that has a monte-carlo style stock with a higher comb, of which there are numerous makes/models. Air Arms, BSA , and entry level guns from Daystate and FX come to mind to name a few. There's a killer deal at numerous Daystate dealers on the Regal XL .22 for a little over $1000. Daystates come with a 3-year factory warranty.
 
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"steves"Just have to persuade myself that $2000.00+ is worth playing around in the backyard. Thanks you folks for all your input. REALLY, THANK YOU. Steve
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I had the same thought initially. But the beauty of air rifles, is that I can shoot everyday at my leisure. It seems to always be somewhat of a hassle to get the powder burners ready, go to the range and then clean them. I have to set aside four hours to do all this.
It takes me five minutes to grab my airgun and start shooting. I now shoot 100-1 pellets to cartridges. The added bonus pellets are cheap by comparison.
I just love the precision airgun hobby now. Sure your buddies are going to look at you odd when you tell them what you spend. They are thinking about the Walmart guns...... Maybe that it is a kid thing.
I guarantee it will make you a better powder gun shooter as well. The way pellets behave in the different conditions, getting better at holdover, and learning to make compensations. All these improved my understanding on how to compensate for long range cartridge shooting.
 
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Dirte and Ballistic....You are not helping make this decision easy/inexpensive.! lol But Ballistic, you got me on the powder burners. I have a great deal of $$ in them. I shoot 6.5x47 Lapua with Nightforce 6x25x56 Atacar that shoots crazy small groups at 100 yards and sub 1" groups at 300 yards. I spend ALOT of time in the reloading room! Dirte, You sound exactly like me!
 
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