N/A .25 PCP for iguanas

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I have found 3 in the AGN classifieds here. One was actually $500. There was one on airgun warriors yesterday for $600. that's showing SOLD now. There has been one on the AGN classifieds for months for $500 but is a .177. It is probably still there. They are out there. I got 2 in .25cal. I have 6 Brococks a five are used and only one had an issue when I bought it and the owner told me it had a slowleak before I bought it. I was able to fix it myself with 2 orings. every one is a tackdriver and all function like new. Used ones are a great bargain. Another plus is you can get Carm magazines for them very reasonable and is you buy a bunch you have fast reloads and they function really well.
 
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Flpanhandler said:
My top contenders right now in no order are
Avenge-x bottle either bullpup or tac
Benjamin armada
Brocock Sahara (don’t know a lot about this one)
I’d love to find a used huben for 1k
Or a Brocock bantam for $600
As mentioned above but that may be a long wait
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The forum rules require a user to have 10+ meaningful posts to get access to the member classified section. Keep making posts and you will have access in no time. Lots of good deals.

There are a lot of members on the forums from Florida. Start networking and make some new friends!
 
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I like bullpups too but if you will get lots of under 20 yard shots you may want to stay with a traditional rifle. Mounting the scope so high on a bullpup makes it shoot very low at close range and that does not go away until around 20 yards. The same thing happens on a traditional rifle but the amount it will shoot low is less (like an inch to inch and a half versus 2.5 inches or more) and it goes away 5-10 yards sooner. You can play with your favorite trajectory program to calculate this effect.

My favorite airgun is a bullpup and is the Snowpeak (SPA) P35. The Stoeger bullshark is almost the same thing and more readily available in the US. Either is under $500 and available in 22 and 25. I have P35s in 177, 22, and 25. I had to put a larger plenum on my P35-25 to get it shooting well with 34 grain pellets but if you want to use lighter ones it will do that stock. A 20 or 25 grain would probably still work fine with good placement. With the added plenum I am right at 50 ft lbs, without it I was in the low 40s as received and I retuned it downward to shoot H&N FTTs which are only about 20 grains. I killed 18 squirrels with it in that configuration. These are regulated plastic stock airguns weighing 5-6 lbs. P35 is about 5 lbs, bullshark is about 6. Either is significantly under 30 inches long. I just bought a Vector Veyron SFP 6-24 from Krale for under $200 and it is a very nice scope for the price. Krale is also who sells the P35s. That would leave you several hundred for a compressor. It would be a really nice setup.

I'd go with the 22, however. Mine arrived shooting low 30s fpe and with it's favorite 21 grain H&N Baracuda Match it's about 32. All my P35s are accurate, all have scored at least a 194 on the 30 yard challenge, but the 22 is the most accurate, it's done a 200. But there is a bit of luck with under $500 airguns and I'm sure not all 22 caliber P35s are that accurate. But a low 190s gun is a very reasonable expectation and should make head shots very possible. I just see a 22 as the best combination of power and shot count. I've killed a small raccoon with my P35-22, with head shots it should easily take the largest iguana. But it would still give you around 70 shots per fill. If you tune a 25 in the low 40s you'd get at least 50 shots per fill. With my 50 fpe tune I'm getting about 40 shots.
 
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I hunt about every day most shots have to be offhand, (non supported). I can tell you weight should be in the top of your criteria. Heavier they are the harder they are to shoot well offhanded in many of the positions you are forced to make. The Benjamin Armada you mentioned is 7.3 lbs. I would bet that weight is low, no matter your going to be 8.5 - 9lbs when you equip it.

Iguana's need shot in the brain to drop them. If your buying the gun just to shoot them a 25 is not a good choice. It is going to carry further and do more damage in a residential area. Someone mentioned the Notos a 22 cal. I have one and it would be perfect for hunting Iguanas. My choice would be an AEA SS in 22 cal. It's small and accurate. It comes as a semi auto but easily converts to bolt. I use the semi auto function with mine. Follow up shots are instantanious, which is handy for squirrels and probably Iguanas.
 
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Sicumj said:
I hunt about every day most shots have to be offhand, (non supported). I can tell you weight should be in the top of your criteria. Heavier they are the harder they are to shoot well offhanded in many of the positions you are forced to make. The Benjamin Armada you mentioned is 7.3 lbs. I would bet that weight is low, no matter your going to be 8.5 - 9lbs when you equip it.

Iguana's need shot in the brain to drop them. If your buying the gun just to shoot them a 25 is not a good choice. It is going to carry further and do more damage in a residential area. Someone mentioned the Notos a 22 cal. I have one and it would be perfect for hunting Iguanas. My choice would be an AEA SS in 22 cal. It's small and accurate. It comes as a semi auto but easily converts to bolt. I use the semi auto function with mine. Follow up shots are instantanious, which is handy for squirrels and probably Iguanas.
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It's a fantastic gun once it's tuned! I put a regulator on mine and plugged 5 of the 8 orifices to control bolt bounce and got it sitting at 800fps with 14.39gr HP's
 
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Sicumj said:
I hunt about every day most shots have to be offhand, (non supported). I can tell you weight should be in the top of your criteria. Heavier they are the harder they are to shoot well offhanded in many of the positions you are forced to make. The Benjamin Armada you mentioned is 7.3 lbs. I would bet that weight is low, no matter your going to be 8.5 - 9lbs when you equip it.

Iguana's need shot in the brain to drop them. If your buying the gun just to shoot them a 25 is not a good choice. It is going to carry further and do more damage in a residential area. Someone mentioned the Notos a 22 cal. I have one and it would be perfect for hunting Iguanas. My choice would be an AEA SS in 22 cal. It's small and accurate. It comes as a semi auto but easily converts to bolt. I use the semi auto function with mine. Follow up shots are instantanious, which is handy for squirrels and probably Iguanas.
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I agree that lighter is better. The AEA ss in .25 and .22 looks to be sold out everywhere
 
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Flpanhandler said:
Don’t you also do a conversation to increase bottle size? Can you PM me with the details on that?
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I certainly do! PM incoming

Notos basic bottle conversion.jpg
 
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Flpanhandler said:
My top contenders right now in no order are
Avenge-x bottle either bullpup or tac
Benjamin armada
Brocock Sahara (don’t know a lot about this one)
I’d love to find a used huben for 1k
Or a Brocock bantam for $600
As mentioned above but that may be a long wait
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You mentioned being new to air rifles, before opening your wallet I would suggest finding opportunities to handle the various offerings. It’s hard to know what you like without knowing your dislikes. Personally an 8lb+ air rifle with 17’’ barrel is a little cumbersome for 20 yards. You’re welcome to come to Naples and borrow an Atomic XR for a weekend. It’s not on your list, but may help to put attributes into perspective when comparing to larger air rifles.

What did you shoot with your friend?
 
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Flpanhandler said:
I will be taking a lot of shots from a boat, much harder to get a kill shot that way so I’d prefer to have a little more stopping power. Also, yes a lot of it is in residential areas on foot or from a boat.
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Just make sure you're not shooting towards someone's personal property from a boat without their permission. That's a felony offense.
 
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Sicumj said:
I hunt about every day most shots have to be offhand, (non supported). I can tell you weight should be in the top of your criteria. Heavier they are the harder they are to shoot well offhanded in many of the positions you are forced to make. The Benjamin Armada you mentioned is 7.3 lbs. I would bet that weight is low, no matter your going to be 8.5 - 9lbs when you equip it.

Iguana's need shot in the brain to drop them. If your buying the gun just to shoot them a 25 is not a good choice. It is going to carry further and do more damage in a residential area. Someone mentioned the Notos a 22 cal. I have one and it would be perfect for hunting Iguanas. My choice would be an AEA SS in 22 cal. It's small and accurate. It comes as a semi auto but easily converts to bolt. I use the semi auto function with mine. Follow up shots are instantanious, which is handy for squirrels and probably Iguanas.
Click to expand...
Meaning no offense to your advice, but I feel it is a tad "off" for South FL iguana hunting. I regularly hunt with .22, .25, and .30 rifles, and hands down my favorite for iguanas is the .25 or the .30. While a quality PCP in .22 will mangle their brains nicely with a well-placed shot, that is VERY difficult from a rocking boat. On land, no issue. But I still prefer the .25 or .30 unless I am shooting them at 75-100 yards; then the .22 reigns supreme for sure.

To put it into perspective, I have killed hundreds of iguanas with my Umarex Gauntlet .25. And have had more one-shot kills with it than all my other guns combined.
 
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I'm not saying 22 is king. What I am saying is 25 and 30 is more a risk shooting in residential area's. Ill have to bow to your experience as far as downrange concerns. But what i see on video's of iguana hunts looks like boats and houses are in the way when shots are made.

I have a question for a Florida hunter. Why do they catch Pythons by hand instead of just shooting them in the back of the head and throwing them in the back of the truck?
 
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Treks said:
You mentioned being new to air rifles, before opening your wallet I would suggest finding opportunities to handle the various offerings. It’s hard to know what you like without knowing your dislikes. Personally an 8lb+ air rifle with 17’’ barrel is a little cumbersome for 20 yards. You’re welcome to come to Naples and borrow an Atomic XR for a weekend. It’s not on your list, but may help to put attributes into perspective when comparing to larger air rifles.

What did you shoot with your friend?
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If I’m ever that way I’ll definitely hit you up. When I was with him he had 2 avenger classics with wood stock in .25 and .22 both were very heavy but I was more successful with the .25 than the .22 he also has an impact m3 in .30 which was fun to shoot but the optics were set up for longer range than we were shooting so it wasn’t ideal.
 
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F6Hawk said:
Meaning no offense to your advice, but I feel it is a tad "off" for South FL iguana hunting. I regularly hunt with .22, .25, and .30 rifles, and hands down my favorite for iguanas is the .25 or the .30. While a quality PCP in .22 will mangle their brains nicely with a well-placed shot, that is VERY difficult from a rocking boat. On land, no issue. But I still prefer the .25 or .30 unless I am shooting them at 75-100 yards; then the .22 reigns supreme for sure.

To put it into perspective, I have killed hundreds of iguanas with my Umarex Gauntlet .25. And have had more one-shot kills with it than all my other guns combined.
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This was my experience as well. From a rocking boat .22 is tough and you almost always HAVE to get a kill shot with it. With a .25 if you’re a little off it almost always stopped them long enough to get a second shot in for a kill
 
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Sicumj said:
I'm not saying 22 is king. What I am saying is 25 and 30 is more a risk shooting in residential area's. Ill have to bow to your experience as far as downrange concerns. But what i see on video's of iguana hunts looks like boats and houses are in the way when shots are made.

I have a question for a Florida hunter. Why do they catch Pythons by hand instead of just shooting them in the back of the head and throwing them in the back of the truck?
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Yes there are a lot of residential areas but most of the time if not all, from the water someone’s property is 8-15 foot elevation higher and the iguanas are closer to the water so there is no risk of damaging property. If there is a down range risk you just don’t take the shot and keep moving down the canal.
As far as the pythons, a lot of the python guys are snake lovers and it’s more exciting for them to catch a wild 6 foot plus python by hand. They rarely run when encountered so it’s fairly easy. But anyone who isn’t a snake lover just shoots them. There’s also no skill in that though, because like I said, they just sit there.
 
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How about this one -

www.airgunrevisions.com

Marauder Shawty HP .25 - Airgun Revisions

The Airgun Revisions Shawty HP is something quite unique. Not only is it a truly rugged gun backed by AR's first ever 7 year warranty, The spec's on it is truly out of this world for a none regulated, basic and simple design. Guns are built to order so please…
www.airgunrevisions.com www.airgunrevisions.com
 
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Never hunted an iguana but I have hunted with a Notos, a .25 Avenger, and a .22 BRK Sniper XR.
The BRK is the best of them, best shot count per fill, most accurate, most well made, etc. It's only downside is it is kind of heavy(because it's well built). It's superbly balanced, just heavier than I was expecting.
That being said, I love shooting my .25 Avenger! It hits hard and is almost as accurate as my BRK. It's the regular version and the length can be a challenge over time. If I can use sticks while shooting that helps a lot.
The Notos is awesome up close. A Firewalker prepped Notos would be great. It should also be the lightest and most compact, even with the bottle.
If I had to pick one...I'd get a BRK Sniper in .25cal instead of .22cal.
If I could live with .22, I'd pick a Firewalker Notos for all day shooting comfort.
.22 is also cheaper to shoot and ammo is available at any Walmart, not so with .25 in my experience.
 
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