Airforce Airguns as a Target Shooter ????

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bfloyd1095

bfloyd1095

Member
Sep 11, 2018
927
846
Conroe Texas, United States
Hi Guys,

I have always been intrigued by the Airforce guns , but from what little bit i have researched they are not real accurate out of the box....

My crazy ass brother in law bough a LSS Texas .457 , that is WAY too much gun for what i want to do with it , and its an air hog to say the least...

My interest would be in a .22 cal , quiet as possible , 50 yard and under, Accurate target shooter ( sub moa ) , Improve the shot count, and Extreme Spread , ( regulated ) ??

Am i looking for a unicorn , or is the expense just too damn much to get one there ?

Just an FYI kinda thing, i currently have a R5M Standard, Cricket II WST, and an FX Dream Tac Custom all in .22 .... so i am covered in that caliber 

The Airforce is just a curiousity thing so Airforce guru's holler !
 
...they actually have a model for target shooting...

AirForce Edge, Front & Rear Sights. Air rifle | Pyramyd Air

PY-1575_AirForce-Edge-Front-_1510690801.jpg

 
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The Air Force Edge is a 10 meter gun.

I have one it's ok but prefer the Crosman Challenger that has a better trigger and only requires 2000psi fill.

Cheaper too see here just add your own scope noticed Crosman revamped their website too. AGMATION 25% off discount code works. Probably free shipping too still every day with minimum $75 purchase or only on Friday best to ask?

Easily upgrade it to 10-12fpe with DIY transfer port swap with 0.080 P-Rod for only few bucks. No regulators to fail plus don't need a reg and has a great 5 year Warranty.

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I was shooting AF guns back when only two screws held the barrel collars.
To start with, in order to properly tune an AF gun (other than the Edge) you will need a chrony and a lot of air to repeatedly fill the tank. 

To your parameters, the condor is waaaay to much for a .22. Been there done that. Condors regardless of barrel length, will be challenging in .22 as the valving is more ideally suited for heavier .25 ammo. 
Better choice would be the Talon .22 with the 18” barrel. They prefer JSB 15.89’s at 850-900 fps but will shoot the 18.13 but with sacrifice to overall shot count. 
Though there are regulators for the Talon/Condors, you can achieve about the same results in shot count/SD/ES spending some time tuning and flatting the bell curve.
As to the AF Edge and the Crosman Challenger, they are to low on power to provide any reasonable 50 yard accuracy. Really, they are going to run out of steam at about 15 yards.
FWIW, I have owned both and shot in competition 10 meter steel shiloutte matches with both. I shot more 40/40’s with the Edge than the Challenger. I just couldn’t get the ergonomics of the Challenger like I wanted as it was too light and not as well balanced. As for performance on a fill, the Edge I could get 100 shots and 60 from Challenger.
 
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Going to agree with Mr. Cole on this one. I have no less than a dozen AirForce guns in various configurations, both regulated and not regulated from .17 to 457 to an arrow conversion. 

To reiterate a couple of his points...

yes, the Condor in .22 is too much. The older Condors (and Talons for that matter) required quite a bit of tinkering to be real shooters. The latest Condor I got (new style) seemed much better out of the box, but I still made it into a .30 cal. Regs are nice and are an easy way to get consistency, but they do add some length of pull. I've never been able to get the 'same' results unregulated with no amount of tinkering, but can definitely get 'good enough'. I'm not saying it cant be done, but I've never been patient enough to plot out strings vs fill pressure vs PW setting, etc.

I also think that the best compromise here is a Talon with an 18 inch barrel. Should do you well at your desired range and if noise is an issue for you, you can add a mod on it and still have a 'normal' sized gun opposed to a Condor with a frame extender.


 
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Pic kept crashing chrome when I tried to post it so I had to do a link. Anyway I just built this talonp for my daughter's Christmas present with an escape bottle and 20 cal barrel. It's shooting 545 fps with the .07 diameter ring lok transfer port. I don't have exact measurements on the groups yet but it seems to be very accurate even with the 30 dollar pinty red dot.... Which sux BTW. I wouldn't think twice about getting an airforce. I know the accuracy is there. I just need to teach myself how to tune it properly. Got some threads to look through. 
 
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I know you said .22 cal but.... I have a condor ss in .25 cal and I love it. I don't know who or why people give AF guns this bad press. They are accurate if you do your work. The most needed tool is a chronograph. Then try a bunch of pellets and find the right one and stick with it. But I find there are lots of pellets and some slugs that shoot accurately. For me it is the jsb heavies at approximately 850 to 870 fps. Also if you get bored or like to tinker there are so many after market parts to try. Also I can up my fpe from my normal 56 fpe to around 80 fpe for hunting bigger critters. For the money it is light, powerful and accurate and pretty quiet. Good luck.
 
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I know you said .22 cal but.... I have a condor ss in .25 cal and I love it. I don't know who or why people give AF guns this bad press. They are accurate if you do your work. The most needed tool is a chronograph. Then try a bunch of pellets and find the right one and stick with it. But I find there are lots of pellets and some slugs that shoot accurately. For me it is the jsb heavies at approximately 850 to 870 fps. Also if you get bored or like to tinker there are so many after market parts to try. Also I can up my fpe from my normal 56 fpe to around 80 fpe for hunting bigger critters. For the money it is light, powerful and accurate and pretty quiet. Good luck.
Click to expand...

My TalonSS.177 shot REALLY well right of the box even without a regulator but the primary issue, most will run into, is ergonomics. That can be handled with a drop-down tank adapter but them it gets loooooongish. If a guy can live with the looks then GO FOR IT. I had the Altaros AND the drop-down, hated the looks.
 
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I know you said .22 cal but.... I have a condor ss in .25 cal and I love it. I don't know who or why people give AF guns this bad press. They are accurate if you do your work. The most needed tool is a chronograph. Then try a bunch of pellets and find the right one and stick with it. But I find there are lots of pellets and some slugs that shoot accurately. For me it is the jsb heavies at approximately 850 to 870 fps. Also if you get bored or like to tinker there are so many after market parts to try. Also I can up my fpe from my normal 56 fpe to around 80 fpe for hunting bigger critters. For the money it is light, powerful and accurate and pretty quiet. Good luck.
Click to expand...

My TalonSS.177 shot REALLY well right of the box even without a regulator but the primary issue, most will run into, is ergonomics. That can be handled with a drop-down tank adapter but them it gets loooooongish. If a guy can live with the looks then GO FOR IT. I had the Altaros AND the drop-down, hated the looks.
Click to expand...

Loose the stock tank and replace with a CF 3600 psi tank and it will be less "looooongish". I have both PCPTunes and Altaros regulators using that tank and LOP is same as stock. The drop down adaptor would add some length.
 
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