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Edgun Matador R3m .22 OR Kalibrgun Cricket .25/.22

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davidbotha

Member
Apr 19, 2015
14
1
Western Cape
Hi Guys.
I sold my Daystate Wolverine B type in .22 today ( I was super happy with it, but I always want to try something new). I have been looking at bullpups for a while now, and I have narrowed it down to Edgun and Kalibrgun.
The Edgun R3M (standard length) is only available in .22 and is reportedly the only one in my country. The Cricket is available in .22 and .25- long.
The Edgun is about $350 more, but price is not really a big factor.
The gun will be fitted with a Hawke Sidewinder.
I do squirrel, pigeon and Egyptian goose hunting out to 75 yards, but mostly shoot in my back yard range (80 yards).
I do not currently hunt "bigger game" but if I get a .25 I will certainly start. 
So to get to the point what rifle has the best long range accuracy? Does the extra knock down power of a .25 make a big difference? Being back yard friendly is a factor as I do have neighbors. 
So guys, which one will it be?
Any input is appreciated.
David
 
The .25 will definitely be better doing the Kind of hunting that you planning to do. Both are good guns. The cricket in .25 is super accurate. Tried and tested. The edgun is also a great shooter. Since you only get the edgun in .22, I would suggest going for the cricket in .25. Better knock down power and it's accurate to 100+ yards. People have taken game at 150 yards often using the cricket.
 
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David,
I have owned both the Cricket in .22 and .25. I currently have a EDguns in .22 and .25 standard.

The Cricket is one of the best guns on the market. The gun is simple, accurate and consistent. The regulator is very well made and it will give you a very good extreme spread. I don't like the magazine system, the auto indexing switch and the trigger on the Cricket. The parts seem a little cheap on the inside as well. All in all the gun will shoot lights out. The Cricket .25 was extremely accurate when I had her.

The EDgun is awesome. The EDgun has a gestalt that is hard to put your finger on but none the less it is there. People that own and shoot EDguns know what I am talking about. The gun is accurate, simple, efficient with air use, easy to clean and well balanced. The trigger is pretty good and if I were to complain about one feature on the EDgun it would be the trigger. The EDgun is very well made with all the machining done at a very high level. The Eddie is one of the best finished bullpup guns you can buy. If you had a Daystate the EDgun will be more to your expectation on how a rifle should be finished. The magazine cutoff is a nice feature on the EDgun and it simple to use for de-cocking the gun. The EDgun standard is only 30 inches so it makes for a very compact hunting gun.

Noise is a factor in all .25 guns no manner who makes them. I have found it can be very hard to make a .25 backyard friendly. The Cricket and EDgun 25's are not backyard friendly out of the box. The both read 105-106 db on my decimeter. There are ways to fix this however.

For the Cricket .25 I had these made


That replaces the factory cap on the shroud.











The EDgun has the same option, replace the factory shroud cover with one that has 1/2 UNF 






The question of .25 vs .22 really comes down to two main factors. They type of game and the distance you plan to shoot them. Sometimes I'll read a post on a forum where the shooter will say " see you don't need a .25 to cleanly kill a squirrel" Then I read on and find out the guy shot the squirrel at 25 yards. If you are going to shoot living creatures at 80 plus yards with an airgun you need a .25. I hold the opinion that it is of the utmost importance to hammer the prey so as they do not know what happened. I take no pleasure in wounding an animal. Animals can be cleanly taken past 100 yards but the margin for error is very fine. The .25 is much more of a sure thing.
 
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Thanks so much for the feedback.
I fully understand now the much needed power of a .25
One thing I am a bit skeptical about is the Cricket needing to be adjusted and fiddled with to make it shoot great (am I right??) Although I know the basics of PCP's and understand tuning to some extent, I am not completely willing so spend tens of hours working on the Cricket. (As far as I understand the EDgun is tuned by one nut only??)
I must say the EDgun has a certain appeal to it, and it seems pretty much good to go from the start, but it is only available is .22
So if you guys can tell me that .25 is a much better caliber and the Cricket will not take TOO much work, is it the gun for me??
Or is an Edgun .22 (slightly restricted effective range) worth more than a Cricket in .25?
 
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I agree with the .25 for what you are trying to do. I had a Cricket .25 and that was outstanding. If it wasn't for the want for something new I would still have it. Very easy to maintain, you can replace any o-ring in that entire gun very easily, and parts were easy to obtain. My furthest kill was on a dove at 106 yrds. I was able to hit 3in targets at 120 yrds 12 out of 12 times. I hope this Vulcan I receive tomorrow matches that guns accuracy. Go for the cricket .25 you won't be sorry.
 
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I don't think you could go wrong with the Cricket, the added knock down power is nice. The accuracy with both models is amazing, for feathers head shots, wind with standing the .22 easily connects in the 70-80 yard range. The .25 is equally accurate, and a woodchuck at 40-50 yards it does the job nicely. The .25 came shooting at 935-943, I bought one extra mag, and I refill the gun after 36 shots. "I have not touched a thing, using the same scope, and mounts as on the .22 it shoots a little faster and flatter. I don't try to pull out "Hail Mary" shots where there's a chance of wounding. Several days ago we were blasting starlings on a freshly seeded sod farm, at 73 yards ranged, and a 2 dot wind compensation the .22 would connect on a steady basis. An added note they are built like a tank.
 
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Dave some other people have already answered most of your questions about the Cricket. Both the EDgun and cricket have a single hammer spring adjuster. The EDgun is under the stock and the Cricket is to the rear. If you're happy with 40-50 foot pounds in the 25 then the Cricket Will only need the HST adjusted for fine tuning. There is no need to touch the regulator.
 
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Not sure where you live, but if you are in the USA, I'd give the nod to the Cricket as well. I have a .22 and a .25 and both with Donny's shrouds/LDC's are very backyard quiet. Both are lights out accurate. I say if you're stateside the Cricket, because all you have to do is search this site and the Yellow and you will find all sorts of stories about not being able to get parts or even replacement/additional magazines for Edguns... Tony at Talon Tunes does the best he can with the Eddies, but they just do not have the marketing and factory back up the Crickets have.

My longest shot to date with my .25 is 139 yards, a head shot on a turtle sitting on a log in the creek... 75 yards is a normal chip shot for a squirrel or similar size target (head shots is what I prefer, but IF you do need to take a body shot, that .25 will put a thumping on a squirrel much more solidly than the .22.
 
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So Kalibrgun Cricket in .25 it is.
If I dont need to do more than adjust the hammer spring tension for starters then cool.
Im also going to purchase an chrono so I can do adjustments propperly (I have always just used other people's just to check the velocity for chairgun) And if I ever decide to go deeper into the gun.
I will get of those replacement end caps to add a scilencer (or have one made).
For you guys wondering from where I am... South Africa! I will need to get a register this rifle as a firearm (anything over .22) and it is a lot of effort, but worth the
.25 if I understand you guys correctly.
Thanks so much for all the input. Greatly appreciated.
David
 
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I have owned both. I agree with most of the replies above. Keysersoze hit most of the points. Following is my opinion as to which features i liked better comparing each.

Cricket
Slightly better trigger
Better ergonomics of grip
Local sales & repair

Matador
Bolt action smoother than narrow side lever
Better build quality
Less complicated action
Local sales only

Both are powerful, accurate, quiet and easy to work on.

 
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