Other First PCP help

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cody34packer

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Apr 29, 2024
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I am new here, I have been reading a lot of posts on here and have been led to this question from them. I am a lifelong avid hunter. I have recently started hunting more small game to fill in between seasons and because it is something I have grown to really enjoy. I started with a 22lr but didn't like shooting at squirrels in trees with a rifle that had the potential to fly long distances. I switched to a 410 shot gun and had good luck but got frustrated wasting what precious meat a squirrel had to all the small pellets. I recently bought a gamo swarm magnum gen3i and have had loads of fun shooting it and I am excited to try it out this next fall to hunt some more small game with. I have been very impressed by the accuracy of this rifle from 10-40 yards very accurate in .22 cal. Now I am hooked and started reading about PCPs and planning to get my toes wet and try one out. From all my reading on here I have been led to believe that the gamo urban or the umarex notos would be great guns for closer range small game hunting. I generally get 50-60 yards or less as I am used to shot gun hunting. I am looking to get into PCP and the biggest things to me are I want something very reliable as I hunt and hike 5-10 miles sometimes when small game hunting. I generally am not making more than 5-10 shots so these small pcp's seem perfect getting around 20ish shots on a tank fill. I also want what would be most accurate in the 60-50 yard or less range. I am also interested in what is the quietest one to help prevent spooking game should I miss. I plan to get whatever option in .22 cal as that seems like the best small game load. I also like these smaller pcps as from reading they are not too much of a hassle to fill with a hand pump before I go and dive headfirst spending 1000s in the hobby incase I don't use it as much as I think. I like the looks of the notos more and the fact it seems small and light for carrying when hiking I am just wondering if the gamo urban is better at that higher end of range in that 50-60yard max for squirrel and rabbit as that is all it would be used on or is the notos just as good. What about reliability are both equally as reliable?

Thank you guys
 
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I'm new as well so I can't give you much advice.

I will say in my experience getting a compressor is awesome. But I shoot my rifle quite a bit.

In terms of reliability. This might be a bit of a hot take, but I feel firearms are more reliable. There are way more parts to take care of on an airgun then a firearm. So many o-rings to make sure are properly sealing and mags (from some brands) are not great. The QC on some guns are not the best.

Make sure you actually read the manual of your airgun when you get it. I know when I get a firearm these get thrown in a drawer. But with airguns it contains important information. Like max pressure, how to adjust hammer spring, how to change reg pressure (if you have one), ext. Depending on the gun features you could damage parts of it if you don't follow directions.

The noise of PCPs is very low compared to firearms. You likely won't need hearing protection to fire anything under .30 cal. Most have a built in modulator to help. And many have threaded barrels that you could buy a modulator for. I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. But I do believe you can get a modulator for an airgun as long as it can't be fitted on a firearm (without modifications). This is why the threading on a firearm and an airgun is not the same.

I can't really give you advice as to what gun you should get, I only have one and it would be terrible for your application (avenge-x).

I will say it is a hell of a lot cheaper using a PCP then 410, those have really shot up in price.
 
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Thank you all for the comments. I am not getting into the hobby to save money more to just try something new. I have been an avid outdoorsman my entire life and have hunted big game, waterfall, and small game all while mainly using firearms and bows but I want to try something new. I am intrigued by the quiet nature and the fact that an air rifle is not crazy over powered for small game it is really perfect for it with well placed shots.

Shaky2 said:
I have a Urban and a Notos and I would choose the Urban
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Why would you choose the urban over the notos in your experiences with both?



Yeah 410 shells are crazy hard to even find and when I do they are twice the cost of 12 gauge shells but for small game I am looking to hunt for the joy of the outdoors and because I like eating the meat so I want to do as minimal damage while still humanely taking the game. From my gamo swarm I bought this thing is crazy accurate with the scope at ranges 40 yards or less I am very confident in the ability to headshot something with the groups I have been getting. It is nice to plink around with and gives me another hobby to start enjoying as well. I just don't want to jump in and invest a huge amount of money and not use the thing, I am looking to get my toes wet and see where things go. I am looking to get into pcp just to try another air gun. I think they sound fun to target shoot and hunt with and I have had a blast with my break barrel I got it has brought me back to a kid and my old daisy pump bb/pellet gun days.
 
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One small piece of advice for buying a PCP. Don't pay attention to high fps numbers that some manufactures like to talk about.
Two reasons for this:
1. Pellets tend not to like going faster then sound. Any fps numbers they are touting over the sound of speed isn't helpful.
2. They never say what grain pellet they used for there numbers. It is quite easy to get fast speeds with an airgun if your pellet is light.
 
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Gerry52 said:
It only makes sense that you'd get more accuracy for medium to medium-long distance from a longer barrel. Can't speak to either gun mentioned (no familiarity) but physics is physics, especially with more inexpensive guns.
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That makes perfect sense I never thought of that.

phoenix_cow said:
One small piece of advice for buying a PCP. Don't pay attention to high fps numbers that some manufactures like to talk about.
Two reasons for this:
1. Pellets tend not to like going faster then sound. Any fps numbers they are touting over the sound of speed isn't helpful.
2. They never say what grain pellet they used for there numbers. It is quite easy to get fast speeds with an airgun if your pellet is light.
Click to expand...
Yeah I learned after watching some reviews that FPS is more of a gimick. For most small game most .22 cal air guns are more than powerful enough. I am more interested in something that is reliable, and going to be accurate to my hunting range from 20-60yards max and not bust the bank. And for accurate enough I am thinking a 2" group at 60 yards is more than enough as that is plenty tight enough for the small game I am looking to hunt with it and for plinking around at targets. Plus something that is relatively quiet as to not spook the game is a huge plus as I plan to be hunting small game while scouting for bow hunting and not firing a shot gun or 22lr noise to spook deer would be a huge plus to be able to hunt and scout.
 
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Gerry52 said:
It only makes sense that you'd get more accuracy for medium to medium-long distance from a longer barrel
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Barrel length has no bearing on possible accuracy if everything else is the same like quality of barrel. More power and possibly more efficient yes a longer barrel can impact both of those. Not sure what you consider medium or long distance but lets take 60 yds for an example. At 60 yds my 380mm barrel is just as accurate as my 700mm barrel. Lets move out to 100 yds and the same holds true between the two lengths. If you were running open sights then yes longer barrels with longer sight radiuses are easier to shoot accurately.
 
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LDP said:
Barrel length has no bearing on possible accuracy if everything else is the same like quality of barrel. More power and possibly more efficient yes a longer barrel can impact both of those. Not sure what you consider medium or long distance but lets take 60 yds for an example. At 60 yds my 380mm barrel is just as accurate as my 700mm barrel. Lets move out to 100 yds and the same holds true between the two lengths. If you were running open sights then yes longer barrels with longer sight radiuses are easier to shoot accurately.
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I edited my response to state "my personal opinion" (based on my experience with Entry Level PCP's). Quality of build & tighter tolerance on an upper tier gun is quite a ways from a $300 pcp. If what you say is true, why don't ALL hunting guns have short barrels? Why would a manufacturer spend more money & materials for a long barrel if a 380mm would do the same job? Why would a hunter opt for extra length & weight?
 
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Gerry52 said:
If what you say is true, why don't ALL hunting guns have short barrels? Why would a manufacturer spend more money & materials for a long barrel if a 380mm would do the same job? Why would a hunter opt for extra length & weight?
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Simple, like I said in my first response the only thing the longer barrel will do the 380mm barrel wont is give better efficiency and potentially more power. I say potentially more power because pellet weight and valve design comes into play and depending on if the shorter barrel can reach the upper limits of power and speed that pellets still accurately shoot at. A 380mm barrel shooting pellets up to .22 cal can push the pellets as fast as accuracy with pellet's will allow depending on valve design. If the pcp can push 18 gr. JSB to 900 fps in a 380mm barrel then the only thing a 700mm will do for you is allow a lower reg setting and hammer energy to achieve the same velocity but it wont get you more accuracy. So if you wanted to hit the upper limits of pellet speed and do it with the most efficiency you will want the longer barrel.

As to why would a hunter opt for extra length and weight I use both depending on what I want to achieve. I have 380mm barrels that I regularly take pests out with at 100 yds and I have a few 700mm pcp I use for the same thing. If I am just sitting in a spot and shooting ground squirrels I tend to use my longer barrels for the added shot count. If I need to walk thru thicker areas or maneuver in a tight spot like a vehicle while shooting then the 380mm gets used. Its not based on accuracy since they all shoot equally well.

I have a ton of experience with different pcp rifles and more experience with firearms as I build long range hunting rifles as part of my job and barrel length alone does not determine accuracy potential. Theres a ton of info you can google to find that backs up my own experience.
 
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LDP said:
Simple, like I said in my first response the only thing the longer barrel will do the 380mm barrel wont is give better efficiency and potentially more power. I say potentially more power because pellet weight and valve design comes into play and depending on if the shorter barrel can reach the upper limits of power and speed that pellets still accurately shoot at. A 380mm barrel shooting pellets up to .22 cal can push the pellets as fast as accuracy with pellet's will allow depending on valve design. If the pcp can push 18 gr. JSB to 900 fps in a 380mm barrel then the only thing a 700mm will do for you is allow a lower reg setting and hammer energy to achieve the same velocity but it wont get you more accuracy. So if you wanted to hit the upper limits of pellet speed and do it with the most efficiency you will want the longer barrel.

As to why would a hunter opt for extra length and weight I use both depending on what I want to achieve. I have 380mm barrels that I regularly take pests out with at 100 yds and I have a few 700mm pcp I use for the same thing. If I am just sitting in a spot and shooting ground squirrels I tend to use my longer barrels for the added shot count. If I need to walk thru thicker areas or maneuver in a tight spot like a vehicle while shooting then the 380mm gets used. Its not based on accuracy since they all shoot equally well.

I have a ton of experience with different pcp rifles and more experience with firearms as I build long range hunting rifles as part of my job and barrel length alone does not determine accuracy potential. Theres a ton of info you can google to find that backs up my own experience.
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Sounds as though you know more about it than me but I'll stick with my recommendation to OP.
 
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Gerry52 said:
Sounds as though you know more about it than me but I'll stick with my recommendation to OP.
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nothing wrong with standing by what you believe to be correct. I dont try to change anyone's mind I only offer advice or info based on experience or training. People are free to listen, apply or ignore my info. Either way having discussion is the most important thing.
 
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cody34packer said:
That makes perfect sense I never thought of that.


Yeah I learned after watching some reviews that FPS is more of a gimick. For most small game most .22 cal air guns are more than powerful enough. I am more interested in something that is reliable, and going to be accurate to my hunting range from 20-60yards max and not bust the bank. And for accurate enough I am thinking a 2" group at 60 yards is more than enough as that is plenty tight enough for the small game I am looking to hunt with it and for plinking around at targets. Plus something that is relatively quiet as to not spook the game is a huge plus as I plan to be hunting small game while scouting for bow hunting and not firing a shot gun or 22lr noise to spook deer would be a huge plus to be able to hunt and scout.
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Cody,

I've been a hunter of small game and big game for almost 60 years. I moved to PCPs many years ago for the same reasons that you're considering it.

Going to make a suggestion that I think you should strongly consider. In the classified section on this website is a used RWS Excalibur in 22 caliber. It comes with a decent scope, scope rings and a silencer / moderator for quieting the gun down. This gun was made by FX and was known as the tarantula. It's an eight shot platform with simple magazines and I've owned many of these guns and they like without exception JSB 18.1 grain pellets. The seller is asking $700 and would probably take less. Don't know because I'm not affiliated with this sale in any way.

It's a long gun to carry in the woods but not a heavy gun but the barrels on these guns are legendary. You'll need a cheap hand pump or a cheap compressor to fill the gun but I'm sure you will be happy with its fit, weight and accuracy.

Sorry to go off base but this compared to the guns you're considering is head and shoulders above in quality and accuracy
 
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Do you want something essentially plug & play or do you want something you can tinker with, adjust power, and have better luck experimenting with different pellets and also slugs?

From your original post it sounds like you might really enjoy something like the Kral NP-03 I have in .25 caliber. It prefers lighter pellets and has a similar amount of power to longer 22 caliber entry-mid level PCPs. Incredible accuracy and trigger, however. Also, very light carbine style.
 
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