N/A First PCP - need advice (Notos vs Stoeger Scout)

[Reg Creep]

You stated that you started with .177, and that you could hunt in your yard all day... please allow my assumptions (that your relatively new to the power of air guns) based on these statements. The following is based on my own "mistakes" which resulted from my personal lack of understanding.

Its been hinted at but its worth stating directly. If you are hunting/ pesting in a small backyard, caliber and the resulting energy, should be a primary consideration. When ever the backstop becomes close or valuable, you'll want your projectile to stop at/near the target.

There is a huge energy difference between .177 and .25 (heck even .22). You might not have cared too much where that 17 went after impact, but you very well may with the larger calibers. Target certainly matters. If shooting rats or squirrels I'd go low energy. Groundhogs and racoons will require a lot more energy.

I have a 22 Notos and all the space to shoot it (also have a 25 maverick, and had a 25 gauntlet, and "compete" (cough) against a of of different guns 17 - 25 in FT and Bench). If shooting rats with the notos, I'm very concerned what the backstop is as the rat may well not stop the pellet at 20 yards. If I want to shoot a groundhog, I'd better be close in order to effect a kill. 25 cal with drop a groundhog at 75+ yards and may still exit the target @ 50 yards.

Air power is a blast! Hope you enjoy.

 

[JimD]

My P35-177 has killed the most squirrels in my yard for exactly the reason suggested by Reg Creep. Chairgun will calculate your maximum range and it is a good thing to check, particularly before shooting squirrels up in trees. A safe direction to shoot is always required but at some angles the difference between the 300 yards or so the 177 can carry and the 500 to 600 the higher power 22s and 25s can carry puts things I would not want to impact into the potential path. If you limit yourself to shots on the ground or with the tree behind the squirrel you can also shoot safely regardless of how far the pellet could potentially fly.

 

[T.Satsuma]

So I've owned both. First I owned a Notos, because it was small, lightweight and 'neat'. Great little shooter. Even though it was lightweight, and I wanted to make it a woods-walker, it was too light to shoot off-hand. Too many lazy figure 8s when I tried to shoot something. Liked the gun, but I sold it. Bought a Scout a few months back. I wanted the .25 but they were out so I got the .22. Man, I love it! Having a little weight helps when shooting off hand. It's got a great warranty and I haven't really found anything I don't like about it. Hard to beat for $350. And I think I get @50+ shots per fill (?) Anyway, here's my initial post after I bought it. So the bottom line is deciding what your final purpose will be. Best of luck.

Stoeger - And the Scout secret sauce is...

So it's been a few weeks since I received my Stoeger XM1 Scout .22, but I've been getting several pellets lined up with the appropriate hammer spring setting. I've got the right numbers to shoot Hades and H&N barracuda match. Both shot well. I asked Airgun Revisions what they recommended...

www.airgunnation.com

What is the noise level like? Enough to alert nearby neighbors that you’re plinking?

 

[JimD]

My airguns are all in the upper 70db to mid 80 db sound level. Nothing that will damage my hearing but still something that could attract attention. If you neighborhood is pretty quiet normally I doubt you can find or make an airgun quiet enough your neighbors that are outside won't hear it. I measure the pellet hitting the paper target at about 85 db. A mower or kids loudly playing will drown it out but if there is nothing else fairly noisy going on people know it if they go into their yard and I am shooting. Fortunately for me, it's legal and none of my neighbors seem to care.

 

[MOhunter]

What is the noise level like? Enough to alert nearby neighbors that you’re plinking?

So I took mine out and shot it a few times with and without a moderator. You'll definitely want a moderator. Without one you'll be saying "wow, that's kinda loud". With one you'll be saying "oh that's not bad at all". Can't explain it much more than that. There's always going to be 'some' noise when shooting, so nothing will be totally silent. If you buy a Stoeger, I'd ask the dealer what they recommend for a moderator. Hope this helps.

 

[bubbahotep]

Noise level ranges from red ryder to nail gun.

Modded Notos you just hear the trigger. 12FPE/600 fps is low noise and good for plinking.

I would use a lighter hammer spring on the scout to lower the speed to keep the noise down. I dont use any of my PCPs that are higher than 600 fps, theyre just too frigging loud IMO for close neighbors.

 

[KatoKevin454]

I don't have any experience with Stoeger, always thought of them as a cheap, now the Notos I have and it is one of my Favorite guns to Take Squirrels, I don't think it could take a Raccoon cleanly, but it will do small critter nicely, very accurate with cheap ammo not very pellet fussy, crosman HP and domes work great, normas too, easy to modify, lots of aftermarket upgrades out there and it's Light weight.

 

[bubbahotep]

Moderator upgrades on both, notos vs t-rex carbine which is comparable to the scout IMO.
Air conditioner background noise to steady the AGC.

 

[Apott05]

No Stoeger experience as I am new to the hobby but I also started with a Notos to play with. I enjoy all the aftermarket stuff for sure because I cant leave anything alone. I started a .25cal build thread using some C88 parts.

 

[rotorwiz]

I have a Notos and a Hatsan Vortex 95. They both make about the same power in 22 but the notos is by far the quieter gun (the Hatsan is not PCP and I'm not sure a moderator would help much).

If you want quiet, the Notos is about as quiet as they come and can be improved further as I understand with aftermarket options.

 

[MongooseV8]

Stoeger scout .22

Compact, regulated, powerful, picatinny rail, sidelever, Airgun of the year

www.airgunrevisions.com

$319 for the Scout, $339 for the quieter Ranger.

 

[BriarpatchMtn]

This is how an unmoderated Stoeger Bullshark .25 cal sounds at 20yds to a little camcorder. Personally don't think it sounds like this behind the gun. But maybe what someone else would be hearing down range. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Excuse the amateurish video, first timer.

 

[JimD]

Some of the replies suggest it is not widely known that Stoeger airguns and the Notos (and Zellos) sold by Umarex are all made by Snowpeak, often abbreviated as SPA. My guess is the Scout and Notos have exactly the same regulator and other parts may also be shared. They clearly are not functionally identical but I don't think the "brand" should be considered different. Who makes the gun seems a lot more significant than who distributes it.

 

[Evolve 3D]

Hey all, been lurking for a while here and [I think] I am ready to start dropping cash into this alleged money pit.

I’ve had a cheap .177 springer in the past that was silly quiet. Could hunt the backyard all day and you only knew I was there when a stray pellet whacked wood. I picked up a “gamo gen3i swarm whisper fusion 10x” ~2 months ago and right off the bat, that sucker was LOUD. (I know I know, how could be such a fool and waste my money on Gamo?? Thankfully Bass Pro has a great return policy).

I’m looking to upgrade into the PCP world (already bought a cheap compressor from others recommendations).

Sound: by far the biggest concern for me. I’d prefer to have the neighbors have no clue I’m out there.
Range: realistically fairly close but I do appreciate flexibility in case I go hunting in the woods in the future.
Price: All told, I’m looking to spend under $600 between gun, scope, and other pertinent accessories.

I’ve narrowed it down to the Umarex Notos and the Stoeger Scout.
- Stoeger Scout: leaning towards this as it looks like it’ll pack more of a punch but it seems it’s loud out of the box. I have limited experience with AR builds so I’m not too keen on going to town with modifying off the bat. I’ve seen some thoughts of putting a moderator on but I cant make heads or tails of which to actually pick…
- Notos seems like a great fit but I’ve seen quite a few concerns about the small tank. I know I’ve heard “don’t get overly fixated on how much power they can pack” but hey, I’m human afterall

Any advice appreciated!

I really like both of these—definitely two of my favorites. The Scout has a bit more bark to it and really benefits from a moderator to bring it down closer to the Notos in terms of noise. The Notos is quieter and more backyard-friendly, but it doesn’t quite match the Scout’s overall capability. That said, the Notos is noticeably lighter and even more compact, while both are easy to handle. I have them both in .22, getting about 20–25 good shots per fill with the Notos and around 35 with the Scout before accuracy starts to drop off.