Hello from Maine - newbie question(s)

[GreX]

Hello all-
Just joined the forum today as I'm starting to find myself wanting to tap back into my childhood and the joy of shooting bb-guns was. I'm looking for a bit of guidance/direction to go for my first big-kid's pellet gun. I was looking to get an FX-boss, but it appears that has been discontinued or at least stopped being sold in the US? Not sure if that is too much rifle for a first timer? I read some of the posts here for newbies, and starting off with a lower end rifle to see if you (I) would enjoy it, but I also tend to live under the "buy once, cry once" mentality (to a limit, given this is my first go as an adult, I'm not looking to drop $3k-$5 for gun and other items).

I would only be using this for target shooting in the backyard and could easily setup targets at 25, 50, 100 (or even further) yards. My neighbors have said they don't care if I'm shooting out back, but I do want something that is as quiet as possible, as I am one that gets annoyed with other folks making abnormal loud noises, so I'd like to respect that.

I see there are a couple FX Crown's in the classifieds, which kind of speak to me, 1 -they're a little lighter on the wallet than new, 2 - they seem to be spec'd with scopes - iron sights are a bit too clumsy for me these days, and 3 - I'm sure buying off a site like this, they'd be coming from folks who actually took care of, and enjoyed them, just looking to give them another life.

I know I need to buy a different air compressor, so I've ordered a Yong Heng with auto-shut off, and still need to pick up the oil/water separator filter, would I also need to get a bottle, if I'm always shooting from the house? I see lots of folks state they fill a tank, then then gun, but I'm guessing it's okay to simply fill the gun?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice.
-greg

 

[coastal drifter]

The Yong Heng is water cooled (preferably ice water), never start it while it is under pressure as it will burn up the motor, most people use a better water pump like for a wet tile saw you can buy at home depot. I used a Ryobi one. Definitely a filter/water Seperator. Palm Beach Airguns has a nice Wildcat M3 sniper for a good price, (used)

 

[LDP]

Are you going to use pellets or slugs? I have two crown mk2 in the grs stocks. They are very accurate but I think they are more suited to pellets than slugs. I have read people having success with slugs in them but I never could get slug performance out of mine. I use a panthera and an impact m3 for slugs. I have a target board and spinners that I shoot @ 93 yds regularly with my pcp rifles and my crown .25 with a 600mm barrel is deadly at that range. Lots of consecutive shots on pest birds and spinners.

Heres a pic of the spinner I shoot @93 yds. Its not a large spinner. One day I decided to see how many shots in a row I could make on this spinner with my .25 crown. First 3 dead hits 4th shot barely nicked it and the 5th shot was another solid hit.

 

[GreX]

The Yong Heng is water cooled (preferably ice water), never start it while it is under pressure as it will burn up the motor, most people use a better water pump like for a wet tile saw you can buy at home depot. I used a Ryobi one. Definitely a filter/water Seperator. Palm Beach Airguns has a nice Wildcat M3 sniper for a good price, (used)

Thanks for the heads up on both accounts. Given I've only ordered the pump, would I be better off going for the VEVOR portable air compressor, says no need for water or oil, or is that a junker?

As for the Wildcat M3, and reading more on here, it seems like as a noobie I should stick with .22 for ease of finding pellets as well as the reduced cost?

 

[GreX]

Are you going to use pellets or slugs? I have two crown mk2 in the grs stocks. They are very accurate but I think they are more suited to pellets than slugs. I have read people having success with slugs in them but I never could get slug performance out of mine. I use a panthera and an impact m3 for slugs. I have a target board and spinners that I shoot @ 93 yds regularly with my pcp rifles and my crown .25 with a 600mm barrel is deadly at that range. Lots of consecutive shots on pest birds and spinners.

Heres a pic of the spinner I shoot @93 yds. Its not a large spinner. One day I decided to see how many shots in a row I could make on this spinner with my .25 crown. First 3 dead hits 4th shot barely nicked it and the 5th shot was another solid hit.
View attachment 460208

I don't know actually. I assume pellets would be more for target shooting, and slugs for hunting? I may take a shot at a pest (mouse or similar) in the future, once I know how to hit a target, but not my primary goal - mostly looking for something fun to do while outside and no other tasks/chores need doing.

That's crazy how accurate those things are, wow!

 

[coastal drifter]

Thanks for the heads up on both accounts. Given I've only ordered the pump, would I be better off going for the VEVOR portable air compressor, says no need for water or oil, or is that a junker?

As for the Wildcat M3, and reading more on here, it seems like as a noobie I should stick with .22 for ease of finding pellets as well as the reduced cost?

Yes that's why I shoot 22 also. The good thing about most FX rifles is you can change Barrels/calibers if you decide you wanted to. I really don't know much about mid priced compressors, in my opinion most are made in China and re-branded.. I have been messing around with PCPs for about 10 yrs now and bought a Alkin. As you said buy once cry once. There are other options like scuba shops and Fire departments you might get a CF bottle filled.

 

[LDP]

I assume pellets would be more for target shooting, and slugs for hunting

Pellets are just fine for hunting. Sounds like you will get the most out of using pellets. No fuss with tuning and hoping your rifle will shoot a slug good. With pellets and the crown just buy some 18 gr. JSB and start shooting. Of course you can try other brands and weights but the jsb 18 gr. have been accurate in every .22 cal pcp rifle I have ever owned. Yes they are very accurate. I have a pest video of my crown taking out starlings @93 yds in the wind and the shots on this spinner are also on video.

 

[GreX]

Yes that's why I shoot 22 also. The good thing about most FX rifles is you can change Barrels/calibers if you decide you wanted to. I really don't know much about mid priced compressors, in my opinion most are made in China and re-branded.. I have been messing around with PCPs for about 10 yrs now and bought a Alkin. As you said buy once cry once. There are other options like scuba shops and Fire departments you might get a CF bottle filled.

Just watched your videos, wild how silent and deadly PCP air rifles are - as mentioned, I'm wanting to find some childhood enjoyment, and the last bb-gun I fired had to be pumped up 30 times, had almost no power, and was 2-3x as loud as your videos sound - crazy what 25 years can do

I think if I truly enjoy the hobby/sport, I'd look at spending big $'s on a compressor, but I feel something sub $300 is at least good enough to get my feet wet. Best case, it works well for a long time, worst case, it stops working and burns the house down (at least I have homeowner's insurance, lol).

When looking online, it seems the .25 pellets sell for ~$0.14/each vs $0.04/each for the .22 - if I'm just shooting for fun, the .22 seems like a much better alternative, glad to hear they serve you well.

 

[cavedweller]

Just watched your videos, wild how silent and deadly PCP air rifles are - as mentioned, I'm wanting to find some childhood enjoyment, and the last bb-gun I fired had to be pumped up 30 times, had almost no power, and was 2-3x as loud as your videos sound - crazy what 25 years can do

I think if I truly enjoy the hobby/sport, I'd look at spending big $'s on a compressor, but I feel something sub $300 is at least good enough to get my feet wet. Best case, it works well for a long time, worst case, it stops working and burns the house down (at least I have homeowner's insurance, lol).

When looking online, it seems the .25 pellets sell for ~$0.14/each vs $0.04/each for the .22 - if I'm just shooting for fun, the .22 seems like a much better alternative, glad to hear they serve you well.

Consider buying a used Brocock commander or ghost or a Daystate wolverine is an excellent choice and both have great warranties! 3-5 years and transferable. Either .177 or .22 are appropriate calibers. Brocock ghost allows you to change calibers and tune easily.

 

[bubbapearson]

Hello all-
Just joined the forum today as I'm starting to find myself wanting to tap back into my childhood and the joy of shooting bb-guns was. I'm looking for a bit of guidance/direction to go for my first big-kid's pellet gun. I was looking to get an FX-boss, but it appears that has been discontinued or at least stopped being sold in the US? Not sure if that is too much rifle for a first timer? I read some of the posts here for newbies, and starting off with a lower end rifle to see if you (I) would enjoy it, but I also tend to live under the "buy once, cry once" mentality (to a limit, given this is my first go as an adult, I'm not looking to drop $3k-$5 for gun and other items).

I would only be using this for target shooting in the backyard and could easily setup targets at 25, 50, 100 (or even further) yards. My neighbors have said they don't care if I'm shooting out back, but I do want something that is as quiet as possible, as I am one that gets annoyed with other folks making abnormal loud noises, so I'd like to respect that.

I see there are a couple FX Crown's in the classifieds, which kind of speak to me, 1 -they're a little lighter on the wallet than new, 2 - they seem to be spec'd with scopes - iron sights are a bit too clumsy for me these days, and 3 - I'm sure buying off a site like this, they'd be coming from folks who actually took care of, and enjoyed them, just looking to give them another life.

I know I need to buy a different air compressor, so I've ordered a Yong Heng with auto-shut off, and still need to pick up the oil/water separator filter, would I also need to get a bottle, if I'm always shooting from the house? I see lots of folks state they fill a tank, then then gun, but I'm guessing it's okay to simply fill the gun?

Thanks in advance for any/all advice.
-greg

It seems you've decided to go with PCP, which sounds like it should be about perfect for your situation. There are many incredibly nice PCP airguns available at very good prices, considering their performance, although I've never really thought about getting into that side of the hobby, as the expense for even the basics seems a bit extravagant for our (the wife and me) retirement income. Another big consideration for me personally is being a bit gimped up as I'm nearing seventy. I simply can't get out to enjoy hunting nowadaze, and since we also live in town (I -can- shoot out in our small fenced-in back yard (very good neighbors), but don't do it very often, especially if my neighbors also are outside), most of my airgun use is indoor target shooting at thirty feet. Consequently, I also don't need that kind of power. Heck, even my few break barrel rifles and pistols are overpowered for my needs, although if I needed to rid the yards of a rat or other pest, it's nice to have them available). Given all that, the majority of my airguns are CO2 and variable pump models, the latter type being my favorite.

While you obviously are looking for affordable but better PCP carbines and rifles (some semi-serious envy here), maybe you still would enjoy having a pumper for the general utility, as well as the increased challenge of getting accuracy at distance. The Seneca Dragonfly Mk2 air rifles (available in both .177 and .22 caliber) should be able to reach out there a good bit, and could be an inexpensive option, compared to a PCP rifle, even with a decent scope added. As I mentioned, I do have a preference for the type, but thought you still might like having something that's basically just a knock-around, general-purpose and inexpensive plinker to pick up now and then just for plain good fun, and I think pumpers fit that bill perfectly. I used to keep one behind the seat of my pickemup for example, which often came in handy for impromptu entertainment, especially out in the boonies. ;-) Some of the other better but affordable models include the very nice Crosman C362, which has to be the best .22 pumper bargain ever at just over $100 (great little carbine) deliverd, and of course, the Benjamin 392 and 397 air rifles also are powerful enough to reach out there a bit too, although putting glass on them isn't the straightforward process it should be. You also could get on the Crosman website and use their Custom Shop to design your own customized pumper or CO2 carbine (in your choice of .177 or .22 caliber). My wife let me do that as my anniversary gift (what a gal!), so I put together an awesome little carbine with the 1300KT (it seems to be a clone of the Crosman American Classic pump pistol) as a starting point, added everything nice I could to it. Eventually, I ended up with a fantastic little shooter, almost exactly the same length as my C362, with shoulder stock, metal breech, 18 inch rifled barrel, muzzle brake and a Williams notched sight setup, all of which turned out to be one of my very best and most accurately shooting air rifles! Considering it was roughly $210 delivered (with a $10 lifetime warranty I tacked on), I consider it an amazing bargain as well.

Of course, the one thing about variable pumpers is that second word there... they do require pumping up for their power. The C362 and Benjamin rifles need only eight, which is very nice (and the C362 is SUPER easy to pump up even all the way), but most variable pump airguns need 10 -- or more. Many folks just don't like that at all, although I actually consider it a major asset -- I can't choose my shooting power for every shot with any other airgun as easily as I can with a pumper, plus, all I need is a pumper and some pellets and I'm all set! Whether for 10 and 20 yard target shooting using just a few pumps, or (if I actually could still do that) going to full power to get out and snag something for dinner. They're also handy to take out many of the small pests that enjoy human occupied areas, but a bit less so if you can't nail the critter with one shot. After all, a follow-up shot after 8 or 10 additional pumps isn't too likely, but hey, that's just another challenge to master. ;-)

Anyway, based on your post, I'm quite sure you'll end up with a fantastic air rifle and all the other associated goodies, whatever your decision. I thought I'd throw out the idea of getting yourself a cheap, knock-around, utilitarian pumper too, just in case. Then again, if you REALLY wanted to go cheap for an air rifle, practically no-worries cash, there are MANY variable pumpers available from under half to three quarters of a C-note from which to choose, some of them fairly nice, considering. Again, this probably is just a bunch of extraneous FYI you don't and didn't really need, but I hope you don't mind: I feel pretty certain you'll be very happy with your choice, whatever it is. Have fun with it, and enjoy your new hobby!

 

[RickH]

My first PCP was a Benjamin Maximus. It’s light, accuarate and easy to maintain and not expensive. I pump mine up with a hand pump and get about 25 shots per fill. I also have two Umarex Gauntlets in 25. They use the same handpump as the Benjamin but it’s a lot more work. A compressor for the Gauntlet would be a good idea. Again, not the most expensive but mine shoot nicely. There is a huge number of other options. I’d start with something simple and see how you like it before buying higher end.

Rick H.

 

[Gerry52]

WELCOME ABOARD! It's truly a shame FX no longer sees fit to market their classic design, out of the box, laser accurate guns. My Boss is staying with me til I kick the bucket! It's a very simple gun & not "too much" for a newb but I'd suggest a .25 or a .22. There's not much variety in the way of .30 pellets, not like the lower calibers. Imho "too much" for a newb means getting a gun with TOO many adjustments, TOO many o-rings, TOO much POI change & TOO many problems! Check out the FX Royale platform in .22 & .25. Simplicity, dependability, accuracy & low maintenance. That's ALL I own & shoot. Pellets only, no slugs due to Original Smooth Twist barrels.
Front to back, Bobcat .22, Royale 500 .25, Boss .30)

 

[WorriedMan]

GreX,
Welcome to the forum. Don't assume anything sacred or holy with AGN Classifieds, takes 10 posts/10-days for new members to list something, tough to get a good read on someone that fast. Seller feedback, time/participation on forum and technical ability counts most in my book. WM

 

[John "spysir" Blount]

Welcome to your childhood. You are certain to have fun.
1st how close are you to the nearest Club? Or other airgunner, There are some somewhere in your Stat, You would learn more at an FT (any) airgun match/shoot (note: club shooters Never own 1 airgun then again most airgunners own more also), in a day than reading forever.
Low dollar -could well be money well spent just don't put double the price in modded "searching"- just know the Umarex Gauntlet's. Smooth easy cocking and very accurate (would shoot FT with my .177) is is long and fairy heavy.
Love the Benjamin Marauder. (wrong cal. but the model , adjustable cheek BP2564W Walnut is on sale right now for $375- Watch for a good deal in .22. Mirror copy of the theoben 4 (?) trigger a true two stage good down to 6ish ounces with current barrels know the shoot well. Have you seen/searched airgun revisions yet? An extra dollar but nice work for the dollar.
Personally love RAW. Best trigger period. Purchase directly from Martin (does take more than one day) and have it your way, great heirloom piece. Good deals sometimes from known shooters on classifieds also.
The Gamo Urban has very good user reports & reputation (BSA barrel perhaps) , budget priced light good for 50-70 yards.
And so many more your new "airgun friends" may point out.
Find another airgun owner if you can.

John

 

[maxtrouble]

Welcome to AGN! The rabbit hole is deep! I suggest filling your rifle from a tank. Easier to manage. I also suggest .22 caliber. .22 pellets start around 13 grains and go all the way up to 33 grains. Tons of choices. Might want to look at a Daystate Wolverine, they are very similar to the FX Royale rifle.

Spray paint your targets with flat white, let dry. Spray paint them with florescent orange. Visibility increased times ten!

Compared to this:

 

[GreX]

It seems you've decided to go with PCP, which sounds like it should be about perfect for your situation. There are many incredibly nice PCP airguns available at very good prices, considering their performance, although I've never really thought about getting into that side of the hobby, as the expense for even the basics seems a bit extravagant for our (the wife and me) retirement income. Another big consideration for me personally is being a bit gimped up as I'm nearing seventy. I simply can't get out to enjoy hunting nowadaze, and since we also live in town (I -can- shoot out in our small fenced-in back yard (very good neighbors), but don't do it very often, especially if my neighbors also are outside), most of my airgun use is indoor target shooting at thirty feet. Consequently, I also don't need that kind of power. Heck, even my few break barrel rifles and pistols are overpowered for my needs, although if I needed to rid the yards of a rat or other pest, it's nice to have them available). Given all that, the majority of my airguns are CO2 and variable pump models, the latter type being my favorite.

While you obviously are looking for affordable but better PCP carbines and rifles (some semi-serious envy here), maybe you still would enjoy having a pumper for the general utility, as well as the increased challenge of getting accuracy at distance. The Seneca Dragonfly Mk2 air rifles (available in both .177 and .22 caliber) should be able to reach out there a good bit, and could be an inexpensive option, compared to a PCP rifle, even with a decent scope added. As I mentioned, I do have a preference for the type, but thought you still might like having something that's basically just a knock-around, general-purpose and inexpensive plinker to pick up now and then just for plain good fun, and I think pumpers fit that bill perfectly. I used to keep one behind the seat of my pickemup for example, which often came in handy for impromptu entertainment, especially out in the boonies. ;-) Some of the other better but affordable models include the very nice Crosman C362, which has to be the best .22 pumper bargain ever at just over $100 (great little carbine) deliverd, and of course, the Benjamin 392 and 397 air rifles also are powerful enough to reach out there a bit too, although putting glass on them isn't the straightforward process it should be. You also could get on the Crosman website and use their Custom Shop to design your own customized pumper or CO2 carbine (in your choice of .177 or .22 caliber). My wife let me do that as my anniversary gift (what a gal!), so I put together an awesome little carbine with the 1300KT (it seems to be a clone of the Crosman American Classic pump pistol) as a starting point, added everything nice I could to it. Eventually, I ended up with a fantastic little shooter, almost exactly the same length as my C362, with shoulder stock, metal breech, 18 inch rifled barrel, muzzle brake and a Williams notched sight setup, all of which turned out to be one of my very best and most accurately shooting air rifles! Considering it was roughly $210 delivered (with a $10 lifetime warranty I tacked on), I consider it an amazing bargain as well.

Of course, the one thing about variable pumpers is that second word there... they do require pumping up for their power. The C362 and Benjamin rifles need only eight, which is very nice (and the C362 is SUPER easy to pump up even all the way), but most variable pump airguns need 10 -- or more. Many folks just don't like that at all, although I actually consider it a major asset -- I can't choose my shooting power for every shot with any other airgun as easily as I can with a pumper, plus, all I need is a pumper and some pellets and I'm all set! Whether for 10 and 20 yard target shooting using just a few pumps, or (if I actually could still do that) going to full power to get out and snag something for dinner. They're also handy to take out many of the small pests that enjoy human occupied areas, but a bit less so if you can't nail the critter with one shot. After all, a follow-up shot after 8 or 10 additional pumps isn't too likely, but hey, that's just another challenge to master. ;-)

Anyway, based on your post, I'm quite sure you'll end up with a fantastic air rifle and all the other associated goodies, whatever your decision. I thought I'd throw out the idea of getting yourself a cheap, knock-around, utilitarian pumper too, just in case. Then again, if you REALLY wanted to go cheap for an air rifle, practically no-worries cash, there are MANY variable pumpers available from under half to three quarters of a C-note from which to choose, some of them fairly nice, considering. Again, this probably is just a bunch of extraneous FYI you don't and didn't really need, but I hope you don't mind: I feel pretty certain you'll be very happy with your choice, whatever it is. Have fun with it, and enjoy your new hobby!

Thanks for the detailed post and a thoughtful response. Good insights and something for me to ponder on - seems like if I can score a good deal on a PCP, then I should also consider something like you've mentioned. Since I'm not a competition shooter, nor do I need to hit a target several times in quick succession (I'm not planning to hunt), something like this would actually force me to become a better shooter, given you have to move and adjust the rifle every shot.

Again, thanks for the thoughtful response Cheers!

 

[GreX]

My first PCP was a Benjamin Maximus. It’s light, accuarate and easy to maintain and not expensive. I pump mine up with a hand pump and get about 25 shots per fill. I also have two Umarex Gauntlets in 25. They use the same handpump as the Benjamin but it’s a lot more work. A compressor forthe Gauntlet would be a good ide? Again, not the most expensive but mine shoot nicely. There is a huge number of other options. I’d start with something simple and see how you like it before buying higher end.

Rick H.

Looks like the Maximus is out of stock everywhere, maybe a discontinued item? As for the Gaunlet, how is the sound on it, again, I really want something to be as quiet as possible, just so I don't startle neighbors.

Thanks,
Greg

 

[GreX]

WELCOME ABOARD! It's truly a shame FX no longer sees fit to market their classic design, out of the box, laser accurate guns. My Boss is staying with me til I kick the bucket! It's a very simple gun & not "too much" for a newb but I'd suggest a .25 or a .22. There's not much variety in the way of .30 pellets, not like the lower calibers. Imho "too much" for a newb means getting a gun with TOO many adjustments, TOO many o-rings, TOO much POI change & TOO many problems! Check out the FX Royale platform in .22 & .25. Simplicity, dependability, accuracy & low maintenance. That's ALL I own & shoot. Pellets only, no slugs due to Original Smooth Twist barrels.
Front to back, Bobcat .22, Royale 500 .25, Boss .30)View attachment 460276

The Royale is definitely on my radar - looks like they're special order when looking at new, not sure what wait times look like, maybe I'll stumble upon one in the used market. And that Boss looks awesome!

 

[beerthief]

I don't know actually. I assume pellets would be more for target shooting, and slugs for hunting? I may take a shot at a pest (mouse or similar) in the future, once I know how to hit a target, but not my primary goal - mostly looking for something fun to do while outside and no other tasks/chores need doing.

That's crazy how accurate those things are, wow!

Slugs are a relatively NEW thing . stick with pellets as in your yard you will not "need" slugs and slugs are $$$ compared to pellets .
Welcome to the best AGN
Stan in KY.

 

[GreX]

GreX,
Welcome to the forum. Don't assume anything sacred or holy with AGN Classifieds, takes 10 posts/10-days for new members to list something, tough to get a good read on someone that fast. Seller feedback, time/participation on forum and technical ability counts most in my book. WM

Totally makes sense, I've seen some pretty shady sellers over on a tractor forum I'm on, I'll make sure to do a bit of investigative work (as much as I can) when looking in the classifieds - thanks for the heads up