Hello all . I'm fairly new to this form . Really enjoying the info . I was wondering if buying a little higher price first rifle would save me some money from trading up . That being said I would like to get a good return my investment if I did not like the rifle I purchased . Or is that trying butter my bread on both sides ? Thanks in advance for any and all info on the subject.
How well do High end PCP hold value
- Thread starter Red25R
- Start date
You didn't state what you intend to use the rifle for. So I assume target shooting, plinking and occasional hunting/pesting are what you plan on doing.
Maybe you should consider a used Daystate, FX, Taipan, Vulcan or Cricket.
Maybe you should consider a used Daystate, FX, Taipan, Vulcan or Cricket.
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It depends on several factors. For maximizing ROI, desirability, availability, and condition are all key attributes.
Something that I find to be a head scratcher though, is not many buyers see value in barrel "grade". A higher priced PCP does not translate to higher chances of getting A-grade accuracy. Everyone that I know that is hardcore about accuracy for long-range and BR winds up spending time, money, and effort with barrel smithing to turn a "B" grade barrel into an "A+" - but the airgun might as well have an un-rifled tube in it when it comes to resale value; people do not seem to care.
Something that I find to be a head scratcher though, is not many buyers see value in barrel "grade". A higher priced PCP does not translate to higher chances of getting A-grade accuracy. Everyone that I know that is hardcore about accuracy for long-range and BR winds up spending time, money, and effort with barrel smithing to turn a "B" grade barrel into an "A+" - but the airgun might as well have an un-rifled tube in it when it comes to resale value; people do not seem to care.
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Pesting , hunting plinking and target . I enjoy hunting squirrel I have 1 woods I hunt that is up fairly close to the house . And with urban sprawl thats going to get worse . So i figure the PCP would be a lot less noise then a powder burner . Thinking 25 cal as squirrel season runs from labor day thur the end of January . Meaning longer shots when the leaves come off and the chance at Groundhog , Fox ,Racoon along the way . That asking a lot of one rifle so I need good stuff to start with . But personal likes and dislikes means alot to me . Just wondering if something was really a I can''t stand it after I get it sort of thing . If it was going to be a big hit money wise . Finding something I would like more.
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Good idea to buy a top rated gun. As to holding value I’d figure on losing 30% so yes buying used is a good idea if you can get what you want . There are always some risk buying used. My best deal was buying a gun from a dealer who had a RAW which he had acquired possibly on a trade. He had gone over the gun and it was like new and is probably my favorite. They don’t come up often like that. There are lots of good guys on the form here that buy sell and trade . THIS IS NOT AN INVESTMENT. But you can mitigate your losses if you invest time and energy and can compromise a little. Say you’d like to have a Fx crown in laminate. Maybe a good one comes up in synthetic. If you can own the synthetic and be satisfied you can save a lot of cash. I’m pretty particular and want what I want and when I want it. But every once in a while a good used one pops up. I’ve bought two used guns. One I’m really happy with the second one is just ok.
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Like anything else as soon as you buy it the value drops but you could call it an enjoyment cost. Speaking from my own experience the FX brand has satisfied me. I own 4 at the moment along with a couple other brands. BTW you could buy used/pre owned and save a couple bucks.
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Like buying cars, as soon as you buy a new rifle it takes a 20% -30% hit immediately. Buying used off the classifeds will save you the 20 - 30% and you will be able to recoup most of the cost if you regret your buying decision.
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I don't trade just to be trading if it works well and I like it I keep it and use it . I haven't bought air rifle sense
I bought a new Sheriden Blue Streak in .177 with my lawn mowing money in the summer of 65 if i remember correctly . It replaced my Crosman 400 repeater .22 cal seals went out would not C02 anymore . So its been along while sense I have been in the market.
I bought a new Sheriden Blue Streak in .177 with my lawn mowing money in the summer of 65 if i remember correctly . It replaced my Crosman 400 repeater .22 cal seals went out would not C02 anymore . So its been along while sense I have been in the market.
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I'm thinking a Higher end used rifle is a good idea . I'm always talking GOOD shape I'm not much for fixer uppers . The rifles I mentioned above I still own and the Blue Streak still works fine . Don't shoot the open sights like I used to though . Something with good to great trigger that is safe . A good to high shot count , In a rifle configuration , the bull pups don't do much for me looks wise .
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Everyone’s quest for more power has completely eliminated me from ever buying a used airgun. Not that tuning one for a little more power is a bad thing. The problem is you don’t truly know how skilled the person is that had his hands in a used gun. I have been contacted many times by guys trying to fix what the previous owner did to the gun. And yes, they paid too much. Now they have more in the used gun than if they bought it new. They also missed the opportunity to establish a relationship with a dealer who has their backs. Bottom line, most used airguns are selling for way too much to be worth the gamble.
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If I was to buy new and decided to sell it . It would be a good bet that buying it from me you would get an exception to your rule . I buy good stuff Hoping and praying that the engineers and machinist knew what they were doing better then me . Another reason for me to look at higher end guns hoping they were good enough that they didn't need tampered with . The fact used airguns are selling for much more then there worth means that they are keeping pace with everything else in this world . And I would really like seeing toughing said rifle before buying . I know my great condition might not be the same as someone else. And shopping on line has really hurt my ,hands on approach to used equipment .
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It is very difficult for PCP owners to keep their fingers out of their guns. Boredom or the quest for knowledge forum reading about how Bill made his gun awesome temps a lot of guys to roll up their sleeves. Some are successful, some screw the gun up and sell it.
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Good points ,my pinion is to get your ducks in a row....first off there are more than a few good high end PCPs, how much yo looking to spend,you sound like a person that would keep your pcp over a long period of time....if that is the case;Indeed and hopefully you can actually hold the pcp your are interested in.......old form would be like AA,Daystate,like wood and metal,something that looks good like old cars do.
Air Arms is about never mentioned anymore here...yet one may be beckoning you.....and they sell at great prices.....
I agree with Vetmx...he is right,you do not want a "worked" over pcp!
I see many fellows...over a period of time sell their stock in great shape English made PCP....why is that....because they usually do need need work,ok a generalization it is....butt truthfully the older models come wth very little in the adjustments....and they are "old school".
Please investigate ...you may disagree which fine,never-the-less you have more information to base your search.
Air Arms is about never mentioned anymore here...yet one may be beckoning you.....and they sell at great prices.....
I agree with Vetmx...he is right,you do not want a "worked" over pcp!
I see many fellows...over a period of time sell their stock in great shape English made PCP....why is that....because they usually do need need work,ok a generalization it is....butt truthfully the older models come wth very little in the adjustments....and they are "old school".
Please investigate ...you may disagree which fine,never-the-less you have more information to base your search.
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sorry I meant to say Not need work on....and I spoof read it....and still make mistakes....
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I think it also boils down to the luck of the draw. I’ve bought at least 25 used high end Airguns over the past 3 years. All but two had very good barrels once the barrel was cleaned and polished, less than a half hours work. Only two of them, no matter what I did, couldn’t be made to be “sufficiently accurate.” By that I mean penny sized 5 shot groups at 50 yards and no worse than 1.5 MOA 5 shot (real groups) at 100 yards. Every Daystate Renegade (3), Cricket (4) and Vulcan (4) were MOA at 100 yards. The gun I won (Sportsman) EBR with last year was a used .30 FX Bobcat I bought three years ago. Maybe I’ve had good luck with used guns, or maybe I’m not hardcore enough, or maybe I’m not into distances much past 125 yards, who knows. But if you can do basic mechanical work, reseal the gun, clean and polish the barrel, and tune the gun for best performance, your odds are good too being lucky with a used gun.
People might not seem to care about barrel quality because of all the Keyboard Airguns for sale used. What I mean is that every gun is advertised as “hole in hole at 50 yards and well inside MOA at 100”. So when someone actually did spend time and money on their barrel, it can’t be distinguished from all the other guns listed for sale. I think If someone “hardcore” was selling a gun that he knew was special, with a special barrel and extraordinary accuracy to the point he felt he deserved more $ than the usual gun, he would offer some sort of accuracy guarantee. Maybe that would distinguish his gun from every other gun being sold?
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I understand the last part of your statement but the problem is the guy offering the guarantee can’t be sure he is not selling his gun to a bozo. We all can talk, text, pm or email a good game. Guys with an internet education can be pretty convincing until you really corner them.
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The only dealer that I know of offering guaranteed accuracy is Rusbear with his custom 22 cal Jäger builds. He guarantees 1/2" at 100y with Katyusha slugs and nothing else. I can understand the mechanics of how and why he can offer that guarantee, but I doubt the majority of buyers on the used market do, let alone some of the self-proclaimed PCP "sharpshooters" that couldn't tell you the correct projectile diameter for their bores down to the thousandths of an inch
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I understand the quest for more power . But I still think that you can't make bone stock six banger Ford Falcon run with a GT 500 Mustang . Fiddling around under the hood of the falcon may help some but short of replacing the whole car more or less . Its still a falcon not a Mustang . My point is yep people fiddle with stuff wanting more . I see from some of you post counts that you guys have some real experience with Airguns and I don't . So I am happy with the words of wisdom . Lots of great opinions lots of good advise . Which is what I was hoping to get going , was a thread with good all around info . If you got anymore to add Please and thank you .
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Correct, simple answer is no; buy new and you’ll likely have to sell for significantly less than it cost you. Better to buy one cheap off another guy who has bought new and now wants to move on.
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I could make an unedited video of a factory out of box AG, or perfect master tuned tack driver stacking cheap to sorted pellets.
I highly doubt I’d get 3/4 of what’s into the rig in factory form or after paying a master air/gunsmith a few hundred to 1K or more.
Even with a high end Lilja or anything else that may make buyers desired use optimal. Like a Smooth Twist for pellets. A sleeved TJ with a twist rate for one dedicated slug.
They could be hitting bullseyes at 100-200 yards.
That’s me. If the tuner goes to sell the same exact gun & labels it their “personal” one? It could fetch double MSRP, or more.
I’ve found airguns to be a money pit. Wish I would have invested in a machine shop instead. I could have at this point.
The other thing be folks want to hear it or not is high end owners tend to buy & sell to each other and loose less. They take each other’s word that something is accurate and question less knowledgeable sellers. I don’t blame them for that. I’m just telling you it’s a long climb up that ladder to be anywhere near Guru status like some of these guys.
I highly doubt I’d get 3/4 of what’s into the rig in factory form or after paying a master air/gunsmith a few hundred to 1K or more.
Even with a high end Lilja or anything else that may make buyers desired use optimal. Like a Smooth Twist for pellets. A sleeved TJ with a twist rate for one dedicated slug.
They could be hitting bullseyes at 100-200 yards.
That’s me. If the tuner goes to sell the same exact gun & labels it their “personal” one? It could fetch double MSRP, or more.
I’ve found airguns to be a money pit. Wish I would have invested in a machine shop instead. I could have at this point.
The other thing be folks want to hear it or not is high end owners tend to buy & sell to each other and loose less. They take each other’s word that something is accurate and question less knowledgeable sellers. I don’t blame them for that. I’m just telling you it’s a long climb up that ladder to be anywhere near Guru status like some of these guys.
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