Other Hunting/ field use POA change

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Redbeard381

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Aug 27, 2025
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It seems to me that some airguns are not designed for the field and have noticeable POA change if the barrel or shroud is touched. This is especially true for cheaper guns. It's an issue I have had in the field for guns where they may be sling, pulled up quickly, or leaned up against a tree. I don't have experience with a huge variety of PCP's, but almost every single one I have hunted with needs babied.

What PCP's actually don't have barrel / shroud / tension related POA impact. I'd like to hear from the hunters, not benchrest shooters. Aren't there guns that are actually free floated and firearm level robust?
 
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IMO, the short answer is no. But some are definitely better than others in this regard. I own 2 with which I would be comfortable in the woods, a Taipan Veteran (first series) and an FX Royle 400. I've had poor luck with liner/sleeve systems and POI changes. Also, long moderators that attach at the muzzle create significant leverage if bumped on the end, making a POI change possible. A solid barrel with a long shank section that is well secured in receiver, and with no moderator is maybe the best recipe for avoiding this problem. The Taipan design with a barrel that attaches with a threaded shank may be the most robust and dependable of all. I am not a fan of barrel bands, but the Taipan scope tower (which attaches to the barrel) uses a number of large machine screws for attachment, and it is very solid.
 
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Redbeard381 said:
It seems to me that some airguns are not designed for the field and have noticeable POA change if the barrel or shroud is touched. This is especially true for cheaper guns. It's an issue I have had in the field for guns where they may be sling, pulled up quickly, or leaned up against a tree. I don't have experience with a huge variety of PCP's, but almost every single one I have hunted with needs babied.

What PCP's actually don't have barrel / shroud / tension related POA impact. I'd like to hear from the hunters, not benchrest shooters. Aren't there guns that are actually free floated and firearm level robust?
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Along with @L.Leon is saying

FX Panthera Hunter Compact
FX Leopard
FX DRSUragan 1, 2, 3
Vulcan 2, 3
Leshiy Classic
Leshiy 2
Taipan vet
Cricket
 
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Manufacturers need to move away from putting shrouds over barrels. Shrouds came about as a legal way to muffle the report at a time when it was un-clear whether suppressors were legal or not in the US. Now that it's clear, there is no need for a shroud that adds another source to complicate barrel harmonics.

My hunting rifles are steel barrel, no shrouds and my zero is reliable from day-to-day heading into the field. While in the field I carefully lean my rifles against trees, etc and I get no change in POI.
 
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BBGunn said:
Manufacturers need to move away from putting shrouds over barrels. Shrouds came about as a legal way to muffle the report at a time when it was un-clear whether suppressors were legal or not in the US. Now that it's clear, there is no need for a shroud that adds another source to complicate barrel harmonics.

My hunting rifles are steel barrel, no shrouds and my zero is reliable from day-to-day heading into the field. While in the field I carefully lean my rifles against trees, etc and I get no change in POI.
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I will have to disagree with you, for those who shoot an open areas, sure shooting a shroudless PCP would work just fine. But for those who can only shoot in their backyards, and it needs to be quiet.

I have taken apart my uragans and Vulcan shrouds off, top rail, out everything back on and at 50yds it's only ever been .1 mil off from original POI. I can only grab them by the shroud either carrying them or switching hands and poi will not shift. These companies really just need to secure their barrels better. 1-2 screw pinching the barrel isn't enough, AGT uses 8 large hex screws.

There is no reason we shouldn't be able to have quiet and reliable air guns.
 
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JaceSpace1369 said:
I will have to disagree with you, for those who shoot an open areas, sure shooting a shroudless PCP would work just fine. But for those who can only shoot in their backyards, and it needs to be quiet.

I have taken apart my uragans and Vulcan shrouds off, top rail, out everything back on and at 50yds it's only ever been .1 mil off from original POI. I can only grab them by the shroud either carrying them or switching hands and poi will not shift. These companies really just need to secure their barrels better. 1-2 screw pinching the barrel isn't enough, AGT uses 8 large hex screws.

There is no reason we shouldn't be able to have quiet and reliable air guns.
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Sorry, I didn't explain well enough. I was no advocating shooting unsuppressed. I was saying to ditch the shrouds and thread muzzle end to add a common suppressor. Why add anything on, or over the barrel that may (or may not) create inconsistency to harmonics?
 
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BBGunn said:
Sorry, I didn't explain well enough. I was no advocating shooting unsuppressed. I was saying to ditch the shrouds and thread muzzle end to add a common suppressor. Why add anything on, or over the barrel that may (or may not) create inconsistency to harmonics?
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Your explanation was just fine, my point which I did not succeed in coming clear through with. Is that unshroudedp cps regardless of power even with a can on them are much louder, are usually no longer backyard quiet unless you're out in the country.

If you have a foolproof and secure barrel system you don't really have to worry about other things harmonically and balancing the gun.

For example, I currently have 2 M4's. All FX impacts suffer from low first shotand some suffer from a slow climb for several shots. Neither of mine do the later. Some impacts also suffer from flimsy poi shift if you touch the barrels. I have gone as far as switching mods on my M4 .22 and having the poi remain the same when going back to the first mod. This is likely due to increased tolerances. I also dont have any aftermarket parts on the gun. The more secure of a barrel system you have, the less issues down the line. I still won't carry by the barrel as I know it's not fool prove but it does have improvements, atleast mine done.

I also have a pantherw hunter compact .30 and that's is solid. I have swung that around from one hand to another with zero poi issues the new dynamic block systems are truly robust.
 
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boscoebrea said:
I like shrouds because I dislike looking at skinny barrels, plus I don't like looking at a pickle at the end of the barrel.
Harmonics, yes, there is a small problem; it's not enough to affect the accuracy significantly enough to miss a head shot on any rodent.
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Having a shroud also means having to do less maintenance on a barrel that is potentially going to rust without one.
drsquall said:
@JaceSpace1369 would know with as much shooting as he does with different guns getting in and out of vehicles for his job of knocking down the iguana population! The AGT series of guns are bulletproof along with taipans. I'm sure he has bumped more than one gun during the day
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Thanks for the kind words and you're right I have actually done worse, I've dropped one or two. One was my old mk2 impact, i dropped it from my golf cart. The barrel housing got bent, i straightes it up at home and it was back to shooting like before.

Another was my U2 22 700mm fell from the hood of my car to the grass. The scope put a dent in my hood, but I never loss POI.
 
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Some of the issue of shrouded barrels, or not, comes down to personal preference. Just like how folks favor the looks of one rifle style over another.

With regard to performance, to my way of thinking less design complexity is always preferred over more design complexity. The old, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' applies to added parts attached to the barrel. Points of contact with mounting the shroud, along with interior baffling, etc are all potential problems that don't need to exist (in my opinion).

'Each to their own', or course. No argument intended, just expressing my way of thinking about the 'need' for a shrouded barrel.
 
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We all treat our air rifles differently, to some extent. And, "field" use covers a lot of ground (ouch, bad pun). I believe that, in general, air rifles are relatively fragile when compared to firearms. If I take an air rifle hunting, I'm going to take a test shot as soon as practical. I don’t want to spend hours in the woods and then find out the zero is off. This is especially important if there has been a large temperature change since the last range day.
 
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BBGunn said:
Some of the issue of shrouded barrels, or not, comes down to personal preference. Just like how folks favor the looks of one rifle style over another.

With regard to performance, to my way of thinking less design complexity is always preferred over more design complexity. The old, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' applies to added parts attached to the barrel. Points of contact with mounting the shroud, along with interior baffling, etc are all potential problems that don't need to exist (in my opinion).

'Each to their own', or course. No argument intended, just expressing my way of thinking about the 'need' for a shrouded barrel.
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You kind of lost me at shrouded barrel issues are a preference. Maybe I'm not that good at reading but I'm not following on that. The rest I understand and I'm definitely not taking your responses as arguments and I hope you aren't taking mine as such either.

I definitely agree the less moving parts, and less weak points, the better.

I believe it would be pretty easy for the manufacturers to add a 1/2x20 thread of all the barrels, shrouded or not. That way everyone can have the option of having the shroud on or not. I still stand by companies needing to make sure the sell pcps that have rigid barrel systems.
 
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Redbeard381 said:
It seems to me that some airguns are not designed for the field and have noticeable POA change if the barrel or shroud is touched. This is especially true for cheaper guns. It's an issue I have had in the field for guns where they may be sling, pulled up quickly, or leaned up against a tree. I don't have experience with a huge variety of PCP's, but almost every single one I have hunted with needs babied.

What PCP's actually don't have barrel / shroud / tension related POA impact. I'd like to hear from the hunters, not benchrest shooters. Aren't there guns that are actually free floated and firearm level robust?
Click to expand...

I do not think there are any air guns that can hold POI equivalent to a PB rifle of which I own several that were last sighted in decades ago and are still spot on despite heavy use including rugged and severe conditions. The shrouds with barrels like straws and barrel bands are the problem. And grub screws retaining the assembly!

I have found the Gamo Urban with the barrel band removed to be fairly stable and the Benjamin Marauder to be relatively stable.

Maybe some of these new reservoir over barrel types might be rigid? But that FX DRS with the pretend magazine hanging out of the bottom is a no go for me. I know giant magazines are a fad in the PB world but all of my several bolt action PBs have smooth bottoms for easy carry.

I know people lean rifles in the field, I have done it of course. It is a bad habit for many reasons.
 
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