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Looking to take the next step in PCP rifles and wanting advice.

Hi! 

Got into PCP rifles a few years ago during the 22LR shortage and really enjoy them. Picked up a Gen 1 Marauder first and then dumped too much money into a Talon SS getting it all set up. Both are fine rifles, but now I'm looking at taking the next step to a higher end bullpup. 

With so many on the market and so many good reviews, I'm wondering which would be the best option for the money. I'd prefer a .22. Most likely would be shooting 50-100yds, but will try for longer shots as well. Debating between the Cricket, an Edgun, the Mutant, or the Vulcan. 

What's your opinion? 
 
From the ones you mentioned I like the Edgun R5m but I would go for the 25 caliber as it’s extra knockdown capability and it’s can also be upgraded to the Huma magnum version . It’s a gun that holds its resale and the dealer Edgun west is excellent in customer service. It comes in 3 lengths standard long and extra Long I would get one of the first 2.
 
I have the Cricket .25, Taipan Mutant Shorty .22, and Edgun Matador R5 .30.
Any of the above mentioned bullpups are very strong choices.
If you're planning on shooting 50+ yards on a consistent basis, I'd highly encourage you to look at the .25 caliber vs the .22, simply due to a higher BC, less drift with wind, and higher knock-down power.

If you're thinking Cricket, I'd recommend you give Charlie at Georgia Airguns a call - he has several variants including the power tune version set up for the heavier 34 grain .25 pellets. He can tune it how you want it. Figure another $20 for the DonnyFL Cricket plate to aid with magazine reloading without having to use two hands. Also, the standard Cricket shroud does not come with a removable endcap (it's epoxied on), so either you try to remove it (good luck) or have Charlie remove it and attach a 1/2UNF threaded adapter so you can put on a moderator if you want to quiet it down further. Otherwise, out of the box, the standard Cricket .25 will put out just over 50 ft lbs of energy with the standard JSB Kings, and it's a laser. Trigger is fantastic. Comes with a plastic cheek piece to keep your face away from the metal.

If you want the Taipan, either the .22 or .25 are fantastic. I have the .22 Mutant shorty (1st gen), now the Veteran is even better. Stupid quiet out of the box or you can replace the removable endcap with a DonnyFL adapter and throw on a moderator for nothing more than a puff of air coming out and again, laser accurate. Probably the best trigger I've ever felt on a bullpup - no tuning. Easy to adjust HST a the back of the rifle for fine tuning. No plastic cheek piece but not a deal breaker. Super simple magazine with anti-double loading on the Veteran. The .22 models have CZ barrels and the .25 have LW barrels.

If you want to be able to easily service your gun, I'd go with the Matador R5M. The most expensive of the bunch but what you do get is the ability to essentially tear down the rifle to it's basic components within a few minutes with a few allen keys and screwdrivers. Very easy to adjust the HST for velocity tuning. Also has digital gauge, ambidextrous side lever cocking, and very quiet with the built-in moderator. Excellent trigger too. Brian at Edgun West is very helpful and can tune your gun to your liking and provides excellent support for the gun should you need anything. Plus, Ed himself posts so many youtube videos on his guns including teardowns that it's more than I could ask for from a manufacturer.

 
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Wow! Thanks everyone for the insight! 

I hadn't seen the FX Wildcat. That looks like a pretty nice rifle too for about the same price. 

I'm hoping to pick up a used rifle here in the future since it seems like they drop about $500 once they've been shot. Once I have enough posts, I plan on listing my .25 Talon SS as well. Have invested $1500 into it with just about every Talon Tunes upgrade available. Would $800 shipped be a fair price for it? 

Thanks again for all the help!
 
Nolandbeyond gave a great write up. The .25 Cricket can easily make the most power in its stock form. The mags are 30-35.00 The gun is 33 plus inches, the size that Wildcat is now trimming down to, yet your limited to around 900 fps with the 25 grain pellets. The EDgun needs extra parts to achieve the 60 fpe. All three have video support, and the take down simplicity the nod goes to Edgun and Cricket. The only draw back is no safety for the Cricket.