All right...so I did it.
After polling from curiosity http://airgunnation.dev/topic/which-bullpup-would-you-consider-the-most-trouble-free-and-accurate/ for a small light weight and accurate bullpup I bought my first ever bullpup, a new .25 Vulcan wood stock Gen2. Then I bought a second one, a used .25 Gen1 black (coated wood) Vulcan a few hours later. Yes, it's weird...but there is some logic behind it...or so I think. I hope won't be eating exclusively Ramen noodles more than a couple of months...
I waited for the FX Impact since early October. It's the most exciting and versatile rifle I can think of and will be buying it, but I decided to let it grow out of its early "pains" and go for something that holds me over and would not mind keeping. Besides my AAS410 I have a Daystate MVT with a 17in barrel which is fun but way too large and heavy to just grab and go shoot. I am in Northern VA near DC, a bastion of gun-averse urban dwellers. I visit a local 100m indoor range, and to be honest I do not even know where the myriad of local rules would allow me shoot in public even in a remote area. I decided to buy the .25 Vulcan over the Cricket for these reasons: main reason was that the cocking lever is in the middle...but also it's lighter and shorter.
The informal polling here at AGN helped tremendously in deciding.I wanted to buy a used one, an easier choice because the Vulcan's warranty transfers from the original owner. But used ones on the classifieds get snapped up so quick (same as the Cricket) that I just did not have the patience to wait after I already made my choice to buy one. So I went with a new Gen2 from TopGunAirguns where it was about a hundred dollars less. It came with two magazines vs the four from (TalonTunes?) but I rarely use more than one magazine anyway. The Gen2 (or unofficial Gen3 for some) has a depinger added to stop the earlier version's metallic hammer ping, a better bolt, and more effective baffles. I opted to add (for $59) a 1/2 20 UNF adapter to the shroud end. When I got off the phone with Petr, I was very excited and happy that he will test it and make sure the rifle has no issues and shoots accurately before he ships it. I had a lot of confidence in his word after talking with him and all the feedback I read in contrast to my (repeated) personal experience with the largest importer of airguns.
Then a couple of hours later I noticed on the AGN classifieds a black stock Gen1 Vulcan owned and tuned by Travis from Wicked AirRifles, the Flex .30 guy. I figured he must have tuned that baby to perfection since he knows a little bit about air rifles. But I already paid for the new Gen2 from TopGunAirguns. So I considered canceling the order since it was only a couple of hours old.....surely will not need two Vulcans. But I felt some way obligated to Piotr after talking with him and I figured that I can sell either of the rifles with a slight loss or may even break even after having fun shooting both for a short period of time.So here I am , with a Gen1 and Gen2 Vulcans to try out. Between replacing a countertop and floor tiles all around the house I hope to find some free time. I managed to screw up my filling station when I tried to retool from my Daystate to the Vulcan, so had no range time yet. Now with the fitting replaced, back in business and hope to post accuracy results soon...
So far this is what I noticed: the Gen2 quality/make is good, professional looking, precisely put together. The wood stock grain is not very fancy, not super ergonomic compared to my Daystate thumbhole, but not as crude looking as some of the bullpups from Russia. The new Gen2 cycles quite harsh, and it requires some considerable effort to push the final quarter inch when cocking. I read that to be an issue and I hope to resolve it either myself or wondering if it may resolve itself with time. The improved bolt still does not have a lot of leverage and with the harsh cycling (not broken in yet?) this is very apparent. At times I hit my knuckle on the edge of the stock . When compared to the Gen1, the used/tuned Gen1 cycles like butter. It was a real pleasure to cycle the bolt while keeping the same hold and not taking my eyes off the "target". Need to read the forums on how to make the new ones cycle easier. The sound is comparable to my .22 Daystate even as this is a larger .25. I do hear a very slight metallic ping when it fires, but then I am used to my Daystate that has an electronic trigger which is basically a toggle switch. The Gen1 I dry-fired only once so far to make sure it was clear when I received it, so cannot make a judgment on its sound yet.
More to come as time allows. I have a lot of questions about various tuning options that I read on the Forums. I will post shoot groups also once I get to the range. One thing that pleasantly surprised me is that I was able to fit the Vulcan with my HUGE 12-60x56 Tasco Custom Shop on top inside the original case (see photo) and was still able to close it. ****Don't say anything about my scope on top of the Vulcan defeating the purpose of light weight and mobile!!!!
I am only mounting it while testing at the range for accuracy. I am used to my gigantic Tasco More later with photos...and with lots of questions!
