Air Arms Next Step Up

[sjs]

I shoot a springer for position shooting, and a pcp for benchrest, but that all sounds fancy compared to what I really do. It is just me in my backyard shooting at bullseye with the springer, and "for score" with the pcp, on paper targets at 10 meters. But I love it and have not had the interest in a long while to load up all the gear and drive to the range for firearm shooting. I have a Weihrauch HW35 springer for my position shooting, and use an AA T200 pcp for the bench. I want to upgrade just a bit for my benchrest shooting and have two questions:

1. What would be the next logical step up in rifles? It has to be 177, have a wood stock, and not be much over $700. Also, I use a Hill Air Compressor pump and do not want to go into tanks or compressors. A two stage trigger would be nice. Iron sights are unnecessary.
2. I use a Leupold fixed 4X rimfire scope now and want more power, but it is only 10 meters so I don't need a ton of power. What would be a good and reasonably priced scope that was rated for air rifles?

It has been years since I shopped for a pcp and my initial look online has me overwhelmed with all the info out there (and the current prices). Thanks for any assistance.

 

[Florida_Man]

I don’t think you’ll find something better for 10m than the t200 for your price limit. Because that’s a darn fine rifle.

I think this Athlon Heras would be a nice scope for your rifles. The Athlon line are very nice.

HERAS SPR 2-12x42 AAGR1 SFP MIL - Athlon Optics

Riflescope Second Focal Plane Non-Illuminated Reticle...Read More...

athlonoptics.com

 

[cavedweller]

I shoot a springer for position shooting, and a pcp for benchrest, but that all sounds fancy compared to what I really do. It is just me in my backyard shooting at bullseye with the springer, and "for score" with the pcp, on paper targets at 10 meters. But I love it and have not had the interest in a long while to load up all the gear and drive to the range for firearm shooting. I have a Weihrauch HW35 springer for my position shooting, and use an AA T200 pcp for the bench. I want to upgrade just a bit for my benchrest shooting and have two questions:

1. What would be the next logical step up in rifles? It has to be 177, have a wood stock, and not be much over $700. Also, I use a Hill Air Compressor pump and do not want to go into tanks or compressors. A two stage trigger would be nice. Iron sights are unnecessary.
2. I use a Leupold fixed 4X rimfire scope now and want more power, but it is only 10 meters so I don't need a ton of power. What would be a good and reasonably priced scope that was rated for air rifles?

It has been years since I shopped for a pcp and my initial look online has me overwhelmed with all the info out there (and the current prices). Thanks for any assistance.

Get a Marauder with a Lothar Walther barrel (esp a tuned used one)

 

[beerthief]

I shoot a springer for position shooting, and a pcp for benchrest, but that all sounds fancy compared to what I really do. It is just me in my backyard shooting at bullseye with the springer, and "for score" with the pcp, on paper targets at 10 meters. But I love it and have not had the interest in a long while to load up all the gear and drive to the range for firearm shooting. I have a Weihrauch HW35 springer for my position shooting, and use an AA T200 pcp for the bench. I want to upgrade just a bit for my benchrest shooting and have two questions:

1. What would be the next logical step up in rifles? It has to be 177, have a wood stock, and not be much over $700. Also, I use a Hill Air Compressor pump and do not want to go into tanks or compressors. A two stage trigger would be nice. Iron sights are unnecessary.
2. I use a Leupold fixed 4X rimfire scope now and want more power, but it is only 10 meters so I don't need a ton of power. What would be a good and reasonably priced scope that was rated for air rifles?

It has been years since I shopped for a pcp and my initial look online has me overwhelmed with all the info out there (and the current prices). Thanks for any assistance.

ThomasT has a match rifle in the classifieds , very much in your price range . and it is a proven shooter.

 

[AlanMcD]

Nothing wrong with simply shooting informally - I think that is where most people spend their shooting time . . . .

I've got to agree with Florida Man - if you are constrained to 10M shooting, and can't at least double that distance (or more) then you pretty much have the best hardware that you could reasonably use for that shooting. Spending more won't gain you much, at least on the rifle portion of your set up. A better scope will certainly help, and I've found a quality rest makes a big difference too.

 

[sjs]

Thank you, guys, that sounds like very sound advice. I am going to take it. I will upgrade the scope. I had not realized this before but after reading these comments I took a quick look and it turns out that pcp rifles do not need air rifle approved scopes. So, I took a look at my scope collection and found a Vortex on one of my firearms that is adjustable down to 5 yards. It will be mounted and tested tomorrow. Man, I love testing new rifle/scope/ammo combinations.

 

[reptist]

you can get an element helix 4x scope for a good price new, or a great price used and I think it would be good for your uses, their scopes are well built, have above average glass for the price, great warranty and good retical choices, their scopes can be pricy but their helix 4X I've seen for just over 200 used and I haven't seen many feature rich optics offered for less....

 

[reptist]

if you like tinkering and want a solid pop rifle an 850 air magnum conversion would be in your price range and they can be as accurate as most in the price range, the conversion is not a hard or tedious project, around $300 for the gun $200 for the tank and reg, $50 for a bottle adapter, maybe $5 in stronger spring, some studying at the 850 store archives, some ez cleaning and polishing to the action inside, simple trigger mod and you can use the stock it comes with or make your own if you want wood.. my 177 version was one of the most consistently accurate guns ive owned and in building your own set up is a learning experience that changed my whole airgun hobby into a more satisfying and contemplative place where aloot new doors open to add your own creativity to the mix. Ive been into airguns for 45 years and building my own provided a way for me to understand a lot more of what it takes to get accuracy out of an airgun and added a whole new dimension to the hobby that has been challenging, informative and satisfying as hell... here are a 177 and 22 I built about 10 yrs ago.. I just used the original plastic stock to get the design to fit the action correctly cause I Like wood much better.. both are tack drivers in close and even at 50 yds or more the groups were better than any similar priced airgun I'd owned up till then, I own a fx impact m3 now and it is a far superior gun to the 850 in every way, except I can't really figure out how to make a wood stock to fit its build without

being to fat and heavy... still pondering it tho....

 

[Nico5999]

+1 on the LW Marauder. I built one of those with a Huma Reg, MDS hammer, the works - it was/is a superb rifle.

However, it took a LOT of work to tune the MROD, install the parts, etc. to actually get it where I liked it. Ended up having to replace the Crosman shroud since it wasn't quite straight, etc. If you are looking for a project gun with LOADS of aftermarket support that you can spend whatever amount of time you wish customizing it, then go for it. Even a stock Mrod is a great rifle, but you'll need to work on it to achieve its full potential.

For under $700, you can find a used Air Arms S500 XS, older FX/Daystate, etc. Before I committed to the Mrod I would scope out the classifieds for a while to see what you can find there.