Price vs power options ?

[Guest]

Hello all, stumbled across a video on pcp rifles , never knew such a thing existed, looks like they came a long ways from pop cork guns , red ryders and pumper's of my childhood.

I pretty much decided on aea varmint 22 or 25, but not realizing they are so many different brands and models on the market are their any others I should consider that are equal to power , price and accuracy of the varmint?

Going to be used for plinking with the kids and grandkids but also needs to shoot heavies for head shots on tree rats , rabbits and turning blackbirds into puff balls, I live in the country, no neighbors, and have more serious means for bigger game, more of a fun thing and learning something new.

Thanks for any suggestions

 

[beerthief]

IMHO you do not need a .25 and you don't want to pay .25 pellet price . I consider .22 a bit of over kill for tree rats depending on distance and wind .

.177 is good for kids plinking and tree rats . Lighter weight rifles and much less price of pellets and still powerful enough for the T.R. population control .

.177 pellets come in many weights , so cheaper pellets light weight for plinking and heavy pellets for TR's

 

[jfvhpilot]

I would go with .22. Carries more energy than the .177 for hunting. 

 

[bubblerboy64]

I would suggest starting out with a nice spring piston before you go PCP. How about a Wiehrauch S30 or similar. Shoot that and allow others and then move on to PCP. The pcp guns are much more expensive and you need accessories which can add up quickly. If you have family involved some one is always going to enjoy the spring piston gun and if you want to sell you will loose next to nothing on it. 177 or 22? I’d go 177 but truthfully it does matter 

 

[JimD]

177 pellets are cheapest but 22s are not much more. 25s cost about twice what 22s cost (but are still cheap compared to PB ammo).

My first PCP was a Marauder pistol. It comes with a stock and I shoot it as a carbine. But I later made my own stock out of a piece of aluminum tubing and I have a version I can easily adjust for length of pull for my grandkids. They cannot cock it but that isn't really a bad thing. The oldest has already shot it and loved it. Stock I found it a little low powered for squirrels. But it isn't hard to retune. Stock it gets more shots. Easy to hand pump since it only stores 66ccs of air at no more than 3000 psi. I still enjoy shooting it, I put a few magazines through it today. I've killed 15 squirrels and some other pests with my Prod. Out to 30 yards or so it seems fully adequate.

I also have an Avenger, a 25 caliber. It is much higher powered but doesn't need to be for what I use it for - target shooting or the occasional squirrel. It is normally a little more accurate. There are reports of quality issues. Mine leaked initially but was fixed under warranty and has given me no subsequent issues. It's big for a kid, not heavy but big. No easy way to adjust length of pull. Much easier to cock (side lever).

My latest is a SPA P35. It is much shorter, it's a bullpup. I like it the best. It is about as accurate as the Avenger but a little harder to shoot well off the bench. It is a side lever but it has less leverage so it's a little harder to cock than the Avenger. Not hard for me but would be for my grandkids. No easy way to shorten length of pull on this one either. Due to the size I think it would be easier for a kid to handle.

 

[Alawsin]

I love my Avenger and Avenger Bullpup, both in .22. Just got them a few weeks ago as my first real PCPs (not CO2 rifles that I converted to run off of paintball tanks). They seemed to come in at a very good price for power, shot count, and shot consistency. Looking at getting the huge AE Swede mag so that I spend less time changing mags.

 

[Jasonmc]

I'm going to have to say go with a 22...you stated hunting and plinking. While a 177 will get the job done just fine the 22 is just better...more energy down range with a 22...pellets are bigger and easier to handle. And everyone ends up with a 22 anyway.. just start there and from the get go..

 

[rcarlisle]

If I had more room to shoot in, I would have a larger variety of of calibers to shoot. I shoot only .177 because it suits my environment. Rural, large lots, but plenty of neighbors. For you, 22 or 25 seem like reasonable choices. Consider the extra expense of ammo and larger air consumption as you step up in caliber. PCP air rifles are surprisingly powerful and sometimes less is more but there's only one way to find out for sure. You're gonna have a blast!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, somehow managed to mess my account up fixed now.

Cost of pellets is not too concerning, will prob machine a swedge or a cast mold once a choice is made, leaning more towards .22 cal for shot count and thought it would leave room to expand on power if needed.

I should have been little more clear, all my boys are from mid 20's to early 30's not kids just a habit of calling them kids.

The more I look the more great options are coming out this year , some interesting 25 and 30 too, if I get bit as bad as you guys probably need more than one cal , looks like a very addictive habit.

So gonna sit back read alot ,watch videos and let you all review the new offerings then make a pick , just wanted to jump in and play too .

Thanks again