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Seneca Aspen opinions?
- Thread starter Triggernosis
- Start date
Don't.
The pump doesn't hold up. Mine lasted ~18 months.
As an alternative look at the umarex origin. It comes with a hand pump.
The pump doesn't hold up. Mine lasted ~18 months.
As an alternative look at the umarex origin. It comes with a hand pump.
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It's a pretty accurate gun and will last awhile if properly maintained. The majority of it's plastic though so won't be something you would be passing on to the kids.
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I looked into the aspen and ended up with the air venturi avenger with wood stock. Yes it is a bit more money but all I could think was how do you keep water out of the aspen.
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this was my first PCP, and i am very glad it was.
1) being able to pump and go, and not having to make a decision on fill source up front was awesome
2) i pumped excessively and burned out the main culprit o-ring in the pump within a month or two. this was GREAT for me, as it forced me to do the repair a couple of times. i definitely learned some lessons on fixing PCP's that i've used on subsequent more expensive guns
i originally bought mine hoping it would be fun/ideal to take backpacking, but it is bulky, and long. IMO its a great backyard plinker, that will get you used to working with a PCP. like guns in the same price range, expect to change o-rings and learn about the inside of the gun at some point.
there are a couple threads here and on GTA that have great info on repairing this particular gun (also called the Nova Freedom)
1) being able to pump and go, and not having to make a decision on fill source up front was awesome
2) i pumped excessively and burned out the main culprit o-ring in the pump within a month or two. this was GREAT for me, as it forced me to do the repair a couple of times. i definitely learned some lessons on fixing PCP's that i've used on subsequent more expensive guns
i originally bought mine hoping it would be fun/ideal to take backpacking, but it is bulky, and long. IMO its a great backyard plinker, that will get you used to working with a PCP. like guns in the same price range, expect to change o-rings and learn about the inside of the gun at some point.
there are a couple threads here and on GTA that have great info on repairing this particular gun (also called the Nova Freedom)
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I understand what you are saying, but I can't recommend any of the onboard pump AGs.
I have 3 Nova Vista Freedoms (2 .177 and one .22) and all of them are sitting in a closet until I can decide whether or not to spend the money to modify them into bottle guns.
Except for the .22 which I could never get to work properly, both of the .177s were excellent for accuracy using CPUM 10.5 pellets. I mean very accurate out to 60 yards.
So, if someone really wants one, I suggest getting one of the non-onboard pump models and buy a cheap hand pump. It will save a lot of time and grief for most. Also, all of these guns, onboard pump and not, suffered from poppet failure. Although there is an after market fix, I am still not sure that the guns coming from the factory have a better poppet.
I can't think of all of the different models (without the onboard pump) that are based on this design, but they are all very similar with the exception of one, I think?, that actually has a regulator. I would suggest any of those before recommending any that have the onboard pump. JMHO YMMV (smile)
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Thanks to all for your recommendations. I believe I'm going to forego getting the Aspen then. I'd rather spend twice or 3 times the cost in order to get a quality rifle that I won't have to go digging into within a year. I just thought the onboard pump was a novel idea.
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What do you plan on using the AG for? I mean, what is really important to you in a PCP? You may not even know what you want yet if this will be your first PCP, but deciding that is the first priority and not always easy to do.
I only pest with mine and my range (available to pest) is limited most of the time to between point blank and 45 yards with an occasional exception farther than that. This is in a residential area as well, so I don't need a lot of power, only accuracy/precision. Chipmunks, rats/mice and squirrels are what I pest with the occasional Starling when they try to invade the Red Bellied woodpecker nest. (grin)
Your needs may be entirely different than mine, so you have to determine that for yourself and that will determine/refine your search for your first pcp. BTW, unless you plan on shooting a LOT of pellets in one session, don't be afraid of using a cheap hand pump. I have a .177 Benjamin Fortitude Gen 2 for pesting and usually pump it back up after about 30 shots (from 3000psi down to about 2500psi) and it only takes about 30-35 pumps to get it back to 3000psi and that only takes a couple of minutes. Also, it keeps the pump from getting hot and me from breaking out in sweat! LOL!
Good luck with your search and I'll be looking forward to see what you finally decide on.
Kerry
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I have the Nova Freedom in .177. The rifle is very accurate out to 35 yards (haven't tried it any farther) but the pump just doesn't hold up and quite frankly I've gotten tired of tearing it down to replace the 0-ring. I still like and enjoy shooting it, but knowing what I know now, I would have looked for a different rifle.
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Don't!!! I bought an aspen for my very first PCP and while it lasted it was alright. The pump it self never gave me any problems. What killed my aspen and made it a paper weight was the check valve leaking. Both when filling from a tank and filling from the on board pump. I've had it apart a few times trying to fix it but to no avail. I'm just waiting until I save enough crazy money to get the Darkcharisma bottle conversion which will by pass the problem area.
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Eventually the pump will fail. Then, if not before the pump fails, the poppet will fail.
When the pump does fail, the o-band (it is not a ring) from the deepest part of the pump will disintegrate and spread bits of itself throughout the gun causing more problems.
So, enjoy it while it lasts. I did with mine... until all of the above happened (and I WAS forewarned by others about what would happen) just like I am forewarning you.
I don't remember for sure, but I think the longest any of the 3 Freedoms I had lasted was maybe 18 months, give or take. While they did last, they (the .177s) were tack drivers out to 60 yards. Sub MOA groups when I could do my part.
Good luck!
P.S.
I suggest you start using a separate hand pump to keep the Freedom pumped and ONLY use the onboard pump when absolutely necessary! That *should* keep yours working longer than mine did. By the time I starting using that strategy, the o-band at the heart of the onboard pump had already disintegrated enough that it clogged things up and I ended up blowing a 4500 burst disk on one of them and the poppets failed on both of them anyway.
Again, good luck! Too bad the Freedoms have so many fail points as they are very accurate guns and at least for me, were very accurate with *cheap* pellets! CPUM 10.5
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I'm thinking your pump was actually failing and the bits and pieces of the o-band at the heart of the pump were getting lodged in places like the check valve screwing things up.
After all of mine failed, I took one apart and found lots of tiny pieces of black o-band (the oem is not an o-ring, but an o-band) material from the heart of the pump clogging up many points.
Then again, it may have just been the poppet failing which it is known to do.
p.s.
Thanks for mentioning darkcharisma! I couldn't remember his handle earlier, but he is the after market source for the poppet and the bottle conversion. Duy seems to be a great guy and I have not read anything negative about him or his work/products.
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Kerry,
Thanks for bringing up the "usage" issue. I want a gun for pesting and general backyard plinking. Like you, I live in a residential area and probably don't need a terribly lot of power. Quietness and accuracy are very important to me.
I'm a master-level highpower Service Rifle shooter, so I'm used to shooting an AR15 that will shoot 1/4" groups at 100 yards all day long. In competitions we shoot out to 600 yards in our matches. Only accurate rifles interest me.
Quietness is important, simply because I don't like to draw a lot of intention in my back yard - not because I risk going to jail for shooting in my yard.
I want a rifle that I can sit in the corner and pick up a couple of times a week to pop a squirrel or other errant pest in the backyard. I don't want to have to worry about whether it has leaked down or is ready to go. I definitely want a repeater.
I'm thinking that I may as well just go ahead and spend the coin for a Benjamin Marauder and be done with it.
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