Shot Count…!?!?

[L.Leon]

Shot count is very important to some shooters. But can be an overstated and overrated criteria. Because there are other attributes that trump it. Depends on what “an individual” is doing with their airgun. For instance, a 30 shot count PCP in a high intensity pesting environment? Subjective? You bet! But even if you go 75% on kills? Heck, even 50%, that’s 15 kills. The majority of air gunners would be lucky to do half that. If target shooting competitively? You have fill sources near by… I used to overly worry about shot count. Now? I just simply shoot and refill when necessary. The only hardship is to the pests. Now take the above and apply it to a scenario where you’re after a game species? You have more than enough shots. Because game bag limits are way below any shot counts. For plinking? All bets are off. Then we just want to “shoot and keep shooting”. Overall a fun, first world problem to have… Thoughts…?

 

[PBuffa]

Shot count is very important to some shooters. But can be an overstated and overrated criteria. Because there are other attributes that trump it. Depends on what “an individual” is doing with their airgun. For instance, a 30 shot count PCP in a high intensity pesting environment? Subjective? You bet! But even if you go 75% on kills? Heck, even 50%, that’s 15 kills. The majority of air gunners would be lucky to do half that. If target shooting competitively? You have fill sources near by… I used to overly worry about shot count. Now? I just simply shoot and refill when necessary. The only hardship is to the pests. Now take the above and apply it to a scenario where you’re after a game species? You have more than enough shots. Because game bag limits are way below any shot counts. For plinking? All bets are off. Then we just want to “shoot and keep shooting”. Overall a fun, first world problem to have…

Yep, and for big bore, high FPE hunting such as deer, hog, grizzly, ect; if one shot or two at the most don’t do it, there are bigger issues to resolve.

 

[Spartan]

I think it all depends on how people prioritize the capabilities of their weapon when hunting/pesting. Other than accuracy, my big three priorities for hunting are a gun that is lightweight, compact, and has the flattest trajectory I can achieve with it while still maintaining accuracy/consistency. All three of these lend to the lowest of shot counts for me since it typically means smaller bottles, and pushing the most air out of them per shot (so long as the pellets still group well).

For my primary hunting/pesting rig this all works out to 23 shots for me before the reg falls off. But that number is almost moot since I only take one 18 shot magazine with me. Plenty of killing with 18 shots.

But as mentioned, plinking on the bench and I do prefer the higher shot counts. But hunting/pesting is my primary concern.

 

[shambozzie]

Very well spoken!

 

[Ranchibi]

Very good insights Luis! I do both target and pesting and haven't had the want or need to have a plethora of shots. I've seen some guys do night barn starling pesting and that would be the only really high shot counts wanted, but, then again the birds cannot go anywhere so one can air up as needed. My RAW is a 480cc bottle, detuned, and get plenty of shots @ 38FPE for both target and pesting @ around 70-80 shots before it falls off the reg but I never get even close to that before filling.

 

[MartyMcFly]

This reminds me of the range anxiety topic often discussed around buying electric vehicles. The electric manufacturers argue that most people don’t drive over 200 miles in an average day and that having to do a pit stop once a year to recharge your car for 30 mins isn’t a big deal when making a long trip. All of this is true but most people are looking to avoid the occasional inconvenience and I think the same goes for PCP shooters. Many will over prioritize occasional inconvenience above other factors… in the end not everyone’s marginal utility is the same.

-Marty

 

[darylm]

Shot count is definitely a bigger deal to me. I want to shoot more and refill less.

 

[boscoebrea]

Great post L.Leon;I agree about pesting.
Since I handpump my PCPs I do look at the shot count, that said some of my favorite PCPs only get about 26 shots between fills.
So I usually have my "workout sessions"=filling maybe 2or 3, then shooting them and also using my springers between.
Finally Sunny, looking forward to some shooting time

 

[maxtrouble]

I used to hunt pheasant in The Great State of Kansas ten or fifteen times a season. I rarely shot more than ten rounds a day and walked probably six or seven miles. Being outdoors with friends was more important than shot count or birds bagged. Strolling through a beautiful countryside and trying to scare up a rooster was awesome. High shot counts are really rare when hunting or pesting.

 

[dizzums]

my thoughts are my prod, for instance, gets 2 good mags to a fill .. cant remember the last time i filled it, but ive dusted 6 squirrels with it, nailed a couple of 'predators' stalking my chickens in the behind, and its sitting on the second fresh mag ... maybe it will need filled and mags reloaded by the end of this month lol .. so yeah, you go ahead and put that giant bottle on your fx, i'll pass ..

 

[L.Leon]

Great post L.Leon;I agree about pesting.
Since I handpump my PCPs I do look at the shot count, that said some of my favorite PCPs only get about 26 shots between fills.
So I usually have my "workout sessions"=filling maybe 2or 3, then shooting them and also using my springers between.
Finally Sunny, looking forward to some shooting time

I get 33 shots for 45-50 pump strokes, I feel that’s not a bad trade off. Just came in from going after pest birds, took four shots, bagged three birds.

 

[SDellinger]

I shoot mostly at target rich environments like dairies. If I am walking around and get away from the truck where my air is then shot count is important. That is the reason I had AOA install a 580cc bottle on my FX400. I get around 120 full power shots before falling off the regulator. If I am driving the bottle is with me so no big deal. Sometimes I can shoot continuously so a high shot count is important. If I'm squirrel hunting I don't even take my air bottle to refill.

 

[Jasonmc]

If I'm pesting... Starlings and such I'm all over the farm shooting. Shot count is important as I don't want to lug around anything other than my rifle.. target shooting doesn't matter to me as I have my tank with me. Hunting with my 45cal.. it's a thirsty beast and usually one shot is needed to drop...well anything it hits.

 

[JimD]

I agree with the other comments. I like a higher shot count but it is just for convenience. I don't want a heavier rifle just to have a higher shot count. I also do not want to pump the fpe of my guns up to the maximum they can achieve, however. I want them to shoot a pellet that they are accurate with at 800-900 fps so the trajectory is good. I only hunt small game so I don't really care to shoot heavy pellets for the caliber, especially in my 25s. Neither of them is set up to shoot 33.95 grain pellets because the power isn't necessary for anything I do with them and getting them set up to shoot the heavy pellets would really eat into the shot count. One of my 25s likes FTTs which are only 20 grain. They knock squirrels down very well and its shot count is a little higher than my 22 in the same gun - which likes a heavier pellet. I have not retuned my 177 or 22 P35s to shoot lighter pellets, however, just to gain shot count. Both are highly accurate with what happen to be kind of heavy for the caliber pellets (Barcuda Match in both cases). Accuracy first, trajectory second, shot count is somewhere down the list. I like my 177, however, because the ammo is a little cheaper and it gets about 100 shots per fill - and it's very accurate. If it was not accurate the high shot count wouldn't matter.

 

[EliteAirCustoms]

I like one of the first comments. It all depends on what your hunting, or, if your hunting at all. I have a 30 cal 800mm Impact M3 set up for Coyote hunting with the 300 bar 700cc bottle. It holds a ton of air and its great when I'm tuning slugs. I also have a 25 cal 600mm Impact MKII with a 480cc 250 bar bottle that I use for squirrle hunting. It also does a great job, but on a good hunt I'm getting real close to falling off the reg before I'm done hunting. After a long coyote/predator season this year I plan to swap the bottles. I mean lets get real....for predator hunting your going to shoot maybe 5 shots on a good day. I was hauling around my biggest tank with the mindset that it was for the biggest animal. Its just too much extra for the realistic shooting I actually do on any given predator hunt. Squirrel hunting is a different story. I hunt dense Missouri woods and running squirrels are tough with a pellet gun. The 700cc is gonna be perfect for solving my shot count problem. Even if it is a much smaller target the big bottle makes sense. Long story short...don't let what your hunting determine the size of the tank (shot count). Think realistically about how many times your REALLY going to pull that trigger.

 

[Gerry52]

What's a "shot count"? Never mattered to me, especially since, as a rule, I hunt, not plink. My .30 Boss can do 4 mags at least (36 shots) before I top off its bottle. As you said Luis, it would be a different story (maybe) if I plinked a lot. I also have a compressor at home & 4 SCBA tanks (15, 30,45 & 60 minutes) so I NEVER worry about using air. On an average outing I shoot 25-35 pellets. Why tax my feeble brain with worrying about shot count.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Shot count only matters to me when I’m shooting paper. A lower shot count is a mere inconvenience when I have ready access to HPA. When hunting I can’t ever recall coming close to falling off the reg or shooting my guns down to an unusable reservoir pressure level. Only on maybe one or two squirrel hunts have I shot through and emptied a magazine. That was due to several missed shots.

if we’re talking tuning, I’ll sacrifice shot count for power (within reason) for higher power levels. I’d like to have at least 4 good shots available from a big bore. For smaller calibers the ability to shoot through two mags on a fill is a good minimum for hunting. If I were pesting birds or vermin I’d want a higher shout count because I’d be taking more shots while using smaller calibers and considerably less power (lower velocities and lighter projectiles). To shoot paper all day I think that I’d want a relatively high shot count once I establish a baseline tune for projectile(s) and distance(s) I’d like to shoot.

 

[Harv24]

Shot count only matters to me when I’m shooting paper. A lower shot count is a mere inconvenience when I have ready access to HPA. When hunting I can’t ever recall coming close to falling off the reg or shooting my guns down to an unusable reservoir pressure level. Only on maybe one or two squirrel hunts have I shot through and emptied a magazine. That was due to several missed shots.

if we’re talking tuning, I’ll sacrifice shot count for power (within reason) for higher power levels. I’d like to have at least 4 good shots available from a big bore. For smaller calibers the ability to shoot through two mags on a fill is a good minimum for hunting. If I were pesting birds or vermin I’d want a higher shout count because I’d be taking more shots while using smaller calibers and considerably less power (lower velocities and lighter projectiles). To shoot paper all day I think that I’d want a relatively high shot count once I establish a baseline tune for projectile(s) and distance(s) I’d like to shoot.

That sums it up well for me.

 

[beerthief]

shot count ? I have owned my Daystate for two years , the mag is still in original plastic in the case it came in . Bought an AA S510 and waited 9 days till the single shot tray came in to shoot it . Hunting i could carry a dozen pellets and come home with bag limit . if the Squirrels cooperate. If it takes more than one shot one kill ,you need a lot more practice .

 

[Chukar60]

Until this thread I would have told you I don’t think about shot count. Then it dawned on me that I know my Compact with a 300cc bottle gets 48 shots, or 3 mags per fill and my slug shooter 56, or 2 mags with a 480 bottle.
I do not backyard shoot so my shooting is usually an extended session out hunting or plinking on the go. I use these figures to manage my time away from the truck, knowing when it is time to return to the air source and start over.
I do not consider shot count as a criteria to purchase a gun unless it is very low.
My hunting is usually birds at a feed lot or ground squirrels. Both target rich environments and 150 shots a day is not unusual in either case. Taking air with me is not something I can or would avoid. Having a mobile air source eliminates my concern over shot count for the day.