Springer vs. PCP

[PNWTrekker]

First off, hello. I am a new member. I have experience with firearms. I am getting my youngest ready for his first big game hunting season. Logistically, it is a pain in the butt to pack up all the gear and head to the range or find a safe place on USFS land to shoot. Then I thought, I'll just get an air gun we can shoot in the back yard to practice the fundamentals and then get some trigger time on the hunting rifles. That though hatched 2 days ago, and I have spent WAY too much time with my face buried in a screen since then. I have paralysis by analysis.

My question is, for mostly plinking, and some occasional hunting (squirrel sized or smaller), what is the best choice for me? I had decided a scoped Diana 34 .22 (hopefully used) then I started looking at PCPs. Reference the PCPs, I try to be a minimalist (unsuccessfully) and do not like starting a new hobby that is gear intensive. My garage is stuffed to the gills with my current hobbies. I love the simplicity of the springers. Rifle, pellets, and all the benchrest supplies and firearm maintenance tools I already have. With a little luck I am hoping to buy someone's retired Diana 34 that is already scoped so that we can start plinking right away because fall is coming fast! The idea (and expense) of buying a PCP, compressor, and managing the fittings, etc. seems overwhelming to me.

So... is a springer the right choice for me or am I missing out on a MUCH better shooting experience by not going with a PCP?

 

[CharlieF]

new-need-help-choosing-rifle.1333204

Read this thread.

 

[honeysuckle]

I have had a 34 for 15 years in .22. It is accurate and decent power. I hunted for years with it too. I would shoot offhand before hunting at the bottom of drink cans I stuck at random distance up to 50yrd. If I could hit 3 in a row that was max distance. Usually 30yrds but occasionally longer. Head shots only Virginia squirrels. I now have 3 PCPs. Accurate and much more powerful.
But every time I get out the 34 I want to buy the best springers made
Anyway go with the 34. Kid will love it. Hate it and then be a lifetime airgun dude you will too.

 

[WorriedMan]

Welcome to the Nation, glad to have you here. You've asked the question of the century, both camps firmly entrenched and ready to debate. PCP fanboy but I've never had a quality springer so can't speak to that. Your situation seems to call for a quality springer, at least to start with. PCPs involve extra equipment so check out the hobby with a good springer then move into PCPs if your interest leads that way. WM

 

[Sean_E]

I have had a 34 for 15 years in .22. It is accurate and decent power. I hunted for years with it too. I would shoot offhand before hunting at the bottom of drink cans I stuck at random distance up to 50yrd. If I could hit 3 in a row that was max distance. Usually 30yrds but occasionally longer. Head shots only Virginia squirrels. I now have 3 PCPs. Accurate and much more powerful.
But every time I get out the 34 I want to buy the best springers made
Anyway go with the 34. Kid will love it. Hate it and then be a lifetime airgun dude you will too.

I agree with you

 

[Rondo]

Welcome from Massachusetts.
How old is this youngest?
I’m a springer guy. They’re simple, inexpensive to maintain and challenging. Read up on the Weihrauch springers. They’re high end and accurate. All the specs are out there. Beware of video reviews.
If this person is a sturdy teen, then you can look into more oomph.
Then again you might be more drawn toward my pcp brothers.
Best of luck, gather information from the forums and have fun.

 

[Sean_E]

Welcome to the Nation, glad to have you here. You've asked the question of the century, both camps firmly entrenched and ready to debate. PCP fanboy but I've never had a quality springer so can't speak to that. Your situation seems to call for a quality springer, at least to start with. PCPs involve extra equipment so check out the hobby with a good springer then move into PCPs if your interest leads that way. WM

That’s really good advice, try a quality Springer than your natural progression will be a nice PCP, but both types of shooting are very enjoyable!

 

[rcarlisle]

Same here. PCP guy, no springers (yet), but it sounds like the springers would be more in your comfort zone. I get by fine with my PCPs and a hand pump, but I started with multi-strokes a long time ago before getting into PCPs. I think avoiding PCPs to start is worthwhile if you're concerned about the cost and storage of supporting equipment. If you find that you want to advance your airgunning to the point that those considerations aren't at play, well, PCPs are only getting better, IMO. You'll get there in your time, or not. Either way, I hope you enjoy the journey!

 

[kwaping]

If you cheap out on a springer, you might find yourself wasting that money and getting an expensive PCP setup (like me). Or, you can get a really nice springer and save a ton of money in the long run. I kinda wish I did that, but too late now.

 

[Treefrog]

Welcome!

If you're not interested in all the extra equipment that a PCP entails, consider a co2 powered gun.

Also, you can't hold a springer the same way you would a 30.06 and get good results. If you look up "artillary hold" it will cover what's necessary to be accurate when shooting a springer.

Cheers,

J~

 

[jkingrph]

Really not familiar with the Diana Models, I have an 54 Air KIng pro and honestly it is a beast to cock, but very powerful and accurate Most of my others in the sporting class are HW models. For something in an intermediate power and price range look at a HW 50. I do not have one of those, but do have a slightly lower power HW30, which I got simply for ease of cocking. It's more than adequate for my close range target and tin can shooting. Nowdays I tend to go more for vintage Feinwerkbau 150 and 300 target rifles but they are very expensive, but easy to cock and shoot. If you could find a good Feinwerkbau 124 , they are easy to cock, a bit more than moderately powerful and very easy to cock. Downside is if you find one you will probably need to get it reasealed and resprurng and that will be around another $250 to the cost if you send it out, I do not recommend doing that yourself without proper tools, like a spring compressor.

 

[6gun]

The best answer I can give is only applicable of you really enjoy air guns.

One of everything, at least and if you're lucky.

I've accumulated 7 PCPs, 2 springers 1 co2 and 6 pumps over 30 years and each is better at something than another type. I far and away prefer pcp guns for my uses. They vary from 30 dollars to thousands of dollars. It doesn't HAVE to be thousands to be great.

 

[rangur1]

I've used low to high end springers. the high end are impressive, but work. single load each pellet does wear on one. Once convinced to go PCP by fun factor and ease, one tries not to break the bank. Nowadays, there seem to be real solid lower cost PCP. Notos, avenge x, etc. AN air tank and / or shoebox compressor - your air supply for a grand and usable for any other PCP acquisitions, generally, there are.

 

[PNWTrekker]

Welcome from Massachusetts.
How old is this youngest?
I’m a springer guy. They’re simple, inexpensive to maintain and challenging. Read up on the Weihrauch springers. They’re high end and accurate. All the specs are out there. Beware of video reviews.
If this person is a sturdy teen, then you can look into more oomph.
Then again you might be more drawn toward my pcp brothers.
Best of luck, gather information from the forums and have fun.

13.

 

[PNWTrekker]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Given the input, I think I'll snoop around for a good deal on a Diana 34 or similar. As some of you mentioned, I will probably end up having a blast, slip fall down and accidently buy a PCP as well. Best case scenario, I get a springer I love and never stray. Worst case scenario, I end up with a springer and a PCP and have twice the fun.

 

[kwaping]

Welcome to the club!

 

[Bob-in-WV]

Get yourself an HW 95 and call it a day. You can thank me later.

 

[PNWTrekker]

Get yourself an HW 95 and call it a day. You can thank me later.

I just looked it up. Somehow it had escaped my notice. Beautiful rifle!

 

[JimD]

A friend came by today to borrow a PCP for a couple weeks to see if he likes it. He has had a springer for years and killed a bunch of squirrels with it. But he left it cocked a day or two and now velocity is really low. I wonder if a kid might make a mistake like that. I know very little about springers so maybe there is an easy fix.

PCPs do not have to be real expensive. I like guns made by Snowpeak. There are a couple Diana models made by Snowpeak but they are around $600. Not low end in my book but nicer than low end too. They have a plenum pressure gauge my guns (except for an Avenger) lack. I sent my friend home with my P35-177 and a hand pump. The hand pump cost less than $100 on Amazon. The P35 was between $400 and 500. A Stoeger Scout or Ranger would be similar in a conventional rifle and less expensive. P35s are bullpups. Krale had some P15s (predecessor of the P35) for a low $300s price if I remember right. Many discount these "low end" guns and indicate you will regret the purchase. I totally do not. I have had the most accurate one, a P35-22, now for 3 years. It has shot one 200 on the 30 yard challenge and two 198s this year for me. That's as many 200s as I've shot with my Caiman X that cost 3X as much. I shot a 198 today with my P35-25. I have not even replaced an O-ring on the 22, largely because I've left it alone. The P35-25 had had a lot of changes but not because it didn't work. I have two SPA guns I'm working on right now, however. They are not perfect but they come with warranties and if you get a "bad one" you can send them back. The 3 I've purchased are great fun and would be a good way to warm up for hunting season and/or do some small game hunting. These are not trashy poor made headache guns. They are accurate, reasonably powerful PCPs worth of more respect than they get.

So any way, for about $300-500 you can buy a PCP that will work well without a lot of work or tuning. The cheapest way to get air is a hand pump and it is totally doable. I used nothing else for about a year. Another reasonably inexpensive way to get air would be a GX CS2 compressor. Mine cost $250 delivered to my house. It can be powered by 120V or a car and there is also a battery powered version. A gun fill fill takes a few minutes (like 2-5). I have a bigger compressor (Yong Heng) and a fireman's 45 minute bottle too but you do not have to have all the "extras", especially at first.

It could be done for less but I think $500-1000 is a totally doable budget to get into PCPs. At the low end you may have to hand pump but for $1000 you can get a pretty nice gun and a very workable compressor. Something like a Stoeger Scout and a GX CS2 is probably under $600 and would be a nice initial setup.

Springers are, in my experience, difficult to shoot accurately and even experienced shooters do not shoot them as accurately as PCPs. I would not ask one of my sons or grandsons to start out with a springer. I know many people can shoot them a lot better than I can but I would be willing to compete with them with one of my PCPs, even my "cheap" ones. PCPs are just much easier to shoot well.

 

[borne2fly]

Welcome to the group! It’s a good crowd here.

I’ve always leaned towards something I can take into the field with minimal gear. That lead me to a Diana 48 and a Pro Sport. Both have proven to be powerful, accurate, heavy, rock solid reliable, and built to last (wood and steel, none of that alloy stuff ). But pricey. I’ve never regretted buying either. Nor have I ever considered selling either.