Springer vs. PCP

[Hammer]

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.

Good plan. It gives you the opportunity to experience "adult" airguns. You may, or may not progress to PCPs, but even if you do, the 34 is a quality piece that is handy to have around. It has been the universal recommendation for a first airgun for many years.

 

[Orv]

Good plan. It gives you the opportunity to experience "adult" airguns. You may, or may not progress to PCPs, but even if you do, the 34 is a quality piece that is handy to have around. It has been the universal recommendation for a first airgun for many years.

 

[Orv]

I feel the need to reply, not out of any great knowledge I have, but from years of devotion to our sport of airgunning. Shooting a spring loaded airgun takes a level of skill that will carry over to other shooting platforms. This skill will teach valuable safety skills to beginning airgunners. Springers, as we call them, help one to learn safety skills, as well as range and woods awareness. Springers are far and away easier to work on than pcp airguns. Trigger awareness is most easily learned on springers. Have you noticed that I am a spring powered airgun fan yet? Among other airguns in my collection are a some springers including TX2OO and a HW 97K. Both of these airguns are fine springers, although a bit on the high side for pricing. That is pricing for spring powered airguns. The majority of PCPs will cost more, especially when including the ancillary equipment. I can highly recommend Weihrauch rifles; both spring powered and pcps. Quality airguns are tools lasting for lifetimes when cared for. This can apply for both spring powered airguns or pcps. Please note that springers are relatively easy to maintain by the hobby level shooter while pcps most often need to be maintained by the professional. I haven't meant to scare you, merely to inform. Welcome to our hobby! Orv

 

[Paul Be Careful]

That’s solid advice from @Orv — couldn’t agree more. Mastering a springer’s double recoil sets you up nicely for moving on to powder burners. Personally, I don’t think the artillery hold is a strict must; just avoid resting it on a hard surface like you would with a PB — a good bag does the trick. If shooting runs in the family, go for a proper quality springer like the lads here mentioned. Bit pricier, sure, but built to last — heirloom stuff your boy can pass down to his own one day.

 

[rokonman]

A Diana model 34 was my first adult Airgun way back in the 1980s it was a scarce sport model and I traded it in short order to begin my long climb to better and more expensive guns. After a long search I have recently acquired a similar sport model in well worn but loved condition. I rebuilt it with a Vortek OEM replacement spring. I have to say I am shocked how easy it cocks and it isn’t hold sensitive. If I had stopped at that gun way back then, Airgun life would in hindsight have been OK. I recently read happy people make the best of what they have, I guess I need to work on that.

 

[beerthief]

I have been in this game for a while now , i have 4 of the best top line PCP's and 14 top springers , 5 pistol 's . I find the springers give me much more enjoyment .
I think your starting with a springer , the lure of PCP will be strong . I find the PCP boring, it is not any more accurate .
Welcome to the best AGN
Stan in KY .

 

[AlanMcD]

I'll second the sentiment about the ability to potentially stop with a quality springer in the post #25 above. In my case, I bought a fairly cheap Crosman Chinese springer (a Quest) to deal with a groundhog issue I had at the time, and it just was not good enough to meet my needs - no amount of technique could make that gun shoot better than about 1.5" ten shot groups at 20 yards. I messed around with it for a while, but eventually found my way into PCPs with a Marauder that was vastly more more capable of hitting what I aimed at, plus had more power too.

That, of course, moved me from the space of "acquiring a tool" into "acquiring a hobby," and while I have enjoyed this hobby immensely, had I first started out with something like the Diana 34 springer instead of that lower cost (and quality) Quest, that may have been all I needed. I likely would have been happy there, and I would never have been into PCPs, nor the blogs for that matter. I would not even be on this site now to be typing this . . .

So if you know you would be happy with a tool rather than a separate branch of shooting sports for a hobby, the 34 or one of the HW offerings would likely meet that need. But I am glad that I did go down the path that I did - I very much enjoy this hobby, and my time on the blogs.

Best of luck, and I hope whatever you get meets your needs!

 

[JimD]

Anybody that thinks springers are just as accurate as pcps needs to print out some 30 yard challenge targets and prove it. The only springer scores I've seen are much lower. But my poor view of springers is no doubt in large part because I've never shot a nice one.

 

[kwaping]

Anybody that thinks springers are just as accurate as pcps needs to print out some 30 yard challenge targets and prove it. The only springer scores I've seen are much lower. But my poor view of springers is no doubt in large part because I've never shot a nice one.

I think it's probably that last part...

 

[JimD]

Perhaps. The latest spreadsheet of results for this year appears to be on page 160 of the thread on this website. The best springer score is a 192. The goal is a 200 and there are several of those from PCPs. My best score this year is a 198. Lots of higher scores from pcps. If springers shoot as well as pcps join us and prove it. It's fun regardless of the results.

 

[Jay308]

HW97K or TX200 for a springer, almost as accurate as a PCP. Both can be disassembled without a spring compressor. You can get the Weihrauch at Krale.

 

[Orv]

HW97K or TX200 for a springer, almost as accurate as a PCP. Both can be disassembled without a spring compressor. You can get the Weihrauch at Krale.

If you choose the HW97K from Krale, you'll save some dollars. However, if you choose to buy from Airguns of Arizona, you can get the walnut stock (my weakness) and a better service experience and, most important, a much better warranty. Neither company is a bad choice for purchasing a Weihrauch airgun. Choose your gun and hit the range! Orv.

 

[RickH]

I have both types and my first pcp was a Benjamin Maximus. Not fast or fancy but accurate, lightweight and I can pump up to full pressure easily with a hand pump. It lives in my truck most of the time.

Rick H.

 

[PNWTrekker]

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

This is me thanking you later.

 

[PNWTrekker]

UPDATE: Based on the recommendations of several of you, I purchased a Weihrauch HW95 off of the classifieds. The member was super helpful, had lots of advice, and set me up with a spare scope and rings he had. The package was delivered a couple days ago. Pop cans have been shaking in fear since. We have friends visiting that have a kid about the same age as my youngest (13). We set them up on a bench in the back hard. It was so much fun watching them shoot. Shooting trumped video games, television, and general getting into trouble. Every time the trigger was pulled, they both yelled "the range is cold" as they sprinted to the target to see what their pellet did to the latest victim (pop can full of water). We finally had to kick them off shooting bench at a quarter before 10p. They would have continued all night had we let them. Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[DeanB]

Anybody that thinks springers are just as accurate as pcps needs to print out some 30 yard challenge targets and prove it. The only springer scores I've seen are much lower. But my poor view of springers is no doubt in large part because I've never shot a nice one.

Springers are just as accurate as PCP s its just they are a lot harder to shoot as accurately thats why most people never try them or dont stick with them. They will magnify ever flaw you have in your shooting form 10 times. If you can shoot a springer well then you can shoot any gun well.

 

[Jonnes]

Welcome! And, ah... the ever returning "PCP vs springer" question. The coincidence is that I did some testing today at 25 meters with two FX PCP's and one Weihrauch springer. Regulated PCP's (especially those from brands like FX) are known for their accuracy due to the lack of recoil and their shot consistency. Springers are violent. There's a lot of movement going on inside of a springer. A heavy metal piston slams against a wall, compressing air and moving a projectile forward. With springers the hold needs to be consistent in order to shoot them as accurate as a PCP. Proof is in the eating of the proverbial pudding, so here it comes;

Number 1): the FX DRS Tactical (out of the box, 41 joules shooting 18 grain .22 JSB's at 25 meters from a bipod).

Number 2): the FX Dreamline GRS (medium settings, 31 joules shooting 16 grain .22 JSB's at 25 meters from a bipod).

Number 3): the Weihrauch 97 (stage 2 tuned, 21 joules shooting 7.87 grain .177 JSB's at 25 meters from the bench on a pillow, rested on my hand).

So are springers accurate. Well, you be the judge of that. My guess is that they are according to these 10-shot groups, shot from the prone position, on 50-meter ISSF visuals shot from a distance of 25 meters.

Is a springer good enough for ethical headshots? This 21 joule (15.5 ft·lbf) most definitely is, at least up to 45 / 50 meters. The HW97 has set me back (unscoped, but including the new stock and internal tuning) around €1400 euro's, which is more than the average PCP by itself, but lacks the air tank, compressor and other stuff you need to keep a PCP going. In other words, you can shoot all day without running out of air. But please do invest in a good quality springer like a Weihrauch, because the Rekord trigger alone is worth the extra money, and it will last you a lifetime if you take good care of it.

Sidenote: I'm not trying to be a showoff here. This here was a personal test case, just to see how my top leisure airguns are tuned and do at the moment.

EDIT: getting a lot of questions about the HW97, so here are some answers:

- the stock is a "LP Gunstocks UK" (Lukas Parsley) Stutzen Stock (https://www.lpgunstocks.co.uk/). Not cheap, but absolutely worth the money!
- Internal tuning by AirJoe Germany (https://airjoe.de/en/), full piston, sleeve, spring, the works tune.

 

[OldVet]

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?

If it's for a child the Crosman 3622 is a super light choice for a PCP it only fills to 2,000 psi , and is very easy on a compressor.

 

[Ratzy]

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.

Only issue i have is cocking force. How easy is it for the child to cock the gun. If they are strong enough you are on the right track. Diana 34 is supposed to be easy, but I'd like to know first.

Couple of PCP that are light, inexpensive and can be hand pumped Umarex Notos and Airforce TalonP. Find them used for $200-300. Both are good reliable guns. TalonP is a single shot. Both can be upgraded. The TalonP more easily and is the easier to maintain.

 

[Loug647]

Wow,You are Welcome to the group!