Thinking about getting PCP??????

[Septicdeath]

I'm a pump and springer guy. But I'm thinking about getting my first PCP both guns I am considering are big bored and will cost me $600 to $900. 

I figured if I'm going to get one it will be a big bore.

I would like to know what other equipment I will need? Suggestions would be appreciated. Also about how much more I will need to purchase the necessary equipment needed?

Can you use a regular rifle scope on a PCP?

 

[bubblerboy64]

Any scope should be fine. You’ll need a SCBA tank and fill connection and a way to fill the tank.

Try to buy used. For money another 5 hundred maybe

If you have a dive shop or a friendly fire department that will fill your air tank that’s probably the most economical way to get air.

I like Joe B’s air tanks and fill connections 

 

[ImpactX]

Get yourself a tank. Brand new tank is best way to go Used tanks are bang around, burn from use in the fire department and few life left or no life left at all. Each tanks have only 15 year life. Most used tanks on ebay are like from 1999-2005.That's why they are cheap under $100. You get what you pay for. Would you risk your life with an old rusty bang up tanks that the fire department thrown away? I would not. So get yourself a brand new tank, a new compressor. I suggest the hatsan lighting for $1093 or if you want better, the daystate 110v $2000. That's pretty much what you need. Oh and lots of pellets . LOTS.

 

[biohazardman]

You will need a hand pump to start if you are trying to get off without spending much. Guns over 2500psi are quite hard to pump by hand though. A tank will werq also Chinese tanks are 400-$500 American made 550 to near $700 and bigger is better it can be filled by many paintball shops although they may not fill it all of the way. Welding supply or dive shops if you have one near can fill you all of the way. Else you will need a compressor the Yong Heng is one of the best cheap Chinese compressors it will set you back 200-$320 otherwise there are 1000-$5000 compressors as stated above that may do a better job.

I only used a hand pump for a few months before it messed my arms up, old injuries, so then I got a small tank $300 as there is a paintball shop near. When I got my Impact and started shooting more I bought a Yong Heng $320. Then I wanted more so bought a large USA made tank $700 actually more with the extras so now I am golden. Which is a good thing cuz I've got another air-gobbler on the way and I am out of $ for this kind of stuff.

It's kind of spendy to start with when you are first getting into PCP and it can get more expensive as the addiction makes it hard not to buy the things you really need. ;^)

 

[Septicdeath]

You will need a hand pump to start if you are trying to get off without spending much. Guns over 2500psi are quite hard to pump by hand though. A tank will werq also Chinese tanks are 400-$500 American made 550 to near $700 and bigger is better it can be filled by many paintball shops although they may not fill it all of the way. Welding supply or dive shops if you have one near can fill you all of the way. Else you will need a compressor the Yong Heng is one of the best cheap Chinese compressors it will set you back 200-$320 otherwise there are 1000-$5000 compressors as stated above that may do a better job.

I only used a hand pump for a few months before it messed my arms up, old injuries, so then I got a small tank $300 as there is a paintball shop near. When I got my Impact and started shooting more I bought a Yong Heng $320. Then I wanted more so bought a large USA made tank $700 actually more with the extras so now I am golden. Which is a good thing cuz I've got another air-gobbler on the way and I am out of $ for this kind of stuff.

It's kind of spendy to start with when you are first getting into PCP and it get more expensive as the addiction makes it hard not to buy the things you really need. ;^)

Is it possible to use a oxygen bottle I already have extras for welding. But fill it with compressed air instead of oxygen? 

 

[Skip-in-WV]

Your local Volunteer Fire Department will fill it for free, and a can of coffee. As long as the inspection is current. Might even find a new shooter.

 

[Willie14228]

@septicdeath ,

Just to make sure we are clear Never EVER EVER EVER use Oxygen in a PCP it will blow up your gun when fired.

To my knowledge no one will fill an O2 tank with regular air, that's because they are clearly marked for hazmat reasons, I ran into this when I asked one to put in Helium into an regular air bottle. Also and I did not know this but most air/gas welding supply companies only fill their bottles to 2500 psi max.

Depending on your situation and the type of Big Bore PCP your getting you can go cheap but heavy scuba tanks, Somewhere around $250 dollars or the more expensive much lighter Carbon Fiber Tanks starting at about $400. 

If your primary hunting is the yotes and your PCP gets somewhere around 10 shots per fill you can go with the cheaper but heavier set up and simply keep your tank in the car/truck to refill, 

I personly do not regret my purchase of the Nomad 2 Compressor to refill my two Texans, I have a small Carbon fiber tank that i havent taken in to refill in two months because i just refill directly from the Nomad, More expensive start but at 20 dollars per fill on a 4500 psi tank and it doesn't take long for the nomad to pay for itself. Most fill shops don't charge by size but by pressure or the type of tank so in my case at least a small 4500 psi tank cost as much to fill as a large one does.

Yes any Scope will work great with the PCP in fact I really like the BSA Sweet 22 Scopes for my big bore hunters 

 

[sonny]

Yong Heng compressors or the likes

work fine for the money, I have been using mine for 2 plus years. You can buy them for under 300 delivered. Also get the gold filter for moister separation. I think the tank I bought (pictured) was 550.00 new.

 

[L.Leon]

I purchased two used SCBAs one for $65 (7 years left of its 15 year supposed limit) and the second for $120 (expired), exact same tanks in Europe are rated for 30 year lifespans. Do your research SCBAs are tough, firefighters lives depend on them. And while I’m not an expert, I don’t believe you can buy a compressor capable of “blowing” up an SCBA. They would just leak the air out.

 

[leadfoot]

I'm guessing if you're only considering a "big bore" it will be for hunting, and probably not squirrels. With the limited number of shots used, once it was sighted in, a hand pump might work. However, once you see some of the benefits of a PCP they're like Jays Potato Chips. Might as well plan ahead and get a compressor and tank. Good Luck and have fun!

 

[biohazardman]

You will need a hand pump to start if you are trying to get off without spending much. Guns over 2500psi are quite hard to pump by hand though. A tank will werq also Chinese tanks are 400-$500 American made 550 to near $700 and bigger is better it can be filled by many paintball shops although they may not fill it all of the way. Welding supply or dive shops if you have one near can fill you all of the way. Else you will need a compressor the Yong Heng is one of the best cheap Chinese compressors it will set you back 200-$320 otherwise there are 1000-$5000 compressors as stated above that may do a better job.

I only used a hand pump for a few months before it messed my arms up, old injuries, so then I got a small tank $300 as there is a paintball shop near. When I got my Impact and started shooting more I bought a Yong Heng $320. Then I wanted more so bought a large USA made tank $700 actually more with the extras so now I am golden. Which is a good thing cuz I've got another air-gobbler on the way and I am out of $ for this kind of stuff.

It's kind of spendy to start with when you are first getting into PCP and it get more expensive as the addiction makes it hard not to buy the things you really need. ;^)

Is it possible to use a oxygen bottle I already have extras for welding. But fill it with compressed air instead of oxygen?

It is possible if you have your own compressor otherwise no one with a reputable business will fill it with anything but the gas that was meant for the tank. See Willie14228 post a few posts above. 

Although any scope will werq you likely want one with an adjustable objective that will focus down to ten yards in case you want to shoot closer. Most powder burner rifle scopes are factory adjusted for 50-100 yards and anything closer will appear blurred.

 

[Raden1942]

That 700 dollar pcp will at least become 1700 after all that stuff. Like leadfoot said if your only going to shoot it for big game like deer or pig a hand pump will keep things cheap. I use the cheam 38 dollar ones from Ali express and they work great. Add a 15 dollar moisture filter and add desiccant beads. However. If this was my first pcp I would seriously go for a benjamin fortitude if you like multishot or qb chief or any other small volume guns or guns that operate at 2000 psi. You can pump for 4 mins and get 20 shots or in the case of fortitude pump for 10 mins and get 60. I just feel like keeping it cheap at first will give you way more options to actually shoot your gun. Everyone here told me the same thing im telling you now but then I went out and got a benjamin bulldog anyway. It sucked hand pumping and I couldn't shoot in my backyard for fear of police and safety of course. It just was lame. Goodluck brother. Hope this helps. 

 

[steve123]

I might consider another bigbore at some point, mostly because I have a bunch of lead on hand and bigbores have come a long way since when I had one, but here's my experience on the subject in brief.

15 or so years ago I bought a Career 909 PCP just to see what the bigbore thing was like. I tried 115 and 124 grain cast bullets in it. 115's were in the 650 fps area and grouped 2.25" at 50Y so I settled on them. I thought that would be fine for coyotes and small game but under powered for deer, etc. It was fun hunting Jack's with it and bowled them right over.

What I didn't like was it only gave 5 good shots before it started hitting too low. It was also an air hog IMO. Back then I only had a 3000 psi tank so this turned out to be too much of a hassle to deal with so I sold it within a few months.

A few years ago I shot a 45 cal PCP that sent 230 grainers at 900 fps. it only got two shots before it was hitting low (relatively) at 50Y, but that thing hit hard!! Basically had the power of a 45ACP +P pistol load. IMO, great for hunting deer, etc, but far from a convenient plinker type of gun.

I also shot another high quality 45 PCP a few months ago, these are loud, have a lot of gun movement, and suck air like crazy! Just not my thing.

IMO, if you go down this road, and plan on shooting a decent amount, a compressor would be a "must have" unless you have a easily accessible store, etc, to get tanks filled, and owning two tanks would be helpful. No way in the world would I try to pump one of these things up unless only hunting using a few shots here and there!!!

I'm leaning towards a .257 caliber at this point because I like the high-ish BC for the weight, and don't need the energy those larger calibers give.

 

[Septicdeath]

That 700 dollar pcp will at least become 1700 after all that stuff. Like leadfoot said if your only going to shoot it for big game like deer or pig a hand pump will keep things cheap. I use the cheam 38 dollar ones from Ali express and they work great. Add a 15 dollar moisture filter and add desiccant beads. However. If this was my first pcp I would seriously go for a benjamin fortitude if you like multishot or qb chief or any other small volume guns or guns that operate at 2000 psi. You can pump for 4 mins and get 20 shots or in the case of fortitude pump for 10 mins and get 60. I just feel like keeping it cheap at first will give you way more options to actually shoot your gun. Everyone here told me the same thing im telling you now but then I went out and got a benjamin bulldog anyway. It sucked hand pumping and I couldn't shoot in my backyard for fear of police and safety of course. It just was lame. Goodluck brother. Hope this helps. 

Best advice yet thanks

 

[DesertSilver]

When I first started in pcp's I bought an Aspen in. 22 because I didn't want to have to buy all of the support gear a normal pcp requires. With in 2 months I bought a chi Com hand pump for around $40 as a backup to the built-in pump. Then I got interested in a liberty. Hand pumping its 191cc tank was killing my back so made the mistake of buying a knock off version of the Yong Heng to fill the liberty. It kept blowing burst disks and finally had to double them up. Bought a used scba tank with 4 years left. Had it hydro tested and it passed fine. As you can see you will end up spending a lot for support gear though because I'm cheap I only paid another $500 for the above. my next purchase is for a shoebox compressor which lasts a long time.