Which? Taipan Compact / Standard or Kalibrgun Cricket I / II

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Blackpaw

Blackpaw

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Apr 23, 2020
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Idaho, United States
This is crazy and maybe impulsive, but this Czech vender has both the Cricket II and Taipan Compact / Standard in stock. I want an opinion of the advantages and disadvantages of both if you have an opinion on it. (I think MAYBE there are opinions here...but you never know. ;) ) As I have stated I am half Czech and want a Czech made gun, it is kind of like in my blood, literally.

I want to get sell / trade my Brocock Compatto Sniper XR I have an go with one of the above, and it is the classified and I am willing to negotiate.. The thing is I like the Brocock but don’t love it, aka I haven’t bonded with the rifle like I have instantly with my week and half old FX Impact Compact. Logic is for the Brocock to sell, but who knows when that will happen.

Us would be similar to the Brocock - Hunter field target and when I can, pest control. HFT is 50 m / 55 yards limit and from what you all say both the Taipan and Cricket can easily do these distances.

SO!!!! For above choice and use...Taipan or Cricket ?
 
I can't offer any experience with the Crickett. I own a Veteran Standard .22. I don't like bull pups, but I still really like the Veteran. It has been totally reliable, very accurate, and easy to fine tune. Most bull pup triggers suffer from the basic design, which requires a long linkage. The Veteran is no different in that requirement, but the trigger action is very good, and extremely adjustable. A great feature for field use is the anti-double load mechanism. Just de-cock on a pellet and the gun is totally safe from accidental discharge, and just cock when ready to shoot. If the shot isn't taken, de-cock again and move on. So, the answer to your dilemma is obvious, buy both! You will know after shooting both which one to keep. The few hundred dollars you will lose on re-sale is worth the fun! It's only money. 
 
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Well, both isn’t an option and you can say I am already doing the later with the Brocock Compatto. I bought it in April of this year and know I will lose money on it, if I am able to sell it. Time will tell. The Czechs have a power limit of sub 12 foot/lbs but cheaper prices and they said I can adjust the guns in a couple of minutes to FAC rating.
 
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Well, both isn’t an option and you can say I am already doing the later with the Brocock Compatto. I bought it in April of this year and know I will lose money on it, if I am able to sell it. Time will tell. The Czechs have a power limit of sub 12 foot/lbs but cheaper prices and they said I can adjust the guns in a couple of minutes to FAC rating.
Click to expand...

You might want to ask if the adjustment to FAC power level is simply a hammer spring adjustment, and if it uses the same spring. I would guess the regulator set point is different also. If so, it's not a couple minutes fix, and without a reg tester and a known set point, it will require some trial and error disassembly, not difficult, but a bit tedious and time consuming.
 
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I've never shot a cricket, but can vouch for the Veteran. 

I'd recommend a standard over the Short. 

As for the Vet for field target, the accuracy, quality trigger, and consistency is definitely there. My Short is a .22. After the official match last month, I had the opportunity to shoot through the course again and used my Vet. I shot a perfect 48/48 with it. I've only done that a handful of times and not every gun is even capable of it, but now I know the Vet is.

Their short overall length makes it a little harder to be steady but it's not a huge handicap. So that, and the higher shot count of the longer tube Standard is why I recommend it instead of the Short.

In regards to regulator pressure adjustments, the Vet seems much more tolerant of wide swings in power using just the hammer spring tension than other guns. My Short will do about 100 shots at sub 20fpe with field target accuracy, about 85 of those are on the reg and the last few aren't, but the fps is close enough to not be a problem. In fact, my son and I both shot through the whole course that second time with the same gun without filling it, so 96 shots and it was still putting them in the kill zone. I've never gone down to 12fpe to see how it behaves though.

The Veteran makes a good case for the most versatile airgun I own. 

You get a lot for your buck with the Veterans. 
 
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I agree. I think the Veteran is the most versatile rifle I own. I'm no expert tuner, but I suspect the large dual transfer port design might have a lot to do with how acceptable it is of a wide range of hammer spring tuning. That said, I also expect you might be off of the most air efficient tuning by not optimizing the reg set point relative to the spring tension. Again, I'm no tuner, but it kind of makes sense to me.
 
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Have one of both in .25 (vet is a standard .25 and cricket is a georgia airguns power tuned beauty!) Love them both for different reasons. Can definitely say the cricket is the better bench gun, while the vet just feels right for offhand shooting. Both are just tack-drivers too... If I had to choose between them I'd have to give my vote to the taipan... Hard choice though and that's why I own both!
 
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I've owned both and found the Taipan to be more to my preference.

That being said, these are two high end guns and performance, endurance, quality, is going to be about the same...they are both quality built to last!

For me it boiled down to "feel" when shouldered, and how easily they cocked. I really prefer a mid-gun cocking lever...much easier than the rear lever.

Still, I settled on the Taipan Short because it was easier to work on. The Cricket had tiny little hex screws (?) that stripped and or broke off when I tried to get into the Cricket. The Taipan's screws were larger and better suited to my old eyes and shaky hands.

You can't go wrong with either gun. They will both out shoot your abilities and take wear and tear with ease.



Regards,

Kindly Ol' Uncle Hoot
 
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If your primary use is field target, go with the .177. 

.22 is a most definite handicap in FT. More wind drift, more loopy trajectory. And I'm talking about 20fpe field target.

The wind drift and loopiness will be nearly unbearable in 12fpe if you go with a .22. 

For 12fpe field target, definitely .177.

If your country's field target rules and local laws allow 20fpe, the .22 can be used successfully in competition, just not as easily as .177. 


 
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This is crazy and maybe impulsive, but this Czech vender has both the Cricket II and Taipan Compact / Standard in stock. I want an opinion of the advantages and disadvantages of both if you have an opinion on it. (I think MAYBE there are opinions here...but you never know. ;) ) As I have stated I am half Czech and want a Czech made gun, it is kind of like in my blood, literally.

I want to get sell / trade my Brocock Compatto Sniper XR I have an go with one of the above, and it is the classified and I am willing to negotiate.. The thing is I like the Brocock but don’t love it, aka I haven’t bonded with the rifle like I have instantly with my week and half old FX Impact Compact. Logic is for the Brocock to sell, but who knows when that will happen.

Us would be similar to the Brocock - Hunter field target and when I can, pest control. HFT is 50 m / 55 yards limit and from what you all say both the Taipan and Cricket can easily do these distances.

SO!!!! For above choice and use...Taipan or Cricket ?
Click to expand...

Hi, 
of course Cricket II ))
It is 250g lighter, 30mm shorter, has 14 shots magazine vs 10, additional mag holders, wooden cheek piece, new left/right switchable cocking lever above trigger, 
300 bar working pressure vs 250, air cylinder 280 cc vs 239 cc, two stage adjustable trigger, safety and also you can de-cock a gun put the mag lever in no indexing position and when you cock it again it will not send another pellet into the barrel. And you can try new WSA stock or choose classic WB.
Good luck! Hodně štěstí!
 
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Hi, 
of course Cricket II ))
It is 250g lighter, 30mm shorter, has 14 shots magazine vs 10, additional mag holders, wooden cheek piece, new left/right switchable cocking lever above trigger, 
300 bar working pressure vs 250, air cylinder 280 cc vs 239 cc, two stage adjustable trigger, safety and also you can de-cock a gun put the mag lever in no indexing position and when you cock it again it will not send another pellet into the barrel. And you can try new WSA stock or choose classic WB.
Good luck! Hodně štěstí!
Click to expand...

I think much depends on the relative importance of FT. Shorter and lighter is not what you want for FT. The other features are mostly shared with both rifles, including the anti-double feed feature. I own only the Veteran, but the consensus seems to be that the Veteran trigger is better, I know it is certainly very good. Not sure how I feel about a 300 bar fill. My scuba tank would be very limited in the number of full pressure fills it would supply, and I don't know if I would be comfortable routinely filling to 300 bar anyway. 
 
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I own both. Two Crickets .22 & .25, and one Veteran Short. To be honest, they are both excellent very accurate guns. You would do fine with either. The advantages I find on the Veteran are the Safety Mechanism and the Anti Double Loading Feature. The Crickets generally hold more shots in the Magazine. The Cricket 2 brings the Lever Midway now, some folk would like that better. I have gotten to the point I don't mind either. My favorite gun for "Whole Package" experience is the Cricket Carbine Mini. Very ergonomic and just stupid reliable. The Taipan short is a fantastic shooting gun too, shooting like a much bigger gun. Good. Luck. 
 
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Cricket, send it to Charlie at Georgia Airguns and smile.

I have more than a couple high end airguns and the Veteran Long and Cricket synthetic are two of them and I put the Georgia airguns tuned Cricket over the Veteran all day long...

Yes you need to spend a couple hundred plus shipping for the tune but the man works magic!

Also he can add a 1/2 UNF adapter to the Cricket for mounting a suppressor and then you have a 60+ foot pound hammer that is VERY quiet...Or turn it down and get a huge number of shots even quieter.

My 2 cents 
 
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