Are high end air rifles worth the cost?

I do think there worth it depending on your uses. If I only shot to 40yds I wouldn't have a high-end PCP. But for my uses on the farm shooting squirrels and sparrows, starlings and pigeons at upwards of 100yds and dependability to do it time and time again I think it's very much worth it. 

For me, YES! HELL YES! I bought several about five of the most reasonable priced ones I could find. Then I bough an $1600 Lelya, everything changed. High ends PCPs are better, period. You can get a really good cheap one that has accuracy like a high end, but that is rare. Out of my five cheaper ones, only one could ALMOST compare to a high end accuracy. Then the cheaper one's finish wears off, they rusts, stocks that are brittle and crack, parts with softer metal that wear out, leaks are more often, and they tend to be heavier. Then all the extra parts like regulators you need to but to increase performance ends up costing a lot of $. Also, all the replacement parts cost $ to order. It is better to buy a high end, durable one only once. Buying five POS's that you end up spending all your time trying to keep shooting correctly is just crazy IMHO.

For me it's "what the gun is" as much as it's performance. 

When I look at, observe, and feel the quality of, then shoot with that higher quality airgun "one that works as it's supposed to", it's all worth it to me. 

Two of my favorites are Steyr's. An old LP5 Olympic match pistol and a LGB1 Biathlon trainer. They've been reliable, accurate, have super triggers and the rifles stock is fully adjustable - that's a biggy to me. One look at them after opening the case brings on a head shaking moment because they are truly amazing in every way! That's what I payed the big bucks for and would I do it again, yes! 

Now if I could talk myself into not buying a Steyr ProX Scout, lol. I could have more money. I'd probably freak out if or when I open that case! And the smile won't be able to be wiped off my face when I go flinging all 10 of my little custom made round steels off the sawhorse as fast as I can!

Or my good old USFT, faithful work horse that has won me many FT matches.

All this being said, sometimes you spend a ton of money on some so called high end brands and those guns can be very disappointing, too the point of one of them that couldn't be repaired at all, or another that took an expert smith to trouble shoot the multiple problems to make it decent. I'm pretty sure I won't buy that brand anymore because only 1 out of the 3 I bought has been trouble free.

I went through the inexpensive airgun and firearm phase and I was definitely not happy with them. What I did back then was I sold them and upgraded as $ allowed. Man I'm glad I did!

they are like women,,are they worth the cost?

how does she look? how does she feel in hand? and HOW WELL DOES SHE PERFORM? 

we each have our own set of values 

"Only accurate rifles are interesting." - Townsend Whelen. "High End" - Harry Pearson. Expensive high end guns are great but appropriate only if they can be purchased with disposable income. If you have the money, good for you. If not, then there should still be a place and an appreciation for equipment of lesser value for hunting or competition.

"Only accurate rifles are interesting." Oh so true!

"Are high end air rifles worth the cost?" There is no definitive answer to that question. The question would have to be, "Are high end air rifles worth the cost to you?" High end doesn't necessarily equate to "better". What is better? What is better to one may not be better to the other. It all depends upon needs, wants, utility, etc. Much of this is driven by the "keeping up with the Jones' " and "the grass is greener on the other side" trap that various companies and their marketing departments are paid to stir up in the minds and emotions of their target market. They are good at what they do and are paid very well for it. If one feels that his "needs" just aren't being met unless he spends "$XXXX.xx" for the most recent and most refined tool, then by all means get what will make you feel fulfilled if you can afford it. Not every one can afford it, and not everyone wants and/or needs it. I have been down this type of rabbit hole more than once with other interests over the years. And I am not coming from a position in which I think I have to defend myself because I feel that I have an inferior air gun. I am fortunate enough that I can afford to purchase any of the "higher end" air rifles being offered today if I wanted to. I have a "high end" springer in my collection and may one day purchase a "high end" PCP. Enjoyment and needs/wants being fulfilled, however, can be met and found in what is considered by the market driven crowd, as less than "high end." I by no means begrudge anyone of spending their hard earned money on anything that brings them enjoyment. Hobbies are meant to be enjoyed and carried as far as one wants. But a $1,500-2,000 air rifle is not not necessarily better than one costing half of that. It is all dependent upon too many variables. Some tangible.......some not so.

Anyway....kinda feeling like I'm starting to ramble, so I'll stop. Just wanting to share my two cents on the subject. This hobby is big and wide enough that there is something for everyone regardless of where they are and what their needs are.

I wondered the same thing. I watched Ted's holdover and thought is this for real? I was hesitant to purchase a 2000.00 dollar gun and be disappointed but to my relief and pleasant surprise its the real magila . Like foxgun said "buy once cry once". It was definitely worth it to me.

"Only accurate rifles are interesting." - Townsend Whelen. "High End" - Harry Pearson. Expensive high end guns are great but appropriate only if they can be purchased with disposable income. If you have the money, good for you. If not, then there should still be a place and an appreciation for equipment of lesser value for hunting or competition.

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Well said Fred

Maybe slightly off-topic, but anyone feels like airguns are going through an interesting phase?

As in, what's considered high-end these days is leaps ahead of what was considered high-end just a few decades ago. As in, not so long ago you had the option between basic rifle, Olympic rifles and a few higher-end 'adult' rifles.

Fast forward to today. There more options then ever for the entry-level rifle, and many of them would compare well with older-higher-end rifles from a few decades ago. The Olympic rifles are still here (better than ever)... and the number of quality "adults" air rifles keeps on growing every years.

It's as if manufacturers have realized that there is a market for adult-priced rifle

I wondered the same thing. I watched Ted's holdover and thought is this for real? I was hesitant to purchase a 2000.00 dollar gun and be disappointed but to my relief and pleasant surprise its the real magila . Like foxgun said "buy once cry once". It was definitely worth it to me.



im not gonna lie, it, too, was the awesome videos from Ted that got me even considering my first PCP. After a few of his vids, I HAD TO HAVE ONE!!

I have a feeling Ted and his videos have gotten a lot of folks into this hobby, way more so than any other pcp vid.

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They are definitely worth it. With any hobby, you get what you pay for. You can mod a lower shelf gun all you want but it's still a lower shelf gun. All the money that was put into it, you could have gotten a better gun in the first place that shoots better out of the box. If you have the money, go for it. If not, save up. You'll be happy in the end.

I'm new to this sport having started only just this past summer. Admittedly my very first gun is a "pretty nice" one - an Air Arms S510 XS Ultimate Sporter - .22. Yeah - I jumped right into the deep end. So anyway - I got it - and have shot and hunted with it several times - great fun and the thing is unbelievably accurate and consistent. 

Then only a few months after purchasing the AA I discovered a local F&T group in the area where I live. I was quickly informed that .22's in FT . . . . 'eh - not "frowned upon" BUT - .177 is *the way to go* and one of the guys at the meet let me use a spare gun that he had - and older model (I think) Daystate CR-X - "whoa . . . " -- I gotta get me one of these!" said I to myself. ( lol ) *BUT* - these meets only happen once a month and I just dropped some ( to me anyway ) big bucks on that AA . . . I can't really justify spending huge $ on another toy. I ask the guys and they tell me about the M-Rods and how exceptionally good they are for the money. I google and read up on them - buy one. I only got to shoot one match last summer with the m-rod ( work prevented me from shooting a second one which was also the last one for the year - upstate N.Y. here ) and I actually got third place in class! ( and no - not out of only three shooters . . . lol ) So now that there is a foot or more of snow on the ground and it's frickin' freezing out I decided to "upgrade" my monthly F&T toy and put in some third party aftermarket parts - like Bigragu above I put some Tim Hill parts into it (regulator, lighter springs, barrel band) and have since run it over a chrony upstairs in the house from one bedroom into another spare one ( empty nesters ) and I believe I've got a decent tune on it now - shooting consistently with a pretty good ES of less than 10 over 50 shots. Hopefully if we get a break in the weather and it gets "warm" again I'll be able to take it outdoors and start sighting it in. But anyway . . . back on topic - is it worth it to spend the $ on a high end gun? If you're "into it" and serious about shooting - then I'd say yeah absolutely. I've set a goal for myself - I've got this little "mickey mouse" M-Rod that I'm using for F&T. I've decided / have a goal of getting a 50 or better score next season @the local monthly matches. ( 60 is the absolute highest score you can get) If I can achieve that - with that gun - then I may indeed consider dropping some money into a better one. If I can get reasonably good at it that'll help me justify the money . . . . 

Check the recent review of the Daystate Redwolf Safari 30 caliber rifle by Mountain Sports Airguns.

Each gun no matter what it's cost usually always has positives and negatives. I think the goal of high end for me is to have way more positives than negatives. 

“YES!”

For me the answer was mid range cost rifles and learning to tune it myself. I bought a marauder field and target and an airforce condor. To meet my field target and hunting needs. Now the condor just took finding what power and fill pressure to get the most shot count but the marauder took more tuning and some polishing of the barrel. Both are capable of beating my friends at the range if I do my part. It's possible their guns are more accurate than mine but it's close real close. Anyway I suspect the marauder with lw barrel is even better. All this to say no its not worth it to me especially if I'm just hunting but if you are competing maybe an air arms it totally worth it. I want a benjamin maximus or a hatsan vectis for example. Just to beat up hunting and not care. Good luck choosing tho. I'd love to have an edgun leshy tho. 

Ya'll ever researched "Opportunity Cost" in the non-political meaning -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
Essentially it's "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time". Sure, you could be making money during that time, but a smile is great too. Smiles are contagious.


I think some of the reservation expressed in this thread and others, often, is:

• Did I make the right decision here is what I purchased? ("Am I pretty?")
• This is amazing check this out ("Hey y'all, I am very happy with this, I want you to be happy to!")
• What should I spend, I have this and like it ("Am I good enough?")
• Should I get this? ("I am worried about the above")

Then we continously have this repeated statement of the moisture boogerman out to destroy our airguns. Please can someone cite actual airgun failure (not failure to shine/function) from PCP fill devices? Sure we got that one report of the hand pump but... was the air gun damaged? Can someone cite specifics? I'll open this one up to hand pumps all the way to the highest end compressor -- cite where grade D and super-duper filtration is necessary. We have a duty to warn our gas piston friends who may experience similar after repetitive shooting.

The real money is in the filter business

Well, like everyone else said, it depends on what you want. If I was happy with a Springer, then, the high end guns aren't worth it. However - - - - 

Started the PCP world with a Marauder. Great learning platform and plenty accurate to maybe 75 yards. For some reason, after 75-ish yards, accuracy falls off.

Being quite OCD, accuracy is a must. So since my goal is to shoot 100 yards or more accurately, I decided once in my life to buy the best I could find and picked up an Impact. For accuracy you can't beat it. It's kind of a finicky gun, but at 100 yards, if I do my part, I can hit bullseyes, and I mean dead center. It's not all the time, there's still a touch of variability, but there's no chance with the Marauder, but a very good chance with the Impact.

If you want to hunt under 75 yards, Marauder is a great gun. If you want to shoot bench and have a reasonable chance to hit the bull, then the high end guns are a must. It all depends on what you want to do with the gun

Think of it this way. If you are a golfer, you have a whole bag of clubs. PCP's should be the same thing. Short range gun kinda like a chipping wedge, driver for the long shots like an Impact and several in between guns just to cover all the ranges. Sounds like fun to me!