"One drawback to most PCP rifles — be it a $200.00 or a $2000.00 rifle (Impact) — is the necessity of an external air source — a CF tank, a compressor, or both. For that reason alone I would hesitate to recommend it to a newbie who is unsure about his commitment to this hobby.
For the beginner who can afford the costs of owning a PCP, as was the case in my situation, no need to waste your time with a rifle you have no intention of using for a long time. Get a nice keepsake. If you later become bored with it. Sell it and recoup the majority of your investment. "
Very good advice here and also by many others on this thread! I can relate to almost all of the posts, because I am very new to PCPs, and I also went through a similar thought and decision process when buying my first PCP. I had to do a bunch of research to insure that there was a "local" dive shop that could fill to 4500 PSI for my CF tank. What good is the PCP gun w/o a source to fill, esp. if you don't want a hand pump or buying a compressor. If you buy the hand pump, no issue at all. However, if you decide on a fill tank or compressor -- more $$ naturally.
Also, buying a "budget PCP gun for $300 approximate" does not include the price of a scope, mounts, PCP hand pump, fill tank or compressor, bench rests, etc. etc... I think a very good question to ask yourself about buying a PCP, is "how often will you realistically use the gun?" As an example only -- if you only plan to use once or twice a month, you could argue logically to go low end and there are great choices as you are aware. On the other hand, if you are going to get serious and shoot several times per week, you could also argue to go higher end PCP and have "out of the box" great capability w/o having to constantly tinker or mess with the lower end gun.
For me the right decision was to NOT just dip my toe in the water; but to jump all the way in and get wet. So, I bought the DS Regal XL. I do realize different strokes for different folks, but that is not my point. My point is to give you a point of view based on another new first PCP owner, and how you could look at your decision process and possibly relate.
Not sure if my story or example helps, but I had several break barrels first. Crossman .22 bought 20 years ago, Diana AM03 ( 34 replacement ), and then a Swarm Maxxim in .22. The two BBs were purchased within one year, and I recently decided to go for a relatively high end PCP DS Regal XL in .22 caliber, and like others have already mentioned, no regrets. Now, the other guns ( BBs) don't get much use except just once in a while. I am too spoiled by the accuracy and capability of the DS Regal XL PCP. In fact, my next couple of guns will be PCPs because of the very positive experience I enjoy currently with the Regal.
Best of luck OP!
