Are there any PCP shooters that are unluckier than me?

There may be more to the story here and something me and my shooting buddy/my dad were talking about yesterday. I have alot of friends I shoot with.....but only one nearby that shoots airguns. I have handed my wolverine hilite .22 to several people to shoot. I always watch someones trigger finger when they shoot. I can tell in one shot if they are just average.....or potentially more. Most everyone I see shoot.......punches the trigger like a lumberjack trying to chop down a tree. Which brings me to my point.....

For someone who is a highly developed shooter.....theyre more likely to feel the difference between a high end pcp and a average pcp. They usually print tighter groups downrange too. The trigger on my wolverine never ceases to amaze me. Most of my shooting buddies have never felt it tho.....even tho they have shot it. A highly polished shooter is also more likely to have a chronograph......and we're also more demanding of what we see. So......

If someone else bought those same guns.....they might have felt most if not all of em were up to snuff per se. So....Im unlucky too......but only because Im very demanding and difficult to please when it comes to my guns.

Cliff, I've had many guns and most I bought used, but have had no where near the problems you seem to have had? You might be unluckier than some, or your standards might be a little higher????LOL
The most disappointment to me was getting my $3800 Thomas FT delivered with a cracked pistol grip. Then a month later an air leak. Got all that fixed and I'll have to say it's my most accurate gun inside 50yds and my most cherished.
Haven't had the pleasure to own a RAW with the polygon barrel yet? It would most definitely be the less expensive route to get the same results. But I would have to say I have fell in love with the swing port on the Thomas and the way it swings out of the way to make barrel cleaning a breeze.

Had some clipping issues on my first Cricket rifle, but took LCD off and put it back on and the clipping issues went away. Other than that all my Crickets preformed flawlessly and no air leaks on any of them.

Bought a new FX400 that shot like crap in the beginning, but later found out the end cap on the LCD was loose as were scope rings and got that solved. But once I got it shooting top notch, I wished I had bought one with a regulator and carbon fiber bottle, so I traded it for a Cricket instead of modding it.

All your luck with those FX500's has me keeping those on my radar ;-)

Bought a used Evanix Blizzard which later developed an air leak. The seller fixed it at no charge. Didn't like the low shot count, but the damn thing was a laser? Had issues with the lever cocking arm too.

Hope your next purchase serves your needs well brother.

Fuss

The experiences my shooting buddy and I have had are very similar to yours. He had a Cricket rifle he had to send back because of accuracy issues. I have a S510 right now that's driving me nuts. Those are just two examples out of the ones we have had. My buddy has built winning bench rest PBs and owns a gun smithing lathe, so he knows more than most of us, especially me, on how to get a gun to shoot. It seems that it's a crap shoot as to whether you get one that's ready to go out of the box.

Yes Clif_Allen,
I am much more unlucky than you... I could never afford to buy all those guns

No story. Because I'm too lazy, or easily bored or whatever to be into high accuracy target shooting. I frequent the 'Handloaders Bench' where extreme accuracy guys talk about reloading and hunting and building rifles etc. What some of those guys are willing to do to 'stack lead' is beyond comprehension to me. Constantly searching for that perfect casing, powder, bullet, primer, seating depth and on and on. And on.

I certainly am frustrated and would not keep a gun that was much out of moa accuracy and I admit it is fun when occasionally I manage to make almost one ragged hole with ten shots or so. But I am glad I don't have the 'target shooting gene' or grey matter wrinkle. Whatever it is. I would get extremely frustrated buying guns that had to go back or dumped off at a loss because they couldn't stack pellets or the equivalent in my powder burners.

I admit it is a character flaw. It runs through my whole life. I just don't care.

I'd like to know which ones were good and which ones gave you issues and what were the issues/solutions to fix them?

All the guns I bought have been flawless. New or used. But I can't say the same for the two persons who bought my guns. The first was the .25 mrod which for some reason decided the valve poppet needed service when the day before I shipped it, it was shooting 1/2 groups at fifty yards. Another was the 9mm cricket which was a nightmare for me because for some reason the gun was shooting terrible according to the buyer even though it just had a professional tune.

I feel your pain. I don't change equipment very often and have not had the issues you have, HOWEVER it seems as if there are substantial issues with some of the high end guns. I have been looking for another FT rifle for several years. I am really concerned about dropping 2K to 3.5K on a rifle and getting it only to find out it does not work. Without mentioning specific rifles I have friends who have had top level guns that either did not work initially or crapped out during a match. I have back up guns but really, two 2K+ guns plus optics is kind of over the top and should not be required.

I have a different issue with being unlucky. All my air guns arrive broken or looking like they've been in a car accident. Either that, or they break and I have to wait for replacement parts within the first few months of owning them.

I've been relatively lucky with out of the box accuracy with some of my guns (but not all). 

One thing I have learnt is not to judge any gun until I put a half functional scope on it. There was a time when new rifles got the old Leapers scope until I decided if they were worth keeping. This was until I tried one of my other scopes on a gun I had declared unfit to keep. Turned out that old Leapers was making accuracy and holding zero about as reliable as a Nigerian eBay seller. 

All that aside, extreme accuracy is a lottery for everyone. There are a lot of shooters who get by with mediocre accuracy and don't know the difference but If you are somebody who understands and appreciates the difference then, imo, the best thing is to hang on to your accurate guns when you get them. 

Sometimes that means ignoring all the hype and clever marketing. Ignoring all the professional reviewers and resisting the temptation to try something new constantly. There is no such thing as an accurate airgun model from any brand. Each one is different and has a range of accuracy which is 100% random. Never trust reviews that claim "this is the most accurate air gun ever". 

In a way, I have been lucky with so many bad experiences because it has put me off trying new guns for a while so it's saving me time and money. All I wanted was an accurate reliable air gun with nicely figured attractive Walnut and no surface blemishes but I've given up hope on that so no need to buy new guns any time soon. I'll invest in upgrading my stocks and scopes instead. 

Maybe I'm alone on this but I am sick of seeing all the new air gun models that offer nothing new (apart from teething problems). I really want to see more upgrades for my existing guns so I can keep the accurate ones and get the new features I like too. I don't need to risk another gun having problems. A forward cocking lever and a new stock brings my Cricket right bang smack up to date. Give me that instead!

I am with you and have to say that you are without a doubt the most unlucky guy on this planet. You have all the rights to stab yourself in the eye or where ever you like

Much better luck with used guns and refurbs from DiscosRus have performed flawlessly. I miss Normand. A new gun gets shipped to distributor, then from their hands to consumer. I was disappointed three times with my kitchen table being the final stage of assembly for these new guns.

I've had 3 PCPs, and no problems with any of them.

1. 1st gen. .177 Marauder, bought used. Great gun. It shot more accurate when the shroud nut was a bit loose. Is that a flaw?
2. New .177 Brocock Compatto. No issues; perfect.
3. Used/modded .22 Hammerli 850 AirMagnum. Some minor issues. Original buttpad screws were missing, as the previous owner had put in a spacer and needed longer screws. However, he also included 7 extra magazines and two big tins of pellets. 
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   Technically, if I were obsessive, I could say that 2/3 "had issues." But realistically, I've done well.
   
   Springers are a different story, for me.

I know your pain... and still have both eyes... just.

Air Arms Shamal (a long time ago): Sublime back in the day and still pretty awesome
HW100: has never missed a beat, bought new 7 years ago with one service
HW 97K: bought new, solid, consitent and no problems, shouldn't have sold that one
Theoben MFR: bought second hand and an UTTER disaster, very nearly gave up on airguns completely after that one
FX Royale 400: bought new, mixed so far, one problem out of the box saw it going back to dealer within a week, then a slow leak, and not the kind of out of the box accuracy you see touted on Youtube, however I have no doubt it will come very good eventually.

So 3/5 good - not as unlucky as you.

(-;

Oh, I feel your pain. And it isn't just the expense- it's paying the money, waiting on pins and needles, imagining that happy day- and boom: Disappointment.
If you have more than one "high end" gun in your closet it doesn't seem to ameliorate the hurt either. It's like having six children and one of them is sick. The other five healthy children aren't making you feel any less sorry?

I instruct 4H kids, and they love to shoot .22's - they go bang and rock when they pull the trigger.
I prefer to instruct with good air guns: drive out all of the sloppy habits at an early stage.
When your rifle works well and they see themselves improve in every aspect- sight alignment, form, follow through, trigger control, etc...- it's beautiful! But if that airgun breaks down, or gets "fiddly"- you can't get them back to the air bench. They're off to the Ruger 10/22's and doing gangster holds from the prone.
Best Wishes, mate!

I am similarly unlucky. But haven't bought so many. My first pcp was a cheap .177. Shot well, plenty accurate up to about 75yds. Bought it used. At that point had no fill station so I was always taking it an hour away, when I could, to be filled. 

My second, and current pcp, is a Hatsan Gladius .25 Long. Bought it new. Was amazing out of the box when paired with a high powered scope. Easily grouping inside 1inch at 100yds. And able to destroy an RC car set out 300yds. *about a 1ft square* I preferred my .25 over all my .22 rimfires... Its so quiet, it makes shooting enjoyable! And feels equally capable as small caliber guns. 

One day, I sat up shooting in the desert and the bolt jammed! Felt like an easy fix, but I was unable to find any info on how to get inside the area of the bolt mechanism. So I sent it in for warranty.. They said indeed, something had come undone inside the area I had asked about. But it had to been caused by me taking it apart! Which was BS, I never attempted any disassemble. And charged me $150 to reassemble. Also they discovered something they perceived as a problem, it was supposedly shooting beyond specified velocity. So they changed my power adjustment knob without my consent. Since getting it back, I can feel its much weaker. Accuracy I cant comment on, since i may have to resight. 

Also from the time it jammed, i had air in my cylinder. Unscrewed and kept it with me until my gun came back. Almost full 200bar. Was excited to get it back, shot it not even a full mag with complete discontent, put it up. Next morning I pick it up pull it back for a quick shot. NO AIR! For some reason, coincidence or not, my cylinder won't hold air over night now. 

This gun was the most fun and success I've had on doves for any year, any gun. Its a combination of range and silence that doesn't spook the flock. That makes pcp a competitor for small game. But I cant wait to be rid of it now! For ever since my experience with Hatsan, it just gives me grief every time i see it! I may consider another pcp, but ill never consider Hatsan again. 

"ThePain321"

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???

. doves ??? I thought they were a migratory bird .. Where do you hunt them with an air rifle?

I am usually unlucky in many things, but so far with PCP rifles not as much as you. My first PCP Evanix Rainstorm .22. Shot it a lot and not one glitch sold it to a friend several years ago He still has it. Then I got a FX Royale 400 .22. I put a 24 inch barrel on it. I have shot it several thousand times and have killed 250 squirrels with it. I have it smoking at 1000 fps with 18 grain pellet. I think I have had it about ten years maybe a little less. Never replaced any o-rings or anything, absolute trouble free. Had a 50 cal Bandit, never a problem, no problems with my Marauder Pistol, Sumatra Carbine 2500, FX Wildcat, Wolverine B Lite .25. The only two that I had worked on was my Colibri Hummingbird, after a couple years had a o ring leaking then recently was trying to crank up the energy and screwed something up, but that was my fault. My 457 air rifle, only had it a couple days when the valve failed. So I guess I have not had such bad luck ( So Far)