I got my Airgun Technology 0.25 Vulcan Bullpup shortly after it came out a couple of years ago and it ultimately replaced my trusty Edgun Matador R3M as my #1 rifle. The two were very, very similar in specs, performance and build quality but the Vulcan beat out the Edgun based on: 1) the forward cocking bolt (which was later improved by the lever upgrade), 2) having a safety (which the Edgun didn't have), 3) a better magazine design and 4) being easier to add an aftermarket LDC to reduce report.
You couldn't beat the R3M for accuracy, consistency, reliability and ease of maintenance and I've probably dispatched more varmint with the R3M than any other air rifle. The Vulcan matched the Edgun's accuracy, reliability and solid construction but was easier/smoother to cock. The Edgun mags sometimes didn't cycle and hold the pellets in place with brittle o-rings that cracked and broke over time. The Vulcan magazines took a little more time to load but worked perfectly everytime - and, unlike the Edgun, you know when you've fired your last pellet in the mag because it won't allow you to cock the rifle after the last pellet (no more frustrating empty dry fires when going for that follow up shot after you've lost count of the mag).
As great a rifle as it was, the Gen3 Vulcan wasn't without its issues initially. It left the factory with a really loud and twangy ping when fired - which was easily fixed by adding a couple of rubber grommets to the hammer spring. The safety itself wasn't great - it was just a sliding piece that prevented the trigger from being engaged so if you adjusted the trigger too far, the safety plate couldn't slide under the trigger mechanism anymore and rendered the safety useless (this also limited the adjustability of the trigger). The factory cocking bolt was nice but required three separate actions in each direction to cock the rifle. AGT later released the biathlon style lever that greatly improved the cocking but it was a $160 upgrade. The gauge on the Gen3 was also known to be inaccurate and mine maxed out at around 200bar no matter how much I filled it; AGT sent replacements to anyone that asked for one but it never bothered me enough to go through the effort. Lastly, the stock wasn't great. I was lucky to get one of the few that had some nice grain to it but most were incredibly plain. The butt plate was a thin, flat rubber pad with no adjustment.
I received my 0.25 Vulcan 2 about two weeks ago and have only shot a handful of mags through it so don't have enough data to do any substantial comparison of the two yet but here are my initial impressions:
Pros:
Cons:
I haven't had a chance to really put this Vulcan 2 through its paces so can't compare things like shot count. Will add to this thread after I've had the chance to shoot it some more, get some chrony data, etc. As for now, here are some photos of the two rifles side by side for anyone considering the new model. I can't really say if it's worth the $500 delta it cost me to sell my Gen3 to upgrade to the new model but so far it's seems to be a worthy update to its older brother.
https://imgur.com/F7QyF0H
https://imgur.com/klsNGeZ
https://imgur.com/xhW8kNS
https://imgur.com/YJqCwuz
https://imgur.com/xweAqkR
https://imgur.com/39Z2NCX
https://imgur.com/ZRGbj9t
https://imgur.com/xCtsV2S
You couldn't beat the R3M for accuracy, consistency, reliability and ease of maintenance and I've probably dispatched more varmint with the R3M than any other air rifle. The Vulcan matched the Edgun's accuracy, reliability and solid construction but was easier/smoother to cock. The Edgun mags sometimes didn't cycle and hold the pellets in place with brittle o-rings that cracked and broke over time. The Vulcan magazines took a little more time to load but worked perfectly everytime - and, unlike the Edgun, you know when you've fired your last pellet in the mag because it won't allow you to cock the rifle after the last pellet (no more frustrating empty dry fires when going for that follow up shot after you've lost count of the mag).
As great a rifle as it was, the Gen3 Vulcan wasn't without its issues initially. It left the factory with a really loud and twangy ping when fired - which was easily fixed by adding a couple of rubber grommets to the hammer spring. The safety itself wasn't great - it was just a sliding piece that prevented the trigger from being engaged so if you adjusted the trigger too far, the safety plate couldn't slide under the trigger mechanism anymore and rendered the safety useless (this also limited the adjustability of the trigger). The factory cocking bolt was nice but required three separate actions in each direction to cock the rifle. AGT later released the biathlon style lever that greatly improved the cocking but it was a $160 upgrade. The gauge on the Gen3 was also known to be inaccurate and mine maxed out at around 200bar no matter how much I filled it; AGT sent replacements to anyone that asked for one but it never bothered me enough to go through the effort. Lastly, the stock wasn't great. I was lucky to get one of the few that had some nice grain to it but most were incredibly plain. The butt plate was a thin, flat rubber pad with no adjustment.
I received my 0.25 Vulcan 2 about two weeks ago and have only shot a handful of mags through it so don't have enough data to do any substantial comparison of the two yet but here are my initial impressions:
Pros:
- Just as accurate and consistent as the previous model: I quickly got it sighted in and it took out the first four squirrels I aimed it at between 50-75 yards.
- Slightly better build quality: everything seems to have been beefed up and probably improved.
- Side cocking lever included from factory.
- Better, more reliable safety mechanism.
- More accurate gauge.
- Higher capacity magazine (10 vs. 9 previously).
- Built-in picatinny slot in forearm: you can now just slide in a rail without having to modify your stock.
- Greatly improved stock: essentially the same stock w/ adjustable butt plate as the Gen4 Vulcans but looks so much nicer as a laminate!
Cons:
- It's longer and heavier than the previous model.
- There's no longer the red indicator at the end of the rifle that shows whether or not the rifle has been cocked (really liked this feature - not sure why they got rid of it).
- The move to a proprietary thread at end of barrel requires an LDC threaded specifically for the Vulcan; none of the many DonnyFL 1/2 x 20 UNF LDCs I have would fit it.
- The new magazine now sits flush on both sides of the action when inserted - which looks cleaner but you can no longer gauge how many pellets remain in the mag.
I haven't had a chance to really put this Vulcan 2 through its paces so can't compare things like shot count. Will add to this thread after I've had the chance to shoot it some more, get some chrony data, etc. As for now, here are some photos of the two rifles side by side for anyone considering the new model. I can't really say if it's worth the $500 delta it cost me to sell my Gen3 to upgrade to the new model but so far it's seems to be a worthy update to its older brother.
https://imgur.com/F7QyF0H
https://imgur.com/klsNGeZ
https://imgur.com/xhW8kNS
https://imgur.com/YJqCwuz
https://imgur.com/xweAqkR
https://imgur.com/39Z2NCX
https://imgur.com/ZRGbj9t
https://imgur.com/xCtsV2S
