Please help the newb buy a bullpup :)

Hola airheads :)

​Ex Army, 82nd Airborne gun enthusiast .....lots of guns and lots of practice......new to PCP so I need some help.

​I have a couple Gamo springers that have thousands of shots down the tube....they are too loud, to slow to load for follow up shots and not consistent on accuracy so I want to move to a PCP rifle.

​Its going to be used for my insane squirrel and possum problem.....they tear up everything in my yard !.....I have 1538 confirmed squirrel kills in my yard over a couple years and 33 possum kills in my backyard in the last month. My .177 Gamo doesn't drop possum but its deadly on squirrels.....I also want to target shoot in my backyard quietly.

1) I want a bullpup because half my shots are above my head into trees.
2) I want whisper quiet !......Should I modify any of the rifles I want listed below to get whisper quiet ?
​3) .22 cal seems the best choice but I would consider .25 unless you guys think its too much in a neighborhood....1/2 acre lots and I'm a good shot :)......but everyone misses a small moving target in a tree sometimes. 
4) I would like to stay in the $500 to $800 range for the rifle since its my first one......I have lots of scopes and realize I need to buy things to fill it on top of the rifle price
​ 5) Apparently I need a regulator if the rifle doesn't come with one ???
​ 6) So far I like ...Hatsan Bullboss .22 is $500, the .25 is $437....the Gladius is $840 and the Kral Puncher Breaker .22 is $500 ...all on Amazon
​ 7) Is the Gladius worth nearly double the price of the Bullboss and Kral ?
​ 8) Are the $350-$500 4500 psi air compressors a good purchase or go with a scuba tank ?......I don't mind a hand pump at all

Thanks in advance !.......any advice or other choices is appreciated !
 
those picks r ok but soon you will wish you spent a little more or want an upgrade those choices although good ,for a little more money you can climb right into the very good zone ,and from your resume you know how to handle yourself ,,i hear so many guys the buy on the lowwer scale say the same i wish i spent a little more for the better rifle brings more joy ,,i have a FX WILDCAT $1300 that is insanely good in every catagory if thats to much the BROCOK BANTAM $900 awesome BP even airfoce the TALLON or CONDOR for $720 is a ass kicker single shot for now ,,, i would go with a little better choice this is my humble opinion good luck pat
 
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#5 I have issue with. The with.Regulatoe is not 100% needed. What it does is keeps the energy more consistent from shot to shot.

I have the Kral 1st gen. Yes, it has had multiple issues and is currently sent out for some TLC. Before the problems showed up, I was very happy with the performance. I was getting 40 shots all within 5 FPS standard deviation. No regulator needed.

I have a hand pump and a scuba tank. The direct fill air compressor is next on my list to get. 

Where are you located? I bet we can find someone who can get you some local help .thanks for your service. It takes a special kind of wild to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft..
 
The FX Wildcat was one that I was looking at also.......its $1300.....the Hatsan Bullboss is $430-$500 plus probably a regulator and sound suppression costs of $200 ish......is the Wildcat or those other choices that much better ? ... remember this is a first PCP rifle for rodent doomsday fun. I will definitely want a $1500-$2000 rifle when I know more about them in the future.......seems like a ton of choices in the higher priced models.....and only a few good choices in the $500-$800 price range
 
#5 I have issue with. The with.Regulatoe is not 100% needed. What it does is keeps the energy more consistent from shot to shot.
I have the Kral 1st gen. Yes, it has had multiple issues and is currently sent out for some TLC. Before the problems showed up, I was very happy with the performance. I was getting 40 shots all within 5 FPS standard deviation. No regulator needed.
I have a hand pump and a scuba tank. The direct fill air compressor is next on my list to get. 
Where are you located? I bet we can find someone who can get you some local help .thanks for your service. It takes a special kind of wild to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft..



​Thank you ! I have a lot of hobbies that I consider scarier than jumping out of planes :) 
How many shots from having the scuba tank filled on average or how many times can you refill the rifle from the tank ?

​I'm in north west Forida and Newport Beach, Ca..........half and half this month
 
Hello squirrelh8r ... welcome to the forum. Ex Army here also ... 82nd Airborne also ... 307 Med Bat. Couldn't handle it with all the inspections and ended up in Vietnam with the 25th Inf Div. Thought they would put me in a hospital somewhere as I was a medic ... ahhhh but the powers that be didn't see it my way and stuck me in an infantry platoon on the Cambodian border ... anyhoo ... so you're lookin for a pcp that is fairly accurate so you can have a "mad minute" with the tree rats and garbage can junkies. I would recommend a Marauder with or without a regulator which would come in a little cheaper than the Gladius ... or possible the Gauntlet which is way cheaper than anything you have listed. I have several Marauders, the .25 is a little too loud to suit me for backyard shooting but the .22 is very nice. The pellet hitting the target is louder than the report from the muzzle. I have heard some people swear by the Kral and heard others swear at the Kral ... I don't have any experience with it though. I've heard a lot of good things about the Gauntlet as far as accuracy and getting a high shot count per fill and it has a regulator also I used a hand pump up until last year and finally broke down and got a nice compressor ... having your own air in a tank makes me feel prouder than a game rooster ... yeah I can pump her up, but I'm 67 years old now and getting a little lazy in my old age ... figured that if I was ever gonna take the plunge I had better do it while I was on this side of the turf. Those $250 to $350 Chinese compressors worry me, I would want something with a little more meat to it and 4,500 PSI is nothing to play around with ... if something went wrong that much pressure could easily kill you if you were close to it when it blew.

​Hope this helps, if you were willing to throw a little more money at it I would say you would probably be better off waiting for the new Dreamline by FX which is supposed to be less than $1,000 and you can basically order the gun to your own specifications in whatever configuration you desire.

​Stay Chilly
John
 
"Buy once' Cry once" kinda applies here. I've owned Hatsan's, Benjamin's, Crosman's, QB's, Taipan, AirArms, WAR, Weihrauch, Brocock, BSA, FX (I think that's all) I can say you won't find me purchasing any more lower quality guns. All I own now are BSA, Brocock, Taipan, Weihrauch and FX. The triggers are much nicer as well as the fit and finish.
A gun that ticks all of your boxes, but hasn't been mentioned, is the Taipan. Great trigger, regulated, great accuracy, super quiet, 50 shots per fill.

I really hate guy who self promote in posts looking for information, but I just happen to have a great Taipan Mutant .22 in the classifieds right now if you are interested.
 
Here is something that fits your budget and form.

It's Zbroia Kozak PCP semi bull pup. I owe one in 177, but for your needs 22 is better.

It is regulated, has magazines (double load prevention) made from quality materials and accurate. Also comes with shroud and moderator.

Downsides are: not very air efficient, has weak magazine advancement pin that is prone to break if tuned for too much power. Moderator can be improved.

Overall it is a lot of bang for the buck.
 
+1 on the Wildcat. Been having Hatsan problems, and after getting frustrated trying to fix, I pick up one of my 2 Wildcats, and relieve the tension! Sometimes, you do get what you paid for. Unfortunately for me, I always tend to start cheap, then work my way up. When I get to the top, I wonder why I wasted all the money going up the ladder. I've got 7 PCP rifles, and the quality of FX is far above all of them.
 
"cootertwo"+1 on the Wildcat. Been having Hatsan problems, and after getting frustrated trying to fix, I pick up one of my 2 Wildcats, and relieve the tension! Sometimes, you do get what you paid for. Unfortunately for me, I always tend to start cheap, then work my way up. When I get to the top, I wonder why I wasted all the money going up the ladder. I've got 7 PCP rifles, and the quality of FX is far above all of them.




I agree. Hatsan are a great buy for your $ but they tend to have problems. I'm always figuring out how to fix them. I learned a lot about pcp's by owning 4 Hatsans but I am definitely moving on to a higher end pcp, either FX, Kilbre, Ed Gun.
 
ugh !.........so the Hatsan Bullboss and Kral Puncher are basically pieces of crap ?!?......They both have 1 year warranties and are only $500 compared to triple the price for the FX Wildcat.........I was wanting to get a starter $500 rifle until I know enough and test enough of them to finally pick a good $1500 +- rifle.

​So basically I need to skip the two I mentioed above and get the FX......I looked at the Brocock......but the name sounds like a big black vibrator !!! I dont want to clean or shoot a Brocock ! lol
 
Really go with the WILDCAT I DONT KNOW OF ANYONE THAT THOUGHT GETTINH ONE WAS A BAD CHOICE OR DIDNT FIT THEM I CANT SAA HOW IT COULDNT FIT THEM UNLESS THEY HAD TINY LITTLE T. .REX ARMS ..ANYWHO YOU WILL THANK THE GODS ONCE YOU ENTER INTO THE MID PRICED AIR GUNS ..OH HEERES ANOTHER IDEA ..CALL MANUFACTURES YOUR A VET. ..AND THANK YOU FOR THTHATSOME OFFER SPECIAL. PRICING FOR VETs. I know air force air guns does ..also when you buy ur scope definitely use your dd214 almost all scope co. Offer big time discounts for veteran ..get the wildcat .thaank us later . .sux theres like np place to go and hold and see for yourself. Good luck. HYNZIE
 
First pick would be Wildcat, second Bantam. Hugget or DonnyFL moderator will keep it plenty quiet for suburban shooting. Utah Airguns is one example of a shop who will make your purchase easy and ensure you get everything right the first time. You will want a CF tank, which Utah can include. Air Hogs whole hog tank kit is nice too. Dont bother with the little 90cu in tank, it won’t fill to the pressures you’ll want (only 2900psi full reg). You will not regret spending the extra money to enter PCP’s at this level, rather than something down market which you will inevitably want to upgrade, which requires more time/effort/money. 
 
If you do decide to get into PCP's "on the cheap" I would recommend you pick up a Gamo Urban (made by BSA) at Walmart for $207.99. That way when you decide to upgrade you can get close to your $$ back, or even keep it as a back up. If you get a $500 Bullboss what do you think you could get for it used? They sell the refurbs for $399 and sometimes less so maybe $300 back?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gamo-Urban-PCP-Air-Rifle/55569395
 
"squirrellh8r"ugh !.........so the Hatsan Bullboss and Kral Puncher are basically pieces of crap ?!?......They both have 1 year warranties and are only $500 compared to triple the price for the FX Wildcat.........I was wanting to get a starter $500 rifle until I know enough and test enough of them to finally pick a good $1500 +- rifle.
​So basically I need to skip the two I mentioed above and get the FX......I looked at the Brocock......but the name sounds like a big black vibrator !!! I dont want to clean or shoot a Brocock ! lol
So don't be so quick to dismiss the Brocock Bantam. I own a Wildcat .22 and as much as I like it, I prefer the Brocock's weight and balance and mine is just as accurate as the WC. Though it isn't regulated like the Wildcat, I still get around 70 "good shots" on a fill, which is pretty much the same as the Wildcat. If money is a factor, as it is for most of us, the Bantam is $900 versus $1300 for the WC. Both guns require moderation if you require backyard friendly, so in either case expect to add some cash for that too.
 
If you go with a high end gun you will miss out on some learning experience and all the fun that comes with the journey to one day getting the high end gun. Just my opinion. That being said my bullboss shoots lights out at 50 yards only sent it out for a tune because i need more power after i put a regulator in to shoot the Redesigned .22 monster 25.39 gr