Why are airgun more expensive than firearm.

I can go out and buy a good .22 lr for under $200. I can go and buy a good 12g shotgun for about $300. I can buy a AR15 or AK47 for under $1000. Most decent airgun are $500-1000. And high end airgun $1500-2500. Really? Is it the labor, the parts, or just the brand name that makes them expensive. The most expensive airgun I spend was $2000 and that's the impact x. And then compressor and tank added and cost is over $4000 ready to shoot, airgun shooting is more than my car. 
 
Well all in how you look at it really.

Inexpensive ar15 500$ to 650$

Inexpensive pcp 300$ to 500$

High end ar15 1000$ and upwards to over 2000$ for full customs

High end pcp 1000$ and to 2000$ plus

Then there is the ammo cost factor for them both 223 is what 50 cents to around 70 cents a shot, .22 pellets can go anywhere from 2 cents to around 5 cents a shot but the support equipment is where pcp airguns can seem to run the cost up a good deal.

Once you have figured out your airsupply it is much cheaper to shoot .177 .22 or even .25 pcp than most powder burners .I very often shoot my .25 pcp in my backyard without any issues from neighbors as mine are very quiet.I cannot however shoot any of my powder burners what so ever in my backyard due to the noise and living in a subdivision .

No matter what hobbies you pick up there's gonna be a low end and high end side to them.👍
 
Was looking at some ammo for a 50 cal the other day and it was like over $5.00 a round... buy as many rounds as you typically get with a tin of 18.1 grain JSBs and there is your $2000 right there. Course you can handload and cut the price down a little bit but it ain't cheap any way you look at it! Ain't like the days when we would melt the barrels on a 50 cal in a drenching rain storm and be screaming for more boxes of ammo to try and keep the enemies heads down. Ahhhhhh, those were the days … NOT!
 
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I think it’s partially to do with the location of the power source. Airguns store it on board along with all the ins and outs of making each “puff” consistent. 

Firearms place it in the bullet. Therefore, the consistency is controlled primarily in that location. In order to increase consistency you have to buy very expensive ammo or, load your own which comes with its own multitude of expenses. 
 
High end firearms does cost a lot, more than airguns
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What he said.
 
A match grade barrel cost as much as a used marauder and if you want to compete you buy several barrels in a years match which can reach a 1000 dollars. That's just barrels. You have powder, cases, primers, bullets, etc

Usually no one can shoot out a match grade airgun barrel. Only way you could wear out a match grade barrel is if you use wire brush and rod.
 
High end powder burners cost a lot more than high end PCPs... trust me, I would know. I have $2-$3k+ ARs - not even custom, just high end from manufacturers like Daniel Defense and LWRC, $4-$5k high end precision rifles(and there are much higher ends than that). High end precision rifle chassis(just the chassis and nothing else) can cost north of $2k, barrels alone can cost around $1k and they last only 1k to 2k rounds only, IF you are careful about shooting it and letting the barrel cool down between shots.

I recently stockpiled on ammo for my powder burners for the summer at an average of $2+ per round.

So, in short, high end powder burners are way more expensive than high end PCPs, from initial purchase price to ongoing run rate to cost per shots, and the cost of new barrels due to burnouts...


 
Ill add my experience as it relates to shotguns which are or should i say were my pashion until i found PCP airguns.

i spent the better part of 30 years shooting either registered skeet or trap,

the shotgun i use for skeet is a Krieghoff K-80 and for trap a Perrazzi MX-2000,,,,

cost for each was 15,000,

and honestly, nothing special compared to what many other used.
 
I see the cost of acquiring a good air rifle and firearm as generally equal. $200 to $500 in either buys crap. The firearm market is more mature, and there are more high end custom makers, and their work is expensive. The cost of routine maintenance of a PCP is more, just because the designs are all relatively fragile, and depend on parts that wear out. I think this may someday change, and we will see less reliance on O rings and flimsy barrel attaching designs. But, someone has to step up and do it. Right now, the market seems satisfied with designs that I consider weak. But, with proper maintenance, they work, so maybe I'm just the contrarian. 
 
sually no one can shoot out a match grade airgun barrel. Only way you could wear out a match grade barrel is if you use wire brush and rod.

A brass brush does not wear out an air gun barrel. The myth is that air gun barrels are a much softer steel than firearm barrels. Using a brush is sometimes one of the only ways to break a heavily leaded barrel free and get it clean.
 
I got a better question; Why is everything so expensive. When I was kid you could buy a Remington 700 for about $200. I saved a little longer and bought a Sako for $300 due to the better quality. You could buy a Benjamin pump for in the 30s and pellets so cheap I can't even recall their cost it was so insignificant.

And now even though we are constantly reminded by our benevolent masters that we have low to no inflation every time I blink the cost of everything but our "devices" goes up.

The fine folks who produce these guns have to make a profit so they charge what the market will bare. Hopefully there is enough left over after all the production costs to put a few beans in the pot and maybe have enough left over for some pellets.
 
sually no one can shoot out a match grade airgun barrel. Only way you could wear out a match grade barrel is if you use wire brush and rod.

A brass brush does not wear out an air gun barrel. The myth is that air gun barrels are a much softer steel than firearm barrels. Using a brush is sometimes one of the only ways to break a heavily leaded barrel free and get it clean.

When I first got in to pellet guns 7 years ago, i didnt even know how i should care for the gun. I remember reading somewhere pellet guns use softer steel then firearms and shouldn't be cleaned the same way. Whether this was true or not to a naive shooter, I still clean my guns this way.
 
I can go out and buy a good .22 lr for under $200. I can go and buy a good 12g shotgun for about $300. I can buy a AR15 or AK47 for under $1000. Most decent airgun are $500-1000. And high end airgun $1500-2500. Really? Is it the labor, the parts, or just the brand name that makes them expensive. The most expensive airgun I spend was $2000 and that's the impact x. And then compressor and tank added and cost is over $4000 ready to shoot, airgun shooting is more than my car.


Define "good".
 
Fact,air guns cost a lot more and not because they are better,it is because the nature of the beast...Don't tell me a good power burner are just as expensive,though they can be.My custom 10/22 can shot 1/4in groups at 50 yds and it cost me about $600 to built,I paid $200 for a Remington .222 that can shot under 1" at one hundred yds....

The high cost of air guns can Not be compared to power burners because of a multitude of factors...it is a niche market is one.

Bottom line is the air guns are"special".LOL.That's right ha ha.






 
Another thing I have owned over 200 powder burners and maybe 75 air guns and that is in a period of 50 years...owned a Colt Python, how the heck you can compare a real Colt Python to a replica doesn't get it...

Ok what is good....define it,for me something you can Trust....yes trust it will hit what you are aiming at Everytime you pull the trigger.....the nicer the nice the higher the price...

Know what you are doing and have experience to pick out the best arms for your money and purpose.