New to PCP

"...Should I skip to the slugs? seems like it’s
The latest and greatest..."
No need for that.
I find slugs to be more challenging than pellets. The slugs have higher BC, delivering more energy at greater distances. However, I've spent much more time tuning my FX Impacts for slugs compared to pellets.
I still use diabolo pellets about 25% of the time.

dont forget air, compressor, tank .......

I pretty much fully agree with bamavet55 , other than I shoot pellets about 99% of the time.

There are use scenarios for the better BC of slugs: shooting generally longer than 100 yards, or hunting. Since slugs don't destabilize at higher speeds than pellets can generally be shot, you can start out with more energy at the gun's muzzle, and end up with more energy available to put the smack on your prey.

But generally tuning will be more time consuming with slugs, and you may even find yourself wanting to buy specific barrels and other slug/power related parts.

For punching paper from 100 yards and in, I'm very happy with pellets. And my hunting isn't anything bigger than ground squirrels out to maybe 75 yards, so once again I'm just fine with the simplicity of pellets.

I sometimes play with some different slugs. Mostly to find out what all the hoo-ha is about. And I'm still quite happy shooting diabolo shaped pellets.

USAF said:

I’m still on the fence. Going Fx M3 or edgun or the like. I have nothing but a newer Gamo, but since discovering PCP I got the fever.
Should I skip to the slugs? seems like it’s
The latest and greatest.

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Sold my impacts and went compact and bought a few edguns and love them, I was hooked into the slug craze but it was way overkill for what I needed, I don’t shoot past 75yds and I mainly just pest smaller critters and a 31.2g slug going 1050fps is definitely overkill shooting sparrows and chipmunks, it’s fun but way to much, I only shoot pellets now because that’s all I need but everybody is different

Welding shops will probably NOT fill to the pressure needed in a carbon fiber tank. Fire dept, dive shop (with High Pressure fill capabilities) or paintball shop is your best bet if you won't have a compressor. My Yong Heng has EASILY paid for itself in fill charges & gas for the round trip. If you're truly a "newbie" to PCP's guns like the M3 might be difficult & confusing to someone with zero experience. Think about guns that have a reputation for being great shooters out of the box (like Taipans, FX Royale platform, Kalibrgun Cricket, etc). They're all every bit as accurate with pellets as the more "bells & whistles" guns & WAY less problematic. I wouldn't worry about slugs unless you'll mostly be hunting. Try to keep it simple in the familiarization, learning curve & maintenance departments. You'll spend a LOT more time enjoying shooting with those types. That's MY recommendation!

USAF said:

Thinking just a large tank. Refilling at a welding shop local.

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Here's a link to a very handy calculator that can let you know how many gun fills you can get from a tank. Lot of variables you can enter and play with.


Unless you want to go more than 100 yards or hunt larger pests a standard quality pellet barrel with ordinary pellets are fine. Also I would be mindful to get a PCP with a nominal 3,000 psi fill. A 4,500 psi gun really can only be filled by compressor.

FYI I get 45 fills from 1,800 to 3,000 PSI in my 22 Maurauder from a 98 Cu FT 4500 PSI SCBA tank.

Nothing wrong with an M3. I am arguing with myself about trying one out.
Slugs or pellets is all a matter of personal tastes. When I got into this all i was interested in was slugs. Too many YouTube videos I guess.
I enjoyed the slugs and the process of finding the right one and the tuning but had a desire for a gun I could just pick up and shoot and not think about it.
Bought a Maverick Compact in 25 and fell in love with the simplicity of the pellets. Simple to tune for and once I found a tune that had it shooting accurately I left it alone. I have not touched it for tune and all I do is chronograph it every 3-4 outings to make sure the tune is holding. No scope sticker, twisting turrets or any of that. I keep my shots within 75 yards and have the hold overs pretty much memorized.
I will still use the slug gun but for pure enjoyment the pellets work for me.

Just a suggestion… whatever you choose, get comfortable with pellets. Work on precision. You can have a huge stockpile of pellets that shoot great out of your gun for pennies on the dollar. I don’t like hoarders, but there is something to be said for having a year of ammo in stock and not worrying if vendors will have your pellet of choice in stock. Then if you want try slugs. If your not going after larger pests there may be no need for slugs. Don’t get me wrong, I love slugs for specific applications. But it’s pellets that bring me the most joy. There is nothing better than shooting pellets more accurately than hand loading powder burners at 100 yards LOL. It gets them fired up every time. “Yep, I’m just shooting a BB gun”.

USAF said:

Wow a. Ton of info right there, appreciate all of it thanks. I’ll digest it, yeah think I want more shooting time and less tuning at this point.

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FYI:Tuning requires SHOOTING.
As a matter of fact, my PCPs are boringly accurate with JSB diabolo pellets in every caliber. When I'm bored with an activity, I spend less time engaged in it.
Now as to slugs, searching for that precise velocity, hammer-spring tension, regulator pressure, valve travel and projectile diameter for the best accuracy possible, is the challenge for me. This all requires testing, i.e. SHOOTING. More trigger time while tuning is never boring for me. It's the challenge that attracts me.
"To each their own..."

While the impact will be challenging as a first pcp it will offer you all kinds of growth. The best thing is you should be able to pull it out with factory tune and shoot the most common pellet in whatever caliber you choose very well. I’m the meantime you can do tons of research on tuning the gun and when you get a knowledge base and a little bored dive into the slug world and making modifications. I don’t think it is horrible as a first gun.

Slugs are a whole different game, pellets can mostly do what you want within 100yds depending on caliber and purpose. Definitely having the ability to tune and make adjustments is a bonus, some of the newer options are coming out with externally adjustable regulators and hammer tension. Combine that with easy caliber changes and you have one gun that can do most everything. Personally, I have been looking at the Krait and the Prophet2 as possible new additions. So far the better shooting slug barrels are not running a choke, vs pellet barrels that are running slight chokes.

Slugs or Pellets, car or truck; it really depends on what your personal plans and preference is. How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Keeping it simple, 100 yards and less pellets are perfect; no real reason to venture into slugs; unless you just want the headaches. I'm mainly a slug shooter now because I enjoy long range shooting and all of my rifles are tuned for heavier projectiles. I do have rigs that are setup for under 75 yards and they're pellet only shooters. Everything has a purpose, slugs have been around since the beginning of mass produced air guns; we just forgot our history about air guns and the accessories that followed. Todays pellets and slugs have a specific place of use that is ultimately determined by the shooter and the rifle.

I guess I'll never understand people who use the term "boringly accurate".

At least for me, my airgun is a tool and I WANT it to be as accurate/precise as possible.

When I have a *job* to do, I hate it when my tool is not "boringly accurate".

Perhaps those folks who have "boringly accurate" airguns should enter competitions and prove this so called "boring" accuracy? (chuckle)

If you're the type of guy that's an experimenter looking to squeeze the most accuracy at long ranges (100 yds or more), and are willing to spend a lot of time and money on various types of ammo, go for the FX rifles. If you are a shooter and want good accuracy up to 100 yds and don't want to mess around with barrel changes, regulator adjustments, power improvement kits, then there a wealth of good choices. If you like bullpups, then consider Edguns or Crickets. Powerful, well made rifles. If more conventional rifles are your thing, the consider RAW or Daystates or something similar. These are simpler designs and less apt to need service as often. Like many of us, you will likely buy and sell a bunch of guns over the course of your adventure until you find the one you like best. I'm still working on it.

If you like bells and whistles and alot of fine tuning options, definitely the impact.
Or, simple, do nothing, point and shoot. Taipan.