Huntsman vs huntsman regulated

better shot count and speed consistency in the regulated version... necessary? NO. Worth the extra money... long term/resale... maybe wise. My 2 cents.

Other than the initial cost, there is no down side to having the regulated version. Your consistent velocity shot count will be greater, which might be an advantage later, depending on your uses. If you keep it only 5 years, that's $70 a year for the regulated version, about one bottle of good bourbon! And it's resale value will recoup most of the difference. I think it;s worth it.

My first Huntsman (Regal) was unregulated, and just as accurate within the flat portion of its velocity curve as the regulated versions that followed (Regal XL, Revere, Revere Safari).
As @cavedweller mentioned though, the flat part of the curve won't give you as many shots per fill as with a regulated version. The regulated ones aren't necessarily more efficient with air, just a bigger usable range of cylinder pressure (250 bar down to ~150ish bar, vs 210 bar down to ~160-ish bar on my unregulated gun, if memory serves). You'd be filling the unregulated version more often, but adding a smaller amount of air per fill. Which makes it a great choice if you're hand pumping.

Pros of unregulated - Ideal for hand pumping, never having to rebuild the regulator, no chance of reg creep.
Cons of unregulated - less shots per fill, & likely lower resale value.

Edited to add: Mentioned no reg creep as a possible pro for unregulated, but should mention that I've never experienced it with the regulated versions, not even a little. The Humas that Daystate uses are good stuff.

^ to echo, in fewer words: the Huntsman unregulated version is a really good design. They didn’t regulate it for many years because on some level, it’s just not necessary.

Here is what I did…

I bought the unregulated. I also bought the regulator from Huma. The Huntsman is super easy to install the reg yourself.

The gun doesn’t need it. I’m shooting the 30 yard challenge with mine - unregulated- it never shoots less than 192. Easy accuracy too - don’t have to coax accuracy out of it.

My reasons for buying unregulated rifle and Huma regulator separately:

#1: I like working on rifles, so it was inevitable, lol.

#2: I wanted the foster fitting on the end - instead of a gauge and having to use a fill probe. When I had the regulator in mine, I used the compressor gauge to manage refill pressure. Rifle is more convenient and looks better this way.

#3: It saves you a few hundred to add the reg yourself - if you find you “need” it - doubtful that you will.

-Ed

I had an unregulated Regal XL in .22, fantastic with a slight curved shot string with its Harper Slingshot Valve, if I were to buy another one, it would be REGULATED....just that much more consistent FPS.

What everyone above has said is true. But in my opinion at 20 yards you won’t notice the difference.

I have an old 90’s Huntsman non regulated. It finally leaked this year and took about a half hour to get it resealed.

So my question to you would be are you mechanical, do you have other airguns, how much shooting do you do in a sitting.

If you are popping the occasional squirrel and some plinking here and there I say no reg.

I am of the idea that a regulated rifle works better and you enjoy it better when it has a big bottle. Many shots on regulated mode.

The huntsman has a very, very small air cilinder, so the regulated shots are going to be 20 at the most. Do not worth the difference, in my opinion.

elh0102 said:

Other than the initial cost, there is no down side to having the regulated version. Your consistent velocity shot count will be greater, which might be an advantage later, depending on your uses. If you keep it only 5 years, that's $70 a year for the regulated version, about one bottle of good bourbon! And it's resale value will recoup most of the difference. I think it;s worth it.

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what a decision you make him have to make ! 5 bottles of good Bourbon OR regulated gun ? HMMM?

Emu said:

The huntsman has a very, very small air cilinder, so the regulated shots are going to be 20 at the most. Do not worth the difference, in my opinion.

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My unregulated Regal in .22 would get 40 shots with no point of impact change at 40 yards. At the OPs stated max range (20 yards), probably a lot more.

wolfmangreg said:

My unregulated Regal in .22 would get 40 shots with no point of impact change at 40 yards. At the OPs stated max range (20 yards), probably a lot more.

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You are right.... Unregulated gives 40.... If you cut the crest you can have maybe 5 -10 shots more.

Doesn't it really just depend on the level of consistency needed for the individual shooter's needs? An unregulated rifle will have higher velocity at the beginning of a complete fill, and will decrease in a nonlinear manner to a point, before flattening out, but continuing to fall off. If you are shooting a sufficiently large target, then the number of on-target shots may be perfectly acceptable, with distance being an important variable. If that is the case, then the added complication of a regulator might not be worthwhile. But, if the range is greater and/or the target smaller, then the greater number of shots at a smaller velocity variation will be beneficial.

elh0102 said:

Doesn't it really just depend on the level of consistency needed for the individual shooter's needs? An unregulated rifle will have higher velocity at the beginning of a complete fill, and will decrease in a nonlinear manner to a point, before flattening out, but continuing to fall off. If you are shooting a sufficiently large target, then the number of on-target shots may be perfectly acceptable, with distance being an important variable. If that is the case, then the added complication of a regulator might not be worthwhile. But, if the range is greater and/or the target smaller, then the greater number of shots at a smaller velocity variation will be beneficial.

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A well-tuned unregulated gun should actually start out at a lower velocity then rise to a peak and then lose velocity gradually. With some chronograph work a shooter can determine the optimum fill pressure and # of usable shots within an acceptable variation in velocity-for example a 30 fps extreme spread between minimum and peak velocity.

That is such a nice airgun that I would go with the regulated one . Sure you can learn and remember your shot curve on a non regulated airgun but I would just splurge for the consistency of the regulated Huntsman.

I have one of each...don't over think this
...if money is an issue get the nonreg if money isn't an issue get the reg...you will love either one, I prefere the unregulated version and have posted about the virtues of them in other threads.

jt-outta-cali said:

I’m squirrelling @ 20 yards max, and target plinking out to 50. It’s $350 price diff for the regulated version… thoughts??

22 fac

Edit: to put things in perspective it’s a 25% difference in price

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At $1099 for the non-regulated, I wouldn't buy a regulated one unless it was used. I've had 2 of the non-regulated versions and you're going to get 35-38 shots with a 30fps spread in 22cal. I never had a problem shooting squirrels out to 55-60 with them. The fill pressure is lower than a regulated one, but all you need is a chronograph and a shot string to show you where to stop.

I have a Revere in .177. I shot it all afternoon on one fill when calibrating a FT scope. I can get more than 75 shots per fill and accuracy is the same all the way.

JohnL57 said:

A well-tuned unregulated gun should actually start out at a lower velocity then rise to a peak and then lose velocity gradually. With some chronograph work a shooter can determine the optimum fill pressure and # of usable shots within an acceptable variation in velocity-for example a 30 fps extreme spread between minimum and peak velocity.

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I've had only one unregulated rifle. That wasn't my experience, but maybe it wasn't well tuned. Regardless, I think it's generally true that an unregulated rifle can produce excellent results, but might require a bit more shooter involvement, not necessarily a bad thing.

I have the unregged Huntsman Regal XL in .22cal. I recall an older thread about fill pressure, shot count and ES. The majority were filling to 210 BAR with 30-35 shots on a fill, and an ES of 30 FPS. That was my experience as well.