I am new to air guns and have very little knowledge. I am right-handed but left dominant. I need a gun that can be shot either hand or one made just for lefty's. I be useing it for target and squirrel hunting under 50 yards. and recommendations?
N/A Any suggestion for a beginner gun?
- Thread starter NEWYORKHILLBILLY
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NY,
Very popular question. Air Venturi Avenger is OK, AV just came out with an upgraded platform, Avenge-X, addressing Avenger shortcomings. JTS Airacuda Max and Standard, Dynamic Air Rifle (DAR) Generation 3 and Umarex Gauntlet are all Chinese made "starter" PCPs in similar price range. Be mindful of size and weight, long and heavy are being replaced by shorter and lighter. Picatinny scope rails and side-lever action are also gaining in popularity over dovetail rails and bolt-action. Searching each brand in the archives will help you decide, too. Best of Luck, WM
Very popular question. Air Venturi Avenger is OK, AV just came out with an upgraded platform, Avenge-X, addressing Avenger shortcomings. JTS Airacuda Max and Standard, Dynamic Air Rifle (DAR) Generation 3 and Umarex Gauntlet are all Chinese made "starter" PCPs in similar price range. Be mindful of size and weight, long and heavy are being replaced by shorter and lighter. Picatinny scope rails and side-lever action are also gaining in popularity over dovetail rails and bolt-action. Searching each brand in the archives will help you decide, too. Best of Luck, WM
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I have 1 Avenger and 3 P35s. I shoot the P35s much more because they are so short and fit me so well. But they have a big drawback for a first gun. The manual is essentially useless. Doesn't tell you how to let the air out, adjust the trigger, put air in or much of anything. If you can look at youtubes to get that information and would be OK with that I think they are great. I am also right handed and left eye dominant. The magazines on P35s fit flush so they don't hit you in the face. The cocking handle is on the right which I prefer. The avenger comes with a decent manual which could be a major plus. I think the Avenge X is probably worth the extra money. The Avenger uses plastic where it isn't the best material but it is still a lot of gun for the money. The Avenge X allows you to move the cocking lever to the left if you want (and you would need to on the bullpup version because it's in the back) and also switch calibers for less than $100. My only big complaints about my Avenger is it is very long and the stock doesn't fit me well. It is accurate and powerful and much easier to adjust than my P35s.
You did not mention how you plan to put air in your PCP but if you will hand pump, a gun like the Prod or the newer Umarex Notos would be my choice. They don't store a lot of air so they are much easier to hand pump. You only get around 20 full power shots but that is plenty for hunting and still useful for target shooting or plinking. Bigger guns like the P35 or the Avenger take hundreds of pumps to fill. My Prod takes about 30 pumps. I retuned my Prod for hunting I thought it was a little low on fpe. I think the Notos comes set to a power a little above where I took my Prod. And it's cheaper.
You did not mention how you plan to put air in your PCP but if you will hand pump, a gun like the Prod or the newer Umarex Notos would be my choice. They don't store a lot of air so they are much easier to hand pump. You only get around 20 full power shots but that is plenty for hunting and still useful for target shooting or plinking. Bigger guns like the P35 or the Avenger take hundreds of pumps to fill. My Prod takes about 30 pumps. I retuned my Prod for hunting I thought it was a little low on fpe. I think the Notos comes set to a power a little above where I took my Prod. And it's cheaper.
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What's your all in budget? You'll need the rifle, a scope, ammo and an air fill source. That will help a lot with recommendations.
Are you willing to buy used to get nicer gun for a little less. Airguns of Arizona has some very nice guns in the used page.
For your distance and purpose I think .22 caliber would suit you well. .177 would work but more effected by wind. .25 a little overkill.
Are you willing to buy used to get nicer gun for a little less. Airguns of Arizona has some very nice guns in the used page.
For your distance and purpose I think .22 caliber would suit you well. .177 would work but more effected by wind. .25 a little overkill.
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Just a clarifying point on Jim's comment on filling guns - the need for hundreds of pumps to fill some guns only speaks to the initial fill, not how you use it. The amount of air used by a gun is proportional to the power level of the shots, the efficiency of the gun, but most importantly the number of shots taken. If you compare three guns that are shooting at the same power level, they are going to take approximately the same amount of pumping to refill after the same number of shots are taken from each.
A gun with a larger reservoir allows you to take more shots per fill, but you don't have to take all of them before refilling. When I used to handpump, I only would shoot the amount of shots that allowed for a refill in one pumping session of around 50 strokes - because ideally, once you hit that ~50 level, you need to vent the hand pump and let it cool down before pumping more. I would rather be back shooting than waiting around . . .
A gun with a larger reservoir allows you to take more shots per fill, but you don't have to take all of them before refilling. When I used to handpump, I only would shoot the amount of shots that allowed for a refill in one pumping session of around 50 strokes - because ideally, once you hit that ~50 level, you need to vent the hand pump and let it cool down before pumping more. I would rather be back shooting than waiting around . . .
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A Benjamin marauder is a good starter just be careful you can mod and put and put a lot into the air guns but it doesn't mean you are going to get a lot more money for it this is a Rabbit hole
But it's fun
But it's fun
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I certainly echo the avenge x over the avenger. not so much from my experience (I dont have one yet but likely will add one soon just determining which type and caliber), but that of the experienced shooters at my field. They have all been impressed and happy with the avenge x saying its addressed most of the shortcomings of the avenger. One guy shoots a redwolf as his primary ft rifle and has really enjoyed his avenge x with wood stock in 25. Another got one in 177 and shot his field target match with it scoring a 43 the first time out. I likely will be getting one as a plinker/pester and gun to get abused a bit.
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You should figure out how much you're willing to drop on an initial setup. I had a $1000 budget when I started. For everything. I got a Marauder, scope, Hill hand pump and a chronograph. The only thing I do not have today (9 years later) is the Hill pump. I just plain wore that bugger out. Point being, if you know how much you can spend, we can help you spend it.
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Welcome to AGN. Lots of good information here. Another vote for the .22 unregulated Marauder. Easy to hand pump to 2800 psi, accurate, lots of upgrades and easy to resell. Tons of videos on youtube. Five year warranty. Bolt can be switched to either side for righty or lefty. Purchase from Pyramyd Air and for a few extra bucks they will test the rifle for you, money well spent. Not pellet picky. The only downside is the rifle is a little heavy because it is made of wood and steel. A synthetic stock model is available.
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Another advantage of the Marauder is that they are dead simple to work on, have complete parts diagrams that show you what everything is, and complete parts support at good prices. Most of the other guns in this class don't have any of those things . . .
This can be helpful if part of what you want to get into is any DIY maintenance or modifications - it is a great platform on which to learn.
This can be helpful if part of what you want to get into is any DIY maintenance or modifications - it is a great platform on which to learn.
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While I agree with AlanMcD's clarification, it is accurate, my experience is that guns with larger air storage tend to be tuned to higher fpe. When that is true, then you have to pump more pumps per shot than you would with a lower fpe airgun. That is part of the reason I think little guns like the Notos are a good hand pump gun. It has small air storage, a fairly low fill pressure, and it has modest but still very useful fpe. But as Alan pointed out, if it filled to the same pressure and had the same fpe, a gun with larger air storage would require the same number of pumps per shot. (efficiency is also a factor but I am ignoring it just for simplicity)
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