As a dealer I want tell you the biggest hurdle people have with PCP's
- Thread starter Cody01
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My first PCP was a Benjamin Maximus with a 2000 psi max fill. Used scuba tank for $80. Affordable gun, affordable air and it got me hooked. Even $300 guns today are 3300-4500 psi fill. We need more low pressure guns for beginners. Cheap air tanks or easy to hand pump. Most of us didn’t start out with Anschutz .22’s. Cheap big box .22’s is how we started shooting!
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My first pcp was a Maximus as well. When I bought it I knew almost nothing about serious airgun shooting. I also bought a hand pump that continues to work well. I’ve since added a couple Gauntlets in .25 and those pump up to much higher pressure but it’s quite a bit more work. They’ve been filled with a compressor as well but I haven’t bought one. Yet.
Rick H.
Rick H.
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Both of my brothers have shown interest in pcp guns, but it's definitely the filling aspect that turns them off from the idea. Having to buy more equipment just to shoot a pellet gun isn't appealing to the kind of people that will only shoot it once a month.
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I love my PCPs but.... Its almost embarrassing to tell someone how much I paid for them lol
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Farm and ranch country implies acerages and hunting/pesting vs paper shooting. And apparently many people failed elementary school science if they do not understand the difference between 250 psi and 3000 psi.
Air compressors and tanks are just going to be a hard sell to most ranchers and farmers or people in general. Especially when inexpensive .22 rimfire rifles can do anything and everything a PCP can do much cheaper, equal accuracy and as quiet or nearly so. The tax stamp for a legal muzzle device can be a hurdle but CCI Quiet is M-Rod quiet without. Accuracy to 50 yards, so so.
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While I never advocate committing a felony, most everyone who has .22 rimfire guns is aware that they are very simple to quiet down with or W/O the government permission slip. Things might be a little different when you know "the cops are coming" from miles away. Very easy very cheap, very expensive should you get caught. Again not advocating breaking the law, but some folks will when the odds greatly favor their illegal activity.
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A local store began offering free tank fills if you buy the tank from them. I asked how long to fill a tank, and was told they prefer a drop off and pickup the next day, even for little buddy bottles. Not sure if that’s a compressor issue or manpower issue. Pass either way.
If you look at an entry level pcp versus a cheap .22lr, the initial cost, familiarity, and durability all favor the .22lr. Even having been around PCPs since before they were cool, it would be a tough sell on the durability issue. Weak receivers and flimsy barrel bands do not hold up as well to being dropped, trekked, or a truck gun. Then consider the failure mode of seals and inconsistent pressure (read point of impact fluctuations) from temperature changes. Consider the confidence level of picking up a PCP that hasn’t been fired in a few months. Chances are that groundhog isn’t going to wait for you to fire up (even a good) compressor for 5-6 minutes. Frankly, as much fun as they can be, they aren’t the right tool for every job.
If you look at an entry level pcp versus a cheap .22lr, the initial cost, familiarity, and durability all favor the .22lr. Even having been around PCPs since before they were cool, it would be a tough sell on the durability issue. Weak receivers and flimsy barrel bands do not hold up as well to being dropped, trekked, or a truck gun. Then consider the failure mode of seals and inconsistent pressure (read point of impact fluctuations) from temperature changes. Consider the confidence level of picking up a PCP that hasn’t been fired in a few months. Chances are that groundhog isn’t going to wait for you to fire up (even a good) compressor for 5-6 minutes. Frankly, as much fun as they can be, they aren’t the right tool for every job.
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Airguns are just another aspect of my gun obsession. We went way past hobby long ago. 
I will also note that airguns have been available just about as long as their powder burning cousins. Heck Lewis and Clark packed what in the day was effectively a PCP rifle.
Our PCP guns will remain a niche, it's just a much larger niche than it once was. The .22 LR is cheap, effective and very low maintenance, heck darn near no maintenance load it and shoot it. I clean my .22 guns annually. The sole advantage of PCP vs. .22 LR is the noise factor. Power level of .22 is easily moderated BB cap, CB cap, short, long, long rifle. Silencers or moderators have become both cheaper and easier to obtain in recent years and are legal in most states. I do think the .22 LR silencer market does impact the PCP market. I can't say what I might employ as a rancher doing pest control, however it's more likely I'd buy a break barrel or C02 for the barn, and a moderator with a .300 BO carbine MSR for bigger critters. Total investment of about 1500 bucks and done.
I will also note that airguns have been available just about as long as their powder burning cousins. Heck Lewis and Clark packed what in the day was effectively a PCP rifle.Our PCP guns will remain a niche, it's just a much larger niche than it once was. The .22 LR is cheap, effective and very low maintenance, heck darn near no maintenance load it and shoot it. I clean my .22 guns annually. The sole advantage of PCP vs. .22 LR is the noise factor. Power level of .22 is easily moderated BB cap, CB cap, short, long, long rifle. Silencers or moderators have become both cheaper and easier to obtain in recent years and are legal in most states. I do think the .22 LR silencer market does impact the PCP market. I can't say what I might employ as a rancher doing pest control, however it's more likely I'd buy a break barrel or C02 for the barn, and a moderator with a .300 BO carbine MSR for bigger critters. Total investment of about 1500 bucks and done.
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I've lived my life in farm/ranch country, know the people and lifestyle. A used .22 rimfire can be had for next to nothing. You tell a rancher how much he'll have to spend, all the hoops he'll have to jump thru to get up and running, and unreliability as a truck gun or barn defender with a PCP and he'll laugh at you and question your common sense.
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There's a guy near me that sells expired scba tanks in new condition for $50 each and I've got 4 of them that I refill from my CS4.
I remember paying over $600 back in the day for an Air Hogs CF tank and then having trouble getting good fills from dive shops because they rarely fill over 3800 psi. Getting hydros done on a CF tank was a PITA too.
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There are a myriad of rimfire rounds available from CB caps (around 8 fpe) to heavy hitters like Velociter (170 fpe) and in between and there is CCI Quiet and Semi-Auto Quiet that is low energy and very low noise. There is a rimfire round for everything any .22, .25 or even .30 air gun can do without pumps and $2000+ rifles. A CB cap is no more dangerous to a cow than my .25 M-Rod, less so actually. The idea is to be careful of the shots taken around property and livestock.
I love PCP, plan on moving up the ladder to more expensive guns, I am sold but the attraction for me as a hunter/pester and small acreage owner is very niche, it is fun, I like PCPs, I cannot explain it fully. I also like PBs and especially .22s.
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That's about how long it takes me with my GX-CS4. It's really not a big deal though. It's a quiet compressor that's not going to bother anyone if it runs all day. I hook it up, run it for 1/2 hour or so while I'm doing something else, then bleed it and let it cool for awhile and repeat the process until the tank is full. It's the kind of thing you do when you're spending the day doing yard work or working around the house and you only need to fill a tank from empty once.
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That's also one of the strong points of diabolo pellets. They lose their velocity very quickly, so an errant shot isn't nearly as likely to injure or damage anything and if the cops were to ever show up, airguns aren't technically firearms.
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John, I'm just over the border from Colville, and didn't realize there was an airgun outlet there. Whats the name of the place?
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They actually have a lot more shtuff I didn't take pics of. Jennen's Backwoods : https://www.airgunnation.com/thread...-colville-wa-today-pics.1300031/#post-1599333
And if passing through feel free to shoot us a PM. I really dont shoot much anymore, maybe a couple hundred shots a month but if there is anything in the house you haven't seen I am home all the time. 16 miles South of Colville just off the HWY.
John
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Thanks for that John, I am going to stop in to Jennens' nest time I am down that way in a couple of weeks. Looks interesting! I'm limited in what I can bring back across the border, but I know ammo is okay.
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