So I’m thinking of buying my first high end pcp. I’m looking at either the cricket 2 or the veteran 2. What are the pros and cons of each and which d you prefer? Thanks.
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Kalibrgun Cricket 2 vs. Veteran 2
- Thread starter OneAcreFarmer
- Start date
Never had a Veteran, but have had 3 Crickets. They are great, accurate, robust rifles. Charlie Frear at Georgia Airguns is THE guy to set up the gun the way you want. His customer service is tops.
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Charlie is a good man but no, he ain’t THE guy. Just saying. He’s a great talker and salesman! I’ve learned Charlie a thing or 2 and he sends me work when he can’t figure it out.
I tune, compete and KNOW these platforms intricately.
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They are both great platforms. If you want the best pellet shooter, it’s gonna be the .30 Cricket or .177 Cricket. What power are you looking for?
For slugs, I’d lean to the Veteran 2 in .22 or .25.
For slugs, I’d lean to the Veteran 2 in .22 or .25.
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What your objective is for this upcoming purchase will seriously help us answer this question. If it’s pesting birds and squirrels at pellet ranges - can’t go wrong with either. If shooting targets and spinners - can’t go wrong with either. Magazine loading is slightly easier with the vet. If shooting slugs and want real high power- I’d go Vulcan 3.
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I’m looking for a .22 that would mostly be used for small game; squirrels, rabbits, occasional groundhogs. I would also like to use it for pest birds. I have a backyard range that I can shoot up to 75 yards so I would probably do a fair bit of plinking and target shooting. The weight of the gun has some importance to me as I don’t want something crazy heavy when strolling through the woods. I have a hatsan gladius in .25 that shoots decently but it’s heavy (+10 lb with scope) and the machine work is garbage.
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The V3 is an outstanding slugger choice. The Veteran 2 with bottle, with Tenacious Airguns tune, can hang right with them. They share the same CZ bores.
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Derrick,
Not the OP, But why not the .22 or .25 for pellets? Barrel perhaps has no or little choke?
Thanks,
One Acre Farmer,
I've got the original Taipan Veteran Compact and had the Long... so not exactly a direct comparison. For hunting that involves a lot of walking the Veteran Long was a bit weighty, and my reason for selling it. The Compact's stock's LOP is a bit shorter, I felt a bit scrunched up shooting it (pretty much gotten used to it by now) - not sure if they carried this over to the Veteran 2 compact or not? Also I'm not a fan of bullpup ergos... been eying the Cricket Mini Carbine for quite some time (a so called semi-bullpup). YMMV. On all other fronts though - Accuracy, Power for hunting, lack of issues - I've been really happy with the Taipan Veterans.
Jerry
added later; Thought I should mention that I only shoot pellets.
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The .22 Cricket 45 is also a great pellet shooter and I forgot to mention that one. The .25 Cricket 60 is a non-choked 1:17.7 CZ which is best for slugs, IMO.
The Older Veterana and Mutants (made by Taipan are good pellets shooters too for the most part.
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This might be comparing apples to oranges but I have an older .177 Cricket compact and .22 Taipan Mutant (pre-Veteran) compact. Both have rear cocking levers. I like both however generally speaking, the Taipan is more refined. The loading of the mag and cocking lever is much better implemented. The mag loading on the older Cricket requires two hands. There's an engagement level that takes some finesse to operate. I'm not sure if the newer Crickets have improved on this. The Taipan is pretty easy to load and unload a mag. The cocking lever is also very smooth to operate.
Starting with the Veteran 1, it has a anti-double loading feature which is helpful. The Veteran 2 moves the cocking lever forward and there's a barrel shroud towards the action similar to an Edgun that helps in appearance. The biggest difference is the trigger. The Taipan has an excellent 2 stage trigger for a bullpup. You can feel the 1st stage and when it's about to fire. The trigger on the Cricket is okay in my opinion.
If I had to buy only one, I'd pick a Veteran 1 if you like the rear cocking lever. I don't know if they make a compact version of the Veteran 2 but it would be great for walking around the woods if you don't need the added power or shot count of a standard length version.
Starting with the Veteran 1, it has a anti-double loading feature which is helpful. The Veteran 2 moves the cocking lever forward and there's a barrel shroud towards the action similar to an Edgun that helps in appearance. The biggest difference is the trigger. The Taipan has an excellent 2 stage trigger for a bullpup. You can feel the 1st stage and when it's about to fire. The trigger on the Cricket is okay in my opinion.
If I had to buy only one, I'd pick a Veteran 1 if you like the rear cocking lever. I don't know if they make a compact version of the Veteran 2 but it would be great for walking around the woods if you don't need the added power or shot count of a standard length version.
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With this, a .22 Cricket 2 Tac 45 or a .22 Taipan Vet 2 would either make a great choice shooting an 18gr pellets. The Cricket has a cumbersome mag system. I’m accustom and if you love the gun, that’s easy to get used to. Many others, however, can’t get past it!
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I love the look of the Cricket Tac 45 in blue lam. also love the look of the Vet 2 but the cricket is almost a lb. lighter and would get more shots per fill for when I’m plinking. As far as the mag goes I don’t think I would really care. It is my understanding the neither the vet 2 or the cricket 2 have anti double feed?
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I am assuming both guns would be very capable of small game out to 75 yard? Also how easy is it to tune the power down to shoot light pellets for plinking if I want to get even higher shot count on the cricket I am by no means very experienced but I am mechanically inclined and have had 3 other airguns completely apart and back together.
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The Vet 2 does NOT have anti double feed. The original Veteran does have anti double feed. The Cricket's I have no idea.
The 'Original' Veteran's often come up in the members classifieds, and Talon Tunes still has some. If you were to go 'original' Veteran, I would opt for the 'Standard' vs the 'Long', due to the weight of the long, YMMV. The 'Compact' is even lighter and a perfect length for a truck gun as I can easily turn it around in my small truck to shoot out of either window, but the 'Standard' will have a little more power and a higher shot count.
Regarding anti-double feed... I really like it, a double feed equals a missed shot and when I have a shot at a squirrel that's destroying my garden and causing expensive damage to my cars wiring, It really irritates me to have a miss. However, with my other guns that don't have anti-double feed, the more I shoot them, the less it seems to be an issue - I haven't had a double-feed in ages with them.
Regarding forward cocking... I had an AGT Vulcan 2 that had forward cocking and of course all of the non bullpups have forward cocking. I can cock my 'original' Veteran (that has rear cocking) pretty quick, but it requires a lot of movement that forward cocking doesn't have. I feel that forward cocking is a real advantage for hunting with the less movement to spook game and the ability to get off a quick second shot at another animal.
I shoot left-handed and have the cocking lever on the right side of my guns (some can be moved to either side and some can not), IF your gun is light enough you can cock and shoot again without taking your trigger hand off of the grip and more importantly without taking your eyes off the scope's sight picture, which helps with follow up shots - just like powder burner hunting.
Jerry
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Crickets have never had anti-double load. It is a cool feature but not at all a necessity. If you keep your head in the game, you don't need it but again, cool feature. Middle cocking is something I most certainly need. To go back to rear cocking, that's at my head or slightly behind, I'm not willing to do.
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The Veteran II's cocking lever is swappable, left or right. I don't know about the original.
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Well thanks for all the feedback and opinions guys. At this point I’m leaning towards a Cricket .22 tactical 45.
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