• Please consider adding your "Event" to the Calendar located on our Home page!

Entry Level PCP Benchrest Rifle?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
museguy

museguy

Member
Feb 7, 2023
57
25
New York
I want to get into benchrest. I live in Southern Utah and want to try it out at my local range before I jump into the Rocky Mountain Challenge.

What is a good entry-level rifle and scope? I have read many threads and lots of conflicting information.

Thank you!

Notes:
  1. Benjamin Marauder (refurbished) .22 cal. $400, .25 $425
  2. AEA Challenger .22, .25 $358
  3. Avenger Wood Stock $429
  4. Umarex Gauntlet .30 $499
  5. Other?
  6. Scope?
  7. Caliber? .177, .22, .25, .30
  8. Regulated (?), Single Stage Trigger (?), Sidelever (?)
 
Last edited:
museguy said:
Hi @shambozzie, I am thinking $400 for the rifle, $200 for the scope, $250 for the compressor, and $100 for pellets, $100 for a case, $100 sand bags.

Less than $1000 total, if possible.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
sand bags = local kids resale shop ,small size jeans $1 or 2 cut the legs off and fill with sand , nylon zip ties will get you started .
 
  • Like
Reactions: Richmeister
Upvote 0
Hi All,
I appreciate your support!

Today was my first day on the range, 65 yards, could keep 3" groups. I was pleased first day, new gun, new scope.
  1. Avenger .25 Refurbished - $286 with shipping
  2. Protektor #13A Rabbit Ear Rear Bag (used as front bag) - $64 with shipping
  3. Plano 1612 Case - $45 with shipping
  4. Vector Optics Sentinel X 10-40 x 50 SFP Center Dot 1/8MOA - $209 with shipping
  5. JSB Match Diabolo Exact King MKII Heavy .25 Cal - $29 with shipping
  6. Four Uncles Hand Air Pump 4500psi - $67 with shipping
  7. TOTAL $700
IMG_4136.jpg
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Usually, when I start a new sport, I try to buy inexpensive equipment until I learn if I will "stick with it." After three days at the range, I can tell I will "stick with the rifle". I also bought a Notos, thinking I might like to try an FT pistol, but that has been less interesting.

Now my question is, is it worth it to upgrade the Avenger or move to another PCP straight away?

I could add DonnyFL 1/2 x 20 Adapter $49, DonnyFL FX Moderator $119, Vector MINOTAUR 12-60X60 GEN II MFL SFP $399, AE Swede Bottle Adapter M18 threads $89, .5L Bottle $40, AE Swede Plenum $30, Sidewheel $13, Trigger $36, adding $376 plus shipping (not including scope). Then I will have $662 into the Avenger. Not sure if its better to cut losses and switch to an Avenger X .25 ($729 with 400cc bottle) or Gauntlet SL .30 ($499)

+ additional magazines (not sure which is the best brand), + chronograph and + gun cleaning kit

I welcome any feedback!

Cheers

Two threads that I keep returning to;
@DonnieReed Avenger used for Baker Airgun Review
@SkeeterHawk Doux Technologies Plenum Upgrade for Air Venturi Avenger
@Ray_PR Avenge - X .25 cal won a bench rest competition vs all others high end airguns
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
museguy said:
Usually, when I start a new sport, I try to buy inexpensive equipment until I learn if I will "stick with it." After three days at the range, I can tell I will "stick with the rifle". I also bought a Notos, thinking I might like to try an FT pistol, but that has been less interesting.

Now my question is, is it worth it to upgrade the Avenger or move to another PCP straight away?

I could add DonnyFL 1/2 x 20 Adapter $49, DonnyFL FX Moderator $119, Vector MINOTAUR 12-60X60 GEN II MFL SFP $399, AE Swede Bottle Adapter M18 threads $89, .5L Bottle $40, AE Swede Plenum $30, Sidewheel $13, Trigger $36, adding $396 plus shipping (not including scope). Then I will have $682 into the Avenger. Not sure if its better to cut losses and switch to an Avenger X .25 ($729 with 400cc bottle) or Gauntlet SL .30 ($499)

I welcome any feedback!

Cheers

Two threads that I keep returning to;
@DonnieReed Avenger used for Baker Airgun Review
@SkeeterHawk Doux Technologies Plenum Upgrade for Air Venturi Avenger
Click to expand...
Hey @museguy

That is a good question, and one you have to answer by what you want to learn from the gun. As was clearly pointed out in my post on What a Cheap Gun Costs, that it depends on if you care about resale or not. A Notos or Avenger with $1500 worth of upgrades won't sell for $2000 or more, but you will get a HECK of a lot of experience upgrading your rig that you won't get by just swapping to upgraded parts from Saber Tactical or something. When you are doing the mods yourself, you have to think about what you are doing, where otherwise, you are buying an upgrade.

In my experience modding a Crosman 2240 heavily, you will eventually get up against something that causes you to have to completely rework your modded build to achieve significantly more performance...or just leave it like it is and go with a different platform.

To summarize, I have a mixed opinion. I think everyone should modify their own airgun to get the experience about the subtle differences in what makes a gun work or not (like durometer rating on o-rings for example), and then once you "get it" go with a more advanced platform to get the performance we all want.

My $0.02

Happy Shooting!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: museguy
Upvote 0
museguy said:
Hi All,
I appreciate your support!

Today was my first day on the range, 65 yards, could keep 3" groups. I was pleased first day, new gun, new scope.
  1. Avenger .25 Refurbished - $286 with shipping
  2. Protektor #13A Rabbit Ear Rear Bag (used as front bag) - $64 with shipping
  3. Plano 1612 Case - $45 with shipping
  4. Vector Optics Sentinel X 10-40 x 50 SFP Center Dot 1/8MOA - $209 with shipping
  5. JSB Match Diabolo Exact King MKII Heavy .25 Cal - $29 with shipping
  6. Four Uncles Hand Air Pump 4500psi - $67 with shipping
  7. TOTAL $700
View attachment 472446
Click to expand...
I just saw your previous post. I wouldn't get the hand pump, unless you want it to "prep". Get a Yong Heng or something. Otherwise, the PITA factor will be huge and you won't want to shoot. If you need to nail a squirrel for food...use the hand pump. If you have power and are practicing for RMAC, use a compressor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: museguy
Upvote 0
SkeeterHawk said:
To summarize, I have a mixed opinion. I think everyone should modify their own airgun to get the experience about the subtle differences in what makes a gun work or not (like durometer rating on o-rings for example), and then once you "get it" go with a more advanced platform to get the performance we all want.

My $0.02

Happy Shooting!!
Click to expand...

Thank you @SkeeterHawk! I have come back over and over to your thread.

I have had as much fun learning about the gun as I do shooting; having done the numbers, I will have about $800 into the gun and have learned an invaluable amount if I do all the mods myself.

If you don't mind, would you mind answering a few questions?
  • $150 Doux Technologies bottle upgrade - Is this the AE Swede? $89
  • $100 Plenum Upgrade with tool - Which Plenum is this?
  • $75 450CC Aluminum Bottle - Which bottle is this?
  • $50 Custom barrel band from JB3DPD.com - I do not see this listed on their website
  • What is your favorite magazine for the Avenger?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
 
Upvote 0
SkeeterHawk said:
I just saw your previous post. I wouldn't get the hand pump, unless you want it to "prep". Get a Yong Heng or something. Otherwise, the PITA factor will be huge and you won't want to shoot. If you need to nail a squirrel for food...use the hand pump. If you have power and are practicing for RMAC, use a compressor.
Click to expand...
Thank you @SkeeterHawk!

I already have the hand pump, and so far, I have been enjoying the process. I pump the guns while watching tv. So far I have not had to pump at the range.

Cheers
 
Upvote 0
museguy said:
Thank you @SkeeterHawk! I have come back over and over to your thread.

I have had as much fun learning about the gun as I do shooting; having done the numbers, I will have about $800 into the gun and have learned an invaluable amount if I do all the mods myself.

If you don't mind, would you mind answering a few questions?
  • $150 Doux Technologies bottle upgrade - Is this the AE Swede? $89
  • $100 Plenum Upgrade with tool - Which Plenum is this?
  • $75 450CC Aluminum Bottle - Which bottle is this?
  • $50 Custom barrel band from JB3DPD.com - I do not see this listed on their website
  • What is your favorite magazine for the Avenger?
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Click to expand...
I'm going to try not to get too far off into the weeds...

Doux Technologies is it's own company and do some really innovative stuff. Ruben is great to work with! This is the plenum that I used with the tool, so this addresses your first two points.

I used an aluminum (AL) bottle off of e-bay, and changed to carbon fiber (CF) since then. I recommend shelling out for the CF, because it doesn't suffer from the heat expansion issues that AL does.

Jake, from [email protected] has been great and has worked with me to develop a couple of barrel band systems. If you download the free Google SketchUp, that helps.

With respect to Avenger magazines, I have been going with my modified magazines so far. There are a number of posts out there, and I was going to recommend looking at posts from Heavy-Impact...but I am not seeing his posts on here any more. That sucks...🧐
 
Upvote 0
If you are bench shooting it then stick with the stock air tube. The bottle will yield more shots per fill but it will raise the gun further off the bench and change the handling of the gun. use a single shot tray as you may notice a pleasant increase in accuracy? Avenger’s are very capable and accurate rifles and their accuracy can ouch waaaaay above their price point. Buy 2-3 wind flags and practice shooting N50 Targets. Put your money into a compressor as it will make your shooting sessions longer and more fun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bramezy
Upvote 0
I am no "benchrest God", but I do have some experience, and I almost completely agree with @igolfat8

I'll start with everything I agree with, and then my positions where I differ slightly.
  • Amen on using the single shot tray. That can definitely improve accuracy, and is actually how I normally shoot BR. I apologize for not catching that point.
  • Avengers are VERY capable
  • I also agree that getting a capable compressor will make the hobby fun immediately

Now, where I differ slightly:
  • I would recommend making your own windflags from a wire coat hanger and a strip of plastic from a Walmart bag or something. This way you can put up a bunch of them and see the chaotic way the wind behaves. Once you get the hang of it, just put one at the muzzle and one about half way (If that is enough for you). Here is a set of videos I made showing 10 wind flags and how they behave as a storm approaches.
  • I wouldn't get hung up on buying targets when you only need a dot on the paper to aim at. Here is a link to make your own 3'x5' benchrest targets using a stencil. You can just use a CM ruler to measure the distance from the center and subtract that from 10 to get your score. If you are 2cm from the center, you get an 8.
  • Finally, I really like using a bigger bottle as it doesn't interrupt my session. I always shoot in the wind in Colorado, so I will look for a lull and "give it heck". If I have a small bottle, that sucks to have to stop and air up...especially when you are against the clock and not just practicing. I get over 40 shots at about 40FPE, and that is enough to finish a card, typically.

As with anything, the more you do it, the better you will be. Good luck, and happy shooting!
 
Upvote 0
I would suggest that you look for a nice used RTI Profit Performance for about 800-900- and put a Vector Seminal on it . Later you can but different cal barrel kits from AOA for about 300 shipped . You will have a rig that is capeable of winning matches . You cant beat the Vector sentinal s for the money . I just sold 2 Hawke sidewinders that were on 2 of my match guns and put sentinals on them .I like the 10-40x50s the webite vector2007 right now has Sentinal 8=32x50 on sale for $109 and if you use code word continental you may get a few more dollars off .
 
Upvote 0
museguy said:
Usually, when I start a new sport, I try to buy inexpensive equipment until I learn if I will "stick with it." After three days at the range, I can tell I will "stick with the rifle". I also bought a Notos, thinking I might like to try an FT pistol, but that has been less interesting.

Now my question is, is it worth it to upgrade the Avenger or move to another PCP straight away?

I could add DonnyFL 1/2 x 20 Adapter $49, DonnyFL FX Moderator $119, Vector MINOTAUR 12-60X60 GEN II MFL SFP $399, AE Swede Bottle Adapter M18 threads $89, .5L Bottle $40, AE Swede Plenum $30, Sidewheel $13, Trigger $36, adding $376 plus shipping (not including scope). Then I will have $662 into the Avenger. Not sure if its better to cut losses and switch to an Avenger X .25 ($729 with 400cc bottle) or Gauntlet SL .30 ($499)

+ additional magazines (not sure which is the best brand), + chronograph and + gun cleaning kit

I welcome any feedback!

Cheers

Two threads that I keep returning to;
@DonnieReed Avenger used for Baker Airgun Review
@SkeeterHawk Doux Technologies Plenum Upgrade for Air Venturi Avenger
@Ray_PR Avenge - X .25 cal won a bench rest competition vs all others high end airguns
Click to expand...
I would not add any of those add ons. Leave it as is as none of them will incerase your score. I have the same scope and its just fine all the way to 100yds. The donnyfl, who cares if its loud, this will alter accuracy either good or bad, you have to try it to know. The rest ehh just wouldnt. I shoot the AvgX in .25 at 100y and its stock. I do use a Sumo on it as I found a little bit of weight out front helped my accuracy but thats it. Buy Ammo and lots of it, you have everything else you need to have a good time and do well, oh wind flags. Thats worth more than anything.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu