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Smokin' Rabbit

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Mar 25, 2025
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Greetings form Georgia. I'm new to the forum and new to the sport. I've owned a Gamo (I think a Raptor) for several years but bought it on a whim with very little information. Having gone down the rabbit hole now, I know that I really don't know much about anything. I mostly use my rifle for squirrel and rabbit hunting. The occasional groundhog. I'd like to buy a PCP and outfit it with a decent scope. I'd really like a Bluetooth scope, but that may be for another day given that I don't know much and I'm on a bit of a budget. I'd really like to spend less than $1,500 including a compressor, but I could justify (I can talk myself into anything) $2,000. Any recommendations? Just looking for a nice, accurate squirrel hunter.

I know on some other forums the noobs get razzed, so I'm prepared with armor and shield.

Thanks in advance for the replies.
 
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Welcome to AGN! I am still new to this (DEC 24), I had done a ton of research of the FX air guns because that what appealed to me in looks and function. I settled on a FX Maverick in .25 cal with a vevor compressor for under $2K and absolutely love it. I have recently bought a M3 used and love it too.

To make sure I had a great experience I purchased my air rifle from Utah air set up tuned, I called them told them what I was wanting and what my use was going to be, and they helped me get everything set up and when it arrived the shooting pleasure was awesome.

I have called UA a few times with questions about my M3 and their staff has helped me out every time.

I would suggest finding a dealer that has this kind of service offered for the PCP you plan to buy because it makes the experience much better for the a new user.
 
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Welcome, Sir, no noob razzing here, just helpful fellow airgunners. Best advice I got starting out was to check out Matt Dubber's YouTube video series, "Airgun Ballistics, 101." Nine, or so, short, easy to follow videos introduce viewer to the hobby. There's wide variety in airgun styles and pricing, recommend Google search best airgun in your budget and bring back any that caught your eye, this will help determine your preferences for best recommendations. Best of Luck, WM
 
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I don't have it yet but I've ordered a GX CS2 compressor. I bought it for $250 but if it hadn't been on sale it would have been closer to $300. The reviews indicate it is a good compressor to fill guns. I plan to convert mine to be able to use my Milwaukee batteries to power it as an additional option but you can also just buy it set up to use Makita batteries (and there are battery converters which would be simpler).

I think Snowpeak, aka SPA, airguns are a great inexpensive airgun. I have three, all P35s which are almost the same thing as the Stoeger Bullshark. If you prefer conventionaly laid out rifles, there are the Stoeger Scout and Ranger. You budget would let you get a Umarex Zelos which can be converted to use a bottle. Or a P35X for a wood stock and more power. Any of these should be reliable and accurate. Not as nicely made as guns costing 3 times or more as much but good examples are just as accurate and average ones are still accurate. The Bullshark and P35 should be under $500, the Zelos more like $600 (although some find them for less) and the P35X a bit over $500.

A good reasonably priced scope is the Athlon Talos 6-24. The Arken EPL-4 has a bit better glass but I find the reticle just about invisible at 6X in my 6-24. Many like Vector Veyrons and I do too but their warranty is not as good and I don't think their glass is quite as good as either of the other models I just suggested. But the Veyrons are smaller which is nice and their glass is still pretty good. The Arken is the most expensive and I paid $330 for mine. The other two should be significantly less (although sometimes the Veyron FFP can get up there).

You can stay in budget with these options and probably still have some money for pellets. You will also have a good airgun well scoped and a decent way to fill it.
 
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Smokin' Rabbit said:
Greetings form Georgia. I'm new to the forum and new to the sport. I've owned a Gamo (I think a Raptor) for several years but bought it on a whim with very little information. Having gone down the rabbit hole now, I know that I really don't know much about anything. I mostly use my rifle for squirrel and rabbit hunting. The occasional groundhog. I'd like to buy a PCP and outfit it with a decent scope. I'd really like a Bluetooth scope, but that may be for another day given that I don't know much and I'm on a bit of a budget. I'd really like to spend less than $1,500 including a compressor, but I could justify (I can talk myself into anything) $2,000. Any recommendations? Just looking for a nice, accurate squirrel hunter.

I know on some other forums the noobs get razzed, so I'm prepared with armor and shield.

Thanks in advance for the replies.
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Welcome Airgun Nation and the PCP rabbit hole. Check out the Benjamin Marauder. The Marauder ticks a lot of boxes and leaves room for a good compressor, scope and pellets. Easy to work on. Works for righties and lefties. Synthetic stock so it is bullet proof and upgradable. Easy to fill at only 3k psi. Great trigger and barrel.

www.airgunrevisions.com

Benjamin Marauder .22 synthetic - Airgun Revisions

Right from the start, the Benjamin Marauder .22 became an instant favorite among members of the hunting community, and that hasn’t changed. For the .22 , this air gun comes loaded with a 10-round magazine, a shrouded barrel, integrated sound suppression, and Picatinny breech. It’s a synthetic...
www.airgunrevisions.com www.airgunrevisions.com

As far as scopes go, I recommend an Athlon, Hawke or Arken brands. A 3-9 or 4-12 is perfect.

Going to need scope rings, go for mediums or lows for best results. BKL (made in the Great State of Texas) or Sportsmatch are the best rings and are a worth the price.

Make sure to buy good pellets. JSB / AA/ FX 18 pellets are a safe choice and all the same. Buy at least three tins, you are going to need them.

GX has some nice pumps. Make sure it is auto shut off. Marauders fill to 3k so very easy.
 
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Smokin' Rabbit said:
Seen a couple of people here post about Utah Airguns. Are they a trusted shop? Any comments about buying used from them?
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Watch some of their videos on Youtube and then give them a call tell them what you are looking for and what their recommendation is and ask a lot of questions and make a decision from there. I called them a couple times this week trouble shooting a leak I had in my M3 that I caused, they diagnosed the possible problem areas and the fix for it. Last night I tore the M3 down replace the O-ring on the valve rod, checked the timing and problem solved.

I purchased my first PCP there, I called told them what I was looking for and if what I had in my CART would be a good set up for what I was wanting to do with it, they made a couple recommendations that I went with, I had them set it up, zero it ETC. When I got it, I was not disappointed. They did an awesome job and made my first PCP experience enjoyable!!

I had heard nothing but good things about Air Guns of Arizona and Pyramid Air too and the videos I have seen they look legit too.
 
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Smokin' Rabbit said:
Greetings form Georgia. I'm new to the forum and new to the sport. I've owned a Gamo (I think a Raptor) for several years but bought it on a whim with very little information. Having gone down the rabbit hole now, I know that I really don't know much about anything. I mostly use my rifle for squirrel and rabbit hunting. The occasional groundhog. I'd like to buy a PCP and outfit it with a decent scope. I'd really like a Bluetooth scope, but that may be for another day given that I don't know much and I'm on a bit of a budget. I'd really like to spend less than $1,500 including a compressor, but I could justify (I can talk myself into anything) $2,000. Any recommendations? Just looking for a nice, accurate squirrel hunter.

I know on some other forums the noobs get razzed, so I'm prepared with armor and shield.

Thanks in advance for the replies.
Click to expand...
Yong heng water cooled compressor is a good first compressor just under $250. It can fill rifles and (tanks if you do it in stages from empty) refilling tanks is no problem. Replacement piston assemblies are $25. If you only want to fill the rifle and don't mind waiting a basic air cooled vevor compressor will work. Riles you have a lot to choose from. There are some nice deals in the classifieds. It depends on how many squirrels you got. Lever action or semi auto. If I had an infestation I would be using my aea sf compact semi auto. Super quiet (internally baffled) and shoots as fast as you can squeeze.
 
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Smokin' Rabbit said:
Seen a couple of people here post about Utah Airguns. Are they a trusted shop? Any comments about buying used from them?
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Very trusted shop for sure. In my opinion their used stuff is generally priced way too close to new. A of A to me has a bit more down to earth pricing on used guns.
 
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When you’re ready to go down that rabbit hole, I would go with Air Venturi Avenge-X Classic, you can change caliber from 177 22 and 25 for under a $100 I have had Benjamin marauders couple of Fx now have mostly Daystate.
I have not owned a Avenge X but that is my next purchase I think it would be fun to change calibers I can do this with one of my daystate guns but it was expense,
There are inexpensive air compressors out there that you can use. I have had a couple of them that went through them pretty quick cause I do shoot a lot.
 
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So, I did a thing. Purchased a used FX M3 compact from Utah Airguns. I’m a little nervous making that purchase without actually seeing the gun, but the folks at UA were super helpful and I felt comfortable with the purchase. It has a few upgrades that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had bought new and was under budget. I think I got a decent price and will hopefully be happy. It should arrive next week, if I live that long. Been pew pewing my girlfriend all around the house since the purchase. She’s ready to kill me.
 
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Smokin' Rabbit said:
So, I did a thing. Purchased a used FX M3 compact from Utah Airguns. I’m a little nervous making that purchase without actually seeing the gun, but the folks at UA were super helpful and I felt comfortable with the purchase. It has a few upgrades that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had bought new and was under budget. I think I got a decent price and will hopefully be happy. It should arrive next week, if I live that long. Been pew pewing my girlfriend all around the house since the purchase. She’s ready to kill me.
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Congratulations on your purchase! UA will make sure you are taken care of. Did you have them tune it?
 
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Smokin' Rabbit said:
So, I did a thing. Purchased a used FX M3 compact from Utah Airguns. I’m a little nervous making that purchase without actually seeing the gun, but the folks at UA were super helpful and I felt comfortable with the purchase. It has a few upgrades that I wouldn’t have gotten if I had bought new and was under budget. I think I got a decent price and will hopefully be happy. It should arrive next week, if I live that long. Been pew pewing my girlfriend all around the house since the purchase. She’s ready to kill me.
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I'm lucky, my wife supports my airgun addiction!

Congrats on the Impact MK3. I have an MK2 that I'm very happy with. They're great airguns that can be configured for all kinds of applications.

Suggest that you don't mess with the adjustments until you know what you're doing. If you absolutely need to change something, be sure to make notes so you can back-track.

Welcome to AGN!

Cheers!
 
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