I’m looking for advice to buy my first PCP air rifle for small game and target shooting. I’ve been reading a lot but would love to hear from experience rather than company specs. I have 1k for the air rifle and another 1k for scope and compressor. Any advice is greatly appreciated!! New or maybe pre owned. Thank you!!
Need help to buy first PCP air rifle for hunting small game
- Thread starter MuledeerNd
- Start date
Welcome to forum, glad to have you here. We tend to be all over the place recommending airguns, suggest Google "top $1K PCP airguns," and see what strikes your fancy. Bring back preferences, we can comment directly or, at least, recommend based upon what you like. Best of Luck, WM
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welcome..
also if you say what you might want to hunt.. or distance, or caliber you prefer.. lots of people including WorriedMan will have great suggestions..
PS he's a great member here with actual knowledge.. I always like his posts.. you were fortunate
he's the first one to welcome you..
figure out your questions and ask away..
Mark
also if you say what you might want to hunt.. or distance, or caliber you prefer.. lots of people including WorriedMan will have great suggestions..
PS he's a great member here with actual knowledge.. I always like his posts.. you were fortunate
he's the first one to welcome you..figure out your questions and ask away..
Mark
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Very kind words, not sure I'm deserving but nice to see anyway.welcome..
also if you say what you might want to hunt.. or distance, or caliber you prefer.. lots of people including WorriedMan will have great suggestions..
PS he's a great member here with actual knowledge.. I always like his posts.. you were fortunate
figure out your questions and ask away..
Mark
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I would like to hunt prairie dogs and squirrels, maybe some coyotes with a second gun. If I could shoot 100 yards that would be great. I want it an Avenge X in 25 cal, JT cudamax or a Daystate. I know I don’t have enough for FX platforms.
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I would say buy yhe best quality you can afford. many of us started out in the under $800 range and the upgrade soon after wishing we bought the better one the first time.
Second I would say I wouldn't be afaid to buy used if you a careful the are a lot of hardly used high quality guns to be had for great prices. Airgunners are a strange bunch, me included. We tend to fall for the latest and greatest new gun out there and in a couple of months sell in at a loss to get the next latest and greatest leaving a lot of slightly use high dollar guns in the classifieds begging for a new home. I prefer a used Brocock or Huben K1. You can pick up some Brococks for under $1000. use and they are excellent quality guns for hunting and really hold their value if you by used. A used Huben K1 can be had for around $1000 ifyou look for it. The Huben has plenty of power and accuracy for 100+ shots. And it is semi auto which might be nice for the prairie dogs. Hope this helps.
Second I would say I wouldn't be afaid to buy used if you a careful the are a lot of hardly used high quality guns to be had for great prices. Airgunners are a strange bunch, me included. We tend to fall for the latest and greatest new gun out there and in a couple of months sell in at a loss to get the next latest and greatest leaving a lot of slightly use high dollar guns in the classifieds begging for a new home. I prefer a used Brocock or Huben K1. You can pick up some Brococks for under $1000. use and they are excellent quality guns for hunting and really hold their value if you by used. A used Huben K1 can be had for around $1000 ifyou look for it. The Huben has plenty of power and accuracy for 100+ shots. And it is semi auto which might be nice for the prairie dogs. Hope this helps.
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I do like wood stock and Tatical. I had pump and CO2 pellet guns long ago. Now these PCP air rifles have more power which amazes me and lately I don’t sleep trying to figure out which one I’m going to buy. I have my wife crazy because she says just buy one already.she gets more mad when I say patient,patient I when I think it it will come. I hear there’s a lot of great people in this forum that have vert, very much experienced Thank you very much for your support this pcp air rifles system is going make buy another one.
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avenger platform is a good start.. used Huben K1 would be a really nice gun.. brocock is good too..
I've been playing with the airforce Condor 22 caliber and well it's as far as I know the most powerful PCP in whatever caliber you choose but you can put on ring lock orface and tune it down to shoot like any other pellet gun..
it's not regulated and it's single shot, but I can set the time of pellets nearby and feed it fast enough to make you think I'm shooting from a magazine.. it's a very simple design that has been around for years..
I guess it's just my latest new toy.. but it's pretty amazing to be able to shoot crossman premier hollow point 14 grain pellets from Walmart and then switch to 40 grain slugs and what a smack they give..
Mark
I've been playing with the airforce Condor 22 caliber and well it's as far as I know the most powerful PCP in whatever caliber you choose but you can put on ring lock orface and tune it down to shoot like any other pellet gun..
it's not regulated and it's single shot, but I can set the time of pellets nearby and feed it fast enough to make you think I'm shooting from a magazine.. it's a very simple design that has been around for years..
I guess it's just my latest new toy.. but it's pretty amazing to be able to shoot crossman premier hollow point 14 grain pellets from Walmart and then switch to 40 grain slugs and what a smack they give..
Mark
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Welcome to AGN.
The classified ads on the forum could be a good place to look. I'm sure you know that you have to have 10 posts on the forum to use it. Airgun Revisions has some good prices for new pcp rifles. Take your time and good luck with your decision.
The classified ads on the forum could be a good place to look. I'm sure you know that you have to have 10 posts on the forum to use it. Airgun Revisions has some good prices for new pcp rifles. Take your time and good luck with your decision.
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I would avoid the less expensive brands that have all the “Features” unless you have the time and ability to fix what the neglected to do at the factory.
I also feel that they are made of inferior materials and won’t last.
I am a little over 2 years into my modest pcp collection. The last one was an AirForce, and I firmly believe that is the one I should have bought first. I like simple and find single shot to be fine for me. The magazine guns are cool, but not really needed by me.
I can tune my AF from 18 fpe to 38 fpe which makes it very versatile.
I also feel that they are made of inferior materials and won’t last.
I am a little over 2 years into my modest pcp collection. The last one was an AirForce, and I firmly believe that is the one I should have bought first. I like simple and find single shot to be fine for me. The magazine guns are cool, but not really needed by me.
I can tune my AF from 18 fpe to 38 fpe which makes it very versatile.
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I have 6 pcps at the moment. 5 cost less than $500 each and one was over your $1k limit. I like them all but I definitely do not like the more expensive one 3X os much as the others. I'm making a wood stock for the 25 caliber Avenger and that experience is just reinforcing my belief it is my worst pcp. Lots of features and a good shooter but too many poor design decisions. I like my Marauder pistol but I don't see it as the best all around gun. I recommend you look hard at guns made by Snowpeak. They are chinese but the guns are significantly better designed and made. I have 3 P35s but they also make the Stoeger Bullshark and the Umarex Zellos. You do not need to spend $1K to have a nice gun you will want to shoot even if you later get some more expensive ones.
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Welcome to the forum and the PCP world. I had the same problem trying to figure out what I wanted, I spent 2 years figuring it out and finally bought the FX Maverick VP .25. It was well worth the wait and research I did.
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If your budget is 2Kish I'd suggest budgeting $300-500 for scope & put more towards the gun. Your options will broaden a bit. There are some GREAT scopes available in that price range that easily give the more pricey ones a run for the $. Sometimes the dif between a 1K gun & a 1.5K gun are astonishing! There ARE fx platforms that would fit in that price range. Maybe not with all the bells & whistles (& problems) but certainly the accuracy FX is known for! (Crown, Royale, Wildcat, etc.) Look at Taipan, AGT, Daystate Huntsman guns too. Known for simplicity, accuracy & DEPENDABILITY.
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I will add that my first pcp was a $1000-$1200 gun that I bought used.
I do find it to be worth 2 to 3 times more than my sub $500 guns.
The Huntsman in the classifieds is killing me.
I do find it to be worth 2 to 3 times more than my sub $500 guns.
The Huntsman in the classifieds is killing me.
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Well for the critters you mentioned all but the coyotes are good for 22 and 25 cal. Don’t know the power of daystate regal. All other daystate are way over a thousand. You can get used kalibrgun cricket or cricket 2 tactical, taipan vet 1’s , uragan 1 or 2 or Vulcan 2 all used for ballpark 1000 give or take. I’ve heard AV avenge x and soon xl , along with macavity arm 2 and soon 3.
A Cx GS-4 compressor fits the budget. The scope I’d top it with a Zero tech thrive HD 6-24x50 which new is about 500. But optics are gold. The PHR 2 reticle with the floating dot is my personal favorite. Good luck with your pursuit.
A Cx GS-4 compressor fits the budget. The scope I’d top it with a Zero tech thrive HD 6-24x50 which new is about 500. But optics are gold. The PHR 2 reticle with the floating dot is my personal favorite. Good luck with your pursuit.
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See what I mean about being all over the place, strangest is that it's all solid, good advice. Guess reason is we all came to hobby from slightly different paths and want to share our positive experiences. Your mention of Avenge-X and JTS Airacuda does provide insight. Add Dynamic Air Rifle (DAR) Generation 3 and you'll have three popular, inexpensive Chinese "starter" PCPs. Search archives for each, by name, in upper right page corner search box to narrow down a preference. NOTE: Research carefully if leaning towards JTS Airacuda MAX. Best of Luck, WM
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Take a loot at the FX DRS with wood stock, that might be appealing to you. I would get a 700mm 25Cal, add a moderator, Arken EPL4 or Athlon, and a GX CS4 compressor. With a 25Cal you can take down coyotes with a responsible shot, and will be great for those tough prairie dogs. Try some 34g pellets from JSB/FX/AEA etc and you can push it out to 100yds. You could do it all with one pcp instead of buying another just for coyotes, and this package should be close to your total budget.
Personally I would skip the Avengers, and get something decent right away. I started with budget pcps and ended with like 20 of them, spending waaaay more than a new FX/Daystate/AA etc. Then I bought a few FX's anyway.
But if I were to buy a budget gun today I would look at the Stoeger pcps in 22Cal, or the Snowpeak pcps. You wont get the power for a good coyote shot but will work great for the smaller critters.
Personally I would skip the Avengers, and get something decent right away. I started with budget pcps and ended with like 20 of them, spending waaaay more than a new FX/Daystate/AA etc. Then I bought a few FX's anyway.
But if I were to buy a budget gun today I would look at the Stoeger pcps in 22Cal, or the Snowpeak pcps. You wont get the power for a good coyote shot but will work great for the smaller critters.
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The Huben K1 also can be had with a wood stock and is tactical. It's a beauty. They also are designed for slugs which are better for bigger game and longer ranges for prairie dogs. They come in .22 and .25 cal. The downside to some people is they have a built in magazine but it holds 19 shots in .22cal. I love mine.
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I still own my JTS MAX, my son has my last DAR, I've got an Avenger on my bench in for a re-ringing and others so I have hands on with those mid priced PCP's.
I'd pass on them just due to poor engineering, lack of parts and support.
I have a top tier pcp too, it's fantastic but it's #12 kitted out. It stays on the bench.
I also have the Zelos and M60's and for the cost, I'd start with one of them. The .25 has enough power for yotes, you can also get an improved valve from c88machining for even better air.
I'd pass on them just due to poor engineering, lack of parts and support.
I have a top tier pcp too, it's fantastic but it's #12 kitted out. It stays on the bench.
I also have the Zelos and M60's and for the cost, I'd start with one of them. The .25 has enough power for yotes, you can also get an improved valve from c88machining for even better air.
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