New Member - enjoying learning here. This is what I plan to buy, please advise. Thank you.

[mike_k10]

This is my first thread and second post here, and I sincerely appreciate the very helpful advice that I have received from members here after just one response to a thread. I am a long time hunter and my daughter is growing up to be a good shot and enthusiastic shooter and hunter. I plan to get two PCP air rifles (still learning and researching brands etc) and to mount fixed 4x or 6x scopes on them. I like stalking close and keep things simple on my hunting rifles. My style is point, aim and shoot, and I practice hard before my regular hunts. I will do the same with airguns. Please tell me if this is a good plan:

1. Two PCP air rifles in either .25 or .30 cal. I would like identical models so that my daughter and I could use them interchangeably if needed. Model to be decided, but I am looking at paying a little more once and crying once. I try to save money as I am an old man

2. My pig hunting rifle is in 350 Legend with a red dot sight and I want a similar set up for my air rifle as well. I am disciplined enough to not take long (or longer) shots on game, and want a similar arrangement on my air rifle. Also, some of the scopes people use these days seem to me to require a degree in engineering to set up and use. No offense to anyone - who uses the advanced stuff. This old dog finds it difficult to learn new tricks. Please understand us old folk. Yes, my daughter's a lot smarter than me, but as I said, I want to have two identical setups so that we could use them interchangeably in a pinch

3. I will go Iguana hunting in Florida and the air rifles will be used to practice for that hunt, likely before my little girl's next birthday which falls next Spring. So, we'll be practicing hard in the meantime

Thank you for any suggestions / advice that you may have for me. Stay blessed always.

 

[FelixS]

FX Impact.

 

[Deleted member 45749]

I did a lot of thinking and where you live , I think the benjamin marauder with synthetic stock would be a good fit for what you are looking for and a spritech air compressor on amazon ( I have one and it works great ) and your scope should be 3x12 you may need a real low power for 10 to 15 yard shots and a much higher setting to see better up in trees , I hunt with a daystate delta wolf with a 6x24 and sometimes I wish it would go lower like a 3/4 , everything 2 guns compressor and scopes should be around 1500 and the guns are the kind to keep you happy for years with out any regrets about buying them

 

[WorriedMan]

Mike,
Your budget for this project would be helpful. Don't forget to add air charging system and scopes. Also, are you and your daughter comfortable with longer, heavier guns or prefer shorter, smaller ones? WM

 

[ScottEnglish]

Airgun Technology Vulcan 2 or 3, or Uragan. 25 cal gives you many more pellet choices and all the fpe you will need.

 

[L.Leon]

Like @WorriedMan, suggested, you'll get better advice once budget is stated. The rifles are going to need a source of HPA. Also, your choice of caliber suggested hunting specifically. Lots of plinking or target shooting with those calibers can be pricey. As for the scopes? They aren't more complicated than the scopes of yesteryear. 4x or 6x will not allow you to take advantage of the precision some PCPs are capable of, you'll be delivering way less FPE to your prey, keep that in mind. I would suggest a 4-12x variable scope at minimum. Good luck!

 

[JungleShooter]

I would strongly agree with L.Leon on the scopes:
Getting a fixed magnification scope has very few advantages, but limits you needlessly. A variable magnification scope gives you so many more options.
Sure, I might not need the higher magnification many times, but when I'd like to have some more — it's right there at the twist of my wrist!
But the fixed magnification scope is just that, fixed, limited, no options....



I think I'm understanding your comments about not trying to get into all the bells and whistles that scopes sometimes can have, seemingly needing an engineering degree.
➔ However, the good news is you don't need to use them!


You most likely need as a base line for a scope:

Parallax adjustment down to 10y or 15y. Because your quarry can easily be this close, and parallax errors cause misses with the small kill zones we have on airgun prey.
Your choices are:
▪ AO = adjustable objective where you turn the objective lens to adjust parallax
▪ Side Focus = a turret on the left side of the scope to adjust it ➔ easier to reach and dial!


Low bottom end magnification 3x or 4x
➔ to get a wide field of view (at least 25ft at 100y, better 30ft), because your quarry can crop up at THAT close, or be moving rapidly.


Medium top end magnification to place the pellet on the correct part of the iguana head — 12x at least, 16x is good, more might be fun.
The thing is that airgun kills zones are much smaller than powder burner kill zones — so a higher magnification is necessary.


Either—or | both—and: holdoff reticle and/or exposed turrets:
If you are shooting at ranges only within your point blank range (PBR), you won't need either.
But because airgun pellets have very steep trajectories (and tiny kill zones), you most likely will have to adjust your point of aim (POA) according to the range your quarry is at, much more so than for powder burners (more power, and large kills zones gives them much longer PBR).
So, how would you like to adjust your POA? — Your options:
▪ By holding off with the reticle ➔ need a reticle with evenly spaced hashlines or dots (not a BDC reticle).
▪ By dialing the turrets ➔ need exposed turrets (as capped turrets usually are the manufacturer's way of saying: "Set the turret once, and leave it alone, it's not built to be dialed for every shot.")
▪ Both? ➔ need both.


Glass quality:
The quality of some of the Chinese-made scopes is rather high — at rather economical prices, so you won't have to break the bank, e.g.:
Athlon | Discovery | Vector | Hawke | etc.



If you're interested I have Scope Specs Tables that list and sort scopes according to their characteristics, with prices, warranty, weight, etc., in three magnification ranges:
▪ 3-12x | 3-9x
▪ 4-16x | 3-18x | 4-20x
▪ 6-24x | 5-30x | 4-20x



Mike,
you have chosen the right hobby! (my completely biased opinion!)
You have come to the right place — AGN! (I hoped to prove that to you with my post ).

Matthias

 

[mike_k10]

FX Impact.

Thank you, sir. I am sure they are excellent, but the price is well beyond my reach.

 

[mike_k10]

I did a lot of thinking and where you live , I think the benjamin marauder with synthetic stock would be a good fit for what you are looking for and a spritech air compressor on amazon ( I have one and it works great ) and your scope should be 3x12 you may need a real low power for 10 to 15 yard shots and a much higher setting to see better up in trees , I hunt with a daystate delta wolf with a 6x24 and sometimes I wish it would go lower like a 3/4 , everything 2 guns compressor and scopes should be around 1500 and the guns are the kind to keep you happy for years with out any regrets about buying them

Thank you, sir! This looks like a very good buy. I shall check them out. The price is great, too. Thank you for a very helpful suggestion!

 

[mike_k10]

Mike,
Your budget for this project would be helpful. Don't forget to add air charging system and scopes. Also, are you and your daughter comfortable with longer, heavier guns or prefer shorter, smaller ones? WM

We would both prefer relatively lighter rifles and not too long or too short. We both hunt pigs with 16" barreled boltguns. I would like to keep the budget under $2,000. Maybe go a little more. I do like looking at the super premium stuff, but I cannot afford it. Have to be honest.

 

[mike_k10]

Airgun Technology Vulcan 2 or 3, or Uragan. 25 cal gives you many more pellet choices and all the fpe you will need.

Thank you, sir. Very nice, but I cannot afford to buy them. I am a seven year old truck kind of buyer, not BMW class.

 

[L.Leon]

@mike_k10, if you're not in a hurry to buy, do a lot of reading here. There are really good buys in the classifies on older, but still very competent PCPs. But you have to know what you're looking for... Good luck

 

[Plink Floyd]

Avenger with a primary arms slx prism either 3x or 5x would be pretty nice set ups that wouldn't break the bank

 

[mike_k10]

Like @WorriedMan, suggested, you'll get better advice once budget is stated. The rifles are going to need a source of HPA. Also, your choice of caliber suggested hunting specifically. Lots of plinking or target shooting with those calibers can be pricey. As for the scopes? They aren't more complicated than the scopes of yesteryear. 4x or 6x will not allow you to take advantage of the precision some PCPs are capable of, you'll be delivering way less FPE to your prey, keep that in mind. I would suggest a 4-12x variable scope at minimum. Good luck!

I do have a 4-14x44 scope that I bought for my pig rifle, but it is too complicated for me to use, to be frank. That is why I switched to a 2x red dot and zeroed it for 80 yards. I use it very comfortably now, and that is why I was wondering about a similar set up for the air rifles that I plan to buy for myself and my daughter. Yes, I am primarily interested in hunting. We have jackrabbits in some parts of Texas and my daughter has been checking out the Iguana hunting videos and wants to bag some. Thank you for your suggestions, sir!

 

[mike_k10]

I would strongly agree with L.Leon on the scopes:
Getting a fixed magnification scope has very few advantages, but limits you needlessly. A variable magnification scope gives you so many more options.
Sure, I might not need the higher magnification many times, but when I'd like to have some more — it's right there at the twist of my wrist!
But the fixed magnification scope is just that, fixed, limited, no options....



I think I'm understanding your comments about not trying to get into all the bells and whistles that scopes sometimes can have, seemingly needing an engineering degree.
➔ However, the good news is you don't need to use them!


You most likely need as a base line for a scope:

Parallax adjustment down to 10y or 15y. Because your quarry can easily be this close, and parallax errors cause misses with the small kill zones we have on airgun prey.
Your choices are:
▪ AO = adjustable objective where you turn the objective lens to adjust parallax
▪ Side Focus = a turret on the left side of the scope to adjust it ➔ easier to reach and dial!


Low bottom end magnification 3x or 4x
➔ to get a wide field of view (at least 25ft at 100y, better 30ft), because your quarry can crop up at THAT close, or be moving rapidly.


Medium top end magnification to place the pellet on the correct part of the iguana head — 12x at least, 16x is good, more might be fun.
The thing is that airgun kills zones are much smaller than powder burner kill zones — so a higher magnification is necessary.


Either—or | both—and: holdoff reticle and/or exposed turrets:
If you are shooting at ranges only within your point blank range (PBR), you won't need either.
But because airgun pellets have very steep trajectories (and tiny kill zones), you most likely will have to adjust your point of aim (POA) according to the range your quarry is at, much more so than for powder burners (more power, and large kills zones gives them much longer PBR).
So, how would you like to adjust your POA? — Your options:
▪ By holding off with the reticle ➔ need a reticle with evenly spaced hashlines or dots (not a BDC reticle).
▪ By dialing the turrets ➔ need exposed turrets (as capped turrets usually are the manufacturer's way of saying: "Set the turret once, and leave it alone, it's not built to be dialed for every shot.")
▪ Both? ➔ need both.


Glass quality:
The quality of some of the Chinese-made scopes is rather high — at rather economical prices, so you won't have to break the bank, e.g.:
Athlon | Discovery | Vector | Hawke | etc.



If you're interested I have Scope Specs Tables that list and sort scopes according to their characteristics, with prices, warranty, weight, etc., in three magnification ranges:
▪ 3-12x | 3-9x
▪ 4-16x | 3-18x | 4-20x
▪ 6-24x | 5-30x | 4-20x



Mike,
you have chosen the right hobby! (my completely biased opinion!)
You have come to the right place — AGN! (I hoped to prove that to you with my post ).

Matthias

Thank you for your very detailed post, sir! Sincerely appreciate it and I shall read through it again and try to find a way forward.

 

[JW652]

For a brilliant, simple, reliable scope for airgun hunting, it is hard to beat a 3-9X33 Leupold EFR. 399USD at SWFA and will last a lifetime. Save some time and order three, because you will soon want one for your PB.
Half of that price will get you a very good entry level Hawke 3-9.

 

[Deleted member 45749]

mike ,you could use a fixed 4x scope that should work good out to 40 or 50 yards and at close range , leapers utg are nice for the price I have a 4x fixed on my crossman pump gun and its very clear there are more brands starting around 35 to 100 dollars on pyramid air

 

[badger5th]

It's (literally) a "Walmart" scope but I am very happy with a CenterPoint 4-16x 40mm AO with illuminated MOA reticle. Got it for $79 at Walmart three years ago. I usually use it at 10x at 50-100 yards. Focuses down to 25 feet. Even at max 16x still sharp image. Very happy with a "cheap" scope.

 

[Kraemer99]

My suggestion for small game is a high quality springer. Nice thing about learning with a springer is once mastered then shooting anything else is a cinch......

 

[Trucker3573]

Never really pin pointed what you would be hunting. You mention hogs (25 airgun won’t cut the mustard and 30 would be marginal in my opinion ). You mentioned iguanas which 25 would be plenty. I would say 2 wood stock avengers, 2 UTG 3-12x44 scopes and plenty left over for a compressor. Not sure on what compressor I’m still researching myself. I am currently leaning toward a GX brand as there is now a source for parts right here in the USA. Avengers are as accurate as anything produced out to 50 yards. They seem to need some slight tweaks out of the box like a Donny fl adapter and I would recommend an aftermarket barrel band. Then they become solid shooters that maintain POI. The only issue I have found with the two I have owned is they rob you of moa on your scope. The guns shoot a little lower than other guns out of the box. No idea why but I have had to crank the up turret on my scope pretty far for a 50 yard zero. Both avengers have been this way.