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woody1956

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Jan 12, 2025
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Alabama
New member to the forum- Kenny- from Bama, had brake barrel type air rifles most of my life, wanting to get into PCP air rifles and up my game, have been researching the Hatsan Factor BP Bullpup QE Side lever action, thinking about the .35 cal. , would be a great help to get any input from anyone who has one, or has any experience with one, positive, or negative input is welcomed, and do you prefer the .30 , or .35 cal. , thanks, glad to be aboard on the forum, looking forward to learning all I can. https://www.sports-and-gadgets.com/...uded-wearable4u-bundle?variant=43845803376855
 
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L.Leon said:
The .30 and .35 caliber PCPs will require lots of HPA, and the energy levels “will” limit where you can deploy said PCPs. What is your intent with your first foray into PCPs? That would help many here give you useful advice or tips…🙏
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Mostly target shooting, some hunting, etc. , mainly wanting to get started.
 
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As stated, a .35 takes a lot of air. Hunting will depend on what you want to hunt. Coyotes and bigger, sure... .35 would be great. If you're looking to pop squirrel, rabbit, the occasional ground hog and do target shooting, then a .22 would be more fitting.

Good thing is you're at the right place and you're getting into PCP at a great time. There are tons of options these days.
 
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Rob_in_NC said:
As stated, a .35 takes a lot of air. Hunting will depend on what you want to hunt. Coyotes and bigger, sure... .35 would be great. If you're looking to pop squirrel, rabbit, the occasional ground hog and do target shooting, then a .22 would be more fitting.

Good thing is you're at the right place and you're getting into PCP at a great time. There are tons of options these days.
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I might add that the cost of ammo for target shooting could get spendy compared to .22 cal. If you plan to hunt with it make sure and check your states regs on airgun usage.
 
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For a first gun I'd recommend a .22 or a .25. .25's got more thump and will be better for hunting. .22's cheaper and gets more shots per charge. .30 hits even harder, but costs significantly more and uses significantly more air. For plinking and target practice, recharging guns is a PITA. so the more shots per fill that you can get the better. If I could only have one airgun it would be a .22.

If you really have to have a .30 or .35, then you're also going to want a compressor, as they use too much air for a hand pump. Sure, you could do it. You could also fill a tractor tire with a bicycle pump, but it's really going to suck. If you choose to go that route, the best way to do it is to get a compressor and a decommissioned SCBA tank. Use the compressor to fill the tank and the tank to fill the rifle. For .177 or .22 a handpump is adequate. For .25 you'd be better off with a compressor, but a hand pump is adequate if that's all you can afford.

I try and buy ammo in bulk and I can generally get .177 for 2 cents or less per shot, .22 for 3 cents or less, .25 for 5 cents and .30 for 11 cents. I've found .177 for around 1/2 cent and .22 for 1 cent recently though, so you can save a lot by using the smaller calibers. I don't have any .35s but they'll be closer to 20 cents.
 
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Welcome to the best forum period, air gun related or not. Read up on all of the other rifles out there, plus caliber information here.
There are TONS of very smart folks here to help. Just ask questions that have as much information as you can, otherwise the answers will be more generalized and may not help as much.

mike
 
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Welcome to AGN!. Take your time and dig around the PCP forum. Tons of great information and experience-based posts. Also, how are you going to compress your air? The good news is compressors are very economical now. A good compressor can be purchased for less than the cost of my first hand pump!

Another vote for the venerable .22 caliber. Probably the most common caliber for PCP's. Pellets go from 14 grain up to 34 grain. .22 caliber PCP's are easy on the HPA source compared to .30 or .35 calibers.

Example - My .30 caliber takes an entire 60 minute tank for 150 shots. About three hours at the club because fpe is too high for home range.

My .22 caliber gets hundreds if not thousands of shots out of a 60 minute tank. At least three weekends of shooting for the average four hour sessions at the home range.

There are many .22 rifles and bull pup setups. I suggest staying away from Hatsan for your first rifle. Hatsan rifles can require additional tinkering or gunsmithing to function. I suggest another brand.

Not sure of your budget but brands like Benjamin, Stoeger / Snow Peak / Umarex are all in the same ballpark with Hatsan. AGN and Youtube are your friend.

Welcome to the rabbit hole!
 
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woody1956 said:
Would welcome any and all feedback on the Airforce Texan SS, on the compressor I am looking at a Vevor.
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I've never personally owned any Airforce products, but they have a good reputation and are known for being very simple, reliable and user serviceable and they've been around for a long time. The compressor I would recommend is a GX CS4 as I've had one for about 2 years now and it's been great. It also goes up to 5800 psi, so there's virtually nothing out there that it can't fully charge. It's also very quiet. The Vevor might be good as well though.

I'm not a big fan of Hatsans. I've had three of them and all of them needed some work. They do have some innovative products though and their prices are very reasonable.
 
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Unless you're hunting deer or larger I wouldn't get a .35 A .22 would be great for plinking and for hunting anything up to racoon size...here's a good hunting guide on what caliber and fpe required for hunting with a pcp. Also think about what you want to shoot, slug or pellets. I shoot strictly slug (better expansion for hunting and better long range accuracy) First purchase was a Hatsan Factor BP, bought 2 of them and returned both. Charging handle was gritty as hell, couldn't get them to group at all. I have 1 for backyard plinking which is the Notos .22 which is awsome. It's accurate and fine for anything under 50yards...I've taken out quail easily at 50 yards with it, would do fine with rabbits.

I have a Vulcan 3 in .30 for hunting, accurate and all the power I need up to and including small deer. Here's a link to show the accuracy of the Vulcan 3, a 90 yard headshot on a squirrel https://www.airgunnation.com/thread...ck-squirrel-another-one-for-the-stew.1316079/
 
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ZekeZX10 said:
Unless you're hunting deer or larger I wouldn't get a .35 A .22 would be great for plinking and for hunting anything up to racoon size...here's a good hunting guide on what caliber and fpe required for hunting with a pcp. Also think about what you want to shoot, slug or pellets. I shoot strictly slug (better expansion for hunting and better long range accuracy) First purchase was a Hatsan Factor BP, bought 2 of them and returned both. Charging handle was gritty as hell, couldn't get them to group at all. I have 1 for backyard plinking which is the Notos .22 which is awsome. It's accurate and fine for anything under 50yards...I've taken out quail easily at 50 yards with it, would do fine with rabbits.

I have a Vulcan 3 in .30 for hunting, accurate and all the power I need up to and including small deer. Here's a link to show the accuracy of the Vulcan 3, a 90 yard headshot on a squirrel https://www.airgunnation.com/thread...ck-squirrel-another-one-for-the-stew.1316079/
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Pretty well decided on the .30 cal. - will do some deer hunting with it- mostly 25 to 30 yards- head shots- and other varmits, & plinking.
 
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woody1956 said:
Pretty well decided on the .30 cal. - will do some deer hunting with it- mostly 25 to 30 yards- head shots- and other varmits, & plinking.
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.30 is a good caliber. IMO, it tends to hit harder than a .22lr even when the kinetic energy is less. The larger frontal area and greater mass really do count for something and it bucks the wind better than the smaller calibers. For long range shooting it's a great choice.
 
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