Hi all, I am about as new as they come to all manners of air guns. Back story I am 65 years old and not in the best of health, I am blind in my right eye and now have a pacemaker near the left collar bone right at the point where the buttstock rests. I have enjoyed shooting sports and hunting most of my life but now I have restrictions. Now I am looking into air rifles. I have traded for a Benjaman Trail NP .22 that needs resealed, I am also looking at a Umarex Gauntlet .25 PCP to start my journey. I would welcome any constructive thoughts and/or advice as I start down this path.
Nubie
- Thread starter Tumbleweed58
- Start date
A PCP is definitely your best bet as they have basically no recoil. As for the Gauntlet, there are a lot of guys that have had good luck with them . Do you really need a .25 though? If you intend on shooting a lot, you need to consider ammo cost. A .22 is significantly cheaper to shoot and is very effective on small game and pest. Just something to think about. Welcome to the forum.
Mike
Mike
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Welcome and sorry to hear about your health issues. With your PCP you need to consider how you will fill the guns bottle. There are a variety of ways, acquire a small electric pump 300 bar/4500 psi +/- to just fill the guns bottle, I think these pumps are under $500. You could get a air cylinder (like scuba tank) rated for 4500 psi these depending on volume can range from several hundred and up as the size increases. This would then fill your guns bottle. Then to fill the air cylinder you can sometime get scuba shops to fill then, I have heard of some people getting their local fire department to fill or if you have a local airgun shop each will charge you something. You can buy a larger compressor that would fill your air cylinder but in most cases this item is $1,000 +/-. You will not use all the air in the tank only down to your guns max fill pressure. My Daystate Red Wolf has a max 250 bar pressure 250 bar = 3626 psi. My air cylinder 100 cu in, holds 305 bar or 4500 psi, so I use the air between 305 bar and 250 and then use my Daystate compressor ($1,600) to refill my air cylinder. My bottle on the Daystate has a volume of 480cc the amount of refills from my air cylinder depends on how low I run the guns bottle. I got a great deal on my compressor from my local shop Airguns of Arizona, it had some minor damage from shipping one of which was a severed cord, they fixed everything and I got the standard warranty, this compressor new at AoA is $2,600. I have provided a link to AoA compressor page so you can look over a few. In closing about air cylinders, when you fill them the air heats up and expands and as it cools it shrinks and there is less air in the tank. As example I filled my guns bottle very slowly from 176 bar to 253 after severals hours it had dropped to 236 bar.
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I would like to hunt small wild hog from my deer stand, that's why I would like .25. I am talking about 30 yard head shots.
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You might need a 30 cal. i see you are in Texas and this is what I found on Texas Game & Fish. This will certainly increase you air use and cost of ammo.
Air Guns and Arrow Guns
Alligator, game animals, furbearers, squirrels, and non-migratory game birds (except eastern turkey) may be hunted with air guns and arrow guns provided:- alligators, bighorn sheep, javelina, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and turkey (except eastern turkey) may be taken only with pre-charged pneumatic arrow guns, or pre-charged pneumatic air guns.
- pre-charged pneumatic air guns must fire a projectile of at least .30 caliber in diameter and at least 150 grains in weight with a minimum muzzle velocity of 800 feet per second or any combination of bullet weight and muzzle velocity that produces muzzle energy of at least 215 foot pounds of energy.
- squirrels, pheasant, quail, and chachalaca may be hunted with air guns that fire a projectile of at least .177 caliber (4.5mm) in diameter producing a muzzle velocity of at least 600 feet per second.
- arrows or bolts used with an arrow gun must conform to the same standards for projectiles for archery.
- arrow guns may not be used to hunt deer or wild turkey during archery season.
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Welcome, Sir, glad to have you. First "adult" airgun was a 2018 Benjamin Trail NP XL .22, sold by neighbor for $25. He hated it, claimed belonged in town dump, waste of $250. After good barrel cleaning, Crosman trigger modification, learning "artillery hold," and finding preferred pellet, still only so-so accurate over 30 yards. Next was a Generation One Umarex Gauntlet .25, and a $50 (eBay) Chinese HPA hand pump to fill. Shocked to unbox the 47-inch, 10-pound (scoped) behemoth with a bolt action feeling like grinding rocks. Suggestions: Don't put much time and effort in the Benjamin, look for a more modern designed "starter" PCP like, DAR Generation 3, JTS Airacuda Max, Air Venturi Avenger (Wood stock) or Avenge-X. Long, heavy bolt-action guns with dovetail scope mounts are out while shorter, lighter side-levers with Picatinny scope rails are in. WM
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Wow, good info. Although hog are not considered game animals it does make me think of the clean kill ability of the projectile so maybe not such a good idea. I will defiantly look further into it. Thanks very much for the info.
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Welcome aboard. We’re basically in the same boat…health wise (I’m 87, back problems, pacemaker, etc) so here is my advice. Start out slow and get familiar with PCP airguns. The FIRST thing I check when shopping for a new gun is the weight. Keep in mind that you are going to be adding 1 1/2 to 2 lbs for a scope and mounts. For that reason, I wouldn’t consider anything over 6 1/2 pounds UNLESS you will be shooting from a bench rest where weight isn’t a consideration. Also, I suggest avoiding the high priced ,tricked out guns for starting your journey. I have owned more PCP than I can remember and still have one of my favorites…a Snowpeak P-35, 5.25 lbs available from Krale (Google them) for under $500. Buy a compressor from Amazon, eBay, or Walmart. If you order from a dealer, it will be the same thing, rebranded, and REPRICED $$$$$, and much more difficult to return or get service if needed. I hate to say this, but the honeymoon is over with far too many dealers once the sale is made!
I love talking airguns so call me if you want to chat. Larry Guinn 501-733-2950. Leave a message (I don’t answer calls I don’t recognize)
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Welcome aboard! After a certain age we all have aspects of our body that start shutting down. The good news is that for a lot of us old farts (I'm 71.5 ) airgunning makes us FEEL young again! It certainly works for me 
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WOW, lots of info. I like the DAR Generation 3, $100 more but seems like a whole lot more rifle for the money. do you still use the hand pump? I don't plan on shooting that many times in one range day but that may change, just not ready to spend another $300-$400 on a compressor.
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Sorry to drop the truth on you, Brother, wish someone had done the same for me, wasn't on this forum at that time, nobody to blame, but myself. No comparison between DAR and Gauntlet, seven inches shorter, lots lighter, silky smooth side-lever. Pumped Gauntlet full of moisture with hand-pump then almost stroked out trying to fill FX Wildcat, gave up hand pump. Here's my Yong Heng, all thanks to Biohazardman. There's a small red compressor, GX(CS2), might suit you well, geared low so much less compressor-killing heat. Glad to help in anyway I can, just like majority of members. WM
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I forgot my manners.
Welcome to the forum. Enjoy your time here, Air gunning is an awesome activity.
Welcome to the forum. Enjoy your time here, Air gunning is an awesome activity.
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They are supposed to have one coming it isn’t out to the consumer yet. I asked Rick utsler about it in a live broadcast and he him hawed a bit indicating he knew info but couldn’t really share it. It didn’t seem positive to me so no idea what has happened with the new jts guns.
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