Realistic Assessment - Using a Hand Pump to Fill a Manly PCP

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jpbrewer

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May 27, 2015
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Georgia, United States
OK, I have taken the leap to a big boy PCP (22 Wildcat). Given that I am already out some serious coin, I have decided to use a hand pump for a while until I can afford a CF tank.

Reading around the forums, it seems like everyone has a CF tank, but I wondered if anyone could give me their take on the prospects of filling a 230cc bottle with a Benjamin hand pump. It seems to me that once you have the bottle filled to the bottom of the shot string, it should take about two strokes per shot to fill it back up.

So, 70 shots x 2 pumps =140 pumps. I know that these are the more difficult "above 2000psi" pumps, not the easier ones. I know that 40 pumps are doable without too much strain in one session. 60 to 80 is a real workout. And I know that you should stop and let the pump cool after 5 minutes (as if making it to 5 minutes pumping full blast is not a good stopping point anyway). Whew, makes me tired thinking about it.

So anyway, I get that it will be a workout, but people like me who have had a Disco or P-Rod don't have any frame of reference.

Am I off base in my assessment? Anyway, I would appreciate any thoughtful comments you have.
 
OK now, I've been pumping for over 6 years, I had several 500cc rifles, I had rifles that had to be pumped after 2 shots, I'm only 150-155 pounds.

Pumping is tedious, boring some might say,...but hard ? not really, once you get used to the motions (like everything else) it's a piece of cake,
....I believe most people give up way to soon, ....but I'm not surprised in today society where we want everything now and easy :)


Nothing like indipendence when it come to air. :) :) 
 
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I mostly pump my guns. I have a Gehman pump and have used it for years. I am 70 years old and it is a chore to pump up a rifle. What I do is to pump 25 pumps and take a break and go back to it for 25 more until it is fully charged. I have three rifles. The Anchutz 8002 gets over 200 shots per fill but it can take 150 or more pumps to charge it back up( 6 ft lb gun). The Marauder is in . 177 and gets about 30 shots per fill and takes about 75 pumps to charge it up ( 20 ft lb gun). My AA ProTarget is a 12 ftlb gun and gets 60 plus shots per fill and takes 75 plus pumps to charge it. I only use the hand pump at home. At matches I fill from a small scuba or carbon fiber tank that are filled at a dive shop. Oh I also pump a pcp pistol.
There is a concern about introducing moisture into a gun with a hand pump. I pump in a dry area of the house where I run a dehumidifier 24/7. I purged the tanks on a previous 10 meter rifle I had and got zero evidence of moisture.
This will give you an idea of what you will face. The hand pump is difficult but certainly doable.
I think every airgunners dream is to have a compressor and a CF tank, but few do.
Rick B.
 
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How long of a stroke does it take to pump one of these hand pumps? I was thinking of rigging a motor to one using a large flywheel and a jack shaft with a couple pulleys so it pumps fairly slow to protect the pump. I have a machine shop so making stuff is what I do anyway it was an idea I had when I was looking at all this stuff I am new and wanting to buy a gun and the air supply is an expensive item to get around.

Mike
 
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One other point is even if you do get a tank and or compressor (I got a compressor first then a cf tank later.) its still nice to have a pump for back up air. I have a Hill mk4 pump that was my first source of air.

Also I don't know what the fill pressure is on the Wild cat is but many FX guns fill to 3,600 psi I think. The hill pump will only go to 3,300 max and it gets real hard to push down to get there. If you only need 3,000 then you will be fine. Not sure about the Benjamin pump.

One more point is that if you mainly hunt and don't shoot a lot a pump will be fine. If however you like to bench rest and shoot a lot like me, pumping will get old very fast! Having a bottle and compressor transformed my air gunning experience. My girl friend hated having to stop and pump (or run the compressor before I got a tank) now we sit at the bench and shoot for a couple hours only stopping to load mags, She loves it! And that makes me happy! It will cost ya a lot more in pellets though HaHa! Was worth it for me.
 
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I know this will sound like I'm lying, but I swear it's true. You WILL get used to pumping a pcp. I started out with pcp's right after I turned 12. It was really hard back then, when I weighed 100 pounds. But I loved shooting my Marauder, so I did it anyway. I've now been using a pcp pump for almost two years (a Hill mk3 by the way). I got used to it. Now, being 120 pounds, I can pump my Marauder from 1800 psi to 3000 in 5-10 minutes, without breaking a sweat. I'm thirteen. So stick with it, and you'll basically turn into a 3000 psi compressor! (maybe even 3600 psi, if you're heavier than me, which you probably are)
 
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Yep, might as well start with a hand pump. I did and it didn't take me long to appreciate a shoebox and a carbon fiber tank. I guess it really depends on how much you shoot? A day of shooting several hundred pellets would be quite exhausting with a hand pump? Sold the shoebox and moved on to renting a 6000 psi nitrogen tank now days. Just gave/loaned my hand pump to a good friend for his journey into the dark side.

 
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My first pcp was a Condor I bought in late 2004/early 2005. This means it has the old style 490cc tank that you have to remove in order to fill it. I used both a Hill and FX pump and saw the same results. After shooting between 60-65 shots starting at 3000 psi, it would take between 200-300 strokes to top off the tank. Pausing after every 25 strokes for at least 5 minutes meant it took a while to refill. Of course it got harder to force air through the valve as the pressure in the tank built. It was good exercise. It was a completely different story with my FX Bobcat. The Bobcat has a smaller tank which only takes between 100-150 strokes to top it off and is much easier to pump even though I fill it to 3200 psi. Filling that Condor tank makes me appreciate my Omega Super Charger and 100cf carbon fiber tank.
 
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As a noob to PCP and pumps my perspective may be appreciated. I've had a FX Whisper and Hill MK3 pump for about 4 months now. I have no problem with using only a pump and have no desire to get a tank. I have the $$ to get a tank, and who knows I may some day, but the thought of driving about 10 miles to fill my air tank doesn't appeal to me. I know me better than anyone else in this world and I know I'd let that tank sit empty if I had a pump I could use. I'm also a very impatient person.

If you were going to be in a scenario where you're going to have to fill your gun many times in one sitting then sure, I'd see the value of a tank and would get one. But I never am in that scenario. I get 30 shots per fill so I typically fill it just once per session.
 
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