Recommend Me a Compact .177 Airgun

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ctshooter

ctshooter

Member
Oct 30, 2018
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CT, United States
I was looking at my collection of pistols and rifles last night.

I have a lot of pistols, both vintage and newer, in springer, SSP, CO2 and PCP and I enjoy the hell out of them probably more than bull pups/rifles. Most are in .177 with a few in .22. They scratch my pistol itch and I’m pretty good to very good with all of them. I really only keep my eyes out for used pistols that are essential to me a vintage pistol collection. I scored a S&W 79G last night in the Classifieds and before that a Walter LP Model 3 from AoA.

On the airgun side I have three .22s that really cover any and all scenarios from 20fpe up to 65fpe. A few big bores that cover from .357 up to a .72 16” Zeus.

But I only have one .177 rifle which is more on the HP side of things and runs very happily in the 18-28 fpe range.

What I am looking for is this - a mid-tier compact .177 rifle. My criteria for Compact means I’d like 25” or less before adding any additional moderation. There are two right now that meet this criteria:
- Taipan Veteran .177 Compact from Utah Air (doesn’t seem like anyone else stateside offers a .177 Vet in Compact)
- Edgun Leslie Classic .177/250mm

Some options that I have already ruled out:
- AGT Uragan / Uragan 2 Compact. I’ve owned three compacts in the past and although they are excellent airguns I’m just not feeling another one.
- FX Wildcat III - I’ve already had one in .177 and it was excellent for the first day and then it was nothing but POI shifting. I’ve also seen a good number of threads on here that FX in .177 isn’t delivering to expectations for many.
- Pistol Carbine setup - looking for a full rifle, not a conversion.

I am very open to other suggestions. Please let me know what I might be missing.
 
I put a reg in my BSA Ultra SE .177. It’s the greatest little .177 rifle I’ve ever shot. Key word, rifle. I have a Lelya .177 and it’s a fun little gun. It’s probably more accurate than the platform allows you to shoot it but I don’t think Ed designed it to spend its days on the bench. Personally, I would steer clear of the Taipan and several other guns in .177. Like I told one guy, most of these powerhouse guns were designed around .22 or .25. When they slap some .177 hardware on them to appease the masses, you don’t get the best those companies could do. If you pay attention, most are just way too powerful. Not saying they can’t work but some will take more tuning and compromise. A sweet .177 would be offered by these companies as a 12ftlb model. Then they probably did more homework. Maybe.
 
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Can’t argue about the RTI garage build look any more than than the Airforce line of guns looking like the potato gun of the PCP world. This is what I did when I wanted a .177 PCP back in 2010 or so. I investigated what the guys who had to shoot them (across the pond) were shooting. Not the vidiots trying to promote any free toy they could get their hands on even though it wasn’t so bad back then. I just lurked around and my choice was pretty obvious. My Lelya is cute and cool but there is not a snowballs chance it will out shoot my BSA. It might be just as accurate clamped in a shooting vice. But humans aren’t shooting vices.
 
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I really like my P35 (side cocking) in 177. It came tuned for 18-19 fpe. Shoots H&N Baracuda Match in 4.5 very accurately and also Crosman 10.5s. It's probably more like 27 inches long but just over 5 lbs weight. Loads of fun. About 100 shots per 250 bar fill. Regulator could be turned down if you want more shots at less power.
 
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You might consider the Ranger XR… it meets your length requirements. Not sure if the power level is too low for your wants. I know you posted no “pistol carbine” conversions… Which the Brococks aren’t. The Ranger/Atomic XRs are excellent low power “mini carbines”. That they were marketed as “pistols” was unfortunate…
 
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Ask Matt about his dream tac compact .177. I tried it at the range, and it was super accurate, and quiet to the point of sounding broken. I liked it so much so, that I got one of my own in .22. Also crazy accurate and quiet shooting low power for backyard shooting. so far, zero reg creep, and zero poi issues.

Also agree with the atomic/ranger platform. Both super compact and accurate. L.Leon has proved over and over again, that it’s a fantastic compact hunting platform. If I didn’t have my dream tac, I would one one of these.
 
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Andrew I was chatting with Matt this afternoon about the Dream Tact Compact. I’ve shot his at the range as well and it’s a really nice Airgun. The length is a bit more than I really want though.

I’ve looked at the Ranger XR. AoA has had a used one for sale at a good price too. It’s just not appealing to me for some reason. Something with the design just seems off.

I appreciate all the input and I think I’m going to go with the Taipan Compact. It has so many good things going for it and I know the platform. Love the trigger, anti double feed, actually prefer the rotary mags over self indexing (beat up the pellets less) and it will a higher shot count than some other options with easy to adjust speed and higher power potential should I desire.
 
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ctshooter said:
Thanks for the Artemis recommendations. I'm not concerned about an inch here or there, but wondering if you play the barrel lottery.
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I think you do based upon my 3. I've been shooting the 30 yard challenge. My P35-22 was able to shoot a 194 with the handicap of me being the shooter. My P35-177 did a 184. My P35-25 score was so poor I didn't post it. My P35-25 looks like they drilled out the last inch or so of the rifling, presumably trying to fix it. But that gun has killed 18 squirrels for me in less than a years use. It isn't a good target rifle but it will shoot groups easily smaller than a squirrel's head at the ranges I can get a shot around here. I also see a few small upgrades between my 25, purchased last October, and my 177 and 22 purchased as soon as Krale had some this year. So I think they may be getting a little better. If you want target rifle level accuracy you may need a bit of good luck with SPA (Artemis). But if you want hunting level accuracy out to 35-40 yards, I'd say your odds are quite good. But you may need to clean up the crown with a brass screw and some JBs. Knowing what I know now, I should probably have sent my 25 back. It fits me so well and is so much fun to shoot, however, I didn't even think of it. It will shoot 1/4 inch 3 shot groups at 25 yards. So I think it is accurate, but it isn't up to any serious target work. Only one of the 18 squirrels needed more than one shot and that was because I tried shooting through some twigs on the first shot.
 
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I don’t recall the whole thing, but I seem to remember Michael say something about the Taipan Short in .177 not be as accurate as the Standard in .177. Here’s the , hope it’s video the right one.

I had an FX in .177, don’t recommend it, personally. Horrible issues. Everyone from FX to Ernest, to Utah said the same thing. “In .177 they are hit or miss.

@blckpaw has the Uragan compact, think he wants to unload it too, I think it shoots very well for him. The new Ghost looks promising too, don’t recall specs.
 
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I’ve had a few Uragan Compacts in .177 and .22. I really love the Uragan ergonomics - they fit me really well. And they are very accurate, have excellent magazine - no complaints at with how they perform. The two downsides which make the Vet more appealing to me are: 1) Externally adjustable hammer spring, 2) better trigger on the Vet and 3) quieter overall in regards to hammer slap and noise report.

Haven’t tried many different pellets, but the JSB 10.34gr has been performing as I had hoped in the 800-900 fps range. No regrets going the Vet route.

And a side bonus is I have a Vet .177 and .22 in Compact so as long as I only have one out at a time, the wifey will never know I have two of them……… LOL
 
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I have an HW100 in .177 that I tuned down to under 12 fpe, and I love it. Based on that experience, if I were looking for a compact rifle, I'd try to find an HW100BP. But I can't tell you where to find one. Of the more available rifles, the Veteran Compact would probably be my choice, accurate, great trigger, reliable. On the downside, it's heavy, and a bit clubby in handling feel, but that's a personal perspective.
 
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