Stoeger xm1 ranger.25 caliber questions

I have both, hand pumps(2) & compressor(s). My RoVair compressor puked & I'm waiting on a rebuild .I now have a GX4 ,NO More air-cooled for me ! If you are in any shape enough for 10-15 pushups you can pump the Ranger to capacity in a few sessions ( unless you want to shower immediately ;)). I have both shoulders replaced & still use the pump out in the field for top offs & occasionally for exercise in the Man Cave . For around $350 you can find decent FFP
scopes . I have gone from 3x12 at the beginning to 4x16 & 6x24 scopes on all my PCP's ( a house sparrow is VERY small at 40/50 yards). Athlon & Hawke are the brands I use and they do all I ask of them, I don't do turrent cranking & no ballistic charts on the gun stocks. I sight in and use stadia lines for ranges I'm comfortable with. The Gauntlet will give you more shots but also will require a compressor as it has a bottle ( I hand pumped my Gauntlet once , see shower
comment above). Just my 2 cents .

Glad to hear a hand pump is viable. I’ll get a decent one and it can be the backup whenever I get a compressor.

I’m looking to get the Athlon Talos 6x24. Would prefer just to be one and done with the scope and that should fulfill every foreseeable need for a .25 PCP.


Having had the original Gauntlet 2 & now the Ranger (both .22) I'd definitely say Ranger. The Stoegers are quite powerful as delivered w/ a trigger great out of the box & easily tweaked for even better, much easier than the Gauntlet. Weight wise & ergonomics are better too. If I move to .25 it will be another Stoeger .

The Ranger definitely looks like the move.
There are 2 items I don’t like though. Most importantly, that on trigger safety is half baked.

Secondarily but more of an annoyance is how the pressure gauge is at the front of the rifle and requires you to move your head near the barrel to read it.

Neither is a deal breaker per se as the rifle is overall incredible value. How have you found those features?
 
Some thing to note, as far as the safety, I have large hands & fingers and it is a bit of a hindrance to find gloves that fit ,so,, yes the safety is a point of attention
for me. Second , IF you want to adjust the trigger ( a good one to live with as is), You will negate the safety because the trigger blade will move out of the groove on the trigger guard UNLESS you do a bit of Dremel work to enlarge the "hole/groove" to allow the safety button to move. This is what I did to get a consistent 1lb~ trigger. My Gunsmith friend wanted the same trigger but disregarded the safety issue as he only shoots benchrest currently with his Scout model. Third, I may look into a barrel band in the future because of the free float barrel length , with a Sumo moderator , the barrel shroud may contact the air tube at times. Right now I'd rather not ship the gun to Terminador or the like to 3D print one. If someone does make one down the road I will pick one up.The air gauge in front doesn't bother me, I have others the same. Just something to be aware of , apply standard safety rules.
 
Some thing to note, as far as the safety, I have large hands & fingers and it is a bit of a hindrance to find gloves that fit ,so,, yes the safety is a point of attention
for me. Second , IF you want to adjust the trigger ( a good one to live with as is), You will negate the safety because the trigger blade will move out of the groove on the trigger guard UNLESS you do a bit of Dremel work to enlarge the "hole/groove" to allow the safety button to move. This is what I did to get a consistent 1lb~ trigger. My Gunsmith friend wanted the same trigger but disregarded the safety issue as he only shoots benchrest currently with his Scout model. Third, I may look into a barrel band in the future because of the free float barrel length , with a Sumo moderator , the barrel shroud may contact the air tube at times. Right now I'd rather not ship the gun to Terminador or the like to 3D print one. If someone does make one down the road I will pick one up.The air gauge in front doesn't bother me, I have others the same. Just something to be aware of , apply standard safety rules.

Thanks for the detailed response. The closest I’ll come to shooting from a bench most of the time would be prone supported.

I’m planning to hunt with it and train my kids (under heavy supervision) with it, though I’m going to get an Umarex Notos for them as well.

I have big hands as well and would be wearing gloves much of the year so it’s a concern.

Wish there were somewhere I could actually handle it first.

I still don’t think it’s a deal breaker but it’s pretty close to it, if the gun weren’t such an amazing value it would be a deal breaker.

Yeah the air gauge is just annoying to me.
 
Thanks for the detailed response. The closest I’ll come to shooting from a bench most of the time would be prone supported.

I’m planning to hunt with it and train my kids (under heavy supervision) with it, though I’m going to get an Umarex Notos for them as well.

I have big hands as well and would be wearing gloves much of the year so it’s a concern.

Wish there were somewhere I could actually handle it first.

I still don’t think it’s a deal breaker but it’s pretty close to it, if the gun weren’t such an amazing value it would be a deal breaker.

Yeah the air gauge is just annoying to me.
We have them to handle and buy first. Around eastern PA by appointment.
 
Nice. Cost of the plane ticket will be more than the rifle though so it’s internet research only for me! Looks like a fantastic rifle, biggest problem by far is that safety.
It’s truly not a problem. You’re only hearing a small few people not liking the specific gun they have. It doesn’t represent the one that you’d get. Especially from a company like us. The worst part about buying a gun is listening to every little complaint. If you do that, you’ll never own one.
 
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Scout is a solid gun, powerful, accurate. smooth cocking side lever and a bonus it comes with all metal mags. It is loud without a moderator. safety operation was a non issue for me. I have had a few guns with same safety setup and never thought about it. I got big hands and the ones that are having issues I would guess maybe poor fitting bulky gloves are the cause.
 
Scout is a solid gun, powerful, accurate. smooth cocking side lever and a bonus it comes with all metal mags. It is loud without a moderator. safety operation was a non issue for me. I have had a few guns with same safety setup and never thought about it. I got big hands and the ones that are having issues I would guess maybe poor fitting bulky gloves are the cause.
I just came up from the ManCave after a shooting session w/ several guns. I ran several mags through my Stoegers, both the Ranger & Bullshark. I realized
that when I checked the air pressure gauge I wasn't really looking "down the barrel" , but from an angle directly under the tube which gives more than adequate
view of the scale . I've found also through this past season even with light field gloves on , using the off hand to work the safety was very easy. I think we overthink too much of these affordable guns . I cannot recommend these Stoegers enough ! You'd be hard pressed to get ANY gun at their $$$ that shoots & adjusts to fit many shooters. If you want to crank knobs a lot & change components look elsewhere & spend more dough. Buy one ,clean the shipping gunk
out , pick a medium heavy/heavy for caliber ( my .22 Ranger & Bullshark dote's on 18-21+gr ) pellets , shoot and "be happy"!