Why all the airforce hate?

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While I'm not a fan of the Airforce look I still got my Texan because it was adjustable on the fly and has enough power out of the box to take bigger game. The addition of an R&L shroud made it even more enjoyable to shoot. However, if there was a production multi shot PCP in .45 caliber that offered the same power I would have gone for that instead.

 
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The only .45 repeaters I know of (that have more power than the Texan) is the America Air Arms Slayer. These are awesome-looking new bullpups. These fire cast bullets. 

If was going to buy a single shot air gun for taking large game, the custom ones made by companies like Extreme or Quakanbush are the way to go. They genuinely have enough juice to take buffalo. A Texan is not in the same league. I would buy one of the Sam Yang 909's before I bought a Texan. Much cheaper and better looking. They look like a rifle instead of a water pistol.

I thought that the shroud for the Texan at Wild West was a practical joke. It made it so long that you could use it to pole vault to China. It badly needs to be a bullpup but their rear tank design makes it impossible. 

For medium-large game like pigs and small dear, there are plenty of repeaters that are powerful enough if state laws allow it. A member on another forum posted pics of pigs he'd taken with a high powered 22 caliber. I am guilty of liking the look of the Evanix Max ML in .45, .50 and 9mm. I know... I can't help it. a big bore max ML has enough juice for anything I would want to Hunt with an air gun. If I needed more power than a .45 Max ML then I really believe that a firearm is the right choice. All the advantages of Airguns are lost when you get to the extreme big bores. 

As a matter of interest, what game can be hunted with a Texan that you couldn't hunt with a .45 Max ML, Tactical Sniper or even a Benjamin Bulldog 9mm? 




 
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"Strever"i have one in the box never been shot
i bought it for my grandson and when he saw it said "oh how ugly don't want it"
so there it sits
i don't like them either
like Zebra says have any EVER won a BR match ?
sorry but they are NOT accurate enuff
and VERY un-ergonomic
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This says it all. It looks so uninspiring that you can't even be bothered to take it out the box to test it. It is hard to think of another Airgun that is so ugly that you don't even want to touch it. It was so ugly that your grandson couldn't even be polite and pretend to like his gift. This made me smile. 

It's telling that the thing people like the most about their AF gun is that it is easy to take apart and make into a different gun. 
 
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I just picked up a condor ss 25 and I'm enjoying it like the first one I had ...traded the first for cricket 25 plus cash. Cricket is better but the condor ss can group great out of the box if you can actually shoot plus it has a safety . I also i like the airforce service and warranty ....keep in mind all you guys out there that pump or fill with shoebox with not the correct filters...well you will have problems with your high end airgun down the road. That said the airforce is just that tank and gun just fill the baby with pump or shoebox . I just edited this post because i forgot to mention that a airforce airgun very rarely leaks.
 
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"zebra"I thought I was the only one who really disliked Airforce guns. I think they are the least exciting of all PCP brands. The manufacturer is annoyingly stubborn in their refusal to make a repeater. They have blinkers on. nobody likes to hear that their baby is ugly but someone should tell them...

Every single model looks exactly the same. They have zero imagination or design talent. It's not as if their one design is so good that it can't be improved. It's hideous and requires the immediate purchase of an after-market stock replacement. Is anyone ever excited to see what the new Airforce model looks like???

The vast majority of us want a repeater these days so they should stop being stubborn and build a mag already. Single shot is far too annoying to live with. That's why we ditched the springers. AirForce state on their website that their guns are single shot because they are so accurate that you shouldn't need a follow-up shot. Well, I do need one sometimes. Animals move. They should cut the BS. Their guns are single shot because of laziness and complacency and nothing else.

There are some Airguns that you hardly ever see in the classifieds because people like them. There are always tons of Airforce guns for sale because buying one is a mistake. It doesn't take long for people to realize that they could have bought an accurate powerful repeater for the same or less money. Having to reload before every shot when target shooting is enough take away every bit of the enjoyment. 

I get sick of hearing about how single shot guns are more accurate. There are plenty of repeaters that are as accurate or more accurate than any Airforce gun. It's not as if Airforce are winning all the bench rest competitions so there is no need for single shot guns. Include a single shot tray with the gun if needed, or better yet, make the mags big enough for long pellets.

They aren't even cheap considering their obvious limitation. Crossman knows that single shot guns aren't worth much which is why the Discovery only costs $250 which is what the Talon is worth.

The only good thing about Airforce guns is the part that they don't make; the barrel. The LW isn't enough to tempt me. LW are selling air gun barrel blanks for $120 so you can add one to any air gun if they are that important to you. 

People say you can customize an Airforce gun. I disagree. You can change out the barrel, stock, air tank etc but you still end up with a nasty looking single shot disappointment. The one thing you can't do is turn it into a nice looking repeater. I have noticed that my desire to customize my air guns diminishes when I have a gun that I actually like. I have no tempations to change anything on the action of my Cricket. I would like a lighter stock and an extension linkage for the side lever but the actual gun is already great. The AR platform is genuinely customizable. Air Force guns are nowhere near that versatile. 




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LOL .....absolutely love this post :)
 
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Zebra, slightly off subject, but I thought American Air Arms Slayers only came in .357 caliber Maximum?

One advantage the single shot big bores have over magazine fed rifles is the length of projectiles that can be used. Of course I've only had a chance to fire my Texan with 143gr round balls, but even then at 1000fps I was getting well over 200fpe at the muzzle, with a max at 318fpe for that particular round. I'm not knocking other guns, but I bought the Airforce Texan for several reasons even though its an outright ugly stick. I wanted something out of the box I could maintain easy with little problem that packed enough of a punch to put down deer. It also needed to be light weight, and easy to cock. Lastly it had to be something I knew my dad could also use if we both decided to go out hunting together.

Anything else from Airforce I gladly pass over without a second thought.



 
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"zebra"I thought I was the only one who really disliked Airforce guns. I think they are the least exciting of all PCP brands. The manufacturer is annoyingly stubborn in their refusal to make a repeater. They have blinkers on. nobody likes to hear that their baby is ugly but someone should tell them...

Every single model looks exactly the same. They have zero imagination or design talent. It's not as if their one design is so good that it can't be improved. It's hideous and requires the immediate purchase of an after-market stock replacement. Is anyone ever excited to see what the new Airforce model looks like???

The vast majority of us want a repeater these days so they should stop being stubborn and build a mag already. Single shot is far too annoying to live with. That's why we ditched the springers. AirForce state on their website that their guns are single shot because they are so accurate that you shouldn't need a follow-up shot. Well, I do need one sometimes. Animals move. They should cut the BS. Their guns are single shot because of laziness and complacency and nothing else.

There are some Airguns that you hardly ever see in the classifieds because people like them. There are always tons of Airforce guns for sale because buying one is a mistake. It doesn't take long for people to realize that they could have bought an accurate powerful repeater for the same or less money. Having to reload before every shot when target shooting is enough take away every bit of the enjoyment. 

I get sick of hearing about how single shot guns are more accurate. There are plenty of repeaters that are as accurate or more accurate than any Airforce gun. It's not as if Airforce are winning all the bench rest competitions so there is no need for single shot guns. Include a single shot tray with the gun if needed, or better yet, make the mags big enough for long pellets.

They aren't even cheap considering their obvious limitation. Crossman knows that single shot guns aren't worth much which is why the Discovery only costs $250 which is what the Talon is worth.

The only good thing about Airforce guns is the part that they don't make; the barrel. The LW isn't enough to tempt me. LW are selling air gun barrel blanks for $120 so you can add one to any air gun if they are that important to you. 

People say you can customize an Airforce gun. I disagree. You can change out the barrel, stock, air tank etc but you still end up with a nasty looking single shot disappointment. The one thing you can't do is turn it into a nice looking repeater. I have noticed that my desire to customize my air guns diminishes when I have a gun that I actually like. I have no tempations to change anything on the action of my Cricket. I would like a lighter stock and an extension linkage for the side lever but the actual gun is already great. The AR platform is genuinely customizable. Air Force guns are nowhere near that versatile. 
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I cannot agree more
 
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OK
I own and and always wanted a Air Force Gun... I finally bought a Talon SS .25. with 12 inch barrel...
I wanted a small and light gun for hunting..and did not want a 1500 dollar bull pup to hunt in woods with...not even sure I like bullpups...

First off ... I really like single shot rifles and always have... easy to load while bench rested and also while in woods it helps your
aim because you do not have a fast second shot..(if you can't get squirrel with first shot you do not deserve a fast second shot) In my opinion.. More sportsman like, I think...

So..single shot is no big deal to me...( I learned from my black powder days)
My Talon is very accurate ( maybe better than me) I really like the simplicity of the gun and once you learn the gun those 
quick snap shots at squirrels are very natural and fast. I have gotten many many squirrel with this gun... I keep my shots at 35 to 40 yards .. no more...

I go out in the woods all the time and I grab this gun... I have many airguns and many more expensive ones...and some even better shooting... but they cost a whole lot more..

I like this one..... Can it use improvements... YES, but I have no issues the way it is... I am not fussy...
I have 4 Marauders that everyone just raves about, and I think my Talon is a much nicer gun (in my opinion)
My Talon can and does shoot as well as my .25 Marauder in the woods .... with half the weight...

Just my two cents.... and maybe some newbie will read this and not be discouraged from air gunning because he can't afford a 1500 dollar gun and this 600 dollar gun will do what they need done...
This was done last night in the rain, slight wind at 35 yards ....5 shot group..
So please don't tell me they are not good airguns... I beg to differ...


 
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I like my Talon SS .22. It is backyard quiet, it is adjustable and it is accurate. It is light weight and fun to shoot. I don't like it as well as my Fx guns, or my Daystate, or my Cricket or my Air Arms but I do like it. It is about the same weight and cost as my Brocock but it is more accurate and more powerful. The Brocock feels better. I suspect that some people do not like the Airforce guns because they do not like the feel of the gun. I did add a TalonTunesTankAdapter and just a little MadDog wood and that did help the feel but it brought the cost above the value. If you like to tinker you may enjoy owning AirForce. By the way, the AF Outlet store has a great deal on their light weight scope closeout for half-price. 3-9 x 40 AO. <http://www.airforceairguns.com/AirForce-Airguns-Outlet-Store-p/u100r.htm>
 
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"I suspect that some people do not like the Airforce guns because they do not like the feel of the gun."

Had a talon a number of years ago and besides not liking the trigger, ergonomics was my main complaint. I do like the capability of the AF platform for things such as the .257, but still have issue with the "feel" of an AF gun. If the trigger were better, I would probably overlook the "feel" and buy a .257 from R&L.
 
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Yes, the feel of the gun takes some time to get used to.... but I have grown to like the feel while out hunting.
It does shoulder differently, but I expended it when purchased and don't mind the change .
I do know the gun is not for everyone and hated by some... but boy do I like mine.... When I purchased the Talon SS, I was willing to accept its short comings...

And yes the gun is crude in many ways... which I really enjoy (not sure why). It is like my old truck.... it is very old and ugly and not fancy at all... but you can depend on it.. There is something about old truck that I really admire.. I don't need a fancy gun while in woods... I need a performer.. and my Talon does just that... I do believe the squirrels don't care if the gun is pretty or not when shot....(but I could be wrong)

My trigger was not real bad when brand new, but has gotten much much better with use... in fact I don't notice it now... not match grade but good none the less.... it works good for bench and hunting for me.

I put off buying any AirForce gun for a long time because of the comments I have read... 
Finally I wanted something light and accurate , also if I dropped it while in woods I would not be upset for a month...
I was able to find a clearance price Talon and thought why not... never once have I regretted it... but I have seen (many) squirrels that have.
I like mine so well, I am keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a Condor SS ...
 
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Billydjann, you might want to check out the carbon fiber tanks offered by TalonTunes. It shaves another pound off the weight which is a good thing. But because it's carbon fiber it's also a slimmer profile; I find that it shoulders better and the carbon fiber feels warmer against the cheek on a cold morning. Finally, if you're using a heavier hammer, you can operate at a higher fill (I typically fill to 3400 psi) which gives a better shot string (course, one can carry only so many squirrels, so that may not be an issue. :) ).
 
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I would not dispute that Airforce guns are powerful for their caliber or accurate for their price range. I'm just saying that it doesn't matter because you can buy powerful, accurate repeaters with better ergonomics and nicer looks for the same or less money. 

If someone asked me for advice on buying a powerful and inexpensive hunting air rifle, I would tell them to go with a Sumatra, Sumatra carbine or a Career 707 (if one can be found). 

The Sumatra has awesome power like the AF guns. They are also accurate but they are a repeater and $50-$100 cheaper. Their mags can hold the longer / heavier pellets, just like single shot guns. Their under-leaver allows for very fast follow-up shots. They have nice wood and great bluing. Their look isn't for everyone but they are a work of art compared to AF guns. They are well balanced too which makes them easy to shoot off-hand (at least for me). The build quality is higher too.

The Sumatra carbine is even more appealing. It's almost the same length and weight as an FX Wildcat .25 but with considerably more power. 

The Condor is going for north of $700. There are so many better options in that range or under. If getting maximum power is the most important thing, Sam Yang are selling 9mm, .45 and .50 single shot rifles for less. The Jkhan guns are similarly priced, they also use WL barrels, they are repeaters and they come with high quality walnut stocks. Their 9mm repeating bullpup puts out 115fpe and Wild West are selling them for $800. With this context, I think AF guns are very expensive for what they are. 

There are other brands which are better for "tinkering" too. The Marauder and the P12 bullpups both have tons of aftermarket mods available. The P12 already has a repeater breach available and WL barrels....

Those who are saying that they have fun with their Condors, I want to ask if you would have one as your only air rifle if you had a choice? It's easy to live with limitations if you have 12 other air rifles to pick up when you get bored or loading between shots. If this is to be your only Airgun or one of small collection, you wouldn't go with an AF gun. You just wouldn't.




 
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