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Air rifle recommendation

I haven’t read every comment about 22 ammunition other than “subsonic” ammo. Has anyone mentioned the CB cap for the. .22? They are extremely quiet and good out to about 40-50 yards. They were originally designed for indoor shooting.
 
I might get a tank eventually, but with my gun, which has a regulator, I’ll never shoot it down to less than 120 bar. Therefore, I will never have to fill it from empty.
My usual scenario is that I take it hunting and might pop off two or three shots. That means I’m usually topping it off from around 225 bar to 250 bar. That takes less than a minute and basically no effort.
If you are going to plink a lot and expect to shoot more than 15-20 shots/day, get a tank or compressor for sure.
I rented a 6,000 psi nitrogen tank from a local welding supplier several years back for a .357 Crosman I had. There are no moisture issues with it and it lasted a long time. Only issue is it weighs several hundred pounds.
 
I rented a 6,000 psi nitrogen tank from a local welding supplier several years back for a .357 Crosman I had. There are no moisture issues with it and it lasted a long time. Only issue is it weighs several hundred pounds.

Yeah, nitrogen does have the advantage of no moisture for sure. The carbon SCBA tanks have the weight advantage. The biggest (great white) weighs 12 pounds and will get you over 50 fills for most guns.


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Yeah, nitrogen does have the advantage of no moisture for sure. The carbon SCBA tanks have the weight advantage. The biggest (great white) weighs 12 pounds and will get you over 50 fills for most guns.


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Expensive to rent that setup? I just spent $40 on new seal kit for my sons Gen3 Hill pump. He can figure out how to install it - lol
 
Yeah, nitrogen does have the advantage of no moisture for sure. The carbon SCBA tanks have the weight advantage. The biggest (great white) weighs 12 pounds and will get you over 50 fills for most guns.


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I filled a smaller carbon bottle from the tank and filled the gun from it. I wrote an article several years ago about the history of pcp airguns and talked to Dr. Beeman about his collection. He let me use a few pictures of guns from his collection. There was a beautiful double barrel with gold inlay that used black powder for one barrel and air for the other. These things have been around since the 1600’s and Lewis & Clark carried a .46 caliber that fired 20 rounds in about a minute and penetrated a board at 100 yards. He also had that gun in his collection. Here is a link to the article from 2012-https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/airguns-for-deer-hunting/

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Here is a picture like the one Lewis & Clark carried. Made by a watchmaker in 1780
in Europe, Girandoni.
.C3FD8CE1-572A-441D-BF33-2AF2E39BE3A1.jpeg
 
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I filled a smaller carbon bottle from the tank and filled the gun from it. I wrote an article several years ago about the history of pcp airguns and talked to Dr. Beeman about his collection. He let me use a few pictures of guns from his collection. There was a beautiful double barrel with gold inlay that used black powder for one barrel and air for the other. These things have been around since the 1600’s and Lewis & Clark carried a .46 caliber that fired 20 rounds in about a minute and penetrated a board at 100 yards. He also had that gun in his collection. Here is a link to the article from 2012-https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/airguns-for-deer-hunting/

View attachment 41510

now it’s a party! Thanks for the read
 
I filled a smaller carbon bottle from the tank and filled the gun from it. I wrote an article several years ago about the history of pcp airguns and talked to Dr. Beeman about his collection. He let me use a few pictures of guns from his collection. There was a beautiful double barrel with gold inlay that used black powder for one barrel and air for the other. These things have been around since the 1600’s and Lewis & Clark carried a .46 caliber that fired 20 rounds in about a minute and penetrated a board at 100 yards. He also had that gun in his collection. Here is a link to the article from 2012-https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/airguns-for-deer-hunting/

View attachment 41510

Great article. Thanks for sharing


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I have read others opinions online and many say if the maximum pressure is 3000 psi they do not want to pump. It is too hard. Others say 2000 psi is easy with the hand pump. That was a factor in me deciding to get the Maximus with it's 2000 psi max. I am still waiting for my scuba adapter so I have no opinion on the matter. Even after that, I will have no hand pump experience unless I buy one later.

I will post detailed but CONCISE descriptions of my scuba tank adapter experience when I have some.
I got the scuba adapter and filled the Maximus. I dry fired the Maximus a couple of times in the basement and it had a crack but not too loud. I left it filled to make sure it will hold air.
 
I got the scuba adapter and filled the Maximus. I dry fired the Maximus a couple of times in the basement and it had a crack but not too loud. I left it filled to make sure it will hold air.
After an hour the pressure had dropped from 2000 psi to 1500 psi. Apparently this is a common problem. I will see if I can find the leak. Just shooting around the house and with a scuba tank, this would be a minor issue. If I wanted to go hunting all day on one fill it would not be good.
I dry fired it a few more times in the basement and the puppy upstairs didn't make a peep. The trigger feels OK with a bit of creep. I was expecting much worse. Many people said it may need more teflon tape at the fill fitting or the gauge. I like to tinker so I will do that.
 
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I just found my .22 pellets. I should have bought more with the rifle. I only have a tin of 200. I added air with the scuba adapter to 2000 psi and loaded a pellet. I shot into a 2x4 two times, end grain and side grain and the pellet is sunk in at least a half inch. There was absolutely no felt sensation on the discharge. The report was slightly loud but nothing like a 22 long rifle. Absolutely no sensation was weird. The springers I have have a recoil due to the gas piston. I like the PCP. I will try to shoot some targets at close range tomorrow.
 
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If I were buying an air rifle right now, I would get an Air Venturi Avenger and a cheap ebay hand pump. The rifle is $300 new with an adjustable regulator. No adapter necessary to fill.



These generic pumps hold up very well and can be serviced.
I got an offer from the seller for $2 off for this air pump so I figured I needed a field pump and bought one. Does this filter seem good?
 
I got an offer from the seller for $2 off for this air pump so I figured I needed a field pump and bought one. Does this filter seem good?

I've never used one, but I know a lot of guys use a combo of desiccant beads packed in a tube and those included filters.
 
Airguns..great fun indeed. I played around with a few.. a nice Diana heavy springer .17 that I had sent off to a master tuner. The heavy powered springers can hard to shoot very well, I never settled in. Then later got a Ben Marauder PCP .17 that was fun to roam around with with repeated shots with a 10shot magazine. Until it was time to pump it up again. Kinda got tired of that too and didn't want scuba tanks, etc.

Then a cheaper Hatsan .17 that got good reviews.. it has now killed quite a few squirrels with headshots, only one drug off that I chased down. I enjoy this gun most for ease of plinking around without extra baggage. Load and go. Maybe sit with a Primos shooter stick for solid rest. All just simple good fun after going full out bowhunting deer for months.
 
After an hour the pressure had dropped from 2000 psi to 1500 psi. Apparently this is a common problem. I will see if I can find the leak. Just shooting around the house and with a scuba tank, this would be a minor issue. If I wanted to go hunting all day on one fill it would not be good.
I dry fired it a few more times in the basement and the puppy upstairs didn't make a peep. The trigger feels OK with a bit of creep. I was expecting much worse. Many people said it may need more teflon tape at the fill fitting or the gauge. I like to tinker so I will do that.
The leak at the fill valve just seemed to get worse so I called Crosman a few times and a new fill valve should be in the mail. I hope I get it within the return window for the airgun with the USPS shipping delays I have been hearing about..
 
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