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Post by Richard on Dec 26, 2015 20:40:16 GMT -5
Saturday the day after Christmas. Weather in NC was mid sixties, overcast and a slight occasional breeze. I make it my business to only make a trip (40 mi. round trip) to the range once a week. Anyway, Saturdays and Sunday's are a zoo with all the Yahoo's there  . I am not fortunate enough to live out in the country where I can just shoot ML'ers off my back porch so I do the next best thing and that is shooting my Benjamin .25 cal. Maurader PCP air rifle off the deck. Fortunately my yard is wooded and the lot behind is also wooded so I set up a back stop to catch the pellets. I have a bench that I specifically built for the deck. It is portable and can be stored under the roof section and kept dry. It is not as stable as I would prefer but is ok. The rifle holds 3,000 psi and I can get about 7 five shot groups between 3k and 2k. Then the accuracy tends to fall off as the velocities decrease. I have the power adjusted so a 25.3 gr. pellet exits the muzzle at 765 fps. By the time it gets down to 2,000 psi, the average velocity drops to around 700 fps. As it drops, it will still keep ES's in the 3 to 14 fps range for five shot groups. With the heavier 32 gr. pellets, velocity starts out in the low 700's fps and accuracy dwindles a little faster. The velocity can be adjusted up higher but doing so uses more air and I do not have a compressor so must rely on scuba tanks and a small carbon fiber tank to re charge the rifle. Today I shot a number of groups with both the 25.3 gr. Exact King pellets and the 32 gr. Kings. By and large the 25 gr. pellets shoot consistently better. On a good day with good trigger pulling and the wind cooperating, they are capable of 1/2" five shot groups at 50 yards, which is the most I could get in my yard. (my property drops down a ravine) I have taken it down to the club range and it averages between 1 3/4 to 3" for five shots at 100 yards. Today it pretty much averaged right around 3/4" for seven five shot groups with the 25 gr. pellets and almost the same for a smaller sampling with the 32's. You can see one of the groups where the pellets just strung horizontally at 1.3" but no vertical. It is a fun gun to shoot and doesn't cost an arm and a leg once you get get the initial costs out of the way. Linebaugh, who posts here is a BIG air gun shooter and has a lot of top shelf equipment. My stuff is small peanuts compared to what he has...........along with a compressor to keep him full of hot  air! Yes, it is hot when it is being pumped in. You usually have to let the tanks cool and then top them off. Anyway, it is another way to pull the trigger when you can't shoot the "big" stuff!  post image image uploader image upload no limit free upload image |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2015 20:49:47 GMT -5
Looks like a lot of fun. I can't believe a guy like you doesn't have an air compressor?  |
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Dec 26, 2015 20:50:02 GMT -5
Trigger Time.....there is NO substitute for it!
Drop
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Post by Richard on Dec 26, 2015 20:58:09 GMT -5
Oh, I have a great compressor...............5 H.P. Ingersol Rand two stage pump, 60 gal. upright tank that will run all your air tools and spray paint a car without running out of air! But one that will pump 3,000 + psi is a horse of a different color and and quite a bit more expensive. Entry level is over a grand and I don't shoot enough to justify one. Linebaugh is more into that stuff.
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Post by linebaugh on Dec 26, 2015 21:17:08 GMT -5
You can get a shoebox compressor. No idea on current price but if you live close enough to a dive shop or any other place that will fill your tank it may be money well spent to go that route and pay per fill.
My guns both need re-sealed at present and I would bet some of it has to do with having moisture in my air from running my shoebox compressor. Dive shops will have good dry air.
Richard I have not shot either of my guns for about 6 months. I will order a re-seal kit for my Rapid this spring but need to send my Kalibergun out for an overhaul. I truly love the PCP's and nearly any airgun for that matter. Lots of money for an airgun but there is something to it that makes me feel like a kid again. Also they are some of the best triggers and most accurate guns I have ever owned.
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Post by keith on Dec 26, 2015 21:22:51 GMT -5
I wanted a PCP but the cost of tanks and a compressor prevented that. I am also not hand pumping it because I get plenty off working out without pumping my PCP for 10 minutes. Luckily I can be to my range in 10 minutes so I get trigger time often. Once I have all my bullet making stuff paid off I still want a PCP for spring alts in my backyard since I can get about 40m there. A Marauder with 6x Super Chicken would be just fine for me.
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Post by linebaugh on Dec 26, 2015 21:39:27 GMT -5
Keith,
Pumping sux. Been there, done that and don't do it. It would be okay for hunting but you will end up shooting far more than you thought you would.
You are 100% correct in that the initial set up cost is insane. The bad thing is they are sooo adictive.
The maurader is one of the guns with the most aftermarket parts. A whole cottage industry sprang up just from the M-rods and that is prilobably the highest selling PCP series to ever hit the market.
Richard is not lying at all. I have shot a ton of grouos in the 1.25" range at 100 yards. The reason I think it's so hard to get below that is the average pellet has a BC of .050 or less. That coupled with typical airgun velocity and you have a lot of flight time.
I think most people will tell you that about 880 fps is the upper limit for diablo pellets. I have had good luck up to about 950fps with heavy for caliber pellets. I don't think Richard hunts but I can tell you an airgun will kill far and away more than most would realize. As is everything it's a shot placement deal. I have taken woodchucks, otter, beaver, coons, a yote, a porcupine, nutria, several fox and one aoudad sheep with my PCPs. The sheep was with a specialized .257 gun that shot about 120ft lbs and was a head shot at about 25 yards. That gun shot cast bullets.
I would encourage you to get into it and I would guess you may get in deeper than you first anticipate. I started with a sheridan blue streak and went to springers then gas rams then these PCPs. No idea on the money i've spent but I can say I have -0- regrets.
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Post by Richard on Dec 26, 2015 23:26:34 GMT -5
Amen to that! What really got me hooked is when they held an air gun show and shoot in our town and vendors came from as far as California...............Then I knew it was much bigger than I had thought it was. I had thought about those shoe box compressors but something about them seemed "not so precision!" Seemed kind of "cheezy" if you get my drift. The next step up was around $2K and the really nice ones were 4K. I have local scuba and paint ball shops near by and some times I can get a free fill from the fire department. Here is the Yellow Forum web site that is exclusively air guns: www.network54.com/Forum/79537 |
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gar
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Post by gar on Dec 27, 2015 7:16:01 GMT -5
Richard, how about a ML air gun? A man by the name of Dennis Priddy lives about 15 miles from me, and did a bit of gun work for me. He makes custom traditional ML's and has one that is a flintlock looking rifle that shoots 40 cal. rd. balls or if you screw a tube into the entire length of the barrel, it will shoot 22cal. pellets. It is easy to find on the computer with a search but I don't know how to attach all the stuff so you can just click on it. Just search "Dennis Priddy muzzle loading air rifle", It is interesting , He even shot a doe with it in it's 40 cal. configuration. Lives by Nashville Michigan and is quite an artist.
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Post by keith on Dec 27, 2015 7:37:42 GMT -5
Thanks for the info Linebaugh. I started on a Crossman pump of some sort as a kid, moved to a Sheridan Blue Streak also, looked a springers but passed when I decided the PCP was out of my price range at the time. I decided the M-rod was the way to go for the reason mentioned and will likely go that route in .25 caliber.
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Post by linebaugh on Dec 27, 2015 8:15:51 GMT -5
Richard,
The shoebox compressors look kind of cyeezy but I have run mine for about 5 years now and had -0- problems. This thing is like the energizer bunny.
I believe the fellow who makes them is named Tom Post??? At any rate I called and spoke with him and he is a wonderful fellow.
I had an original chain drive compressor and guppy tank to start with that my father now has. My current compressor is the belt driven and it is quite outdated at this point. Simple, nothing fancy but works and works and works.
As stated above for the price you might be better off getting good dry air from a shop. I'm fairly certain that is why I am presently needing to re-seal my rifles. I also send a lot of lead down range so mechanically things cant last forever.
Someone mentioned the big bore air guns. There are several out there and there are a few states that allow airgun huning of big game. Missouri allows deer hunting and Arizona has taken the most aggresive stance allowijg airguns for everything except elk, bison. The big bore guns have taken game up to and including bison and many african species as well.
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Post by jims on Dec 27, 2015 9:26:21 GMT -5
gar: Lewis and Clarke on their 1803 travels had an air gun as their weapon of display and shot it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2015 9:49:40 GMT -5
gar: Lewis and Clarke on their 1803 travels had an air gun as their weapon of display and shot it. Well that's pretty cool: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_air_rifleI just donated 5 bucks to the site. How else am I gonna fund my source of mindless trivia LOL |
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Post by Richard on Dec 27, 2015 14:16:12 GMT -5
And it was multiple shots to boot! An interesting story.
Linebaugh.............OUR Tom Post of Swinglock fame?
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Post by linebaugh on Dec 27, 2015 14:32:26 GMT -5
Ooops. Nope. Tom Kaye. Sorry about that. Too many things in too small a brain.
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Post by nyhunter on Dec 27, 2015 18:06:41 GMT -5
gar: Lewis and Clarke on their 1803 travels had an air gun as their weapon of display and shot it. Well that's pretty cool: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_air_rifleI just donated 5 bucks to the site. How else am I gonna fund my source of mindless trivia LOL rambler, Thanks for the link that was very interesting. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2015 18:11:28 GMT -5
rambler, Thanks for the link that was very interesting. Its what I do LOL |
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Post by Yankee Bill on Dec 27, 2015 21:11:33 GMT -5
Richard,
This Pellet Gun thread brought back some fond childhood memories for me. There was a woodlot and some fields behind our house in R.I. when I was a kid, nobody really hunt there as it was surrounded by houses. But I used to sneak thru the briar patches there with my Crossman CO2 gun and was able to put quite a few bunny's in the skillet with it.
There was also an Albino Cock Pheasant back there that I would flush up all the time. I must have shot at him on 10 different flushes with my pellet gun, never was able to hit him but he would have made a beautiful mount.
Thanks for sharing.
YB
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Post by YankeeReb on Dec 28, 2015 12:48:12 GMT -5
Richard any trigger time is better than no trigger time  I always wanted one of those 45 or 50cal big bore air rifles but as Keith said the cost of the rifle and air tank and accessories needed for shooting it I can buy a nice M70 or something. Plus I can touch off a howitzer around my house. |
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Post by Richard on Dec 31, 2015 12:09:53 GMT -5
Yes, air supply becomes a problem when you start stepping up into the 30 cal., 357 and larger guns as they need the high pressure and a lot of it. .25 and below, you can get away with scuba tanks or a nice large carbon fiber tank that holds 4500 psi. Some will even rent a large nitrogen tank that can hold 6,000 psi.
Toys get expensive!
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. I am not fortunate enough to live out in the country where I can just shoot ML'ers off my back porch so I do the next best thing and that is shooting my Benjamin .25 cal. Maurader PCP air rifle off the deck. Fortunately my yard is wooded and the lot behind is also wooded so I set up a back stop to catch the pellets. I have a bench that I specifically built for the deck. It is portable and can be stored under the roof section and kept dry. It is not as stable as I would prefer but is ok. The rifle holds 3,000 psi and I can get about 7 five shot groups between 3k and 2k. Then the accuracy tends to fall off as the velocities decrease. I have the power adjusted so a 25.3 gr. pellet exits the muzzle at 765 fps. By the time it gets down to 2,000 psi, the average velocity drops to around 700 fps. As it drops, it will still keep ES's in the 3 to 14 fps range for five shot groups.
air! Yes, it is hot when it is being pumped in. You usually have to let the tanks cool and then top them off.
I always wanted one of those 45 or 50cal big bore air rifles but as Keith said the cost of the rifle and air tank and accessories needed for shooting it I can buy a nice M70 or something. Plus I can touch off a howitzer around my house.