Precision Air Rifles

[markT]

Air Arms S410. I’ve got it for sale on another forum. Was this king about going to the Airgun show in oct in Hickory, NC.

 

[SGK]

Old thread. Has much changed? I keep toying with the idea of getting a Daystate Alpha Wolf. My son is becoming more and more interested in shooting as well so something for a suburban backyard would be a good addition.

Are longer barrels (28") worth it?

I get the convenience of a dive-shop-filled SCBA tank but is that better than lugging a portable compressor?

Recommended caliber? 22?

Any suggestions re scope and mount?

 

[Brians356]

Are longer barrels (28") worth it?

I can't imagine that long a tube is required for an air rifle to produce its max velocity. But I have an open mind.
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[dgeesaman]

Unless you're shooting rested and striving for the absolute maximum velocity*, a 28' barrel is not good.
Barrel time in an airgun is significant, slower than a 22LR so you really don't want so much hold sensitivity.

SCBA tanks are wise IMO. Filling directly off of the compressor is slow and depending where you shoot, highly impractical. Plus, with a tank, you can buy an external regulator and shoot tethered sometimes.

Alpha Wolf is a good airgun. Being electronic there is a lot to consider in tuning it, and I personally steer away from complicated externally-adjustable platforms because I send my PCPs to a tuner, get them set up to do one thing well, and leave them alone. The Daystate electronics though are interesting because they are smart enough to help manage all of that.

*Power = air consumption. Big power numbers are attractive on paper but in terms of refill intervals and shot cycle you pay a big penalty. Pellets and slugs will spiral quite a bit at long range until you find the right projectile at the right velocity, which is usually not maximum. Not much point in hammering 100 ft-lb if it spirals at 75y. Better to have reasonable power that always hits the mark.

 

[SGK]

So stay at 23" or even shorter?

I need to check if my local dive shop will fill to 4500 psi.

Any other PCPs I ought to consider? (I'm sort of the view buy-once-cry-once but I'm not going to be doing competition with it I don't think)

 

[dgeesaman]

600mm ish seems like a good all around length for a medium- to medium-high power PCP.

Daystate makes great rifles. Air Arms does too. There are dozens of brands and I'm not well suited to comment on them.

Pellet caliber for short range (<60y) is .177 to .22, for long range (<120y) .22 to .30.

I don't have much good experience with slugs except that they are very fussy about matching slug to barrel and you have to get your tune dialed perfectly for that slug. All the ballistic advantages are nothing if the shots scatter on paper like a shotgun. I have seen some high performing slug guns and it's a sight to behold. Just never owned one that shot slugs well myself.

 

[MikeT49]

Optimum barrel length depends on how much horsepower your gun has. For example, lately I've been playing with Crosman's newer 3622. MV about 700 fps. If you exceed 23", the MV actually decreases. On the high power builds I do, MV increases with barrel length. Max length I have done is 26". With the higher power guns I have seen that MV is still increasing.
Kinda like to try a longer barrel.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I recently purchased a PCP for close range(less than 75 feet)night time rat shooting. Tutt's Garrison, Mn has a bunch of rifles they're selling off. I grabbed a Liberty Nova(plastic stock) .22 cal. Put my Sightmark Wraith NV on it. Have thousands of Gamo rockets I got for a 1.00 a tin. I'm 65, decent shape, a 4500psi 4 stage hand pump is REAL exercise. So far, rifle/pump/pellets I'm at 175$. The rats are going to catch it when it cools off. The springers will ruin scopes, Sightmark doesn't recommend the digital scopes on springers, so the pcp is required.

 

[ZacharyR]

I have a RAW in .22 they are very solid simple accurate PCP rifles. They don't have the easy adjustablity of some except for the hammer spring. But if you just want to find a pellet it likes and shoot they're a very solid accurate gun. Mine will hold its own or outshoot my CZ457 out to 65 yards and on a windstill day even further.

 

[Allen Corneau]

I need to check if my local dive shop will fill to 4500 psi.

SCUBA tanks are only 3,000 or 3,500 PSI. Most likely they can't do 4,500. Paintball shops fill to that pressure but for much smaller tanks, so they may not be up for doing a much larger tank.

There's only one place in the greater Houston area that will fill a 4,500 PSI tank. It's a company that services the emergency SCBA equipment for the petrochemical plants. If you're in a rural area and make friends with the local fire department you may be able to get your tank filled from them.

 

[Mike Montgomery]

I have a RAW in .22 they are very solid simple accurate PCP rifles. They don't have the easy adjustablity of some except for the hammer spring. But if you just want to find a pellet it likes and shoot they're a very solid accurate gun. Mine will hold its own or outshoot my CZ457 out to 65 yards and on a windstill day even further.

ZacharyR,
I also have a RAW in .22 caliber. What pellets does yours like and at what velocity do they shoot the best?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[dgeesaman]

I have two RAWs. A friend of mine has 10 or 11. They're truly great guns.

It's true they're not highly adjustable but they do the thing they're intended to do really really well.

 

[brokeasajoke]

SCUBA tanks are only 3,000 or 3,500 PSI. Most likely they can't do 4,500. Paintball shops fill to that pressure but for much smaller tanks, so they may not be up for doing a much larger tank.

There's only one place in the greater Houston area that will fill a 4,500 PSI tank. It's a company that services the emergency SCBA equipment for the petrochemical plants. If you're in a rural area and make friends with the local fire department you may be able to get your tank filled from them.

This. As chief of my department I cycle the compressor occasionally anyway whether I fill a rank or not. Out whole system is in a enclosed trailer with choice of diesel Gen or shore power. This is how I fill mine and out of date tanks are free. They do need to be tested in order to be filled by most places