Air Guns
- Thread starter Falstaff
- Start date
usedto
Lunatic Member
When my neighbor moved away some 15 years ago, he gave me his old beat-up Crosman 781 BB gun. I keep it just inside the door of my office. One day I standing in the doorway when a grasshopper landed about 15 feet away. I grabbed the BB gun and shot it. Cheap thrills!
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
Get ready to grin!
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I bought a Hill MK IV pump when they first came out, and paid considerably more than the current price. It's worth every penny.
Keep it greased, silicone grease only.
https://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/Air_Venturi_MK4_Kit_by_Hill_Hand_Pump_Up_to_4500_PSI/5501
mfrench
Addicted Member
the dryer/oil/particulate filter feature is something that I've been looking into for mine. I've found some that are inline add-ons that seem interesting. They tie into the pressure+ output, via hose, and then you come out of the filter, and into your reservoir.
I keep looking at this one as a possible option:
https://www.amazon.com/OTGO-Compres...id=1541453577&sr=8-4&keywords=pcp+pump+filter
I keep looking at this one as a possible option:
https://www.amazon.com/OTGO-Compres...id=1541453577&sr=8-4&keywords=pcp+pump+filter
mfrench
Addicted Member
The new Red Ryder arrived! (Hatsan Flash QE .177)
It came box-in-box. So, yea that! The outer box was a bit "scuffed" from handling, sorting, etc., but, otherwise, in great shape, with no overt abuse noted.
I'll save the images of a cardboard box, and start with the contents.
The rifle was new in box, in a sealed plastic sleeve.
The rifle itself was in a sealed plastic sleeve:
The accessories were in the box; clips, fill probe, single load tray, o-rings, etc. in small white box:
It came peaked at 2k.psi:
Rifle and critical accessories; fill probe clips single load tray:
Scope mounted, and ready for a sight-in.
This is the Winchester Daisy scope that I got for the Crosman. It is a really nice scope for bargain basement pricing. It is 2x-7x mag, and Adjustable Objective, with airgun parallax ranging.
In getting it sighted,...
I seem to attract issues with barrels, it seems.
The scope was brought to a hard left setting, maxed out left. At that point, I was near center, but, things seemed erratic, and bouncing around. I learned from the Beeman that scopes do not like to play at the extreme outskirts of their settings; they play much nicer near the center of the ranging.
So, I went back in, and grabbed some thin shim stock, reversed the scope mounts, and applied the thin shims to the left side of the mount rail/scope rings
* This shimming brought me from near center on a 9" paper plate target, and, brought me to the left outside ring of the plate, where it becomes the rim. This was a good 3.5" of left attitude shift, and now I could bring it back to the right, or towards center of the scope setting range.
I was running low on air at this point, but, managed a 5 shot string that was about the size of a nickel, with a sub-group of three that shared the same center hole, in a three leaf clover shape.
I was now out of functional air pressure, and, because I made a dumb assumption, I am stuck this way. I thought I had the right part needed to adapt the supplied fill probe to my hand pump. WRONG.
So, this afternoon, I ordered the correct adaptor, and am going to have to wait till next wednesday to get filled with air.
The gun is light, even with the scope. Not as light as the Crosman, but, still light. It does feel a bit chincy in the forearm, where it is hollow plastic. But, from the receiver, rearward, it is solid plastic, and feels much more stout. The forearm sounds hollow, but, does not flex when squeezed hard. It is a good place to save weight, so,..
I'm less than thrilled by needing to apply shims to the scope mounts to get to a better zero, but, that is not a deal breaker. I shimmed with some thin brass sheet cut into skinny strips, and already had them at hand from the Beeman. So, that issue has been rectified. When I get a chance to refill, I'll check to see if they're necessary (shims), or, if reversing the sides of the scope rail mount clamps was enough.
For now, I wait out my blunder in needing to get an adaptor for my fill probe so that I can blast more paper.
* This is a great example of what I had to do in shimming, but, you'll need to think in 180º reverse of this image for the final result of what it took to draw further left. What this image shows would result in drawing further right (if looking from rear of barrel); I needed to go more left:
I had orignally set the scope mounts with the screws on the side shown in the image, on the left. This makes the mount strong/firm on the side without the jaw clamp. To counter my pulling to the right right (or not being able to go more left), I reversed the screw-clamp side to be on the right, and, shimmed to the left of the dovetail (opposite of what is shown in the image). This forced the scope to stay more left, as the screw-clamp drew down tension. It worked.
It came box-in-box. So, yea that! The outer box was a bit "scuffed" from handling, sorting, etc., but, otherwise, in great shape, with no overt abuse noted.
I'll save the images of a cardboard box, and start with the contents.
The rifle was new in box, in a sealed plastic sleeve.
The rifle itself was in a sealed plastic sleeve:
The accessories were in the box; clips, fill probe, single load tray, o-rings, etc. in small white box:
It came peaked at 2k.psi:
Rifle and critical accessories; fill probe clips single load tray:
Scope mounted, and ready for a sight-in.
This is the Winchester Daisy scope that I got for the Crosman. It is a really nice scope for bargain basement pricing. It is 2x-7x mag, and Adjustable Objective, with airgun parallax ranging.
In getting it sighted,...
I seem to attract issues with barrels, it seems.
The scope was brought to a hard left setting, maxed out left. At that point, I was near center, but, things seemed erratic, and bouncing around. I learned from the Beeman that scopes do not like to play at the extreme outskirts of their settings; they play much nicer near the center of the ranging.
So, I went back in, and grabbed some thin shim stock, reversed the scope mounts, and applied the thin shims to the left side of the mount rail/scope rings
* This shimming brought me from near center on a 9" paper plate target, and, brought me to the left outside ring of the plate, where it becomes the rim. This was a good 3.5" of left attitude shift, and now I could bring it back to the right, or towards center of the scope setting range.
I was running low on air at this point, but, managed a 5 shot string that was about the size of a nickel, with a sub-group of three that shared the same center hole, in a three leaf clover shape.
I was now out of functional air pressure, and, because I made a dumb assumption, I am stuck this way. I thought I had the right part needed to adapt the supplied fill probe to my hand pump. WRONG.
So, this afternoon, I ordered the correct adaptor, and am going to have to wait till next wednesday to get filled with air.
The gun is light, even with the scope. Not as light as the Crosman, but, still light. It does feel a bit chincy in the forearm, where it is hollow plastic. But, from the receiver, rearward, it is solid plastic, and feels much more stout. The forearm sounds hollow, but, does not flex when squeezed hard. It is a good place to save weight, so,..
I'm less than thrilled by needing to apply shims to the scope mounts to get to a better zero, but, that is not a deal breaker. I shimmed with some thin brass sheet cut into skinny strips, and already had them at hand from the Beeman. So, that issue has been rectified. When I get a chance to refill, I'll check to see if they're necessary (shims), or, if reversing the sides of the scope rail mount clamps was enough.
For now, I wait out my blunder in needing to get an adaptor for my fill probe so that I can blast more paper.
* This is a great example of what I had to do in shimming, but, you'll need to think in 180º reverse of this image for the final result of what it took to draw further left. What this image shows would result in drawing further right (if looking from rear of barrel); I needed to go more left:
I had orignally set the scope mounts with the screws on the side shown in the image, on the left. This makes the mount strong/firm on the side without the jaw clamp. To counter my pulling to the right right (or not being able to go more left), I reversed the screw-clamp side to be on the right, and, shimmed to the left of the dovetail (opposite of what is shown in the image). This forced the scope to stay more left, as the screw-clamp drew down tension. It worked.
Last edited:
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
That's 200 bar, or 2900 PSI, just a tick under 3000.
Absolutely no petroleum lubricants, play safe!
I have become a big fan of adjustable scope mounts and keeping my scopes as close to the center of their adjustment range as possible. After adopting this philosophy my groups got smaller and kill shot percentage went up.
mfrench
Addicted Member
@KingBubba
I got it thru Amazon, and thru a company called www.FieldSupply.com , and for no other reason than price. They had it on sale at $40 off everyone else, w/ free shipping.
www.Pyramydair.com would be a great resource
www.airgundepot.com is also a good resource.
I got it thru Amazon, and thru a company called www.FieldSupply.com , and for no other reason than price. They had it on sale at $40 off everyone else, w/ free shipping.
www.Pyramydair.com would be a great resource
www.airgundepot.com is also a good resource.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
In addition to the two places recommended above i would also add Airguns of Arizona.
I've been drooling about a Quackenbush custom for a few years now. I think the time has come for me to explore a .458 LA Outlaw.
Wanna see how deep this rabbit hole goes? http://www.quackenbushairguns.com
I've been drooling about a Quackenbush custom for a few years now. I think the time has come for me to explore a .458 LA Outlaw.
Wanna see how deep this rabbit hole goes? http://www.quackenbushairguns.com
Last edited:
I find springers more interesting as self contained consistent single shot, tho the Hatsan has made pcp affordably competitive combined with a good sub-$100 pump.
The American pumpers nonetheless have trained countless competent shooters.
My Webley/Beeman C1 is the main reason I never went back to them or had my Sheridan Silver Streak overhauled.
The American pumpers nonetheless have trained countless competent shooters.
My Webley/Beeman C1 is the main reason I never went back to them or had my Sheridan Silver Streak overhauled.
dosmalo
T-Totaled
https://www.amazon.com/Gamo-Swarm-M...&sr=8-2&keywords=gammo+swarm+magnum+air+rifle
This, IF I had the funds but just a little too spendy for me right now.
This, IF I had the funds but just a little too spendy for me right now.
KingBubba
"Too Much Stuff"
Great googly moogly. I have never seen that many airguns in my life. I had no idea that the number of choices was going to be so great. I thought I would see 20 or 30 guns to choose from and holy cow, those Quakenbush guns for big game, yikes!!! I like the guns I saw that had the little cartridges that held ten or twelve pellets. The 760 that I used to have had an automatic bb load. Every time you pulled back the bolt, you would get a bb and if you cocked the bolt 8 times you would have yourself an air powered shotgun.
It is going to take a lot of visits to those sites to get familiar with the brands and the models. I would like to have a high quality gun, but I am not in the $1000 price range. I'll have some learning to do and decisions to make. Thanks for the web sites.
It is going to take a lot of visits to those sites to get familiar with the brands and the models. I would like to have a high quality gun, but I am not in the $1000 price range. I'll have some learning to do and decisions to make. Thanks for the web sites.
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
With all due respect, unless you weigh 300lbs and are in good shape otherwise, you're not going to make 3000 psi with a cheap pump. Pumping up to 2000 isn't bad. But, that last thousand psi is where the difficulty in pumping begins. If you are small, the pumping force required on the cheaper pumps will exceed your body weight which makes pushing that handle down pretty challenging.
My first PCP platform was the Benjamin Discovery, i highly recommend it.
The entry fee is quite reasonable, and the gun very upgradeable. I would NOT recommend the package deal that includes a pump, i'd go better on the pump. The Crosman pump is fine for the disco's 2000psi fill. But, most who dip their feet in this hobby are going to eventually move up the ladder. You need a pump that will do 3000psi comfortably. The Crosman pump gets pretty stiff above 2000, and generates quite a bit of heat which greatly reduces O ring life.
Walmart sells the Disco online for $231.75
I paid close to 400 for my Hill MK IV pump, you can get it on ebay right now $179.88 free ship
Eventually, i got the modification bug, there are lots of mods for the disco. First step was a decent, metal, adjustable trigger. Ultimately i wanted something more distinctive for furniture and procured a Boyd's Custom stock for it, the Barracuda!
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
FWIW, Pyramyd Air puts out some of the best, and most honest videos/reviews. They don't review special prepped or tweaked examples, they pull the review gun randomly out of their stock. It was one of their videos that really sold me on the Hatsan BT65.
Good to know, perhaps Mike can share his experience.With all due respect, unless you weigh 300lbs and are in good shape otherwise, you're not going to make 3000 psi with a cheap pump. Pumping up to 2000 isn't bad. But, that last thousand psi is where the difficulty in pumping begins. If you are small, the pumping force required on the cheaper pumps will exceed your body weight which makes pushing that handle down pretty challenging.
My first PCP platform was the Benjamin Discovery, i highly recommend it.
The entry fee is quite reasonable, and the gun very upgradeable. I would NOT recommend the package deal that includes a pump, i'd go better on the pump. The Crosman pump is fine for the disco's 2000psi fill. But, most who dip their feet in this hobby are going to eventually move up the ladder. You need a pump that will do 3000psi comfortably. The Crosman pump gets pretty stiff above 2000, and generates quite a bit of heat which greatly reduces O ring life.
Walmart sells the Disco online for $231.75
I paid close to 400 for my Hill MK IV pump, you can get it on ebay right now $179.88 free ship
Eventually, i got the modification bug, there are lots of mods for the disco. First step was a decent, metal, adjustable trigger. Ultimately i wanted something more distinctive for furniture and procured a Boyd's Custom stock for it, the Barracuda!
I'm not likely to go to pcp as I have a few good insufficently enjoyed springers to take out.
mfrench
Addicted Member
I'm 6'6" and 325lbs. I'm also a rock gardener (read: regularly lift stone up to 400lbs, and hundreds of tons worth of stone).
In the last month, I've spent 4 hours a day filling, carting, and lifting 60lb 5-gal buckets filled with dirt, up onto a 3' tall wall, and then carrying them around a swimming pool hole to dump them (filling pool with dirt). 48 buckets makes one loop around the pool, and I have to do it twice before I rake it out and compact it. 48 buckets is all I can do in a day, before I'm totally trashed. I'm hopping one day to break my record and get to 54 (I load 6 buckets at a time, load them and off-load them as a group circuit). I "work out" daily, especially lifting.
For me to get to 2k.psi with my $50 hand pump, by the time I am at 2k pressure, it is a workout. I'm not especially looking forward to that extra thousand pounds of load.
My Beeman is a 2k.psi capable gun.
As a daily maintenace pump up, it takes me 45 strokes of the pump, and that is going from around 1450lbs to 2k.psi. The last 10 pumps are a challenge, completely doable, but, they make you earn those pounds of pressure.
If the gun is empty of air, it is a 100 strokes to fill it. And the last 20 are a workout.
The cheap pumps are three stage-pumps. The more spendy pumps are four-stage, which s supposed to make things a bit less fatiguing.
Now that I'm more familiar with PCP, you should look for a pump with an air dryer/oil/particulate filter on it.
In the last month, I've spent 4 hours a day filling, carting, and lifting 60lb 5-gal buckets filled with dirt, up onto a 3' tall wall, and then carrying them around a swimming pool hole to dump them (filling pool with dirt). 48 buckets makes one loop around the pool, and I have to do it twice before I rake it out and compact it. 48 buckets is all I can do in a day, before I'm totally trashed. I'm hopping one day to break my record and get to 54 (I load 6 buckets at a time, load them and off-load them as a group circuit). I "work out" daily, especially lifting.
For me to get to 2k.psi with my $50 hand pump, by the time I am at 2k pressure, it is a workout. I'm not especially looking forward to that extra thousand pounds of load.
My Beeman is a 2k.psi capable gun.
As a daily maintenace pump up, it takes me 45 strokes of the pump, and that is going from around 1450lbs to 2k.psi. The last 10 pumps are a challenge, completely doable, but, they make you earn those pounds of pressure.
If the gun is empty of air, it is a 100 strokes to fill it. And the last 20 are a workout.
The cheap pumps are three stage-pumps. The more spendy pumps are four-stage, which s supposed to make things a bit less fatiguing.
Now that I'm more familiar with PCP, you should look for a pump with an air dryer/oil/particulate filter on it.
mfrench
Addicted Member
There are alternates. But, not cheap alternates.
Scuba/SCBA tanks.
These get filled to 4k, or maybe even 4.5k.psi at dive/sport shops. This will fill the rifle multiple times (not a small amount of fills). For someone like me, surrounded by dive locations, this makes sense; but I'm a cheap ass bastard, and won't kick down for this.
SCUBA/SCBA tanks with regulator and fill hose are around $400
Electric pumps.
The electric pumps start out at the high end of hand pumps, around $250+-, and go upwards considerably, depending on duty rating.
Scuba/SCBA tanks.
These get filled to 4k, or maybe even 4.5k.psi at dive/sport shops. This will fill the rifle multiple times (not a small amount of fills). For someone like me, surrounded by dive locations, this makes sense; but I'm a cheap ass bastard, and won't kick down for this.
SCUBA/SCBA tanks with regulator and fill hose are around $400
Electric pumps.
The electric pumps start out at the high end of hand pumps, around $250+-, and go upwards considerably, depending on duty rating.
Last edited:
mfrench
Addicted Member
Reiterating,...
The main reason that I like PCP so much is that there is absolutely no kickback when firing. This translates to being able to watch downrange, and see exactly where the pellet hits, be it target, or vermin.
It is so smooth in response that I see pellets in flight, almost constantly. I can see the shape of the trajectory, the shape of the pellet skirt. I even saw a giant corkscrew occur a few times when I had a barrel obstruction that caused clipping of the pellet skirt, which caused a giant corkscrew trajectory.
I was expecting to not be able to see pellets from the new Hatsan, but, even in close range to the target, I was getting silver streaks.
This old psychedelic brain child hippie thing has been tripping out on watching those trails, man.
The main reason that I like PCP so much is that there is absolutely no kickback when firing. This translates to being able to watch downrange, and see exactly where the pellet hits, be it target, or vermin.
It is so smooth in response that I see pellets in flight, almost constantly. I can see the shape of the trajectory, the shape of the pellet skirt. I even saw a giant corkscrew occur a few times when I had a barrel obstruction that caused clipping of the pellet skirt, which caused a giant corkscrew trajectory.
I was expecting to not be able to see pellets from the new Hatsan, but, even in close range to the target, I was getting silver streaks.
This old psychedelic brain child hippie thing has been tripping out on watching those trails, man.
