Lets Talk: Air Rifles!

[MacWa77ace]

Corrected. I was using my voice to text.

LOL 50 to 70 = 5270.

How long did it take to get to 3000 psi? How long does it take to fill an average PCP directly using an average hand or foot pump?

The other main thing about filling a cooled tank is its more efficient. If you don't keep the tank cool while its filling then your gauge will read that your full and your topped pressure is say 4500 psi at the time of filling, but when the tank cools back down to room temp your reading will be significantly less than that, so not full. I'm speaking of dive tanks mainly.

[doitnstyle1]

For the 90 cubic tank it took me about two and a half minutes from 3000 to 4500. The 68 cubic foot tank took me about the same amount of time from 500 PSI to about 1,500 PSI. I filled the reservoir in my hot sun in about a minute and a half.
Most of these jobs are topping off existing tanks. They're not being filled from zero. That usually never happens.
On average from what I've seen the fill and top off time will be usually under 5 minutes.

[majorhavoc]

For the 90 cubic tank it took me about two and a half minutes from 3000 to 4500. The 68 cubic foot tank took me about the same amount of time from 500 PSI to about 1,500 PSI. I filled the reservoir in my hot sun in about a minute and a half.
Most of these jobs are topping off existing tanks. They're not being filled from zero. That usually never happens.
On average from what I've seen the fill and top off time will be usually under 5 minutes.

That's good to know. I had visions of slaving away with a hand pump for a half an hour or more.

[MacWa77ace]

For the 90 cubic tank it took me about two and a half minutes from 3000 to 4500. The 68 cubic foot tank took me about the same amount of time from 500 PSI to about 1,500 PSI. I filled the reservoir in my hot sun in about a minute and a half.
Most of these jobs are topping off existing tanks. They're not being filled from zero. That usually never happens.
On average from what I've seen the fill and top off time will be usually under 5 minutes.

That's good to know. I had visions of slaving away with a hand pump for a half an hour or more.

Oh, I took that as with the new compressor. That's the hand pump?

[doitnstyle1]

No that is with the new compressor. With hand pump it would take me about 75 pumps for a 400cc reservoir. I attempted to do the tank and stopped after 250 pumps. The pump is great for your rifles if you are not going to on the range all day. You will get pretty tired after a while or get in really good shape. Not to mention the difficulty if you don't have a little heft to you. I weigh in about 275. So I can put a little bit of weight behind it to make the job easier. I have seen some 180 lb guys really struggled getting it up to full pressure.

[Johnnie_T]

So I was cruising the board, re-reading old threads I’m interested in, and I realized that I promised a review of the Ruger Impact Max over a year ago and forgot.

Here’s my review: I didn’t like it at all.

The stock was beautiful, and the metal finish was very nice. I wanted to love it. There were two problems that prevented that.

1) The fiber optic iron sights were too large to get a fine enough sight picture. Not a big deal for popping cans with the kids, but a big deal-breaker when it comes to humane shots on small game. The included scope was also not great. Very fuzzy and the adjustments had a chintzy, sloppy feel to them.

2) The Vortex gas piston produced plenty of power, even in cooler weather. The gun hit plenty hard. The cocking mechanism started to loosen up after a few hundred rounds, and the slop caused some accuracy issues. Not bad enough to affect plinking fun, but not the best for small game.

It’s not a bad rifle. It’s fun, it hits hard, and it’s finished nicely enough to call it pretty. It’s just not a hunting gun. It’s a plinker. If that’s what you’re after, then don’t hesitate to pick one up. If you’re after repeatable small-game accuracy, producing a humane kill shot every single time, it’s just not the best tool for the job.

To be fair, I could have replaced the sights or the scope, but I think for my wants and needs I’ll be better served by stepping into a PCP gun.

[doitnstyle1]

I recently picked up the Seneca Aspen in 22 caliber. I'd liked it for several reasons.

1) Price- Around $300 it's not bad at all for a PCP air rifle

2) Self-contained- this PCP actually pumps up like your standard over-the-counter Crosman type air rifle, eliminating the need for bulky pumps or air bottles. It does however still give you the option with a fill probe to fill from either one of those

3) Accuracy- This thing was very accurate. I was getting quarter inch groupings at 30 yards

4) Quiet- With it's built in suppression system, it is very quiet.

I like how this actually functioned so well, I was interested to see what the 25 caliber would be like. I ordered that and it met my every expectation with a little more power behind it.

After each shot, you could just pump It up four or five times and be right back up to 3500 PSI, or you can take your 10 or eight shot magazine and put two of them through before pumping it back up.

Overall it's a very quiet backyard plinkster, and inexpensive to operate to keep your skills honed. I was even able to zero the rifle on a Gusty day at 30 yards and the track was very consistent.

[MacWa77ace]

I recently picked up the Seneca Aspen in 22 caliber. I'd liked it for several reasons.

1) Price- Around $300 it's not bad at all for a PCP air rifle

2) Self-contained- this PCP actually pumps up like your standard over-the-counter Crosman type air rifle, eliminating the need for bulky pumps or air bottles. It does however still give you the option with a fill probe to fill from either one of those

3) Accuracy- This thing was very accurate. I was getting quarter inch groupings at 30 yards

4) Quiet- With it's built in suppression system, it is very quiet.

I like how this actually functioned so well, I was interested to see what the 25 caliber would be like. I ordered that and it met my every expectation with a little more power behind it.

After each shot, you could just pump It up four or five times and be right back up to 3500 PSI, or you can take your 10 or eight shot magazine and put two of them through before pumping it back up.

Overall it's a very quiet backyard plinkster, and inexpensive to operate to keep your skills honed. I was even able to zero the rifle on a Gusty day at 30 yards and the track was very consistent.

I saw that a little while ago and was impressed with the price, and design too. But decided that I'd never use the self pump and since that feature made the gun really big vertically I passed.

So how does that integral hand pump work? I forget, was there a built in pressure gauge? Is it hard to pump those last 4 to 5 pumps to top off the reservoir? IIRC the reviewers were saying that after ~10 shots you could tell the FPS was down affecting zero, have you found that? Are you saying that after firing 16-20 shots you can pump back full with 4-5 pumps? 'cause i was thinking more like 5-10 pumps per shot at that pressure, so after 10 shots that could be 50 pumps or more to top off. If its a lot less I might have to reconsider.

[doitnstyle1]

It's a little tougher than a standard pump pellet rifle. Filling it up from zero takes about 80 pumps. It will take about four or five pumps after each shot if you want to get it back up to the 3500 PSI mark. There is an integrated pressure gauge on the side that allows you to see what you pumped up to depending on which side you pump from. you know if that was any other kind of pull up the pumping is just as easy from the beginning all the way to the end. Which in itself is quite surprising, given the two-stage air pumps (that look like bicycle pumps) are quite difficult to pump up to that PSI range without really putting some oomph! behind it. The profile isn't that much bigger than a standard rifle. It is still quite manageable, still very light, and the convenience of being able to hunt small game with it (small game being relative) and being able to fill up in the field without carrying bulky gear was a definite bonus.

[doitnstyle1]

I think in general it's because it has a smaller air reservoir that you can pump it up so easily and quickly. It's enough to get a good 14-16 shots out of it on an even keep at your shorter ranges like around 30-50 meters. It's trajectory is probably mostly affected at the 50-100 meters. But when you can pump it up in the field like that and so easily it doesn't really matter.
Just like any hunting implement you should be comfortable with dropping your target on the first shot and maybe finishing it off with the second. Your not having to fire limitless pellets out of anything even the big bore and reservoir guns.
My .50 cal Wingshot air shotgun with a 485cc reservoir will get you 3 good shots and a few follow up at full power. But If I can't drop a target with the first two then I have no business hunting anyway.

[MacWa77ace]

It's a little tougher than a standard pump pellet rifle. Filling it up from zero takes about 80 pumps. It will take about four or five pumps after each shot if you want to get it back up to the 3500 PSI mark. There is an integrated pressure gauge on the side that allows you to see what you pumped up to depending on which side you pump from. you know if that was any other kind of pull up the pumping is just as easy from the beginning all the way to the end. Which in itself is quite surprising, given the two-stage air pumps (that look like bicycle pumps) are quite difficult to pump up to that PSI range without really putting some oomph! behind it. The profile isn't that much bigger than a standard rifle. It is still quite manageable, still very light, and the convenience of being able to hunt small game with it (small game being relative) and being able to fill up in the field without carrying bulky gear was a definite bonus.

I mostly target shoot with my air rifles, and those targets can take a lot of hits LOL. I do use a couple of reactive targets for my plinkers and airsofts, but that's all in my backyard range which goes out to ~40 yards.

Everyone one of my VPP's gets harder to pump the closer to full you get. So that's interesting that the PCP integral pump feels the same like that.
And the fact that you can top off in the field is the other interesting feature that I liked on that rifle.