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Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

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North Country Gal
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Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by North Country Gal » Sat Jul 07, 2018 4:53 pm

In the world of air gun shooting, we sometimes jokingly refer to PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) airguns as the "dark side", since many an air gunner forsakes all other types of air guns once they've tried PCPs. Yes, PCPs are that good (and that's coming from a diehard spring piston air gun shooter). In terms of accuracy, power, sophistication, lack of recoil, lack of noise, ease of use, PCPs rule. PCP is state of the art in air gun technology and it has been for some time.

I've been recovering from a bad accident, out on my bike trail, and have been under a weight and physical activity restriction this summer. Cocking my higher power spring piston guns has been a no no. Will have to wait until the doctor okays it. Same with pumping up my wonderful classic pump rifles like my Sheridans and my Benjamins. What's a girl to do?

Fortunately, we also have a few fine PCP guns in our collection and scuba tanks to fill them. One short trip to the garage where we store our scuba tanks, another minute to do a fill on the gun's reservoir and we're good to go. No heavy pumping required. Out to the back yard range and the fun begins.

And it is fun when you have a superb PCP rifle to shoot like our Daystate (made in England) CR 97 in 177, shown her with a Bushnell 6-18 AO scope (no recoil with PCP guns, so no special air gun scopes required or special techniques needed to shoot them.) Stock is gorgeous English walnut.
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As the 97 suggests, this is a late 90s era technology PCP air gun. Very few of these early Daystates made it over to this side of the pond in those days, though Daystate is a very well known and very popular PCP rifle with U.S. shooters, now. We were extremely fortunate to pick this one up, cheap, at an estate auction. The elderly gentleman who owned this CR 97 was an avid air gun shooter, something of a rarity in our area. In fact, most of the bidders at this auction had no idea what this gun was. Their loss. My gain.

Today was just a matter of checking zero at 35 yards and making adjustments as needed on the scope. Here's a sample of what a fine PCP air rifle can do. Note that this would have been five shots in one hole, but after the first two shots going high and tickling the 9 ring, I dropped two click in elevation and shot the other three. The fact that this PCP air rifle can respond so predictably to just two clicks on the scope speaks volumes about its accuracy.
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Spent the rest of the session shooting metal. Fun, fun, fun, but a bit eerie, too. The only sound a PCP rifle like this makes is a "pffhhtt" of air. The pellet hitting the target is far louder. Even more amazing is the solid way this PCP air gun wallops those metal targets. Remember, this air gun is shooting heavy 177 cal pellets in the neighborhood of 900 fps. To get this kind of power in a piston gun would require a piston gun that would be a beast to cock as well as a beast to handle in terms of recoil. Not with a PCP, though. No recoil, no noise. Just superb accuracy and all the power you want.

Not an ugly gun, either.
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by The Wiz » Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:38 pm

That sure is a beauty!!!
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by CT_Shooter » Sat Jul 07, 2018 7:07 pm

North Country Gal wrote:I've been recovering from a bad accident, out on my bike trail, and have been under a weight and physical activity restriction this summer. Cocking my higher power spring piston guns has been a no no. Will have to wait until the doctor okays it. Same with pumping up my wonderful classic pump rifles like my Sheridans and my Benjamins. What's a girl to do?
Get well soon, NCG. And thanks for another great range report.
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by Sir Henry » Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:45 pm

I’m getting to the point where my springers bother me with the front kick when the spring stops. I want a more traditional kick. Might just have to take a look.

Currently my shooting bench area is under remodel and I can only shoot at close distances. Can’t wait for the project to be done.

Great shooting!
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by North Country Gal » Sun Jul 08, 2018 1:12 pm

The fact that you need no special technique to shoot pneumatics (guns that run on compressed air) and can shoot them like your rimfires is a great advantage. Even a diehard spring piston air gun shooter like me enjoys taking a break and shooting PCPs. The other aspect of PCP shooting I really appreciate is lack of noise. Also nice that you can use regular scopes and no worries about damaging the scope, either. Piston guns can be very hard on scopes.

Still, shooting spring piston guns is now so natural for me that it's no longer a factor. They'll always be my main shooters.
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by RanchRoper » Sun Jul 08, 2018 2:00 pm

Excellent marks-woman-ship (oh how PC of me), and sorry to hear your bike bucked you off. Get well soon. Thanks again for the great range report.
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North Country Gal
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by North Country Gal » Sun Jul 08, 2018 5:39 pm

Thanks. Not to worry, I'll saddle up and ride as soon as the doc gives me the okay. Can't be too soon. This walking stuff is oaky in a pinch, but my broncs are getting restless. :)
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by John E Davies » Fri Apr 05, 2019 1:55 pm

This is for North Country Gal.

I found this Daystate Mk 4 Panther at a local pawn shop in 2012. The previous very wealthy owner had sold off a bunch of high end firearms and this air rifle because he was moving to another country. I paid $999 for the airgun plus it came with an Omega 75 cu ft 4500 psi carbon air tank (worth $600 new). When I saw the rifle I did not know what I was looking at. I went home and researched it and rushed back to the store to get it.

It had been shot some but looked absolutely brand new. The digital pellet count was less than 300, unless it had been reset. It would stack pellets pretty much one on top of the other as long as you did your part.

I used it for basement target shooting for a while but never really got into it. For punching paper it was so accurate that it became boring. I sold the rifle plus the soft tactical case after a couple or years for $1650, and the air tank for $250. That worked out well.....

I have never owned a fine airgun before this. What an amazing work of art.
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Not me..... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-kvOtpSZz1I

From that video, this chronograph data is mind boggling. This uniform velocity over 135 shots as the tank discharges from 3380 to 1175 psi is the reason every single shot lands in the same spot.
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How do you fill your scuba tanks? If I had kept my gun I would have bought one of these. ... it takes 125 psi shop air and bumps it up to a user adjustable 4500 psi. The latest version will fill a big scuba tank from 2000 to 3000 psi in about 2.6 hrs. .... http://www.shoeboxcompressor.com/freedom10/

Thanks for your entertaining and informative posts.

John Davies
Spokane WA
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Re: Stepping over to the dark side, PCP air gun

Post by Henry88 » Fri Apr 05, 2019 2:47 pm

Hey NCG,

Great shooting and beautiful gun as always. I have heard that often, "Buy a PCP and sell all your other airguns" :D

Now Diana,and a few others are offering entry level guns too.

I think the reason I shoot my airgun as well as I do (relative to rimfire) is the weight and the grip, both very much to my liking when trying to shoot tight groups.

BTW all, ran across this channel. These guys (grandfather/grandson) are the epitome of airgun shooters IMO. The kid makes the shot at 11:45.

https://youtu.be/0YXQZpH6-Vk?t=588
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