No more high priced .22 long rifle shooting for me?

[35 shooter]

Been wanting a new .22 rifle for awhile now, but with the prices of .22 long rifle constantly up and down over the last several years... I decided to go another route.

AEA airguns has come out with a Challenger Standard pcp rifle that shoots pellets up to 1200 FPS.(much to fast for pellets), but still shoots bullets over 1000 to 1100 FPS. and up to 70 FPE!
Has an adjustable air port( not regulated)to turn the power down for pellets.
I have a used 30 gr. NOE bullet mold ordered for it and already have a 20 gr. NOE pellet mold on hand.
I’ll also be ordering a 25 gr. bullet mold as soon as NOE has them in stock again. The 25 gr. bullet has been shooting very well in this rifle for some of the guys on an airgun site I visit.

Kind of cool I think to get that kind of performance with air power in .22 cal. and will definitely be cheap shooting since I have plenty of lead on hand for casting.... should be fun and scratch the itch I have for a .22 rifle.... at least till the prices come down some and i can actually get the brand I like to shoot.

Pumping it up to about 3600 psi may not be so fun, and recently AEA has okayed this same rifle to 4500psi.... yikes!

Hand pumping to start with, but I see a pcp air compressor in the future lol!
It may not be a perfect solution to the .22 ammo supply right now, but i’d rather hand pump this bad boy than pay the prices they’re getting for .22 ammo right now.
We’ll see how this goes.

 

[Spindrift]

Keep us posted how it works out for you!
My only personal experience with airguns, is with the cheap, .177 break-action kind. But I’ve noticed there’s a whole world of un-explored fun and cheap shooting in the realm of airguns.
Might have to try one of those PCP guns myself!

 

[Missionary]

We bought a .25 Hatsan last time north. It is fun, accurate, a might on the heavy side, break open. Never thought about the price of .22's.
Out to 30 yards any 30 pound critter is not going to walk very far.
And we still have our 1960's Blue Streak .177 for "little task's".

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

PUMPING a 3600 psi PCP!?!?!?

Try it you will see!! Remember to stop often (will not be issue) cause the pump valve gets REAL HOT.

I have a Disco that runs 1500 thats my limit for pumping. My M-rods get the bottle @ 3K. It is exponentially harder to pump. 36... forget about it!!

Get a bottle!!

Have fun they are great!! Ooh and they wont see 1200 fps and if they could accuracy is DISMAL!! You will see that too! But its all fun!!!

CW

 

[Bret4207]

I always wanted a quality air rifle, something like a Beeman or RWS. I've never even seen one in person nor do I know any shop that carries anything over the $75.00 type. I can't say I consider them a replacement for a 22LR, not from what I'm seeing anyway, but they are an option.

This thread should be interesting to follow!

 

[Rick H]

I used the last covid bonus moneys for an Air Force 22 cal. PCP and compressor. I have not tried casting pellets for it. I generally use 16 gr. pellets at 880 fps for target practice and small vermin control. I shoot it off sticks or a bipod (never tried off a bench set up) and it is capable of 1/2" 10 shot groups at 20 yds with me on the trigger. It is surprisingly loud.
I would NOT want to hand pump this thing. Filled to 3000psi I get 100-120 shots before I am down to 2000psi and I refill. If I start to let it get much below 1800 psi I start to get velocity variations. (I can set velocities as high as 1100fps but get fewer shots and more noise or can go lower for more shots between filling)

I cannot imagine trying to hand pump this thing. I can see a remote tank and a dive shop in your future or a compressor.

I don't think of my PCP airgun as a replacement for my 22lr guns. I use mine for indoor practice and close range small vermin control. The pellets I use are available and about the price we used to pay for a brick of 22's back in the day. I do have a RWS break action .177 springer, it is more accurate but not up to humane ground squirrel dispatching beyond a few yards.

 

[richhodg66]

I coach a kids air rifle team, we use Crossman Challengers, pretty good rifles.

They came with one pump per each five rifles, also scuba tanks which I had filled. One day for fun, the kids asked to try pumping them up with the hand pump. Great push up workout if you're looking for one, not conducive to getting ready for precision shooting.

In the grand scheme of things, I'll keep getting the tanks we have filled and use that.

I have a few air rifles I really need to shoot more.

 

[Thumbcocker]

Airguns have a very long and interesting history. It is interesting to ponder what might have happened if technology had gone a little bit differently in a few areas sometime back. For a while airguns gave Gunpowder a run for its money.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Bret a RWS 34 is a dandy springer air rifle. Probably its worst feature is its prone to barrel droop making scoping a challange without more costly bases. BUT these bases are a asset overall. It can be a scope breaker but if far from worst. (My one springer 25 cal is champion @ that!!)

Its accurate and powerful for vermin shooting around the home. Generally 800+ with hobby pellets. Very good accuracy as well. Not super hard to learn to shoot. (As many springers can be).

Ruger made a copy for a bunch a years that was pretty good too.

RWS 45 is good and 48 is nicer still but different being a under cocker rigid. More costly too.

CW

 

[Snakeoil]

I had an RWS with a fixed barrel and a side cocking lever. It would shoot one hole groups at 50 feet off the bench. But it was tedious to shoot and I lost interest in the gun shortly after buying it and sold it to another club member. I did keep the RWS scope and used it on my 541S Rem for our NRA Sporter Rifle postal league.

I've thought about getting a PCP rifle for several years now. Ammo shortage brought it to the forefront again. A few years back, I was looking at a vintager bike a guy had for sale and somehow we got talking guns. He had a very nice PCP rifle and brought it out. I was impressed with the quality. He said that is shot as good as it looked.

My understanding is S. Korea does not allow citizens to own firearms. So, they have done their homework on air guns. A club member came back from a business trip with a shotgun. Unfortunately, I was not at the club that day. But guys I know said he shot skeet with it and it was pretty impressive. This was at least 30 years ago so don't ask for details. But I'm sure you can find info on the web. I did a quick search and found this.

 

[35 shooter]

Recieved the challenger today! Wow, fast shipping!
It is a beautiful rifle for sure... not a fancy stock as far as grain, but shaped and inletted very well.
Waiting on a vevor dual action 4500 psi hand pump which shipped out today.... looking at compressors for pcp now.

Lol, there was a 2 pack of Oreo cookies and a AEA t shirt in the case with the rifle.
Nice touch AEA!

 

[Bret4207]

Bret a RWS 34 is a dandy springer air rifle. Probably its worst feature is its prone to barrel droop making scoping a challange without more costly bases. BUT these bases are a asset overall. It can be a scope breaker but if far from worst. (My one springer 25 cal is champion @ that!!)

Its accurate and powerful for vermin shooting around the home. Generally 800+ with hobby pellets. Very good accuracy as well. Not super hard to learn to shoot. (As many springers can be).

Ruger made a copy for a bunch a years that was pretty good too.

RWS 45 is good and 48 is nicer still but different being a under cocker rigid. More costly too.

CW

The 48 rings a bell but I can't even find any sites showing RWS rifles today! I must not be doing something right in my search.

 

[35 shooter]

I bought my Diana 350 mag. In .177 cal. from Numrich for $249.00. They had the 34 for the same price I think.

 

[Brad]

My only air rifle is an FWB 300S

 

[KeithB]

I did a quick internet search and found electric PCP compressors from $225 to $1,000. I like the idea of air guns but hand pumping for me is out of the question. In times of primer shortages they are certainly a viable option to keep shooting. I got a lot of lead, would need a pellet mold but have everything else. The economics work out at a certain point!

There is a lot of heat transfer involved in compressing air from 15 psi to 3500 psi. How each compressor/system handles the heat issue seems to determine the cost and output.

 

[fiver]

and the length of time you'll be using it.

i got a cheap-o [if you consider 125 bucks 15 years ago cheap] break barrel that has a surprising amount of power.
ot to 50 yds. it'll do anything a 22lr will.
i will take it up grouse hunting when i'm feeling charitable towards them and try for head shots with it [once or twice before the novelty [IE my patience] wears off then they get a flat point pellet]

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

If you buy your own compressor, be sure it can fill the GUN. Some ONLY FILL TANKS! Dont really know why, but a friend was super happy with his finding a affordable compressor only to discover he had to fill bottles only. Lucky he had a bottle so no extra costs for him.

CW

 

[35 shooter]

Thanks CW, i did’nt know that. The one i’m looking at does say gun or tank though.

I must say i’m Impressed with the wood to metal fit. No gaps anywhere... fits like a glove inside the stock.
Hope it shoots as good as it looks!

 

[BBerguson]

I always wanted a quality air rifle, something like a Beeman or RWS. I've never even seen one in person nor do I know any shop that carries anything over the $75.00 type. I can't say I consider them a replacement for a 22LR, not from what I'm seeing anyway, but they are an option.

This thread should be interesting to follow!

Come to PA, I have two springers (FWB 124 and an RWS 48) and a Benjamin Marauder PCP. All 17 caliber, lots of pellets to shoot.

I would love to have a 25 cal in a PCP. I think a good one would be a valid replacement for a 22rf.

 

[35 shooter]

Got a new chrono and indoor light system on the way and a used 30 gr. NOE bullet mold.
Should have everything together to start testing this new rifle out sometime next week.

AEA says 1200 FPS. with 18.13 gr. lead pellets, 1400 FPS. with 14.3 gr. lead pellets, and 1100 FPS plus with 25 gr. Bullets... we shall see.

Of course that’s way too fast for pellets, but it has an adjustable air port system to turn the speed up or down with just a twist of a knob.
This is going to cut into some of my fishing time this summer!