shopping for a 1st air rifle. Recommendations????
I have been a rim and centerfire shooter for years. Have decided to try airgunning. I have shopped around and have pretty much settled on the idea of buying either a condor or talon. Kinda leaning toward the talon. Would like to get some input from experienced airgunners. I still have tons of questions. I’m intersested in shooting long and quiet. Also some of the little details How difficult is it to use a hand pump? How many fills can you get out of a 4500psi tank in 48, 68, or 88 cubic in.? What kind of performance do you get with Co2? What are the pros and cons when choosing between .22 and .25 cal.? Can you get 18 or 24 in. barrels for the Talon and have them fully shrouded and silenced? If you buy a Talon in .25, does it come with the High Flow valve? Do you need the high flow valve to push a .25 just under the supersonic threshhold? Would really appreciate anyones input. I would like to get these details ironed out so that I can make a well informed purchase soon. Also, where to buy is turning out to be a big decision…Any advice on these or other subjects that I maybe haven’t considered are welcome and appreciated!
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Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
Hey Corey how goes it with the TSS? :fishing:
Hi there, I too just got a AF rifle, Condor SS thou in .22, I was going was to get the bundle but I already had a Hawke scope and the expert chat tech on the pyramid air site recommended the hill pump because the Air Force pump is sub par. I fill from 1900-2700 psi in about 80 pumps. The hill pump is easy pumping, my 120lb daughter can pump it up in 5 minutes. I’d defiantly shop for a better scope. hawke optics and leApers are great scopes. JSB 18 gr and H&N 21 gr barracuda are excellent pellets. Have fun!!
you chose well young grasshopper!! The TSS is a perfect rifle to start out with! ENJOY!!
Wow!….that hand pump is a workout…but I absolutely love the performance so far. Not incredibly impressed with the scope it came with, but it will do for now. I’m s sure some other full system is in my future! Anyone ever tried operating the TSS on CO2? I’m interested to know how that performs .it got dark on me shortly after I got everything together last night, so I didn’t get to shoot much, but when I get off of work today……it’s on like Donkey Kong, Jack!!! 🙂
Wohooo!!!! :8:
Awesome! Have fun!
Pyramyd Air has a deal that you buy 4 cans of pellets, one is free. You pay some shipping but it’s still a good deal.
The Crosman Premier are a good round to have some plinking and break in the rifle barrel.
Hell, they got me 3 cotton tails and 2 squirrels this month 🙂
Enjoy and be ready to start the tinkering 🙂
Cheers
Chris
Well, today is the day!!!! When I get home from work tonight, my new Talon SS should have arrived. I went out last night and bought ammo for it. Here locally I could only find 2 forms of .22 pellets. Crosman Premier 14.3gr hollow point…and Penatrator 16.7gr. I suppose I will have to shop around online to find the best shooting ammo. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate the advice.
Here’s a tidbit: PLEASE be careful when tinkering!! These tanks hold 3,000 psi. It’s quite dangerous. Having said that- If you can turn a wrench and follow directions, you’ll be fine- tinker away!! AF guns really are fun- so don’t get discouraged off the bat. Some people get an AF thinking it’s the be-all-end-all rifle, and they ditch it when it doesn’t perform to their standards. Be patient! You did well by signing up here- read up!! :2cents:
Hi Corey,
very exciting! You will love that rifle.
And you got that right: it is a great rifle to start and build up little by little.
Though I can see you have already purchased a lot of good upfrades 🙂
My 2cents: go out there and shoot! Have fun.
Cheers
Chris
Thanks for the response Chris. Last night I purchased a Talon ss package deal from rlairgun supply. The package included a pump, scope and rings. I also elected for a couple of upgrade options they offered. I got the spin lock tank and the high flow valve. I’m anxious for its arrival so I can start tinkering and learning more about airgunning. From all the info I’ve gathered, the Talon seems like the perfect platform to utilize as a “learn as you go”project gun. If you ever feel compelled to pass along any other tidbits of accumulated wisdom to a newbie, please don’t hesitate to share.
Thanks again,
Corey
Hello,
I have a talon SS that originally comes with 12″ barrel and it is fairly quire though not the quietest.
The AF rifles can interchange barrels and tanks. I took advantage of this and swapped the 12″ for a 24″ barrel.
The velocity and energy improves drastically even with the standard valve.
The quiet went away.
There are after market shrouds out there and DIY suppression projects that are simple and cheap.
The key here is AF rifles are for tinkerers. They give you a pretty bare platform and it is up to you to play with it.
If thati is what you want, then AF rifles are for you.
On the othere hand, if you are a shooter that likes to get a more “stable” platforms, and I mean, not tinkering involved, go for Air Arms, for example.
Going from rimfire to air rifles is not just a matter of changing ammo, It is quite a world of it;s on where dealing with tuning is part of the challenge and fun.
About the air sources: I use pumps because I cannot afford a scuba system.
But I have a micro-meter tank to shoot indoor for practice and I get 400+ shots out of it!
So yes, the pump is quite an effort, but a little planning and tuning renders the job easy and tolerable/
Would I like to get a scuba set? Yes!
So if you can afford it and you have some refill station nearby, got for it.
Regarding the ammo, it is about application.
If you shot firearms, it is not different than that.
Plinking, hunting vs target shooting, etc.
I chose .22 because it’s easy to find, almost as cheap as .177 and you can get it to still punch 50fpe+ if you need to hurt some bigger game.
.25 is available but with less choice, though the market is improving. It’s a little more expensive and it requires more air overall (thus more pumping or refilling)
Excellent for hunting and very stable under windier conditions. You can also find casted heavy bullets if you want to do some damage at longer distance.
I would not use .25 for plinking or indoor target shooting. Kinda wasting lead and air in my opinion.
So as you can see air rifles are more about what fits you.
I would say air gunners are more alike to those that like the AR-15 platform in the sense that they are always improving, playing, tinkering because the platform allows it.
So welcome to the air gun world and be ready to dump some money in this hobby because there are things out there you did not know you need it!
Have fun
Cheers
Chris
Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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havent been here for a while….been too busy shooting and working out the kinks…lol Love this rifle…..just ordered a 24″ .25 barrel and shroud, along with a 100 cu. ft. 4500 psi. carbon fiber tank.
I have things tweeked to the point that I can rely on chairgun data reliably. I bought the windmeter and got the app for my phone but I find that I more often than not, use another app I found called “wind alert”. It’s actually designed for kite surfers, but it operates off of gps. taps you into all reporting national weather service stations in your area….gives wind direction and speed. So I use that along with a little common sense as far as terrain, structures etc. and things are great! I love what I can do with this rifle and I’m excited to see what happens with the long .25 barrel.
One thing that really interests me though…..if any one would care to reply I would enjoy hearing your thoughts.
I’ve noticed, especially on airgunweb, that Airforce doesn’t seem to get any attention or coverage at SHOT shows. I guess I’m assuming that they are present. Come to think of it, there are a lot of airgun related channels I subscribe to on youtube and I very seldom if ever see anything of Airforce airguns being used or promoted.
Any thoughts or comments?