Talon SS with 18in or 24in barrel…help !
Need help deciding whether to go to the 18 or 24 inch barrel. My big issue is the total length of the gun after the addition of a TT shroud. I want the extra FPS and FPE but still need it to be fairly quiet. Any input in helping me decide what the best solution would be is welcomed !! Also, the caliber is .22 and I do an even mix of hunting and target shooting. I want to be able to accurately reach out a bit further than what I can with the 12in barrel.
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I have an SS with 177, 22, and 25 cl barrels, in 22, and 25 I have 18″ barrels, and with a lightly modded Talon valve I can still get into the upper 800’s in 25 cal, making 45+ ft.lbs. It also wears a Talon tunes 6″ shroud, which I think is perfect for the setup, all I hear is the mechanics, the neighbors don’t even look over my way anymore, as they just don’t hear it. As for the accuracy question, like all barrels, just find the pellet it likes, mine seem to prefer JSB’s, the 22 likes the 18.1, and the 25 likes the 25.39 Kings. Both will stack to 40-50 yards. I have also shot 1 gallon plastic jugs at 100 yards just for fun, so shouldn’t have issues in the accuracy department.
Casey
I’ve got a .22 Talon with an 18″ barrel, with a stock Talon valve and a .22 Condor with a .24″ barrel, with a stock Condor valve.
I’ve found myself grabbing the Talon to shoot a whole lot more. It’s as accurate as any other gun in my selection, just not as pretty. 😉
The gun is a lot shorter, more manageable, 20 good shots @ 800fps with 18.1 JSB’s. It’s lightweight even with my “Ted’s Holdover” camera rig on it.
I’ve considered selling my .22 Condor as I just don’t shoot it much any more. 🙁 It’s long and a bit wielding when carrying it in the woods.
I have to agree with AoT, I had a Talon with 18″ barrel. With 16gr Jsb pellets you can easily push it to 950fps for hunting and long range purposes and anything beneath that for plinking. I’ve got an 18″ .20 barrel and 24″ .22 barrel and I love the shorter more compact rifle-my frame is still a std Condor frame which I’m seriously thinking of shortening.
Pro’s and cons of the 18 and 24′ barrels-
18″ delivers more recoil at higher velocities but accuracy seems better as the pellet leaves the barrel quicker eliminating accuracy issues due to muzzle flip. With a finely tuned set-up you can get about 60 usable shots.
24″ barrelhas less recoil and delivers more shots and power if you want it.
I love the shorter barrel.
I guess I didn’t even consider going to a .25 cal for some added FPE. I’ll have to do some research into velocites etc in comparing the .22 to the .25. I do alot of pest removal at my father in laws farm. Primarily pigeons. I’d guess a .25 in an 18in barrel makes one helluva thump on impact !! The point about getting around in the woods with the longer 24in barrel is exactly why I am hesitant about going that route. In fact I think for me the 24in barrel would be a hinderance. I can’t remember where I heard or read this but I recall hearing/reading that .25 just isn’t quite as accurate as .22. Currently I can basically stack pellets at 20yds and I don’t want to sacrifice accuracy for power. Anyone have any input on accuracy comparisons between .22 and .25 ?? Think I’d have a winner in .25 with a 18in barrel ? I love watching pigeon feathers fly !!
I like knifemakers way of thinking and that is why i have all 3 😀 I always get a smile when the .25 31 gr. kodiak smacks into an animal and i hear that resounding thwack 
I just cannot get enough of that!!
Truth is, either te 18 or 24 inch bbl.s will sling a pellet faster than what can remain accurate. You have to tune down to get into good accurate velocity realms. With that said, the only advantage with the longer bbl, is it is larger in dia., Heavier, and makes puting a LDC on it look like a damed LONG fishing pole. 😯 😆 And hard as hell to get around in the woods without knocking the crap out of the LC reguraly.
The only advantage is slightly, and I do mean slightly higher shot count. Not worth the trouble in the .22.
If you want POWER, the .25 is the way to go. Better BC, less wind drift, less drop for a given velocity, and hits one hell of a lot harder! 😈
KnifeMaker
I collect Lead dust with 18 inch. Just the size for my use. :1:
I think that you are moving in the right direction by getting an 18″ and then using the 6″ ldc. That 18″ should get you into 900+ fps range using a standard tank. The only problem i see with the 24″ barrels is that they are long but i guess if you want the most efficiency then that is what you use. I think the 18″ gives you the best compromise between efficient air usage for fps obtained and maintaining a manageable length.
Thanks for the input fellas. Currently I hand pump my gun so getting as many shots as possible really counts. I leave the power adjuster on 8 and am very happy with how many shots I can get before I pump back up. So I really don’t want to lose that efficiency. The 24in barrel is very appealing from a power aspect but the length of the rifle would become cumbersome I think. I like how compact the talon ss is. I also have a discovery with a muzzle break and it seems enormous compared to my talon ss. That’s why I let my friends carry that in the woods !! I called R&L and asked them about their shrouds and an 18 inch barrel. Shroud would only extend the frame by about 6 inches. I can handle that. That should give me a bit more FPS and maintain the quiet operation of the rifle. I’d welcome any further input because I could talk air rifles all day !!
I have two talon ss that are stock so they have the 12″ barrels. I get just over 800 fps with premiers and the standard tank. I put a high flow tank and hammer weight and can get 920 fps using 21 gr. kodiaks. I am going to switch one to an 18″ barrel and put an ldc to get better efficiency from the gun and it should get the same or better fps using the standard tank as using the high flow and 12″ barrel. The 18″ barrel will just poke out past the frame of the talon ss making it easy to attach the ldc. Using the high flow setup still produced stellar accuracy with the kings. Its just not as efficient when trying to max velocity in the 12″ barrel.
FWIW…….
I’ve got a .22 Talon with an 18″ barrel, with a stock Talon valve and a .22 Condor with a .24″ barrel, with a stock Condor valve.
I’ve found myself grabbing the Talon to shoot a whole lot more. It’s as accurate as any other gun in my selection, just not as pretty. 😉
The gun is a lot shorter, more manageable, 20 good shots @ 800fps with 18.1 JSB’s. It’s lightweight even with my “Ted’s Holdover” camera rig on it.
I’ve considered selling my .22 Condor as I just don’t shoot it much any more. 🙁 It’s long and a bit wielding when carrying it in the woods.
Wow…thanks for all the information ! Currently my gun LOVES the JSB 15.9 pellets. So with that in mind the 18inch barrel and shroud would probably be my best option to keep the gun at a length that I like. Been looking around at shroud options and seems as though there are more out there then I thought. I’m new to this forum and I’ve only been an Airforce owner for about a year. I appreciate the feedback. On that note anyone have first hand experience with an R&L shroud ? From what I gather from searching the forum here they seem to be pretty good for the price. I’m trying to do a longer barrel and shroud as cost effective as possible. Christmas time and 2 kids and a wife to buy for !!! Thanks again for any input.
personal preference really,,add up all the lengths, and just see what is acceptable to you
allot of guys go with the 18” .
if you want super quite , allot of the guys go with a longer shroud that at least sticks out like 6” past the frame on the 12” barrel talon ss .
so if you go 18″ that means 10” or so shroud sticking past the frame of the talon ss.
don’t know the stock talon ss may be quite enough for you
really, evaluate what weight pellets your going to be shooting and get the shortest barrel that will achieve the velocity that you want.
if target and plinking mostly , then 14 grain pellets mostly , you can get most of the fps you want from a 12” barrel. mid 800’s
modded talon valve will get more fps
only with the heavy pellets you might not be able to achieve the higher velocities 18 thru 32 grain
my condor is 48” long with shroud , i would like to get a 12” barrel one of these days to mess around with.
these give a good example of stock velocities with factory setting comparison of 12” to 18”
http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2013/08/testing-the-effect-of-barrel-length-on-a-precharged-rifle/
http://www.pyramydair.com/article/The_Talon_February_2004/12
the Condor ss wold be a good option, comes with 18 ” barrel, and you can turn it down
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Thanks for the input. Sounds like the 18 inch barrel in either caliber would do me fine. May get .25 just to have a different caliber.