Talon vs. Condor

I came to a Condor from a RWS 34, and I will never go back. I shoot a lot in several hunting and accuracy games, and have never had so much utility gain in a change of equipment. It was like I had been shooting left handed with a bag over my head. Magic.

Here is the kicker, you have to buy a shroud. Tony has a good one, Airhog has a good one. Both of these guys will assemble and test fire if you buy the gun/shroud from them, (maybe even set tophat for you), wonderful service.

There is nothing so satisfying as knocking a bird down at long range. 35 or 40 yards was a challenge for me with the RWS. With the Condor, you don’t start missing till about 90 yards. It is such a hoot. And that extra couple hundred foot seconds you get from the Condor make a real difference at long range.

Yes it is a little long with the shroud, but you can dial it down in the yard and the biggest noise will be the pellet hitting your backstop.

Go for it, and welcome to the wonderful world of PCPs

I think a lot of people like the Condor or SS, because they both have a longer frame. The talon, for what ever reason, has a very short frame. It makes using a shroud and a bbl. of any length look a little odd.

I have a Condor that has been transformed into a Condor SS. I am using a 12″ barrel and the end cap from the SS. I still have the Condor valve, however, I’ve adjusted the tophat to shoot at Talon SS pellet velocities. So, if you’re looking to have it all, even with the stock 24″ barrel the Condor has, you still can adjust the tophat to shoot at Talon SS pellet velocties. I did that when I had the 24″ barrel on. The only reason why I swapped it with the 12″ barrel is because I like the carbine and compact look.

Accuracy has nothing to do with barrel length, but will gain you another 90fps and you can add a shroud. I’ll post a pic in the next day or so of a TSS with 18″ and a 1″D shroud. Just 1″ ali tubing slid alll the way back to the front bushing.

Unless you plan to go .25 or be shooting out past 75yds on a regular basis, all your doing is wasting air and money. The Condor gets half the shots of a TSS. for most airgunners needs the TSS will fill them and then some. Ifd you need/want a litle more power in the future do/ or have done the valve mod which will yield another 100fps to your TSS making it a 30-32fpe rig. I’m not downing the Condor, but unless your going the route i mentioned above its going to cost more in the long run. Is quiet a necessity, well a shroud is around $200 additional. Yes, you can punch through a 2×4, are you hunting in the backyard or the woods. Pass throughs are a problem with neighbors even with the TSS. Much more so with the Condor. You are also limited to pellet selection as the Condor can only shoot the heaviest of pellets like Kodiaks and Eun Jins. The TSS will shoot Crosman Premiers 14.3, JSBs 16g, Kodiaks 21g. It also has the ability to shoot .20 or .177 cal. Where as the Condor is limited to .22 heavies or better suited for the .25 setup.

It was a hard decision for me as well, i went with the TSS because it fit my needs, it is short and compact, no need to watch the barrel. Have the 18″ in with shroud and i think it looks long. It shoots the distances i need it to and more. With the stock valve, 12″ barrel it was shooting 16g JSBs at 10shot avg. 794fps. Modded valve was shooting 21g Kodiaks at 10 shot avg. 816fps, 20 shot avg. 807fps.

Do you need it or want it, is what it comes down to.

Syn, normally you would be correct. However I did the valve mod, and the shroud myself. Both work just fine! I would like to get the hammer slap mod figured out, along with the o ring mod for the valve. I’m getting some blow by. I wonder if Tony keeps vqalve parts around so that an o ringed valve body can be ordered from him?.

No problem turning the condor down. But as it has no shroud, it is still going to be loud unless ou go with a Condor SS. I wish I had known about this option when I bought mine!

MIke Here is a shot of the valve body. http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r294/mlovett_photo/DSC01383xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.jpg?t=1202536534

I am in so cal and have the same situation. I chose a Talon SS just for that reason and it served well for several years.

I decided I wanted my Talon SS to match my AA 410 in power since my son and I shoot them at the same time and the SS lags behind in distance. I had tony make me a 16″ barrel and a shroud. I modified the valve myself and what I ended up with was what I consider the ideal Talon. I can plink on low power in silence at the house and ram silhouettes at 120 yds. in the field.

If you get a Condor shrouded it is so long you can poke your preys eye out with it…lol

If you buy the condor I am sure you can pick up a 12″ for a good price and swap them. Get an end plug and you are set to shoot a the house.

Hey Bruce,

When you buy a gun, you’ll have a warranty on it. Don’t blow it. Shoot it and learn everything about it for that year. Then you’ll have a clear idea what you really wanna do with it. You’ll also save up some money by then. Keep in mind that AF guns are pretty good straight from the box. When I had my stock .22 condor, I was having 35 full power shots at 50 fpe with Kodiaks. Accuracy 3/4″ at 50 yards which is outstanding. The only thing I would get for now is a shroud. Also, get a high quality hand pump. It’s a little bit of work, but it’s really convenient, you can take that thing wherever you go.

Good luck.