Long Range PCP Airguns- Very Impressive

[Shasta]

There were a couple fellows at the range today shooting .25 caliber pre-charged pneumatic air rifles. I had heard of these but never actually seen one. They looked like something right out of a Star Wars movie! The rifles featured heavy barrels and very large high power rifle scopes and were charged with air from a dive tank, The projectiles were Lyman 257420 cast lead bullets minus the gas check and lubricated with a silicone spray.
At first I didn't pay them too much attention because I was testing my new Winchester 45-70 levergun on the Turkey silhouette swinger; then I realized these guys were shooting those air rifles at the 500 meter Ram silhouette target! They were having a little trouble spotting shots, and since I had my 88mm Kowa spotting scope I offered to spot for them. One guy was keeping his shots within about two minutes of angle and hitting the Ram more often than not, with help from the very calm and overcast weather conditions.
In talking with them they said they got into the air rifles after being unable to find enough .22 Long Rifle ammo. One of them owned a dive shop and so had easy access to the high pressure tanks, so they turned to air rifles out of necessity. I didn't ask about cost (they looked expensive), and unfortunately I did not have a camera for pictures, but I must say those were the most astounding and accurate air guns I ever saw!

Shasta

[AJMD429]

Some of the larger-bore ones are pretty powerful, just as the smaller bore ones are faster and flatter, versus the ones when we were kids. Much impetius for their development was other nations where firearms are prohibited but folks saw how much fun we in the U.S. have shooting.

I saw a 44 caliber one that shot 180 to 235 grain bullets at 1100 fps and 950 fps respectively. Certainly whitetail-deer capable...!

[Ysabel Kid]

You can check out some at Pyramyd Air (yes, spelled with the "y's"). They have about every type of air gun imaginable. Some of them are incredibly pricey!

[AmBraCol]

Sounds like they were shooting rifles from these guys:

http://www.airforceairguns.com/Default.asp

PCP is not cheap, but can yield impressive results. Someday I hope to get my hands on something a bit more traditional in shape like a Hatsan BT65 or a levergun like the Sumatra 2500 rifle with the full (500 cc) sized tank.

[AJMD429]

Check this out... https://youtu.be/_b2kMyMLEBA

[Bill in Oregon]

Shasta, I played with one of the "plainer Jane" PCPs, the Benjamin Marauder in .25. Incredibly accurate and very quiet. This is a good place to start, but it is not 500-meter capable that I know of.

[jnyork]

You recall the Lewis and Clark had a powerful air rifle along with them on their voyage of discovery to the Pacific Northwest. There is a video of that rifle somewhere on the web, I think it is from the NRA Museum.

PS: Found it: https://www.youtube.com/user/NFMCurator

[MrMurphy]

Yes, a Girandoni.

They saw battlefield use in Europe to a limited extent. I ran into one in a smaller museum in Italy, it had been used in several battles. Something like 14 shots in a row from one air tank, in under a minute or so (and this was 200 years ago).