Why are air guns so expensive ?

[Harnser]

I have never been really interested in air guns and have never owned one except as a young boy ,so know very little about them .

It does surprise me though at the price of some of these guns when they come up for sale on the forum . Many of them are more money than a good centre fire or rim fire rifle . Surely they must be easier and cheaper to make than a centre fire or rimfire rifle . Could it be that not being on ticket they are more available to most people ?

 

Harnser

[HDAV]

actually CF and RF are probably cheaper to mass produce (BA especially) and much bigger world markets demand.....

[fenboy]

Like most things in this world , you can pay what you can afford , see todays post about the 500k rifle !

 

You do not have to pay a fortune to get a decent aigun or a decent rifle.

 

I must say though a airgun would be the one I would not be without if I had to make a choice .

[throdgrain]

With a rifle the cartridge does a lot of the work, with an air rifle the gun does all the work.

[rimmie]

Because anyone can own them, you can just go in a shop and buy one off the shelf, no jumping through hoops in terms of licenceing, hence a bigger market.

[Will Poon]

It depends on what you would call an expensive air gun , it could be the same as why are some shotguns so expensive if you get my drift

[HDAV]

Because anyone can own them, you can just go in a shop and buy one off the shelf, no jumping through hoops in terms of licenceing, hence a bigger market.

 

How does that make them expensive??

 

UK/EU only that applies............. UK is a tiny market EU isnt huge world over far more powder burners..............

[Hamster]

Most air guns are more labour intensive and have more moving parts compared to centre fire rifles, why are most shotguns so expensive compared to a top of the range highly complex air rifle that costs a mere £1200, now that is a mystery.

[FalconFN]

With a rifle the cartridge does a lot of the work, with an air rifle the gun does all the work.

I think this sums it up nicely.

 

Add to that fact that modern PCP air rifles carry with them a 200 bar air tank and many are made in the UK.

[Gimlet]

There's a lot of engineering in a top end PCP air rifle, which are the ones which cost the money. Certainly more than a bolt action cartridge rifle. Top end springers selling at around £400 are on a par with low end rimfires which doesn't seem bad to me.

Personally I could never justify spending over a grand on a 12 ft/lb PCP when with the modest effort of pulling a lever my HW 97K will do exactly the same job for a third of the price.

I blew the dust off the old HW recently to shoot some garden rabbits where I've been working. When the situation demands one there's nothing to beat a good 12 ft/lb springer. Mine doesn't see much action nowadays its true, but I'd never get rid of it.

[Gordon R]

I bought a 1/4 ratchet the other week - retail £156 and a single combination spanner - retail £355.

 

One had a minimal moving parts - the other had none. I can't see where the prices come from.

 

That said, I fail to grasp just how expensive some shotguns are compared to a car.

 

It's supply and demand. Whichever way you view it, be sure that your wallet will be emptied by something which is over-priced.

[HDAV]

£355 on a spanner what he'll was that for?

[FalconFN]

£355 on a spanner what he'll was that for?

 

Worth every penny.

[dadioles]

Sorry mate, you were done!! That spanner will never fit that nut.

[theshootist]

Because anyone can own them, you can just go in a shop and buy one off the shelf, no jumping through hoops in terms of licenceing, hence a bigger market.

that would mean that they would be cheaper surely?

[la bala]

I once had a theoben eliminator, i think it cost me over double what i paid for my cz 452

[brett1985]

the precision engineering invloved in a top end pcp, say a daystate mk4is for example, far surpasses most powder burners in terms of time spent actually getting it designed, made, put together and to get it to work properly.

 

the engineering that goes into some of these air rifles is nothing short of amazing.

 

however, if you take a look at the edgun matador, i truly become baffled at how the guys who make it can charge what they do!

[kent]

Its not in the engineering, as viewed as the whole spectrum there are cheap and expensive in all air,cf and rimfire. A new Rigby Mauser V Gaystate, well you could buy about ten even a new Sako 85 etc aint exactly peanuts. there are cheap airguns and cheap CF Rf also

 

what the market will stand is another matter and it is here I suggest we look. Many airguners try and buy something better and constantly trade and exchange searching for that holy grail of rifles, thing is there are greatly diminishing returns but until the buyer is fully aware of that they will carry on spending upwards, chances of a top quality airgun out performing a mid range rimfire in the field or on the range are not great once you get past 50 yards. Away from airgun only competition I no longer see the point other than pride of ownership, you get nothing tangible extra in the way of killing vermin in my direct experiance

[Underdog]

Its not in the engineering, as viewed as the whole spectrum there are cheap and expensive in all air,cf and rimfire. A new Rigby Mauser V Gaystate, well you could buy about ten even a new Sako 85 etc aint exactly peanuts. there are cheap airguns and cheap CF Rf also

 

what the market will stand is another matter and it is here I suggest we look. Many airguners try and buy something better and constantly trade and exchange searching for that holy grail of rifles, thing is there are greatly diminishing returns but until the buyer is fully aware of that they will carry on spending upwards, chances of a top quality airgun out performing a mid range rimfire in the field or on the range are not great once you get past 50 yards. Away from airgun only competition I no longer see the point other than pride of ownership, you get nothing tangible extra in the way of killing vermin in my direct experiance

I agree...ego and snobbery has a bearing. The engineering is mute point. All cnc work now. I have seen Daystate parts made on cnc machines. No different than any other pars being made.

Hydraulic pressure pipe in steel or alloy is readily available.

U.

[FalconFN]

I'm confident my mid 90s Falcon will group the same, possibly better, than most modern air rifles but the reason people spend 3 or 4 times as much on a new rifle has little to do with performance.

[brett1985]

ok, to try and make some better sense of my point, look at it like this...

 

most rimfire and/or centre fire rifles consist of a barrel, an action, a trigger group, a bolt assembly, a magazine and a stock. within those main parts, the major moving items are the trigger group and its components and the bolt assembly.

 

strip a top end pcp down and look at what they have in them... barrel, action, trigger group, bolt, mag, stock, air resevoir, pressure guage, seals, hammers and springs valve blocks, return valves, blow off valves, sensors, electronics, tens of finely machined moving parts and to top it all off, they all have to work in sync or the gun is less than useless.

 

to design and manufacture and put together, these rifles MUST cost more to get off the ground and sell.

 

dont get me wrong, i'm not saying centre fires like the blaser r8 for example dont have time and money ploughed in to them, but i can see that they have had any more time spent on them than a top end pcp.

 

its well known that with pre charge air rifles, you get what you pay for, just like with shotguns and rifles.

yes, im sure a webley raider will be as accurate at 35 yards as a hw100, but the engineering behind the two is totally different. one is definately worth more than the other.

 

but, as kent quite rightly pointed out, there is alot of ego and self want thrown in to the mix aswell.

 

much like hatsan vs beretta really...

Edited June 11, 2014 by brett1985

[Underdog]

Naaaa, manometers are bought off the shelf, receivers on airguns are just machining, no different than on a rifle. Triggers are just the same. Electronics! Gimmic!

Air tubes....off the shelf.

 

Do not be fooled into thinking a skilled craftsmen is filing and shaping individual pieces of metal one at a time! All done by machinery, seen it.

[Cannon]

Before I moved to bullet firing guns I spent ages with air rifles. It amazed me just how cheaply you could buy a rimfire or centerfire rifle compared to some air rifles. I think with air rifles you are paying for the name a lot of the time, but there's no doubt that some premium air rifles are better finished and more refined than their cheaper counterparts. Sometimes you have to ask yourself whether the additional cost is worth it though, as the cheaper option may be more than suitable for your requirements. A random example would be buying a 1/4" ratchet or the likes. No matter what the cost it will never be required to tighten anything beyond 60 Nm. A cheaper one will go click click and do the same job, just as a cheaper air rifle will take down any legal quarry if you point it in the right place.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Dancake

[brett1985]

Naaaa, manometers are bought off the shelf, receivers on airguns are just machining, no different than on a rifle. Triggers are just the same. Electronics! Gimmic!

Air tubes....off the shelf.

 

Do not be fooled into thinking a skilled craftsmen is filing and shaping individual pieces of metal one at a time! All done by machinery, seen it.

fully understand that underdog,

 

but someone had to do the foot work originally though didnt they?

[Underdog]

http://www.airgunshooting.co.uk/news/video_weihrauch_visit_2011_1_1113444