How cheap have PCP's become?

[bruno22rf]

With the average price for a good PCP now in the £600+ region I was wondering what kind of gun you could pick up for the price of a basic springer. Been hankering after a .22 Puffgun for a while now and ,rather than simply buying a new example, I decided to see how frugal I could be and how cheap people are willing to sell unwanted guns.

With the new Laws north of the border this seemed the obvious place to start my search as many don't want to fork out the £70 odd for a licence if they only occasionally pot a few tins in the back garden.

At the lower end pretty much the same guns are available - old Falcon's, Webley Raiders and the AGS weird thingy but many days searching the "For Sales" ads eventually threw up a likely candidate - BSA Scorpion complete with scope, mod and bag and , according to it's owner, only ever fired 20 shots. A few txts later and a deal was done - £220 including postage and the seller was happy to post the gun to me without any form of payment up front!!

So 8:30 this morning a large box arrived and I spent nearly 10 frantic minutes opening the thing, How bad could it be? What can I honestly expect for around £200? ( virtually nothing according to my local dealer - not even a worn Turkish Delight) - but low and behold the last piece of cardboard is removed to reveal an immaculate gun - not a flipping mark on it - even still covered in protective grease from the factory, the bag held all the bit's, probe, user guide etc - I was like a dog with two tails .

So I have just spent 15 minutes charging her up and zeroing - 5 shot one ragged hole at 25 yards and I'm , by now, giggling like a schoolgirl - the thing is soooo easy to shoot. Best couple of hundred notes I have spent in ages and I'm beginning to wonder if springers, unless you fancy a challenge, are going to become a thing of the past.

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, well done bruno, i am looking for a .177 pcp but never thought to try ads in scotland, what did you find the bsa on? oh a pic would be good. cheers

[7daysinaweek]

some fun ahead with the pre-puffer. Sounds like a absolute bargain.

 

atb

7diaw

[kshooter]

Sounds a bargain mate, I bought a bsa superten a a while back on gunstar that was from Scotland before the s#$# got real over the licensing but it was in the pipeline, spoke to him was a nice chap so sent the money via bank transfer which looking back was a little mad, turned up and true to his word it was immaculate, said it had only ever had 2/3 mags through in his garden, including pump I was happy as Larry with it,still am, wouldnt go back to a springer, the follow up shot with the cycle of a bolt whilst ratting in the dark is just too good to have

[bruno22rf]

One of the best sites is called "newsnow" - it seems to gather loads of ads from many different sites and put them together - saves loads of time.

[oldypigeonpopper]

One of the best sites is called "newsnow" - it seems to gather loads of ads from many different sites and put them together - saves loads of time.

thankyou bruno, how you getting on sorting out the squirrels ? your new air rifle should be ideal. cheers

[bruno22rf]

Bought the Scorpion with the squirrels in mind after head shooting several last year and finding them still conscious with the .177. The feeders are all in place and just waiting for the Warden to report that the Squirrels are on them - next couple of weeks I'm hoping.

[Rimfireboy]

Bought the Scorpion with the squirrels in mind after head shooting several last year and finding them still conscious with the .177. The feeders are all in place and just waiting for the Warden to report that the Squirrels are on them - next couple of weeks I'm hoping.

Good luck with the scorpion, seems you got a bargain there. What .177 were you using? I shot one with my .25 hatstand and although it stunned the squirrel, on examination after dispatching, the pellet had bounced off its head. I thought a .177 would be less likely to do that. Did the .177 pellets penetrate the skull? I know squirrels are very tough.

[bruno22rf]

Rimfireboy - I posted my concerns on this matter a while ago - pellets were going clean thru the head but simply not killing the creatures instantly ( I will prepare myself for the inevitable non believers to this statement) - in one instance a Squirrel was shot that dropped like a stone from the feeder, over the following couple of hours I kept seeing what I assumed to be another individual scratching around the ground under the feeder but I could not see thru the undergrowth clearly enough for a shot. When I went to pick up the shot Squirrel I was amazed to find it sitting upright and fully aware of my presence as it tried to flee - more horrifying was the hole clean thru both sides of his head - I was torn between taking a picture or finishing the poor creature off straight away - I chose the latter.

Over last winter I shot quite a few more and one fact seemed to be emerging - the .177 S410 (a tad below 12ft/lb) was killing far more cleanly at 25+ yards than it was at the 10-15 yards distance where most targets on feeders presented themselves. As I didn't have a .22 at the time I tried a variety of hunting type pellets and settled on Baracuda Hunter Extreme in the end - these seemed to help but by this time the season was coming to an end and shooting was stopped - this year I'm going to give the .22 a trial as none of the other guys use a .177 and they have not reported similar problems to mine.

Must be honest and admit that I wish I had taken that picture because even I would doubt the likelihood of a headshot creature still being alive and reasonably well a considerable time after the shot had been made if I read it

[Sussex gardener]

Rimfireboy - I posted my concerns on this matter a while ago - pellets were going clean thru the head but simply not killing the creatures instantly ( I will prepare myself for the inevitable non believers to this statement) - in one instance a Squirrel was shot that dropped like a stone from the feeder, over the following couple of hours I kept seeing what I assumed to be another individual scratching around the ground under the feeder but I could not see thru the undergrowth clearly enough for a shot. When I went to pick up the shot Squirrel I was amazed to find it sitting upright and fully aware of my presence as it tried to flee - more horrifying was the hole clean thru both sides of his head - I was torn between taking a picture or finishing the poor creature off straight away - I chose the latter.

Over last winter I shot quite a few more and one fact seemed to be emerging - the .177 S410 (a tad below 12ft/lb) was killing far more cleanly at 25+ yards than it was at the 10-15 yards distance where most targets on feeders presented themselves. As I didn't have a .22 at the time I tried a variety of hunting type pellets and settled on Baracuda Hunter Extreme in the end - these seemed to help but by this time the season was coming to an end and shooting was stopped - this year I'm going to give the .22 a trial as none of the other guys use a .177 and they have not reported similar problems to mine.

Must be honest and admit that I wish I had taken that picture because even I would doubt the likelihood of a headshot creature still being alive and reasonably well a considerable time after the shot had been made if I read it

I can quite believe it, I had the same thing with a .177 bsa lightning on squirrels and rabbits. Head shot and they didn't kill cleanly, needed a follow-up shot on at least 3 occasions, stopped using it for pest control after that.

[Rimfireboy]

Interesting stuff, I suppose that a squirrel's brain is quite small and a head shot could miss it without delivering the shock of a larger pellet. Might be interesting to try wadcutters at shorter ranges to see how they perform in this respect? I believe that the late John Darling had a preference for flat head pellets in his HW80 .22 for his squirrel shooting.

[Whitebridges]

Nice purchase bruno22fr really good value.

 

They're tricky critters. Always hopping about. You really need to pick your moment carefully. I used to shoot them with an air rifle, still do occasionally. With a .22 at 20 yards it really isn't a problem.

 

My preferred approach is with a .22 LR and RWS Z Lang. OK it's not expanding but very accurate in my Annie. I shoot them just below the earhole or shoulder, depending on the angles. They drop like a stone.

 

Just as an add on they go crazy for sweetcorn in the autumn.

 

[figgy]

Try Webley VerminPell for the Squirels,flat head and hit hard. I have found them very accurate and hit hard at short distances but get a bit wayward at longer range.

[Rimfireboy]

Nice purchase bruno22fr really good value.

 

They're tricky critters. Always hopping about. You really need to pick your moment carefully. I used to shoot them with an air rifle, still do occasionally. With a .22 at 20 yards it really isn't a problem.

 

My preferred approach is with a .22 LR and RWS Z Lang. OK it's not expanding but very accurate in my Annie. I shoot them just below the earhole or shoulder, depending on the angles. They drop like a stone.

 

Just as an add on they go crazy for sweetcorn in the autumn.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree Nigel, the Z Langs are good performers as a reduced load. I recently got some more from Nev's , very useful round imo.

[bruno22rf]

Would love to use my lr on the blighters but my winter Squirrel control is done in public recreational grounds that are actually open during the day while I am shooting - a .22lr buzzing around picnic tables would not go down too well, we have to stick to strict rules that define where shots can be taken and only sub 12ft/lb guns can be used - in fact we have to sign documentation agreeing with a long list of H&S issues that , if not strictly adhered to, instantly removes our permission.

[Rimfireboy]

Would love to use my lr on the blighters but my winter Squirrel control is done in public recreational grounds that are actually open during the day while I am shooting - a .22lr buzzing around picnic tables would not go down too well, we have to stick to strict rules that define where shots can be taken and only sub 12ft/lb guns can be used - in fact we have to sign documentation agreeing with a long list of H&S issues that , if not strictly adhered to, instantly removes our permission.

And that's totally understandable.

[Sussex gardener]

Interesting stuff, I suppose that a squirrel's brain is quite small and a head shot could miss it without delivering the shock of a larger pellet. Might be interesting to try wadcutters at shorter ranges to see how they perform in this respect? I believe that the late John Darling had a preference for flat head pellets in his HW80 .22 for his squirrel shooting.

John Darling has passed away? My God that is sad news. He was a real hero of mine and I spent many happy hours watching and re watching his video and reading his exploits in air gun magazines. Very sad.