This is a story about my first Pre-Charged Pneumatic air rifle and the first time I took it hunting.
I had been shooting and hunting with spring powered airguns for close to 30 years, when I decided that I wanted to venture into the world of the Pre-Charged Pneumatic (PCP) air rifles. PCP's run off of high pressure air. (HPA) The air reservoir on the rifle is filled from an external air source. That source can be a hand operated pump, a SCUBA tank, or better yet, a 4500 psi carbon fiber tank.
I knew that the guns I was looking at all ran off of 3000 psi "High Pressure Air". I decided early on to go with the 4500 psi carbon fiber tank as the method that I would use to fill the gun.
After much research, I decided on a .20 caliber LOGUN MK II PCP with thumbhole stock. The rifle has a ten round in-line magazine, and gets 35/40 shots on one fill of air. It had a reputation for being quiet, and very accurate. I wasn't disappointed. It shoots the 13.6 grain JSB .20 cal. Exacts at an average velocity of 925 feet per second, and would put 5 of them into a half inch at 50 yards.
After a bit of searching, I finally located a Dive Shop that would fill my carbon fiber tank to 4500 psi for me, and they only charged $6 to do it.
I took her out today to see what she could do. I did a quick and dirty sight in over the hood. I put her a 1/2 inch high at 35 yards, figuring I could hold pretty much dead on out to about 45 yards.
What a hoot this thing is to shoot. I don't know how loud it sounds out where the squirrels are, but at my end it is very quiet. The "THWOCK" of the pellet going through a squirrels head seems louder to me than the sound of the gun going off.
It certainly didn't spook them at all. I had a bunch of fun with it. The second shot out of it at a squirrel was very memorable. I was in the field early, almost too early, but I knew it was going to be really hot today.
I had been hunting for almost half an hour before I saw my first squirrel. He was sitting on a stump at 45 yards. I put the crosshairs on his head and squeezed off a round. It's an interesting sensation as the gun fires. There was no recoil at all, and not much sound. I had the scope set at 14 power, and saw the pellet hole appear in the squirrel's head. I was elated. My first shot at a squirrel with this new rig, and it was a bullseye.
It was the second shot though, that was really pretty cool. I had a squirrel sitting on a limb at 50 yards. He was west of me, and the morning sun was low in the eastern sky. It was shining over my right shoulder, and when the shot broke, I saw the shiny pellet twinkle through the air all the way into the squirrels head. Not something you'll see every day.
I took a couple dozen squirrels with the new gun that morning, and for sure, I was forever hooked on PCP airguns.
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