I'm thinking about picking up a PCP airgun. I'm struck that they are 100 yard max effective. Legal for whitetail deer is new this year but I assume there are guys who have been using them for sometime for hogs and am looking for input.

I went through the PCP phase of my life and now I've settled on bolt and single shot 30 caliber rifles, shooting subsonic ammo (with the proper expanding hunting bullets) and a silencer. Quieter than any PCP gun I ever had and good to about 125 yards without having to adjust for any range. PCP guns are fun, but the tanks, recharging and getting tanks filled were kind of a pain. There are HPA compressors that you can buy for a reasonable price now, so it might be better than when I was shooting them.

For the money, if you're not concerned about being quiet, I would look at the Evanix Rex. Super light and about 10 full power shots in .357 caliber.

I have been shooting PCP air rifles since the beginning. Airforce airguns took the research we did in building tricked out versions of their Condor and created the Texan line of airguns. Their newest offering is the Texan LSS. These are some quiet and deadly hunting machines. As far as range is concerned, I regularly kill pigs at 130 yards under my deer feeder with a 257cal Condor shooting a 80gr Ranch Dog hollow points. So here is how I look at it, slinging a 150 gr bullet at 1000 FPS is the goal and doing it as accurately and quietly as possible is the objective. These new Texans LSS do both.

hornslayer

if i only bought one LSS for hogs and deer, which caliber? 357 or 45?

I am not poo pooing airguns, but I don't understand what the draw to them is. It would seem if you are looking for an added challenge a pistol or pistol caliber rifle, or a crossbow would accomplish that and be much more cost effective. Is it just because they are quiet? I really don't know, so help me out and tell me why air guns are awesome

I think the .308 is a flatter shooting caliber. From the folks I know a .308 shooting a 138gr slug at just under 1000fps seems to be a really all around good choice. I'm Hoping he will review the LSS soon?

You can get a supressed air gun without going through the NFA.

I personally have not seen anyone shooting sub-sonics as accurate and consistent as these guys with airguns do. I tried sub-sonics myself but found them to be unreliable out of my gun. Add the oppressively long wait and expense of getting a can made the decision easy for me.

Thanks, for the replies. I figured it was about the quiet, but I have never messed with them so i wasn't sure

Not just any big bore will do.

"alligators, bighorn sheep, javelina, mule deer, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, and turkey (except Eastern Turkey) may be taken only with pre-charged pneumatic arrow guns, or pre-charged pneumatic air guns.
pre-charged pneumatic air guns must fire a projectile of at least .30 caliber in diameter and at least 150 grains in weight with a minimum muzzle velocity of 800 feet per second or any combination of bullet weight and muzzle velocity that produces muzzle energy of at least 215 foot pounds of energy."

Only a couple of current production big bores can fill those shoes, and of the ones that can I don't think any of them are .308. Maybe a custom .308 that is a powerhouse, runs on helium or something. But to get that kind of power in a production gun, you almost certainly gotta go .44 or bigger. Unles you get a custom gun or a really awesome power tune. Even with a power tune probably not in .308. But who knowes.

Looking at pyramyd, the only .308 that will meet this criteria is the airforce texan. Move up to a .44 or larger and you have alot more options. Even .357 and larger opens up some options for you.

Still, hunting big animals with a airgun, bigger is always better. There is no shock, no rapid expansion, none of that. Use a big caliber and shoot the heaviest cast with the biggest meplat that your gun can put in the kill zone.

You ought to check out www.gatewaytoairguns.org. A lot of hunters on there.

I have a 410 Barnet Ghost. 70 yards tops is the range it is useful for