PCP ... Long or short barrels???

[LuckyStrike]

Greetings to everyone!

I am a new member and been checking your great site out for about a week.

I am seriously considering buying an Air Arms S510 Extra FAC S/L Carbine Super-Lite .22 Cal , but was reading an article that said with pcp rifles, the shorter barrels are less accurate and much louder.

Can anyone shed some light on this?

This is a huge leap for me $$$ and I don't want to invest in the wrong rifle.

I truly love the idea of a shorter rifle.. much easier to use/carry around barns where I will be working to rid crows starlings and pigeons. (but accuracy is key and one big reason to buy one of these units)

Thanks for any help at all ...

Lucky

[rsterne]

In PCPs, power is generally greater with longer barrels, and indeed shorter barrels are louder.... I don't think there is any inherent difference in accuracy either way....

Bob

[peterdulux]

Also, shorter barrels or carbines, sometimes have shorter air cylinders, sometimes.

Do your home work. Shorter guns are nice but sometimes there is a trade off.

[Benny]

I know that people used to say that short barrels may have a problem stabilizing heavy pellets. I don't know if that's really an issue, I'm sure you can always find another pellet that will work. Another thing is that if you are shooting using open sights the longer barrel will give you a longer sight radius and therefore probably a little more accuracy.. and that's totally irrelevant as the S510 doesn't have open sights and you will be using a scope.

[rsterne]

f you are shooting using open sights the longer barrel will give you a longer sight radius and therefore probably a little more accuracy..

That is the ONLY reason a long barrel is easier to hit your target with.... It is not inherently more accurate, you can poinit it better with iron sights.... Twist rate is twist rate, and pellets/bullets don't "skid" through the rifling or they would have no marks on them from the lands.... Even short barrels spin the pellet at the same speed if the velocity is the same....

Bob

[YepYep]

Do you have more detail regarding the gun you want to buy? I am not very familiar with it...

Shorter barrel will louder, longer barrel will be more accurate. That's general speaking because we wont compare a 8 inch barrel to a 24 inch, right?

And I think you can search the reviews for your gun and get the ideas from the real owners.

And I totally agreed that in PCPs, usually you don't need to consider the power problem. It will have the power you need for sure. Anyway, you paid it already~

And you are right, for that power gain, the noise from a shorter barrel that without factory adjustment (it's illegal to add the related product to it by yourself after market to reduce the noise) would be high...

Sent from my LG mobile

[peterdulux]

Just get the AA, but get the longer air cylinder version. I see AGS has a super lite version with the longer air tube. You will appreciate the added shots.

It is the right one to get. Took me years to get my first AA and after I got it I couldn't believe I didn't get it sooner.

[LuckyStrike]

WOW.. great advice guys! I appreciated!

Someone asked which gun exactly.. These are the 2 I'm considering

Air Arms S510 Extra FAC S/L Carbine .22 Cal, Walnut Stock ... 15.5 inch Lothar Walther barrel , 173cc tank

or

Air Arms S510 Extra FAC S/L .22 Cal, Walnut Stock... 19 "Walther barrel
231cc air tank

These 2 are both the same price. @ $1395.00 (ouch) but nice!

I am also lost as whether to buy a hand pump (seems like a lot of work)

or get the scuba tank and adapters??? << This kinda makes sense because we have lots of dive shops around here...

Cheers and thanks again

Lucky

[YepYep]

Yep, it's me to ask the detail... those guns are too pricey to me, so I keep myself stay away from them in order not to empty my breakfast money~

I just come home and check it out with the computer (easy to do homeworks than with the cellphone~).

I think the 4 inches difference won't be a big problem regarding the convenient to bring it around. Even with the short barrel, this is a long carbine already...

And the longer barrel won's bring you extra accuracy (as the 15 inch LW barrel is accuracy enough)

If you talking about a full length AA S510 rifle (43.75 inch overall length) to this carbine (short or long barrel), I saw that the full length rifle said it has the shrouded barrel for extra-quiet shooting...

[fishguy]

I've got the carbine tx200 and the only thing I gave up was a touch of velocity vs the full size. It wasn't enough to make a difference worth worrying about. For me the convenience of a slightly smaller and lighter rifle was the deciding factor.

[TriggerHappy416]

I have the S410 Carbine Super Lite model. It's basically the same rifle but with bolt action instead of side lever.

It's really nice in terms of handling and accuracy. You're basically deciding between shot count vs. mobility. Accuracy will be the same. I would say to get the full length model unless you absolutely need the carbine for mobility. The carbine is a good choice if you're carrying the gun through tight spaces or hiking with it for a long distance. If you want to do lots of target practice, get the full length rifle for the shot count.

I'm digging through my Air Arms brochure. Here are some stats worth considering.

S510 Xtra Rifle (Poplar or walnut stock) 6.4lb, Overall Length 44.75", 30 full power shots per fill in all calibers (20fpe in .177, 30fpe in .22, 35fpe in .25)
S510 Carbine (Poplar or walnut stock) 6.2lb, Overall Length 38", 15 full power shots per fill in all calibers (20fpe in .177, 29fpe in .22, no option for .25)

Beech stock options are 0.6lbs heavier for both.

Since you're hunting birds and the weight difference is negligible, I would go for the full length rifle in .22 cal. Some people say .25 is better, but you get much better pellet selection and prices with .22. Unless you absolutely need the compact dimensions, twice the shot count at full power is worth the slight bulk.

Note that the shot count difference is probably less significant when not shooting at full power. It's just that the shorter carbine barrel wastes lot of air to reach the same max velocity compared to the full length barrel. At the low power setting, my S410 Carbine gets 80 consistent shots at ~450 fps.

[LuckyStrike]

Well.. After your kind responses... I am now wondering again what to do

The shorter carbine guns sure appeal to me , but you now have me wondering if they have that narrow a number of shots per fill.

If I was to get a pump.. I might wear myself out, however, I do think a divers tank or one of those small graphite bottles might be the best (yes expensive, but) best solution!

Thanks to this forum, I am learning a lot about these airguns ... These pcp units are really something else...... And even the less expensive guns look very promising (like the Benjamins) * Though I am sold on AA products.. OMG, they are state of the art *

When I finally do make a decision... I will certainly post the info and hopefully photos


Thanks to everyone again for the insight

Cheers

Lucky

[jckstrthmghty]

Thanks to this forum, I am learning a lot about these airguns ... These pcp units are really something else...... And even the less expensive guns look very promising (like the Benjamins) * Though I am sold on AA products.. OMG, they are state of the art *

Something to consider. fx streamline. Light. Accurate. High shot count. Many other features.

[LuckyStrike]

Thanks to this forum, I am learning a lot about these airguns ... These pcp units are really something else...... And even the less expensive guns look very promising (like the Benjamins) * Though I am sold on AA products.. OMG, they are state of the art *

Something to consider. fx streamline. Light. Accurate. High shot count. Many other features.

They are regulated so I guess it makes them very air efficient. (also an anti bounce hammer)

Those Swedish air rifles look nice ... I was just watching some reviews on them.. "Matt Dubber" from S Africa .. great spokesdude for FX


1 question .. Where does one buy the Streamline??? I see out of stock on the AGS site

cheers

Lucky

[jckstrthmghty]

Something to consider. fx streamline. Light. Accurate. High shot count. Many other features.

They are regulated so I guess it makes them very air efficient. (also an anti bounce hammer)

Those Swedish air rifles look nice ... I was just watching some reviews on them.. "Matt Dubber" from S Africa .. great spokesdude for FX


1 question .. Where does one buy the Streamline??? I see out of stock on the AGS site

cheers

Lucky[/quote]

I had just queried AGS about just that. Expectation is late October. I'll be special ordering mine as I want 177 rather than 22. Too bad they do not offer it in the green laminate.