PCP ( PerCharged Pneumatic) airguns and rifles work very similar to a C02 gun. The major difference is the driving force. A C02 rifle produced several hundred pounds of pressure that drives the pellet, the normal C02 cylinder is small. The PCP rifle uses C02 or Air and is built with a large high pressure chamber inside the rifle, sometimes it's a large bottle. This chamber is charged to between 2000 and 3000 PSI with a pump or Scuba tank. This extreme pressure fires the pellet at a very high velocity and because of the extreme pressure it can fire larger pellets than a normal .177 air rifle. Some PCP's models can fire a 50 Caliber pellet and bring down a deer or moose. In truth this class of air rifles (PCP's) are the same as real rifles
There called C02 air rifles or PCP air rifles
See the link Below
Walther gets my vote. --------------------- New Answer--------------------------------------------------------- The finest .177 calibre air rifles are Olympic Competition .177 air rifles. These will fall to the Feinwerkbau line of Olympic rifles. However these are not cheap. The average cost is around $2500. Next in line are rifles made by AirForce airguns. Benjamin PCP airguns, Webley & Scott PCP air guns, Daystate LTD airguns and a few other PCP (PreCharged Pneumatin) air gun companies. Crosman, Gamo and Avante make fine air guns and rifles but are not as accurate as the ones previously mentioned.
Don't put as much air in the rifle. If you have a dial to set the power then use it. As you shot the power drops. You can dry fire some PCP air rifles.
Yes If it's a 50 Cal PCP Air Rifle. PCP's (PeCharges Pneumatic) air rifles & guns are designed to hold a pressure of 2000 to 3000 PSI and can take down large game like Deer and Elk. PCP also come in 45 Cal and 9mm along with .177, .20, .22 & .25 Caliber. PCP's are the high end of Air rifles and guns.
If the psi is turned up too high, there's a regulation limit. ---------------- new answer-------------------- In the USA there is no regulation limit. However in Canada and the UK there is. In the US you will find that there is a large selection of PCP air rifles that are charged to 3000 PSI and fire a 50 caliber pellet. These PCP class air rifles are capable of bringing down a Boar and Yes they can kill you. Even the smaller ones can kill you. PCP=PreCharged Pneumatic (See the link below) Airsoft air rifles are designed to not kill you and are considered toys but do hurt.
The most expensive air rifles fall into the Olympic competition class of air rifles like the makers of "Anschutz" rifles. These are the PCP class rifles (Precharged Pneumatic Guns) they use a scuba tank to charge the rifle. The cost can exceed $2,500. They are not normally for the home user. They are designed for Olympic shooting. There are some less expensive PCP rifles for the average user like the ones made by "Webley & Scott" that retail around $900. Most any PCP rifle or gun is going to be expensive. Plus you have to incur the price of the scuba tank or pump to charge it, this can cost around an additional $300. Unless you want to use a hand pump and that will require a lot of back work. Crosman has just introduced a low-end PCP rifle in their "Benjamin" line of air rifles.
Check the PCP rifles at: http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/show.pl?cmd_category=show&category_id=2 New ones come out every so often. PCP's will have the highest PSI of all air rifles. They use a Scuba tank to charge them.
The most powerful .25 Cal would fall into the PCP (PreCharged Pneumatic) class of air rifles like the Marauder or Condor 25 cal. PCP's require a special compressor, Hand Pump or Scuba tank to charge them to 3,000 PSI. To give you an example a C02 Powerlett holds only 800 PSI. However there are even more air rifles that are larger calibers like the Sam Yang 50 caliber that are also PCP class air rifles. Some of the air gun companies are starting to make less powerful .25 caliber "Springer" air rifles like the Hatsan model 95 SAS that is very well made and cost around $150. PCP class air rifles usually cost around $300 and up, PLUS the charging system that can add another $100 to $300 to the final price.
Because of the nature of the PCP power plant I suggest you search the net and look for air gun repair or air gun tune-up. There are shops that tune up air rifles and modify them.
In order to bring down big game you will need a high end air rifle. These rifles are in the PCP (PreCharged Pneumatic) class of air rifles. Most air rifles are made in the .177 caliber, too small for large game hunting. But PCP air rifles are made in all size caliber's. You will find them in .177, .20, .22, .25, 9mm, 357 cal, 45 Cal and 50 Caliber. The last 2 sizes are capable of bring down large game. These rifles can be expensive and require a special pump or Scuba tank to charge them to 2000 to 3000 PSI. You will get around 30 to 40 shots per charge. See the link below for various different model PCP air rifles.
Yes you do. Also a recent law requires all owners of PCP air rifles to register them. ( High powered air rifles.) See the link below.