Newbie here, interested.

Hey, right now I have a few springers, but my interest in PCP has been growing.  I emailed straight shooters, but you guys can chime in if you want to.  Thanks, I know I ask a lot of questions here on this forum >.<

Hey, I'm curious about PCP's.  I've been looking at the air force talon SS for some time now.  1, because it sounds like it is quiet enough for back yard use, yet still packs a punch for pest control.  2, I've heard it is very accurate.  3, not too expensive.  I have a few questions about the gun, and was hoping you would be able to give me a little help here.  All my questions pertain to .177 caliber.

Is it possible to pump the tank manually?  I'm about 6ft 145lb and don't mind a workout, but do you think I would be able to repeatedly pump this rifle up without too much of a strugle?

How many shots per fill can you get, at a reasonable plinking setting, at say 12-14 ft/lb in .177.  

What's the lowest setting, and how many shots could you get at that setting?

Approx. how many pump strokes would be required to re-fill the tank after you start loosing velocity?

Finally, is this gun a good deal for the price?  Would buying used be ok?

Thank you straight shooters, your always so helpful.  
Josh.

WELCOME JOSH.....The TALON SS is a nice,reasonably priced  PCP Rifle.....It is very accurate,with excellent power(adjustable H-M-L power)as far as being quiet,you can hear the gun,even after adjusting the power it still has some loudness,not that bad,you will be trading much power for the noise reduction...I think that .22 is a better fit for the gun......Yes you can fill it with a pump,if you don't mind a little workout(5mins)...if you fill it from scratch it will probably take aprox.140 pumps..it isn't as bad as it sounds....you can get about 35-40 decent shots,the idea is not to allow the gun to go empty,whatever the actual shot count is,I would shoot about 1/2 of that & than pump it up again...it will be much less of a workout.......eventually you shoul get a scuba tank......buying used is fine,just as a new one,if the person selling it took good care of it......plus you can save a few bucks.......GOOD LUCK!

Hey Josh I have a Talon SS in .177 she now has 86 Rats on her and I must say she is a beast, I have a .22 barrel on the way. The gun is slightly loud but with very simple mod's you can make her quite quiet. on a 2500 psi fill I get like 25 power shots but I'm sure I could get 10 more I just stop at 25 plus my scuba tank is only a 80cf so it will only get me to 25-2600psi on my airforce tank. At 20 yards I can send pellets in the same hole using a rest, and she is ultra mod-able I have a Gamo Big Cat that I have'nt touched since I've had my Talon SS basicly because I can now follow threw in the scope when hunting and that is the best part about this gun no recoil. If you get a chance come visit TALONAIRGUN.COM there is a wealth of knowledge there on this brand. any onthe questions pm me.

[daved]

Hey, Josh, welcome to the Dark Side :-).  The Talon SS is a great little gun, I now have two and those are my only airguns at the moment.  One is set up with a 12" .177 barrel, the other has a 24" .22 barrel.  Anyway, on to your questions.

Can't help much with pumping, I'm too lazy, fill from an industrial high pressure nitrogen cylinder.  I do know the initial fill from empty is no fun, but after that, I've heard it's not too bad.  Maybe Dano will jump in, he uses a pump for everything, and used to have an SS.

Tell you the truth, getting even a .177 SS down to 12-14 fpe is a bit of a challenge.  I've got mine turned down a bit, and it's still pushing 10.5 gr. pellets at 900 fps or so.  That's closer to 20 fpe.  At that, I still get 40 or so full power shots, turned down to what you're looking at and with a ligher pellet, you could easily see 50 or more shots with a really good curve.

You CAN get them down to maybe 5 or 6 fpe, but they're not real consistent there on air.  Switch to a MicroMeter tank or CO2, and you'd be fine.  Very quiet, LOTS of shots, and good consistency.

Buying used can be an excellent way to go, I've gotten both of mine in trades for other guns, and was able to twist Dano's arm into selling my brother his :-).  And for what a new one goes for, I think they're a good deal.  American made, accurate, powerful, decent trigger, and very moddable, if you can get past the ergonomics of the tank/butt they're great little guns.  I'd definitely recommend an SS over the regular Talon or a Condor, and then add other barrels as you want or need them.  Any other questions, you know how to reach me :-).

Dave

[Archon]

I am brand new here, and have just ordered a Benjamin Discovery .22 w/pump.  It's supposed to ship later this month.  You can find some pretty in-depth reviews out there, but honestly you sound like you are in the same boat as me... some spring-piston experience, and a burning desire for a PCP  heheh.  This rifle supposedly takes around 100 pumps (I am seeing it's probably 110ish) to get it to 2,000 PSI, where it wants to be (unlike most/all of the other PCPs on the market that pump to 3,000).  Looks like a damn good weapon for under $400.

It is, however, BRAND NEW, so keep that in mind.

[johncedarhill]

I second what Dave posted. The talon is a good sized tank. I do not think I would like pumping that much. I got a pump with my solo and got tired of it very fast. Dave has the right idea about the micro tank for .177. A talon ss at full power is louder than you would expect. I was surprised if not shocked when I got my ss in .22 last fall. You will no doubt have to do some fiddling around to get to the point that you want regarding power and noise.