Hi Vinny,
I got into air rifles a couple of years ago and like most, if not all of the other members, I became addicted to the sport from the first trigger pull. At last count I have 30 springers of assorted make, model, power and cost, and I love every one of em. I am also one of those people that put my powder burner shotguns and rifles back in the gun safe and now do almost all my small game hunting with air rifles, and yes, it certainly has made me a better, more accurate hunter due to the challenges presented by air rifle hunting. I love my springers and will continue to do most of my small game hunting with them, however I just recently purchased my first PCP, an Air Force Talon in .22 which I must say I absolutely love and which I purchased specifically for small game hunting.
The Talons weight and overall size make it much easier to carry for long periods in the woods, it's simplicity to load makes a fast follow up shot very easy, the power adjustment feature of the rifle permits me to dial in the level of power I need or want for specific hunting situations and of course it provides me with added power and effective hunting range. All this is of course combined with the fact that PCP's are generally much easier to shoot accurately. All this being said though I have to add that I didn't buy the PCP to replace my springers and it never will. I will continue to hunt primarily with my springers but I now have another hunting tool at my disposal that offers me a different aspect of small game air gun hunting for those times that I choose to use it.
I got into the PCP thing out of love for the sport of air rifles. PCP's offered me an opportunity to explore an area of air gunning that was entirely new and exciting to me. I won't say it rekindled my excitement regarding air rifles because I've never lost any of the excitement that the sport holds for me, rather it was just like adding another log to an already roaring campfire. Exploring the PCP aspect of air gunning will provide me with the opportunity to further develop my air gunning experience and knowledge and at the same time help me do what I love the most,,,,, hunt small game with air rifles.
I have no doubt I will purchase another PCP,,, matter of fact I've already decided on what my next PCP rifle purchase will be, but I also know I'll be buying more springers as well and I'll be out hunting with both types of rifles
I'm glad I got into PCP's as I can now enjoy both aspects of air gunning whenever I want. Anyway,,, that's my story and I'm stickin to it
Jeff