PCP Questi&#111;ns

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 5:28pm

The crosman I'm looking at is like 65cc from memory, so a pump my be my cheaper option, 😎👍

Mintie

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 5:19pm

For a small air tank like a PCP pistol a hand pump is fine. Cheap as chips and easy enough to pump it up, the problem with using a hand pump is more if you are filling bigger tanks to higher pressure - they become a painful exercise!

Most PCP pistols are about 50cc and usually only 200-250 bar, some PCP rifles are up to 700cc and 300bar which is a totally different story.

Having said that a compressor is a great investment and once you have it there is little barrier to buying more PCP's. I have been running a Yong Heng for the last 4 years or so and it has been fantastic! It is happy to fill up bottles or do direct gun fills. I had a few Tuxing and other brands in the past but they were all trouble. The YH one is under $1000 landed and will last a long time.

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 5:05pm

Where abouts do you shoot in Nelson/Richmond?

Kris

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 4:59pm

Hey Paul, yeah a really cool gun, yes it's got a LW barrel, but with my question I've realized I need to shell out plenty more than I'd initially thought. Regarding compressor,

Not sure if I shoot enough to justify the expense.

I've just built a 2240 with the same a 10.1 inch LW barrel and 2 stage trigger group as the 1701p, which is inanely accurate,

I've applied for a Permit to Import for the 1701p which is valid for 12 months so hopefully I've won lotto by then,

Kris

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 4:58pm

Brass is $7.5 a kg at the moment LOL

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 4:53pm

It does add costs...and I went through this with my indoor benchrest.

The cost of the pump was less than me continuing shooting with a .22 rimfire for less than 2 years, and at the end of that time instead of a whole lot of empty cases swept up and tossed I still had a pump to sell one day to recoup most of my setup costs.

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 4:48pm

Thanks for the links, I never really put much thought into PCP pumps, it definitely adds an extra layer of cosrs to the initial set up, certainly given me plenty to think about.

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Posted: 04 Feb 2026 at 6:15am

That'll be a nice gun. I think they have a Lothar Walthar barrel.

For compressors I have a GX CS4. Had it a couple, maybe 3 years now and no issues. I only fill directly to my guns and it is 12v with a converter, so it can be powered off a car battery in the field if required.

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Posted: 03 Feb 2026 at 4:31pm

The pistol I'm looking at is a Crosman 1701p has a 65cc tank.

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Posted: 03 Feb 2026 at 4:30pm

For what you're doing this may be a good option. We have a water-cooled version at our gun club which has been very reliable and gets quite a bit of use. Limitations are that it runs on 220V and is not big enough to fill a storage cylinder that you may want to take with you.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004296712406.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.22.51047510BbVZoL&algo_pvid=cc429314-8a41-447b-91e8-817c69046e1e&algo_exp_id=cc429314-8a41-447b-91e8-817c69046e1e-21&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%22117%22%2C%22spu_best_type%22%3A%22price%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21NZD%21644.33%21322.17%21%21%21380.36%21190.18%21%40210311cc17700912506964777e8d12%2112000036119929497%21sea%21NZ%21168182036%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A51d2aeff%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&curPageLogUid=Rufo3H7FJrhZ&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005004296712406%7C_p_origin_prod%3A

My own compressor that I use to fill a 10L bottle from which I then top up my guns is a water-cooled V-twin Tuxing. It has been nothing but trouble and I've spent far too many hours carrying out repairs and replaced a lot of parts. It recently cooked itself when the water pump failed so I've converted it to a 12V pump with a flow switch and relay so that the compressor pump will stop if there is no flow return from either another failed pump or a disconnected hose (which can happen if a head gasket leaks or fails). I bought it cheap off AE 2-3 years ago and suspect that it was a used pump housed in a new frame as it broke the inlet reed on the low pressure side in relatively short time. The debris that went through and did a fair bit of damage. I'll keep it though as I know it inside and out, the parts are plentiful and cheap and it does the job.

Even though we also have one of these at the club that is older than mine and has been pretty much trouble free, I wouldn't buy another or recommend it.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008047385036.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.6.36bbPZoSPZoSl5&algo_pvid=7292a2ea-efc8-4744-8a30-8607240f9496&algo_exp_id=7292a2ea-efc8-4744-8a30-8607240f9496-5&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%221%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21NZD%211321.74%211070.60%21%21%21780.25%21632.00%21%402101e81117700919567383460eaaa5%2112000052603309198%21sea%21NZ%21168182036%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A51d2aeff%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&curPageLogUid=swQshhBRxH1w&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005008047385036%7C_p_origin_prod%3A

My 10L tank is a carbon fibre/aluminium composite bottle (I have a dodgy back and the previous steel one was far too heavy for me to move around). I took it to the local fill centre once for the initial fill, but it's nearly a 90 minute round trip for me. When I saw how they filled them and the sad condition of the Fire Service BA carbon bottles I decided that I needed my own compressor.

This is probably your best bet but make sure you get one with auto-shut-off. I'm not certain that this one has. If you only have a pistol, this will be more than adequate and a lot easier to use than a hand pump!

https://www.guncity.com/pcp-air-compressor-12v-250w-376381

Edited by KiwiTR6 - 04 Feb 2026 at 12:20pm

Daystate Red Wolf .22
FX Dreamline .22
Diana Outlaw .22
AA S410 .22
HW98 .177
HW30 .177
Diana 340 E-Tec .177
FWB Sport 124 .177
Gamo 900 .22
Baikal IJ-22 .177
Crosman 2240 Custom .22
Brocock GP .22

Grey Kiwi

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Posted: 03 Feb 2026 at 3:27pm

My rifle only has a 220cc cylinder (but it is single shot target rifle).

Huma Air has a PCP pistol with 480cc cylinder.

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Posted: 03 Feb 2026 at 3:13pm

Whats the difference in size between a pcp pistol air cylinder and pcp rifle air cyclinder?

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Posted: 03 Feb 2026 at 2:36pm

I went through this a while ago, and decided that buying my own compressor was best.

I only fill direct to gun, but have a pump that will do a cylinder.

Firstly, a dive shop will only fill a certified tank, and that needs to certified every 12 months (?), then a more expensive test every 5 years (?).

In Richmond they quoted me $30 to fill or top up a tank.

So...first I bought a GX CS4 compressor. Water cooled, 5+ hours run time, can run off 220 volts and 12 volts (portable).

But about a year later I decided to get something 'better' (maybe) and sold the CS4 to buy a Hills Evo-310 pump (ex UK).

The CS4 will pump up to 4500psi easily. The Hill's only 3000psi..but I only need 2000psi anyway.

Your options are a GX CS2, CS3, or CS4 really, and for the money I think the CS4 is better (CS2 and CS3 are air cooled but both also are 220v and 12v).

https://gxpumpofficial.com/

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Posted: 03 Feb 2026 at 9:17am

I think its the other way around. The further back from the valve the hammer is, the more compressed the spring that drives the hammer forward is. That gives more compression on the spring hence more power. It also allows the a tad more travel to build up speed.
That means it hits the valve stem harder ( or just say the valve if your not sure where the valve stem fits in the picture)
The harder the valve is hit, the further back into the pressurized air it is pushed. That means the valve is open longer and more air can eacape into the barrel.
Note we are talking about tiny amounts of time this happens in. A few thousandths of a seconds open longer makes a difference to high pressure air escaping into the barrel.

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