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GTWGREAT GEAR [PCP Airguns]


PCPairguns – pre-charge A


Although they have been around for a long time,PCPair


rifles – also known as Pre-Charged


Pneumatics – have become the airgun


industry’s petduring the lastdecade. It’s


time toconsiderwhat PCPs are all about.


long with PCPs there are a number of ways to power


an airgun, among themspring piston, nitro piston and CO2. Tat said,PCP essentially refers to the way the air rifle is powered. All PCP rifles come equipped


with an air reservoir, allowing it to ‘hold on to’ a certain amount of compressed air. Each time the rifle is cocked


and the trigger is pulled,part of the compressed air inside the reservoir is released through a valve. Te compressed air thus


released wants to find a way out, looks for the path of least resistance,which is through the barrel, and pushes a pellet out with it. Te idea behind PCPs is that,


with each shot, they consume less compressed air than is readily available in the reservoir, offering the possibility ofmultiple shots with one ‘fill’. Obviously, after each shot,


the amount of compressed air in 42 www.guntradeworld.com


the reservoir is slightly reduced. More technically put, during the PCP firing cycle, once the trigger is pulled, a valve is hit by a hammer,which opens and releases compressed air.Having no other way to go than where we want it to, the compressed air is put behind a pellet, inside the barrel or in amagazine, propelling the pellet out of the barrel. Terefore a PCP works by


a fine balancing act of valve size, hammer strength and the pressure inside the compressed air reservoir.


SPOILT FOR CHOICE


Gone are the days when only a handful of PCPmodels were available.Althoughmany new, dedicated PCP brands have sprung up, venerable names formerly only offering traditional spring-piston airguns have also entered the PCPmarket. What is really interesting to


see is the sheer choice one has, not only regarding brands and models but also action types and calibres. Bolt-action types remain


standard issue, yet PCP air rifles offering semi-automatic and even fully automatic firing are readily available as well. Calibre-wise, everything goes


from.177 to .50 and up.Taking into account the power PCPs are able to generate, (very) large- calibre air rifles are not the stuff of dreams anymore.Tey do remain an exception, however, because .22 and .25 are the bread-and-butter calibres of the PCP world.


ACCURACYKINGS


Pre-charged pneumatics are synonymous with top-notch accuracy.Te big advantage is that they are completely free of vibration. A powerful spring-powered airgun is farmore difficult to


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