@Aftermath $10k is
very steep for someone just starting to get into airguns. For folks that may not be sure that airguns are for them, you can get your feet wet for around half the price and still have a decent setup (look into an FX Impact, FX Maverick, RAW HM1000, AAA Evol, or BRK Ghost, a case for your rifle, a SCBA, tank, a bag for your SCBA tank, a few sleeves of pellets, maybe a couple extra magazines (these can get pricey), a decent bipod or tripod and ball head (if you don’t own one). If you already have decent glass with Mildot or MOA reticles, no need to worry about purchasing an additional scope or rigs/mount. It’s very desirable to have a scope that focuses down to 10 yards on the parallax knob. As for an air source, when I started I purchased and used a carbon fiber 4500 psi SCBA tank for a year making trips to a dive shop once every week or two to refill it. The tank cost me around $500 and refills were $20 to fill from empty and $12 to top it off. Then I bought a small portable compressor that is capable of directly filling an airgun reservoir, I still preferred to fill from my SCBA tank. When I knew I was committed to this hobby, I purchased a dive-quality compressor after much thought and research. This thing should last as long as I am able to shoot.
A top of the line personal compressor capable of filling a 4500 psi SCBA tank would be a Bauer Junior II (German made, distributed out of Virginia) which will probably run you around $5500 new before shipping. An Alkin W31 Mariner (Turkish made, Assembled in New Jersey) is not far behind it and they go for around $4500 before shipping. A slight step down would be a Coltri MCH6 or a Coltri Icon (Italian made, distributed out of California). I’m not sure what Coltris go for now, but I suspect they cost around $3k-$3500 new. These are 60lbs+ compressors, 3-4 stages, running on 220 volts (I recommend the 220V configuration). Shipping should run you $200-$300 on a new HPA compressor. Anything else would be somewhat of a gamble in my eyes, but there are many differing opinions. There are cheaper Chinese made units that start around $400. To me they are a crap shoot. Double check these HPA compressor prices because it’s been awhile since I looked. If you have any questions about getting into airguns, feel free to message me. I’ll try to answer questions that I’m capable of answering. As another member mentioned, Dairyboy is a good guy to ask if he’s around.
