Pre charge and long periods unused

[ROB_GTR]

Hi.
I’ve been looking at getting a PCP rifle but it crossed my mind whether it being unused for reasonably long periods would it cause damage or raise any issues?

Until now I’ve only ever had springers so never had any worries.

 

[Whitevanman]

Over a long period some might leak to empty..some might not.

 

[Meal Dot]

What do you call a long period?

 

[Neil54]

They do like to be used.
Leaving it under the bed for a few years is not good.

 

[That hurts]

They should be left charged at 100-150 bar and cycled every few weeks, but can be left for surprisingly long periods. Also give a good rub over with and oily cloth and don't store in a closed slip if there are likely to be big temperature variations

 

[Daveyjones]

i had a falcon fn12 for 15 yrs it was stored in my wardrobe it only had about 1000 pellets through it in that time it could go 3to5 yrs without being taken out of cupboard never leaked or lost air once.in that time it never got stripped or had a seal change

 

[ROB_GTR]

What do you call a long period?

Month or 2 at a time. Possibly the odd 4-6 month stretch.

 

[2506sendero]

It's impossible to predict whether any PCP will lose air or not, but one thing that can be said with certainty is that it is usually brand dependant.

 

[Meal Dot]

Month or 2 at a time. Possibly the odd 4-6 month stretch.

Why leave it unused for that long?

 

[Wizzygoth]

It really depends on the gun.
I know of a AGT Vulcan, left for over two yeas. When the chap returned to the UK, it was still at the same pressure

 

[2506sendero]

It really depends on the gun.
I know of a AGT Vulcan, left for over two yeas. When the chap returned to the UK, it was still at the same pressure

My Leshiy is the same, it just refuses to leak.

 

[ROB_GTR]

i had a falcon fn12 for 15 yrs it was stored in my wardrobe it only had about 1000 pellets through it in that time it could go 3to5 yrs without being taken out of cupboard never leaked or lost air once.in that time it never got stripped or had a seal change

That’s encouraging

 

[Wizzygoth]

My Leshiy is the same, it just refuses to leak.

Unlike my Skout Epoch....just look away for a few seconds and it's losing air

 

[ROB_GTR]

Why leave it unused for that long?

Just don’t have a great of use for it on a regular basis.
Mostly pest control and the odd bit of fun targets now and then

 

[ColinD]

Have a Steyr Challenge that gets left for long periods of no shooting, luck has it I can unscrew the cylinder and de pressurise the regulator as it has a removeable cylinder

 

[J4M3S]

I don't use my viper all that often, but I like blank fire it a few times every couple of weeks. Someone once told me this is useful, but I've no idea if that's right or not. It's still holding air anyway

 

[AirArmsDavid]

Two of my rifles were left 7yrs under the bed.
When next shot, the AA GML S400 had 100BAR in it and was spot on zero at 35yds.
My regged Bowkett Hornet however was dead. Had to get a JB service done, now it's fine... but for how long?
My take on this? Unregged can survive longer than regged when left for long periods.

 

[nikvanorton]

Another Falcon - had it in my wardrobe for 10 years and it never leaked a bit. Shot beautifully.

If your PCP does leak eventually, it's going to be an o ring or the valve - both not expensive or complicated to replace.

 

[Philthunder]

Many of my guns have been left for a year or two, came out fully pressurised.. Then again some have lost pressure before they were put away not British I might add.

 

[Peddy]

All my guns including springers get shot at least a few times a month even if it’s just in my pellet trap in the bedroom for a few shots. I always leave my pcps fully charged and stored in open gun rack in a spare bedroom at room temperature. Rarely have an issue.