Are the customs worth the price?
Been lurking on here because a buddy of mine shelled out a heap of cash for a custom condor that he is waiting for. my question to everyone is it really worth it to soup these guns up or are they so bad stock that you have to?
i like my toys and for me those are powderburners since my background is military but something to shoot around the woods has me interested. i can see the “shroud” being a big plus but what about the rest? going to get one of these but wondering if it’s worth it for the extras. if i get convinced by shooting his gun or by you fine folks then i’ll go for broke and get me one of those customs.
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First thing they tell you to do is send it to AZ and dump several hundred more into it and then replace the valve and have a quick fill added for a few hundred more….lol
My friend was right and this is a great bunch of guys on here. reading through here has changed my view on airguns alot. the only thing that seems to be a downside is having enough air when your out playing. i like the part about being able to change calibers with drop in barrels also which is pretty cool. My friend is going nuts waiting for his and i’m starting to feel pretty anxious also. he said that he is thinking about one of those carbon fiber tanks but jeees they are 500+ ouch. but that would solve the air problem as long as you want to lug that thing out with you or a pump. can’t wait to try this thing.
…still love my Condor though…
Just buy a RAPID and be happy FOREVER!
in response to your first “question”, do the af guns have to be modified to shoot well? the answer is no. In response to second, are the mods worth the money, yes. Just comes down to budget, full custom right out of the box the way you want it, or start with a basic setup and add/change things as money and desire permits.
As already mentioned, one of the best things about the Talon/Condor is their versatility. I started with a .177 talonss with just a scope and hand pump. (price still made me choke, you’re not alone) Shot better than any other airgun I had ever owned. A year later, I wanted more range/impact and didn’t mind a longer gun so I went for a 24″ .22 BBL with a basic shroud as an upgrade. Paydirt! Loved it. Trigger wasn’t up to standard with my 10/22 so added adjustment screws (probably best mod I have done to mine). A year later I decided I wanted a 100+ yard airgun, so a call to TALONTUNES and now I’ve got a 65+fpe .25 cal talon with custom shroud that is quieter than most 12ftlb co2 airguns. and at any given time in just a few minutes I can change it back to any of the previous configurations. IE. Wintertime, too cold to shoot outside; in goes the .177 bbl and grab the co2 tank instead of the HPA and now it’s a nice quiet low energy gun suitable for shooting INSIDE the garage.
At this point I now have 3 af guns, two talons one in .25 and one stock with just a trigger mod in .177; and a Condor which has a 9mm conversion in it (want to do some hog hunting this fall). I get just as much enjoyment out of the stock gun as I do the modded ones, depending on my mood and the type of shooting I want to do on any given evening.
Part of the fun for me has been the Journey to get the gun doing what I wanted to do and having the versatility to change it back to a previous configuration at any given time. The Talon/Condor can be not just an airgun, but a shooting system, depending on your desire.
Even with only one gun, my possible current combonations of barrel, tank, valve, air or co2 would be the equivilant of having purchased 8-10 different guns of different brands, each costing as much as my initial investment.
If you just want one gun and don’t want to tinker, WAIT, shoot your friend’s gun, see what you like or would like to change about it, and have a custom gun setup just the way you want it. If you like to tinker, don’t have the initial budget, or just want to get started with an AF gun and not overinvest until you know you like it, buy a stock talonss and rest assured that you can change/modify/add on at any given time until it makes you happy.
JGS; I’ve a stock condor with an AIRHOG shroud. I’m completely happy with the weapon. I used it in Iraq to kill…things. Because of this when I came home I purchased a Talon for close in, wet work on rodents. It doesn’t have a safety but that’s the only thing not stock on the short rifle. I also have a .25 Talon/Condor beast with an Anthony 266 moderator. I use this last weapon for scaring small children and killing crows at ranges that would make our grandfathers proud. AKULA
Hi JGS, Welcome!
Waiting to shoot you friend’s gun is a great idea. Most of the time we purchase guns, (air or powder), without getting to try them first. It’s a leap of faith kind of thing.
I have a stock Talon SS that I have adjusted the tophat, and quieted with the addition of some baffles in the frame. It shoots well. It is powerful enough for me. I differ from most of my friends here in that I shoot more short distance. I have pests that I eliminate at ranges of 15 to 50 feet. That’s close! I finally settled with a 4x Bug Buster scope that does what I need it to do at those distances with minimal adjustment.
Depending on which pellet I use, it will shoot right through a ground squirrels head at 35 feet everytime. My gun doesn’t seem to be picky about what it shoots accuately, (probably because of the short distances that I shoot). My favorite is a .22 caliber Beeman Crow Magnum with a cross cut into the hollow point cavity. This produces an expansion comparable to a pistol bullet! One shot stops. š
I started with a Benjamin 392 that I still enjoy, but I wanted more power. So I tried some different spring guns and was not happy with them for many reasons. The idea of spending $800 on an airgun was stupifying to me, (gun, tri-rail, scope, pump, scuba tank$$$). But now that I have done it, I am pleased that I did.
Some here have ponyed up the money and purchased such notable airguns as the Daystate Air Wolf. Wow! I’m impressed! Others enjoy Air Arms models, (Google these and check out the Other Guns section on this forum). These are accurate, beautiful, and powerful airguns. It comes down to how much money do you want to spend; like building an engine. But I think that you are going to get hooked on your friend’s rifle.
Do you need a custom gun….NO you don’t. Most Airforce users shoot them stock and are perfectly happy.
I shot my Talon SS bone stock with no performance modifications at all. I adjusted the tophat for fine tunning but even that was a choice and not a requirement. I used it this way for several years and never did any performance mods until recently. I did replace the grip and trigger guard along with the shoulder piece for comfort and because it looks Bad Ass.
I shoot with my son a lot and out in the woods we use an Air Arms 410 and Talon SS. The 410 had a flatter trajectory and shot harder then the Talon. My son usually used the Talon SS and at 70 yds to 100 yds it was harder to hit the targets then with the 410. So I decided to get the Talon SS hotroded to match the performance of the 410. I added a 16″ barrel and ported and polished the valve. I added a custom shroud to keep it quiet. Now it is neck and neck with the 410 and when if I ask my son if he wants to shoot the 410 he says “Naw” no need.
So customizing your gun is a personal thing. I am not into big bore or .25 cal but that is the beauty of this platform. YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH IT….the gun can be made into anything you want form a .177 with a 12″ to a .308 with 24″ barrel.
As for the Talon SS I would have never thought of changing the barrel at all if I was not shooting over 70 yds.
BTW the barrel and shroud were made by Talon Tunes and tranformed the gun into what I consider the perfect Airforce rifle set up.
You guys act quick on here as i just posted that a little bit ago. that was a great commentary and i’m looking to see if you work for them or not – just kidding š
All i can say is that i’m going to pour over these stories but i’m leaning more to one side now and that is a fun gun with more trigger time which by the way was a excellent way of putting it Chad.
That was great and just about sums up 99% of what airgunning is about.
It’s not so much that the modifications are needed as it is they’re available. Think of it like a stock Ruger 10/22. Out of the box, the thing is a great little rifle, but there are countless aftermarket accessories and mods you can do to make it downright spectacular. Not too many platforms are scalable like the Airforce and Ruger rifles. Do you need to spend a grand to make it a stud? Nope. But I’ll say this: It’s cheaper to pay the money up front and have all the mods done by Tony at th onset than it is to nickle-and-dime your way there. Buy the gun from him, have him do whatever tunes and mods your heart desires and your pocketbook allows, and only ship the gun once. There’s not much that the custom tuners do that you can’t do yourself, if you have a lot of expensive equipment years of experience on the Airforce platform. If you lack either, it’d be a lot cheaper to rely on somebody that knows what he’s doing.
You’ll have people tell you that for the money it takes to fully trick out an Airforce rifle, you could have just about bought a European PCP. Or that you can buy 3 to 5 powder burners. They’d be right. Just something to think about. Remember, these guns are so popular because they’re CHEAP, compared to Euro PCPs. That’s what got so many people involved with them in the first place. Tuners figured out how to wring every bit of performance out of the platform that it has to offer and that costs money. Owners figured out that a couple hundred dollars more brings them into the realm of these expensive Euros, and in a lot of cases, from a shear grunting power standpoint, we surpass the Euros. Not to mention doing it far more quietly than the Euros.
I’ll tell you from my perspective and limited experience. I’m a 10/22 guy. But I don’t often have opportunity to get out where I can shoot powder burners (legally). But I’ve got my little Talon SS tricked out to push JSB Predators thru a hushed 18″ barrel at well over 800 fps for about 30 shots. By my estimation, I’m running 1/4 the horsepower of a Ruger, but I’m getting 1000% more trigger time and fun, because I can shoot damn near anywhere with it. It’s not a tack-driver, but I can perferate saltine crackers routinely at 100 yards, if I’m so inclined. It’s minute-of-squirrel accurate. That’s good enough for me.
If you don’t need an airgun, don’t buy one. If you want one, and you want it customized to YOUR needs, an Airforce rifle may be up your alley. It’s really your call. I’ve tried not to persuade you one way or the other, because honestly, I’m no Airforce evangelist. Just trying to tell you what little I know, as so many did when I was looking to make the leap.
Welcome to the forum.
Iām a hack when it comes to marksmanship and can appreciate the difference between a tuned and stock gun. As to mods, it depends on how far you want to go.
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I’ve heard about it, too.