Anybody have any experience with a gas spring gun? I've read about them - sounds nifty, as steel springs will fatigue whereas compressed air molecules won't. The idea is they'd be better for hunting, as you can keep it cocked for long periods without any loss of function.

http://www.airgunwarehouseinc.com/py-1509-3217.html

I've got a couple of CO2 cartridge Walther pistols. They're not much but I get a kick out of them.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I haven't shot a spring air gun, cmac, but they are very powerful. They also kick from the movement of the piston, from what I read about them.

I have a CO2 Walther C99, which is very fun to shoot. But you're right, there's no power there.

Edit: I just noticed "gas spring" but what I wrote above would still be correct for the spring air. How is that different from precharged air? A piston in the way? Does it kick?

The 'gas spring' label is a bit confusing, as steel springs push atmospheric gas to push the pellet in a normal cocked air gun. The gas spring gun has a sealed chamber of some gas, not sure what kind, that is compressed when the barrel is cocked. That bit of compressed air acts like a cocked steel spring, ready to fly forward, pushing a piston to push atmospheric gas to push the pellet.

Apparently, the molecular/atomic electric forces that govern air molecules' behavior don't fatigue the way a steel spring will. I've never owned even a steel spring, barrel cocked gun so I'm not sure how much the steel spring will fatigue if you leave it cocked for say, an hour or so.

I did, of course, have some rough BB guns in my youth (early 60s) and those had to have had steel springs cocked with the small lever, imitation old 30-30 style. Killed many lizards in Roswell, NM with those things. Sorta pointless but kids do that.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

They are custom guns that would be built any way you want them, the bottom link to Quackenbush has guns that are in the $500-1000 range.

The interesting thing about these large caliber guns is some of the game that they take with them, whitetails, hogs, etc. on the Quackenbush home page there is a buffalo! They're shooting 3-500 grain slugs at 700+ fps!

The bottom link says that they are taking no orders until further notice.

http://www.pyramydair.com/cgi-bin/model.pl?model_id=1524

Scroll down, they describe some of the benefits of the gas spring setup.

Here's a bit from Wiki about the gas spring:

Gas Spring

Some makes of air rifle (e.g. Weihrauch, Theoben) incorporate a gas spring in some models instead of a mechanical spring. Pressurized air or nitrogen is held in a special chamber built into the piston, and this air is further pressurized when the gun is cocked. It is, in effect, a gas spring commonly referred to as a "gas ram" or "gas strut".

Gas spring units require higher precision to build, since they require a low friction sliding seal that can withstand the high pressures when cocked. Gas spring units are available as an upgrade for some popular models such as the Weirauch HW80 like the Crosman 766C American Classic air rifle and the Arowsmith 876 Magnum rifle. The advantages of the gas spring include the facility to keep the rifle cocked and ready to fire for long periods of time without harming the mechanism. Also, since there is no spring (and therefore a reduction in moving mass during firing) there is less (although some say slightly sharper), recoil.

There is also an elimination of the associated problems of long-term spring fatigue and a faster "lock time" (the time between pulling the trigger and the pellet being discharged). The improvement in lock time makes for better accuracy since there is less time for the gun to move off target. Finally, gas springs are practically maintenance free and last longer than conventional metal springs (research test ch1208), however they are an order of magnitude more expensive when they do need replacement.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K