prairie Falcon PF18 B MB .177

[jamtuner]

This rifle was bought in place of a BSA Hornet which just about destroyed
My faith in pcp's,(this one was a real dog, just the luck of the draw).
As an agricultural contractor We all use airguns, during the winter We do
pest control (moles,rabbits and rats etc).
The Falcon comes with two Mags,quick fill and pressure gauge. In the
box the gun looks nice in it's beech chequed stock.At around 7.2lb unscoped
it is a nice weight and points very well, it seems very solid and well built.
Accuracy is very good at 30 m rested in the barn it was one hole,as it should be for a pcp.
Consistency is as good as they claim for once, equal to and better than some of the more expensive guns We have used in the past.Power out of the box was 11.74-11.62 with H&N FTT and a good 70 shots which isn't too bad.
The plastic mags 8 shot do look a bit cheap, but are very simple with no springs etc inside and at under £10 You can have three for the price of one of many other makes. The bolt action is not the smoothest around as it has to index the mag aswell,but has got much better with use
The bull barrel is about 2/3-3/4 as quite as the standard PF18 which My Brother inlaw has.
In the field it has performed well and does'nt seem to mind getting a rough ride in the tractor(I have'nt bust it yet unlike most things I put on the back).
All in all I think the prairie B is a good value, accurate ,nice looking and above all does'nt mind a bit of dust and the odd bounce about or two.It was'nt My first choice,but think it might be a keeper and very glad I did get it .
Yours sincerely,
James

[Eagleman]

Good review James but these guns are not for me. I had one in .22 and I would agree with every word of your review except when it comes to the Falcon magazines and the cycling / cocking system which I think is absolute pants.

My gun jammed on me twice and double loaded twice. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I'd never buy Falcon again (not that I would buy any PCP again) until and unless they changed their magazines and cocking system. Falcon should learn from Weihrauch who have shown the airgun world how to do it with the HW100.

[rusham]

Good review James but these guns are not for me. I had one in .22 and I would agree with every word of your review except when it comes to the Falcon magazines and the cycling / cocking system which I think is absolute pants.

My gun jammed on me twice and double loaded twice. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I'd never buy Falcon again (not that I would buy any PCP again) until and unless they changed their magazines and cocking system. Falcon should learn from Weihrauch who have shown the airgun world how to do it with the HW100.

Interesting, my FN19 mags have not missed a beat. Simple, cheap and foolproof.



Mind you, the numbers do wear off:rolleyes::D

[magicaxeman]

Good review James but these guns are not for me. I had one in .22 and I would agree with every word of your review except when it comes to the Falcon magazines and the cycling / cocking system which I think is absolute pants.

My gun jammed on me twice and double loaded twice. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I'd never buy Falcon again (not that I would buy any PCP again) until and unless they changed their magazines and cocking system. Falcon should learn from Weihrauch who have shown the airgun world how to do it with the HW100.


What pellets where you using? I had the same problem with accupels but on switching to AA fields and bisley superfields have had no further issues at all.

[Eagleman]

I don't know about "foolproof" Rusham but certainly not "Eagleman proof"! :D

To be honest I can't remember what pellets magicaxeman. The pellets were probably H&N but I can't swear to it.

[fooknmissed]

This rifle was bought in place of a BSA Hornet which just about destroyed
My faith in pcp's,(this one was a real dog, just the luck of the draw).
As an agricultural contractor We all use airguns, during the winter We do
pest control (moles,rabbits and rats etc).
The Falcon comes with two Mags,quick fill and pressure gauge. In the
box the gun looks nice in it's beech chequed stock.At around 7.2lb unscoped
it is a nice weight and points very well, it seems very solid and well built.
Accuracy is very good at 30 m rested in the barn it was one hole,as it should be for a pcp.
Consistency is as good as they claim for once, equal to and better than some of the more expensive guns We have used in the past.Power out of the box was 11.74-11.62 with H&N FTT and a good 70 shots which isn't too bad.
The plastic mags 8 shot do look a bit cheap, but are very simple with no springs etc inside and at under £10 You can have three for the price of one of many other makes. The bolt action is not the smoothest around as it has to index the mag aswell,but has got much better with use
The bull barrel is about 2/3-3/4 as quite as the standard PF18 which My Brother inlaw has.
In the field it has performed well and does'nt seem to mind getting a rough ride in the tractor(I have'nt bust it yet unlike most things I put on the back).
All in all I think the prairie B is a good value, accurate ,nice looking and above all does'nt mind a bit of dust and the odd bounce about or two.It was'nt My first choice,but think it might be a keeper and very glad I did get it .
Yours sincerely,
James
Good review,straight to the point:)

[phil01gunner]

As you are using the gun for vermin, let me do my 2p's worth? The best hunter I've come across is the old FN 19 in .22 using diablo field. It packs a real whack and is very accurate, like groups to a 50p piece @ 40 yds.

[Cyber_Prelude]

very good review. imo, the best magazines available are the daystate ones. I haven't had one mis-feed or jam on me yet and its soooo smooth....!!:D

[rich_morris]

Hi,

Might be wrong, but I have just been reading that the latest Prairies come with new/updated magazines. Alloy rather than plastic and do not requie the loading aid. I wonder if these solve the problems some people have had?

Rich

[phil01gunner]

Yeah they do, Pete Wadeson has had a splash on them in Airgun W and Airgunner and Gun mart. The old mag's were fiddly, but once you got used to them, and if you bought 3, more than 24 shots on an outing is unusual. The new mags are supposed to be fine though! I stll stand by the old FN 19 single shot, and I've seen a couple in this months gunmart 2nd hand with a dealer at £269!