Chinese Stuff? Not In This Lifetime.

[RidgeRunner]

Uncle Xi and his buddies have been trying to copy the European and American airguns for a long, long time. I am not saying they are not finally learning how to make a decent airgun, but they have not done such yet. From what I can tell, the only thing they have going for them is the price.

Have I tried some of the newer Chinese airguns? No. My collection is large enough and I do not wish to give my hard-earned dollars to Uncle Xi.

 

[Hoppalong Doc]

Uncle Xi and his buddies have been trying to copy the European and American airguns for a long, long time. I am not saying they are not finally learning how to make a decent airgun, but they have not done such yet. From what I can tell, the only thing they have going for them is the price.

Have I tried some of the newer Chinese airguns? No. My collection is large enough and I do not wish to give my hard-earned dollars to Uncle Xi.

I will NOT intentionally purchase any Chinese airguns. Chinese manufacturing has put Americans asleep with their massive quantities and low prices. The Chinese government intends to supersede America's presence in to South East Pacific where a hugh amount of the Western World's needs must pass. Other than this, they have stolen much of their technology from us, yet we freely allow their students to come here with the intent of stealing from us. They have no moral compass. 'Nuf said. Orv.

 

[Fuselman]

Huben still rules as a semi automatic.

 

[Chris two-furs]

We all profit from foreign students and I was proud to study with them as a grad student myself. As guns go, I like my German and English airguns!

 

[Chief55]

This is nothing new the Japs did it first with all of our electronics at least 10 years before the Chinese started. When I was a kid all of the electronic devices were made in this country, all of them. I will not look down on anyone making an honest living trying to live within their means. Everything in Wal-mart comes from China but I will still shop there because they have what I need for a price I can afford.

 

[AM888]

Please,keep any political views out of this. If American manufacturers would take notice of the situation then maybe the price can come down some. I myself would rather have the AF lifetime warranty and quality control. There are may overseas guns to choose from, but let the people decide. I know some can only afford the lower price guns(no shame or guilt) as it gets them into the sport. I have been wanting a Condor for years but other needs come first. This is a hobby only for many.

 

[Grunt64]

I’m not knocking anyone’s preferences, but as a hunting PCP in .357, very few ‘high‑end’ rifles can match what my AEA Challenger Big Bore actually does in the field, the only one is Texan .357 that is almost double in price.

Mine is producing 300–400 FPE with heavy 140–160 grain slugs, stays accurate out to 100 yards, and has taken predators cleanly. That’s real hunting performance, not benchrest numbers.

If there’s a high‑end .357 that can match that power, slug stability, and field practicality at anything close to this price, I haven’t seen it yet.

 

[Pinty Official]

Hi there,

We appreciate you sharing your thoughts and your passion for high-quality airguns. And we understand where you’re coming from, and we appreciate you sharing your perspective.

That said, we’d encourage judging products based on actual hands-on experience rather than assumptions. The airgun space has evolved a lot in recent years, and there are definitely improvements happening across different regions.

It’s also worth noting that manufacturing today is highly global: many well-known brands work with factories across different countries, and production location doesn’t always reflect product quality on its own. Similarly, innovation in this space has always been a shared process, with ideas and technologies evolving across markets over time.

As a brand, we respect the community we serve. We’ve worked with programs like GOVX to offer discounts for veterans and service members, and we try to stay engaged with the community during key moments throughout the year.

We kindly ask all members to keep the discussion focused on airguns and technical performance. Let's keep this community a place for shooters to share their experiences.

At the end of the day, we believe performance and user experience should speak for themselves.

Best Regards,
Pinty Team

 

[Grunt64]

Hi there,

We appreciate you sharing your thoughts and your passion for high-quality airguns. And we understand where you’re coming from, and we appreciate you sharing your perspective.

That said, we’d encourage judging products based on actual hands-on experience rather than assumptions. The airgun space has evolved a lot in recent years, and there are definitely improvements happening across different regions.

It’s also worth noting that manufacturing today is highly global: many well-known brands work with factories across different countries, and production location doesn’t always reflect product quality on its own. Similarly, innovation in this space has always been a shared process, with ideas and technologies evolving across markets over time.

As a brand, we respect the community we serve. We’ve worked with programs like GOVX to offer discounts for veterans and service members, and we try to stay engaged with the community during key moments throughout the year.

We kindly ask all members to keep the discussion focused on airguns and technical performance. Let's keep this community a place for shooters to share their experiences.

At the end of the day, we believe performance and user experience should speak for themselves.

Best Regards,
Pinty Team

Just to be clear, I’m not trying to get into anything political. People have changed how they use that word — not the meaning of it.A law is just a law, and the price of goods is just the price of goods. Those things are global realities, not party issues.

I’m only talking about airguns, performance, and the real‑world factors that affect what we can buy and what we can afford. Nothing more.

 

[Hylander]

Well,
I bought the import guns, one reason is I do not have deep pockets. Plus I was able to shoot a few different rifles before I bought, including a Benjiman Marauder and the Zelos was just plain better all around for my purposes. The Zelos is just plain Awesome and prints less the MOA with just about every pellet and slug I have tried.
I then bought a Pinty Kightfall that had many issues. However, CS was Awesome and with no fuss after a couple emails replaced it.
Second one is just fine and averages .5 - .6 groups @ 50yds. That's a dead squirrel every time. They also seem to be listening to the end user and are changing a few things for the better.
I am super happy with my purchases, and cannot see spending triple would gain me anything.
Great CS is enough that I might just buy another Pinty.

 

[Madhatter]

As I've posted before, I'm against buying any airgun if I can't buy replacement parts for it ! I have 2 Nova Vista PCPs and one is just a paper weight and the other would have been if it weren't for a guy named Duy who made replacement parts to replace the weak ones.

 

[FL22]

I currently have or have owned Airguns manufactured in the following countries,

USA
England
Germany
Czech Republic
China
Spain

Honestly, I don’t really give a rat’s 6 where the Airgun is made as long as it is worth every single penny that I spent on it.

1. Accuracy and reliability
2. Parts and support availability
3. Functionality and fit of purpose
4. Cost and availability

To me everything else is trivial and subjective.

 

[Chief55]

I currently have or have owned Airguns manufactured in the following countries,

USA
England
Germany
Czech Republic
China
Spain

Honestly, I don’t really give a rat’s 6 where the Airgun is made as long as it is worth every single penny that I spent on it.

1. Accuracy and reliability
2. Parts and support availability
3. Functionality and fit of purpose
4. Cost and availability

To me everything else is trivial and subjective.

I totally agree with you. For me it gets more complicated because I like powerful guns that are light weight, but I really don't like using over 3600psi to achieve it and I like them versatile, the more I can do with one gun the better I like it. That's why I like .25s, .30s and, .357s. The big bores are fun also but make a lot more noise for neighbors. I completely agree with how Nomadic Pirate 66 has approached airguns and hunting in general, still hunting and stalking, getting really close. His approach reminds me of a younger version of myself though he has killed way more stuff than I could ever dream of. I can't even imagine killing so many hogs. I prefer my guns to be no more than 6.5 pounds before I put on a scope. In Florida my perfect gun would be something like an Evanix Rex-BA .357.

 

[Hvacguy]

Pinty’s AF clone is priced correctly. A new condor is $800?? Nucking futs! Their profit margins are huge. They’ve been making the same exact product for 20 years minus small changes (not innovations).

 

[Billm]

I currently have or have owned Airguns manufactured in the following countries,

USA
England
Germany
Czech Republic
China
Spain

Honestly, I don’t really give a rat’s 6 where the Airgun is made as long as it is worth every single penny that I spent on it.

1. Accuracy and reliability
2. Parts and support availability
3. Functionality and fit of purpose
4. Cost and availability

To me everything else is trivial and subjective.

Seems to me you’re missing something from Slovenia. You really should fill that hole.

 

[FL22]

Seems to me you’re missing something from Slovenia. You really should fill that hole.

But not Sweden?

 

[Billm]

But not Sweden?

Touché lol. I like them all, except maybe El Gamo (70’s Gamo) and British Milbro.