VALUE FOR MONEY
In fact, what we have here is the brand-new “Mark II” version of the Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle. The improvements are internal – primarily an improved trigger with a lower pull weight and a standard thread on the barrel for attaching the bundled silencer.
The Nightfall has an externally-adjustable hammer spring. It’s also regulated – as would be expected for any (non-big bore) PCP at this price or above in 2026. There’s no conventional stock, instead there’s a solid metal chassis that runs right forward from the pistol grip. It’s available in .22 caliber only.
In comparison to the increasingly-large use of synthetics in modern PCP air rifles, the Nightfall is manufactured almost entirely from 6061 Aluminum alloy, 6063 Aluminum alloy and AISI 1045 Steel. Pinty is very specific about this and the lack of plastic will appeal to many traditionalist shooters.
The price is certainly attractive. It’s only $319.99 at the Pinty online store. It’s also available bundled with a bipod for just $20.00 more than the base gun. How can you go wrong with that?
Overall, the Nightfall provides strong value for money – even if it is a single-shot only model.
SPEED AND ACCURACY
The Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle tested by HAM achieved a peak Muzzle Velocity of just over the magic 1,000 FPS with H&N Field Target Trophy Green alloy pellets. More importantly, Muzzle Energy varied from 21.55 to 27.24 Ft/Lbs, depending on the pellet (or slug) weight.
| Pellet | Average Muzzle Velocity | Average Muzzle Energy | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&N Field Target Trophy Green 10.03 Grain | 1,007 FPS | 21.55 Ft/Lbs | Very Good. |
| Predator GTO 11.75 Grain | 958 FPS | 263.95 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| RWS Hobby 11.9 Grain | 925 FPS | 22.61 Ft/Lbs | Very Good. |
| Crosman Premier HP 14.3 Grain | 866 FPS | 23.82 Ft/Lbs | Very Good. |
| JSB Jumbo Exact 14.35 Grain | 876 FPS | 24.46Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| H&N Field Target Trophy 14.66 Grain | 858 FPS | 23.97 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| NSA Hollowpoint Slugs 20.2 Grain | 753 FPS | 25.44 Ft/Lbs | Very Poor. |
| H&N Baracuda Match 21.14 Grain | 753 FPS | 26.63Ft/Lbs | Excellent. |
| JSB Jumbo Monster 25.39 Grain | 695 FPS | 27.24 Ft/Lbs | Excellent. Best Tested. |
The inherent mechanical accuracy of the Nightfall is almost certainly far better than I was able to achieve. It was clear to me that my unfamiliarity – and possibly incompatible physical shape – limited the accuracy I could persuade the gun to deliver downrange.
A better buttpad and some form of “comb” on top of the HPA bottle would – I feel – make it easier for me to shoot this gun with more consistent accuracy. The 25-Yard target below is not terrible, but I just felt that the gun “wanted” to do better than I was able to achieve.
TRIGGER AND COCKING EFFORT
The Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle has a two-stage trigger. Let’s be clear. I’ve shot many better triggers than this. But it’s not the worst ever and it’s definitely OK for hunting and plinking.
The travel is quite short, but stout-feeling. It was not very easy for me to detect the second stage. However, the pull is not long and the release seemed quite predictable. Also it felt heavier than it actually is. To me, at least.
In fact, the trigger of the Nightfall tested by HAM has an average pull weight of 3 Lbs 4.2 Oz. It is non-adjustable, although the position of the trigger shoe can be adjusted (a little) vertically if required.
There’s also a lever-operated manual safety on the left side of the gun. This is positive, easy-to-use and is easy to see, too. There’s a small “repeater” indicator on the right side, as can be seen from the trigger photograph above.
But I’m still not so sure about the forward push cocking action of the bolt handle. It remains a new experience to me, and reminds me of when I first moved to the USA from England and started driving on the “wrong side of the road”.
Can I do it? Yes, but only with thought and concentration. Does it feel natural or intuitive? Still not yet…
Of course, if the Nightfall were my first or only PCP air rifle, that would not be the case as I wouldn’t know any different.
But it must be recorded that bolt operation is certainly very light. Make that featherweight for the return stroke. That is really slick!
Then there’s the fact that this is a single-shot only air rifle. With the exception of the “bargain-priced” $160 Crosman 3622, the last occasion I fired a regular non-magazine PCP was when HAM tested the Benjamin Maximus, ten years ago in 2016.
So, as a convinced magazine user, shooting the Nightfall is like stepping 10 years back in time. But again, if the Nightfall were my first or only PCP air rifle, that would not be the case as I wouldn’t know any different!
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The manufacturer claims a total of 130 shots per fill of High Pressure Air. The Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle tested by HAM delivered 110 shots before reaching the regulator set point. And yes, 130 shots were available, so long as you can accept the velocity drop shown in our graph below.
However the Nightfall far exceeded Pinty’s 850 FPS maximum Muzzle Velocity claim – even with mid-weight 14.66 Grain H&N Field Target Trophy pellets – as described above.
CONSISTENCY
The Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle is supplied with a “Cricket” regulator from Huben Power. This company has a long history of developing and manufacturing aftermarket PCP airgun regulators, so it makes sense for Pinty to partner for this functionality.
As received, the regulator gauge indicated a pressure of 14 MPa. That’s 140 Bar, or 2,030 PSI in units that are more familiar to most US users. Combined with the factory hammer spring setting of approximately 12.5, that allowed the Nightfall tested by HAM to achieve the results we can see from the chart below.
Unfortunately, it has to be said that this regulator performance is decidedly below current industry standards for consistency – as demonstrated by the “shootdown graphs” you can see in many other HAM test reviews. Indeed, it is closer to what we would expect from an unregulated PCP air rifle. That’s disappointing.
The Standard Deviation for the 110 shots before the regulator set point was achieved was no less than 12.1 FPS. Typical values for a shot count of this length are in the region of 5 FPS…
Trigger consistency was good. The average pull weight was 3 Lbs 4.2 Oz, the minimum 3 Lbs 2.1 Oz and the maximum 3 Lbs 7.4 Oz. So that’s a variation of -2 to +3 Ozs around the average. That’s a satisfactory variation that I did not notice when shooting.
Another good aspect of consistency was that the Nightfall tested by HAM was definitely not “pellet picky”. It shot pretty well (or better) with most of the HAM test pellets – particularly the JSB Jumbo Monsters. That characteristic makes it likely that the gun will perform well with your favorite pellets.
But – judging from the NSA test target, this is definitely NOT a slug gun!
NOISE LEVEL
The Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle is supplied with a compact silencer. This was effective in reducing the report of the gun to a level that likely would be considered “backyard friendly” for many users.
Removing the silencer shows the end of the barrel is threaded 1/2-Inch x 20 UNF. This is a standard thread, allowing a wide range of commercially-available, airgun-specific silencers to be fitted, if required and where legal. This is an improvement over the proprietary threads of the first version.
SIGHTS AND SCOPE
The Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle includes a machined Aluminum Picatinny rail for scope mounting purposes. Sitting high above the action, this allows plenty of space for pellet-loading. It also brings the scope’s eye line up to that of the shooter.
For this review, we mounted a Gunnr Heimdall 6-24 x 40 scope to the Nightfall. This First Focal Plane scope is another Pinty product and – although 15 1/4-Inches long, it mounted and balanced well on the air rifle.
As can be seen above, the Nightfall’s 9 1/2-Inch long scope rail provides plenty of length for scope mounting.
As is the case with the majority of PCP air rifles, no iron sights are provided.
SHOOTABILITY
Still being a newcomer to the “rear HPA bottle, push forward to cock” airgun concept, my opinions are somewhat varied on the shootability of the Nightfall.
On the positive side, the design is very well-balanced, particularly for offhand shooting. Bolt operation is easy and there’s plenty of space for pellet-loading. The base gun weighs-in at just 5 Lbs 3 Oz. Even with the large scope, at 8 Lbs 11 Ozs, the complete rig reviewed here is still relatively light. And – with an overall length of 35 Inches – it’s compact, too.
Downsides are the lack of a magazine, the – for me – unfamiliar nature of the bolt operation and the clunky HPA bottle/buttstock configuration.
For certain, the straight through, inline path for the High Pressure Air from bottle to barrel must be hugely advantageous compared to all other PCP airgun design architectures!
The rear bottle design architecture of the Nightfall is conceptually ideal. From a purely fluid dynamics engineering perspective, having the air make two 90 degree turns between leaving the valve and hitting the rear of the pellet – as it does in almost every other PCP air rifle – is a really, really bad idea that lowers efficiency and power.
But for me that engineering advantage is compromised by the “HPA bottle as buttstock” arrangement. Having this large, round buttstock – together with what can only be described as a strong contender for the world’s most primitive buttplate – is another different experience for me.
So, as mentioned above, during the course of the review period I was not able to develop a really consistent, comfortable and repeatable hold. Maybe that was just me, but I’m sure it made my groups larger than the inherent accuracy potential of the barrel and action.
The pull length (trigger to buttplate) of 15 Inches was just fine for me. But those without “gorilla arms” like mine may find that measurement a little long.
At least Pinty has provided a synthetic wrapper for the HPA bottle to make cheek contact more comfortable!
However, the hammer spring adjustment system scores top marks for accessibility. There’s cut-outs in both sides of the Nightfall’s chassis to make adjustment clear and easy.
One operational issue with the Nightfall is the HPA fill pressure gauge on the right side of the gun. This has a very nice faceplate that is a model of clarity, except for one big problem: it is wrongly calibrated for the Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle.
The “red zone”, which would normally be regarded as overfilling, starts at 30 Mpa. That’s 300 Bar or 4,350 PSI. The problem is that the maximum safe fill pressure for the Nightfall’s HPA tank is 3,600 PSI.
As 3,600 PSI is actually equal to 250 Bar, or 25 MPa, the maximum fill pressure for the gun is actually mid-way through the yellow section. This is not what most shooters would intuitively expect and thus could represent a safety issue.
This issue is compounded by the faceplates of both gauges using “MPa” (MegaPascals) as the unit of measurement. Although this is the official, international SI unit of pressure, it is not one that’s familiar to US users. We – and most other airgun users worldwide – think naturally of pressure in terms of either PSI or Bar.
To prevent this from becoming a safety issue, HAM suggests filling the Nightfall using the gauge on your pump or compressor only. Do not trust the Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle’s HPA fill pressure “red line” as being the maximum safe pressure. It’s not!
Filling is accomplished using a standard male 1/8-inch NPT quick disconnect. It’s covered by the dustcap you can see. Good.
APPEARANCE AND FINISH
I actually surprised my self by liking the looks of the Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle! Having never been a fan of “rear bottle” PCPs’ appearance, I found the Nightfall to be quite good-looking in reality.
Certainly the machining and surface finish of all external parts was excellent. And with just about the whole gun being constructed from metal, there are almost no synthetic parts (except the forend, pistol grip and trigger shoe). That will be appreciated by many.
There’s a seemingly-endless number of Picatinny rail “teeth” along the top and bottom of the Nightfall’s chassis, together with 24 M-LOK slots. So the possibilities for mounting accessories are extremely numerous and – as with the silencer – do not depend on the purchase of adapters for use.
Below the breech area also shows the high level of metal finish.
Note the right side safety indicator and vertically-adjustable trigger shoe.
BUYING AND OWNING
At the time of writing, the Pinty Nightfall PCP air rifle is available in the USA only from the Pinty online store. However, as the overwhelming majority of PCPs are purchased online that’s not a big issue.
The warranty is 12 months, with coverage provided by Pinty from its California location.
There’s a well-printed and illustrated manual, plus the gun comes complete with two packs of O rings and other spare parts. One pack is for the gun itself, the other for the Huben Power regulator.
Note that the Nightfall’s pistol grip is not AR-compatible. Although maybe not a big deal, it does remove one obvious area of customization that would be appreciated by many users.
The bolt handle is supplied separately from the gun and must be screwed into place. This is not an issue at all. However, said bolt handle continually worked loose in use – at least until a drop of red Loctite was applied to the threads. This was a simple, easy solution that fixed the problem for good!
One other bolt handle-related issue was that – despite the significant machined ridging – I found it slippery in use. However, again, there was a simple and easy fix. I popped a couple of rubber O rings (Crosman Part 397-037) into the bolt handle slots, as shown below. Problem solved immediately!
TEST TARGETS
BUY FROM PINTY
Nightfall Mark II .22 Caliber
This entire article including scoring, test targets etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
The post Pinty Nightfall PCP Air Rifle Review .22 Caliber appeared first on Hard Air Magazine.
