PCP Taipan Veteran II report

[wolfmangreg]

Have posted tidbits about this rifle elsewhere on HAM, & now that it’s seen several tins of projectiles, figured it’s time for a more comprehensive review. Will start with the numbers mostly, then sprinkle in some observations & opinions.
My example is a .22 in the tactical version, with a 550mm barrel & a 2-piece stock. Several reasons for picking this version:

• Power is more than enough for my needs
• Find most bullpups rear heavy for my taste; 2 piece stock helps with that
• Tactical version has the bigger factory moderator, so a little extra weight out front
• Bottle plus tube equals lots of shots on a fill

Out of the box, she was shooting 20.83 grain JSB Monster Light at 965 fps. Results were ok, but figured that was faster than optimal for the standard grooved CZ barrel. Tried several types of slugs, Shot quite well with Zan 20 grain .218 and JSB KO 20.8 grain. Well enough to briefly consider leaving it a slugger. Decided on a return to pellets, at least for the near future.

Turned the power down for the Monster Lights, & results improved. Eventually settled on 880 fps. Haven’t run a string from full fill to reg setting (which appears to be ~130 bar), but based on some 230 bar to 150 bar sessions, it’s definitely over 100. Probably closer to 120. 50 shots over the chronograph yielded a 13 fps extreme spread, with a standard deviation of 4.1. Can probably be improved by turning the reg down & adding a bit of hammer spring. When I reduced the power it was by hammer spring only, so this tune is probably less efficient than it could be. A 20 shot string out of the box had an extreme spread of only 7. Shorter string skews things a bit, but I think it’s safe to say the numbers at 880 fps could be improved at least a bit by rebalancing the reg & hammer spring. Will probably do just that this winter during a spell of bad weather.

Used the average speed at 1 yard from the 50 shot string, and the average of 19 shots at 50 yards, to calculate a BC of 0.045 for the Monster Light. This is at an elevation of ~823 feet above sea level, 84F, ~60%rh.
Very pleased with that result, which aligns with my anecdotal observation compared to years of shooting JSB 15.9 & 18.1- these are noticeably better in wind.

Things I really like about the rifle:

• Trigger is every bit as good as all the other Taipan reports say. No qualms about saying it’s second to no other rifle I’ve shot, whether air or powder.
• Pretty quiet at this power level, which it should be with that big moderator.
• Awesome shot cycle at this tune, very gentle. Was pretty good at the hotter, out of the box setting too.
• Fit & finish are great on the outside, but even more impressive inside. Did a partial disassembly just to see how things worked inside & note any spots I might want to clean/lube in the future. My jaw dropped at what I saw- every little part is incredibly smooth & precise. Really inspires confidence in the rifle.
• Barrel retention & tensioning also inspires confidence in consistent POI. Extremely solid.
• Excellent accuracy with both pellets & slugs. Always been a pellet guy, but it’s nice to know if I change my mind the rifle will do well with slugs without replacing barrel, hammer & spring etc.

What I don’t like so much:

• Butt plate is a little too straight for me, wish it had more curvature. Replacing with something aftermarket would be tricky - it’s apparently glued on, as there are no screws to remove.

Neither good nor bad, just observations:

• If looking for a dedicated bench gun, do not get the 2-piece stock. Difficult to deal with the rear bag, having no “bag rider” section. Managed to do it for testing purposes, but it was slow going. Had to arrange, then rearrange the rear bag in between every shot. Vast majority of my shooting is from sticks, so this doesn’t matter.
• Suspect that POI may change if the moderator is removed & reinstalled with a different torque. Haven’t removed mine after the initial cleaning to test this. Sticking a restaurant straw in the mod allows for easy passage of a pull through.

 

[hameditor]

Have posted tidbits about this rifle elsewhere on HAM, & now that it’s seen several tins of projectiles, figured it’s time for a more comprehensive review. Will start with the numbers mostly, then sprinkle in some observations & opinions.
My example is a .22 in the tactical version, with a 550mm barrel & a 2-piece stock. Several reasons for picking this version:

• Power is more than enough for my needs
• Find most bullpups rear heavy for my taste; 2 piece stock helps with that
• Tactical version has the bigger factory moderator, so a little extra weight out front
• Bottle plus tube equals lots of shots on a fill

Out of the box, she was shooting 20.83 grain JSB Monster Light (less filling, tastes great) at 965 fps. Results were ok, but figured that was hotter than optimal for the standard grooved CZ barrel. Tried several types of slugs, Shot quite well with Zan 20 grain .218 and JSB KO 20.8 grain. Well enough to briefly consider leaving it a slugger. Decided on a return to pellets, at least for the near future.

Turned the power down for the Monster Lights, & results improved. Eventually settled on 880 fps. Haven’t run a string from full fill to reg setting (which appears to be ~130 bar), but based on some 230 bar to 150 bar sessions, it’s definitely over 100. Probably closer to 120. 50 shots over the chronograph yielded a 13 fps extreme spread, with a standard deviation of 4.1. Can probably be improved by turning the reg down & adding a bit of hammer spring. When I reduced the power it was by hammer spring only, so this tune is probably less efficient than it could be. A 20 shot string out of the box had an extreme spread of only 7. Shorter string skews things a bit, but I think it’s safe to say the numbers at 880 fps could be improved at least a bit by rebalancing the reg & hammer spring. Will probably do just that this winter during a spell of bad weather. Not in a hurry because the combination of distance I shoot at, and my shooting skills, means it’s extremely unlikely my targets will look any different with a single digit spread vs something in the teens.

Used the average speed at 1 yard from the 50 shot string, and the average of 19 shots at 50 yards, to calculate a BC of 0.047 for the Monster Light. This is at an elevation of ~823 feet above sea level, 84F, ~60%rh.
Very pleased with that result, which aligns with my anecdotal observation compared to years of shooting JSB 15.9 & 18.1- these are noticeably better in wind.

Things I really like about the rifle:

• Trigger is every bit as good as all the other Taipan reports say. No qualms about saying it’s second to no other rifle I’ve shot, whether air or powder.
• Pretty quiet at this power level, which it should be with that big moderator.
• Awesome shot cycle at this tune, very gentle. Was pretty good at the hotter, out of the box setting too.
• Fit & finish are great on the outside, but even more impressive inside. Did a partial disassembly just to see how things worked inside & note any spots I might want to clean/lube in the future. Sweet Georgia Brown is every little part incredibly smooth & precise. Really inspires confidence in the rifle.
• Barrel retention & tensioning also inspires confidence in consistent POI. Extremely solid.
• Excellent accuracy with both pellets & slugs. Always been a pellet guy, but it’s nice to know if I change my mind the rifle will do well with slugs without replacing barrel, hammer & spring etc.

What I don’t like so much:

• Butt plate is a little too straight for me, wish it had more curvature. Replacing with something aftermarket would be tricky - it’s apparently glued on, as there are no screws to remove.
• Still just a bit rear heavy out of the box when shooting off sticks. Solution in the photo below- added a rail extension out front, and a short piece of 30mm brass rod in some spare scope rings. Adds ~9 oz in front of the sticks.

Neither good nor bad, just observations:

• If looking for a dedicated bench gun, do not get the 2-piece stock. Difficult to deal with the rear bag, having no “bag rider” section. Managed to do it for testing purposes, but it was slow going. Had to arrange, then rearrange the rear bag in between every shot. Vast majority of my shooting is from sticks, so this doesn’t matter.
• Suspect that POI may change if the moderator is removed & reinstalled with a different torque. Haven’t removed mine after the initial cleaning to test this. Sticking a restaurant straw in the mod allows for easy passage of a pull through.

View attachment 14599

Great review, thank you!

 

[Pumacarl]

Nice write up Greg! Good observations too. I wish more reviews would do more of those in general and not just show so many groups, or chrono strings.

 

[Paul Be Careful]

Great review! How's the ping from the hammer strike?

 

[Danman]

Out of the box, she was shooting 20.83 grain JSB Monster Light (less filling, tastes great) at 965 fps. Results were ok, but figured that was hotter than optimal for the standard grooved CZ barrel

Excellent review sir. With that 2 piece stock it is shaped very much like my Brk , which also is difficult to get a rear bag setup. That is the exact same speed I got on minimum with it and the 20gr lights (slow 1:30twist) . Excellent at 30Y , pretty bad past 50Y...so def destabilizing. Would your gun have a 1:17 twist barrel then?

 

[wolfmangreg]

@Pumacarl - Agreed, the raw data is important of course, but it doesn't tell you everything. It's often the "anecdotal" stuff that makes or breaks the experience for a given shooter.

@Paul Be Careful - In my humble opinion, no ping at all. You do hear the hammer strike more than with a traditionally stocked rifle, but it's not even close to obnoxious. For comparison sake, a few other bullpups I've owned at similar power levels:
- Cricket 2 Tactical - About the same.
- Edgun Lelya - A bit less, though the Lelya wasn't bad either.
- AGT Uragan 2 - Much less. This is the only rifle I've owned that had ping bad enough that it irritated me.

@Danman - You are correct, 1:17.7" (1:450mm) twist.
Think Taipan understood the issue with using a rear bag with the 2-piece stock, & covered all bases by offering both 1- & 2-piece on the tactical. Best I can tell, only 1-piece available on the standard cylinder Vet II.

 

[wolfmangreg]

A few other bits not included in the original post:

- The bottle is valved, & can be removed (slowly) under pressure. You'll lose air in the short cylinder, but keep what's in the bottle.
- Magazines are also expertly machined & finished. Simple in design, but as well made as the rifle.
- Cocking the action is wonderful, like it's on a greased ball bearing. Absolutely no play in the lever.

 

[igolfat8]

Congrats Greg on what is a wonderful rifle.

 

[JoeWillie]

Greg,
Congrats on the new Shooter! Taipan makes some very nice Airguns. Is it going to make the trip to Wyandot for a Shoot?

 

[wolfmangreg]

Thanks gents! Took her to Wyandot yesterday, did very well.

 

[igolfat8]

You should come back and shoot our N50 match this Saturday 7/19/25. Meeker Sportsman Club in Marion, OH.

 

[brantosan]

Greetings ,

I am interested in this air rifle. I would appreciate you opinions.

I have been struggling with another pcp for some time and I am very tired of
a wandering poi, I do understand a change in temperature and humidity can effect poi, it does in powder burners.
So I assume zero wander is out , so I would want a predictable wander .

What is your experience from season to season , day in to day out?

I am impressed with the design, relatively simple parts , large o-rings insure reasonable o-ring compliance . Which should mean less changes with temps and should keep a good seal longer.

In short the design seems robust.

How much wander does this beast have with large change in temps? Is it random or can it be predicted?

Day to day is it going to shoot in close to the same place?

I have reviewed all the disassembly videos, it looks straight forward.

The difficult part would be tuning the regulator, it must be removed. So it presents some challenge when swapping
ammo . Also I see not way short of a fixture to actually know what pressure your have in the plenium ?

Also do not like the fact that there is no plenum pressure gauge, it is a good diagnostic tool .
Is it reliable enough to not need it?

Does it need a single shot tray or is the magazine effective for accurate shooting?

thank in advance for your time.

 

[wolfmangreg]

@brantosan

This has been the most consistent air rifle - day to day, & through weather changes - I've ever owned.

Regulator performance is excellent; extreme spreads in the single digits for shot strings of 40 or more are the norm. If you want to know exactly where yours is set, or take the guesswork out of adjusting it, a reg tester is available here.
Or you can borrow mine.

It comes with a single shot tray & two magazines. Haven't noticed any difference in accuracy switching from one to the other.

If we eliminate drastic weather differences, have never experienced a change in POI day to day.

It isn't immune to big temperature swings, though it's the rifle least affected in my experience.

Virtually all of my shooting happens in the 40-ish F to 90-ish F range (have shot in colder weather, but the gun & I were shielded from the cold). Velocities on the higher end of that range trend higher than at the lower range, & a small difference on target can be seen past ~50 yards or so. The differences are, again in my experience, both minor and predictable.

The design has a lot going for it in regard to consistent performance:
- Receiver (is it even called that on an airgun?? ) is substantial
- Barrel is substantial
- Barrel attachment is solid
- Barrel is tensioned via the shroud

One potential caveat- I suspect the POI may be affected after removal/replacement of the shroud, if not tensioned exactly the same (not sure how one would measure that beyond "feel"). Haven't confirmed that, just suspect it.

 

[brantosan]

Thank for your quick reply.

First of all that is impressive. I can see why your are happy with them.

Yeah, I get that disassembly of any kind has the potential for a re zero . That is to be expected without some kind
measurement on the torque for the pretension. Even with it change is still understandable.

Got it narrowed down between the taipan and a krait L ... want to make sure I get the best one for the money.

Interesting enough that has to be with substantial part. I know that a heavy shotgun can feel light through good weight distribution.

I am looking at a 22 in 550 vet tac, 700 is a bit long . I am guessing that it balances near the trigger? or slightly in front. Is that correct?

 

[wolfmangreg]

I believe that's correct, just in front of the trigger guard- will confirm tonight & get back to you for sure.

If you're anywhere near northern Kentucky, you'd be welcome to try mine out.

 

[brantosan]

no where near but thanks for the offer.

 

[Franklink]

@brantosan

This has been the most consistent air rifle - day to day, & through weather changes - I've ever owned.

Regulator performance is excellent; extreme spreads in the single digits for shot strings of 40 or more are the norm. If you want to know exactly where yours is set, or take the guesswork out of adjusting it, a reg tester is available here.
Or you can borrow mine.

It comes with a single shot tray & two magazines. Haven't noticed any difference in accuracy switching from one to the other.

If we eliminate drastic weather differences, have never experienced a change in POI day to day.

It isn't immune to big temperature swings, though it's the rifle least affected in my experience.

Virtually all of my shooting happens in the 40-ish F to 90-ish F range (have shot in colder weather, but the gun & I were shielded from the cold). Velocities on the higher end of that range trend higher than at the lower range, & a small difference on target can be seen past ~50 yards or so. The differences are, again in my experience, both minor and predictable.

The design has a lot going for it in regard to consistent performance:
- Receiver (is it even called that on an airgun?? ) is substantial
- Barrel is substantial
- Barrel attachment is solid
- Barrel is tensioned via the shroud

One potential caveat- I suspect the POI may be affected after removal/replacement of the shroud, if not tensioned exactly the same (not sure how one would measure that beyond "feel"). Haven't confirmed that, just suspect it.

Sounds like you just described a Taipan.

Love mine, for all the reasons you listed.

 

[wolfmangreg]

Sounds like you just described a Taipan.

Love mine, for all the reasons you listed.

My only regret is that I waited so long to get on board

 

[wolfmangreg]

@brantosan - Confirmed that balance point is the area circled in red below. This with Athlon Midas Tac gen II 4-16x44 attached.

One other observance:
Having messed around quite a bit early this winter with a couple different pellets at a bunch of different speeds, it's very tolerant of hammer spring setting. Will try to explain...
The generally accepted way to tune to a given regulator setting is to increase hammer spring tension until velocity plateaus, then back off ~3% from that velocity. Found that backing off much more than that, to as much as 10% below plateau, didn't negatively affect anything. Accuracy didn't suffer, extreme spread / standard deviation didn't change much if at all, and the shot cycle didn't get sluggish. @Franklink or anyone else with a Vet/Vet II- does your experience agree?

Know I'm thisclose to sounding like a Taipan salesman. There just aren't many usage scenarios for which I would recommend against buying a Veteran.
While she isn't a pig by any means, it's not the right platform for an ultralight rig.
While definitely not a weakling, probably not the right platform for extreme power per caliber.
If you have an exceptionally long length of pull, you'd have to be creative to increase that measurement on the Veteran- buttpad is glued in place, something I wish Taipan didn't do.

That's about it. Hard to imagine someone not looking for an ultra light or ultra powerful for caliber rifle being disappointed with one.

 

[brantosan]

Thanks again, that is about what I thought. I appreciate the other info. I live in a sub urban kind of place
Normally I plan to detune it a bit for safety and shooting low profile as much as possible.
Road trips will require a bit more power . I like to shoot longer ranges for fun so I will wander.
I want to buy more air rifle than I need for the everyday. Also the future, which I see as slugs and higher bcs.
In the middle is a good place.