Power Plants: CO2

This is my first post in my Pellet Pushing Power Plants! series (in the pages tab on the top). It is designed to help new airgunners make an educated decision about what type of rifle or pistol they want and to help explain some of the things I've been discussing rather nonchalantly over the course of the past few months.

Carbon Dioxide:

This is probably the most simple of the power plants. Buy yourself a CO2 cartridge, slap it in your gun and go. The cartridge itself is a tiny tank; it contains carbon dioxide at very very high pressures and your rifle or pistol uses the air inside as its power source. The cartridge will have either a valve or a pierce-able seal at the top. If your gun uses 12s or 88s it will have a needle inside it to pierce the top of the cartage as you tighten the cartridge down.

It is probably the most common power plant for pistols because the small size of the cartridge allows manufactures to make their air pistols look like the real thing. Big names like Walther, Colt, and Smith and Wesson (ok if we're being honest its Umarex pretty much all the way around) produce pistols in the CO2 variety.

Now lets delve a little deeper. There are many sizes of CO2 cartridge, some are one time use, some are refillable, some are big, some are small. The most common type for pellet and bb guns is bar non the 12 gram type.

These are easily found at your neighborhood Walmart, Academy Sports, etc.. etc... They usually last between 20 and 50 shots depending obviously on your specific gun. They are a one time use cartridge so once you pierce the top you need to go ahead and shoot them until they run dry.

The next common..ish... size up would probably be the 88 and 90 gram sizes. These are quite a bit bigger than the 12 grams and afford quite a few more shots. These cartridges are much less frequently seen than the 12 gram offerings though and you will probably need to order them online.

Now there are some really fantastic guns offered in the 88 gram type like the Walther Lever Action Rifle so don't count this option out just because its a little more uncommon. The other option you have in this category is this: 

This little baby is the Umarex 850 CO2 adapter it takes two 12 gram CO2 cartridges and puts them end on end in an adapter designed to mimic the 88 grams in size and girth. This gives you the option of having a nice rifle like the Walther and the Hammerli 850 but still using the cheap little cartridges you can find at any Walmart. Like the 12 gram cartridges the 88s and the 90s are pretty much one time use tanks. I have heard that they can sit in your gun for a while and be ok but this is only half true. Any time you let a pierced cartridge sit it will leak air. Since the tank is much bigger than a 12 gram the effects are less noticeable but I still wouldn't recommend it. 

Next up are the refillables, these come in all shapes and sizes 2.5 oz, 6 oz, 10 oz, 12 oz, 20 oz, etc... etc... 

These are tanks that you can take to have them refilled. As far as your refill options are concerned look to your local paintball outlet if you have one. If not, the Academy Sports we have here locally will refill them but the one in the next city won't, so this is a little hit or miss. If your looking at getting a rifle with a refillable tank be sure to check and make sure you have a place nearby that will do it first. Often times the places that fill these tanks will do it for little to nothing. Many of the local paintball places we have here will fill for free, I think academy charges a dollar? All in all, if you have a way of getting your tank filled conveniently its not a bad route to go. 

So we've covered the basics of the CO2 power plant option, lets move into some pros and cons.  

Pros: 

1. They sure are convenient. They require no pumping, no pushing, no pulling, none of that business. When you start to run out of air and your shots become a little soft the fix is as simple as putting a new cartridge in and getting back at it. 

2. Most C02 rifles and pistols are semi automatic. This may be a big deal for you, its not for me, but if all your trying to do is sit in the back yard and murder a few coke cans semi auto is always more fun. 

3. Many of the CO2 rifles tend to be comparatively light weight. This is because they don't need a giant metal piston tube, guide, spring, etc.. to make them function.

4. They is CHEAP! Usually the CO2 powered airguns tend to be quite a bit cheaper than some of their counterparts. This is not always true but apples to apples more often than not, they are. 

Cons:

1. You have one more thing to buy. One of the really great things about airgunning is that its so cheap. When you start adding the cost of buying 12 gram cartridges all the time you go from 1 cent per shot to 4-7 cents per shot. This may not be a big deal to you but for me I would rather buy 4 to 7 times the ammo and sacrifice a little convenience.

2. Power typically leaves a little bit to be desired. The biggest problem I have with CO2 is that its probably the least powerful of the power plant options. I hunt so power is a big deal for me. If all your doing is plinking in your back yard then it doesn't really matter and may be a bit of an advantage (don't want to experience any unnecessary ricochets). 

3. They tend to be a little loud. This is because most of them aren't super high end rifles and the valves are often a little wasteful. They send unused air down the chamber after the pellet has left and that just translates into noise. As far as decibels are concerned they aren't that loud but CO2 and PCP guns make a different kind of racket that may make them a little less backyard friendly. 

Overall:

We have all owned or will own a CO2 airgun at some point. They can be a terrific amount of fun if your not worried about power. If your curious about a CO2 powered air rifle then go grab one! Like I said before, they tend to be pretty cheap!