If you are looking for an entry into the world of PCP airgun shooting, You cannot get better performance and value for money than the Brocock Hunter in my opinion.
Stock
The rifle comes with a choice of three ambidextrous stock options, but some are better than others.
The base model is fitted with a black synthetic stock (fibreglass), which unfortunately, is hollow.This makes the gun lighter in weight, but the downside is when the gun is fired, it resonates and echo's the sound of the hammer striking the firing valve, not nice!
It is a tough stock though, and it comes ready fitted with QD swivel studs, so if you envisage giving Your gun a hard time, this may be the stock to go for. You could always fill the hollow sections of the stock with expanding foam (the type builders use), to help stop the resonance and quieten it down.
The other two stock options are termed "Superior wood", one is a sporter, the other a thumb hole. Both these options are made from an African hardwood called Sapatia, and it can produce some stunning grain figuring.
These stocks add some weight to the Hunter, to improve stability from a freehold position, when standing or kneeling, for example. The downside with them though, is the design means there is very little wood at the rear of the inletting, just above the trigger.
This weak area would not take much of a knock to snap the stock at that point, so care is needed when using a wooden stocked Hunter. All the stocks have a very upright pistol grip, which is great for allowing correct trigger control.
Action
The gun has a very short stroked, single shot, bolt action for cocking and loading. The bolt handle itself is made from Titanium, with the probe being stainless steel.
My only complaint is the very shallow pellet trough, so care is needed when loading a pellet, to ensure it actually goes in where you want it too, and not roll out of the breech aperture. The noise from the action when fired is quiet and refined, so no complaints there.
It also has No AT fitted, meaning competent owners can service/repair the gun themselves when out of it's one year warranty. Scope rails are machined into the breech block for scope fitment, which will be needed as no open sights are fitted.
A quality quick fill adaptor is fitted as standard, but the plastic cover that protects it is both cheap and nasty, and a very loose/insecure fit over it. Fitting a thicker O-ring to the groove inside will cure the sloppy fit, and hopefully stop the cover from being lost, if left with the original O-ring in place.
Trigger
This is a copy of a Daystate mechanism, so as expected, the trigger action is superb. It is multi-adjustable for any requirement, and has a cross-bolt safety catch included which the original Daystate unit did not have. All in all, an excellent, top notch trigger fitted on a bargain basement rifle.
Performance
Accuracy from this gun is staggering considering the price, it is more accurate than it has any right to be, and will easily match or embarrass the accuracy of guns costing five times as much.
It is not pellet fussy either, it prints really tight groups with most pellets, but the best two are Air Arms Field 5.52 and Defiant (Medium headsize). These pellets cannot be separated, as both print pellet on pellet @ 40yards rested. It is easy to hit 1 1/2" spinners out to 60 yards, and further if required.
Downsides
Apart from the rubbish filling valve cover, and shollow pellet tough, the only other thing that the Brocock Hunter can be marked down for is the screw cutting for silencer fitment.
It is a 10mm metric thread, where as the vast majority of silencers use 1/2" UNF. This means limited silencer choice, unless you get an adaptor to convert the metric thread to UNF. Not only is this extra cost, but it increases the overall length of the gun unnecessarily if a decent silencer is to be used. I have done just that to enable a Weihrauch silencer to be fitted, and the gun is now super quiet.
Price
A few years ago You could get a black synthetic stocked Hunter for just £200. But if you shop around, a Superior Wood version can be found for the same money today. Now that has to be a bargain.
Summary
The plastic stocked version has received some poor reviews in the past as it feels so cheap and nasty, but if you were to actually shoot one of these guns, You would find the raw performance to be head and shoulders above Your expectations.
If I was only allowed to own one airgun, I would be happy for it to be a Brocock Hunter, and not feel short changed one little bit!
Stock
The rifle comes with a choice of three ambidextrous stock options, but some are better than others.
The base model is fitted with a black synthetic stock (fibreglass), which unfortunately, is hollow.This makes the gun lighter in weight, but the downside is when the gun is fired, it resonates and echo's the sound of the hammer striking the firing valve, not nice!
It is a tough stock though, and it comes ready fitted with QD swivel studs, so if you envisage giving Your gun a hard time, this may be the stock to go for. You could always fill the hollow sections of the stock with expanding foam (the type builders use), to help stop the resonance and quieten it down.
The other two stock options are termed "Superior wood", one is a sporter, the other a thumb hole. Both these options are made from an African hardwood called Sapatia, and it can produce some stunning grain figuring.
These stocks add some weight to the Hunter, to improve stability from a freehold position, when standing or kneeling, for example. The downside with them though, is the design means there is very little wood at the rear of the inletting, just above the trigger.
This weak area would not take much of a knock to snap the stock at that point, so care is needed when using a wooden stocked Hunter. All the stocks have a very upright pistol grip, which is great for allowing correct trigger control.
Action
The gun has a very short stroked, single shot, bolt action for cocking and loading. The bolt handle itself is made from Titanium, with the probe being stainless steel.
My only complaint is the very shallow pellet trough, so care is needed when loading a pellet, to ensure it actually goes in where you want it too, and not roll out of the breech aperture. The noise from the action when fired is quiet and refined, so no complaints there.
It also has No AT fitted, meaning competent owners can service/repair the gun themselves when out of it's one year warranty. Scope rails are machined into the breech block for scope fitment, which will be needed as no open sights are fitted.
A quality quick fill adaptor is fitted as standard, but the plastic cover that protects it is both cheap and nasty, and a very loose/insecure fit over it. Fitting a thicker O-ring to the groove inside will cure the sloppy fit, and hopefully stop the cover from being lost, if left with the original O-ring in place.
Trigger
This is a copy of a Daystate mechanism, so as expected, the trigger action is superb. It is multi-adjustable for any requirement, and has a cross-bolt safety catch included which the original Daystate unit did not have. All in all, an excellent, top notch trigger fitted on a bargain basement rifle.
Performance
Accuracy from this gun is staggering considering the price, it is more accurate than it has any right to be, and will easily match or embarrass the accuracy of guns costing five times as much.
It is not pellet fussy either, it prints really tight groups with most pellets, but the best two are Air Arms Field 5.52 and Defiant (Medium headsize). These pellets cannot be separated, as both print pellet on pellet @ 40yards rested. It is easy to hit 1 1/2" spinners out to 60 yards, and further if required.
Downsides
Apart from the rubbish filling valve cover, and shollow pellet tough, the only other thing that the Brocock Hunter can be marked down for is the screw cutting for silencer fitment.
It is a 10mm metric thread, where as the vast majority of silencers use 1/2" UNF. This means limited silencer choice, unless you get an adaptor to convert the metric thread to UNF. Not only is this extra cost, but it increases the overall length of the gun unnecessarily if a decent silencer is to be used. I have done just that to enable a Weihrauch silencer to be fitted, and the gun is now super quiet.
Price
A few years ago You could get a black synthetic stocked Hunter for just £200. But if you shop around, a Superior Wood version can be found for the same money today. Now that has to be a bargain.
Summary
The plastic stocked version has received some poor reviews in the past as it feels so cheap and nasty, but if you were to actually shoot one of these guns, You would find the raw performance to be head and shoulders above Your expectations.
If I was only allowed to own one airgun, I would be happy for it to be a Brocock Hunter, and not feel short changed one little bit!
