Some air rifles are specialists. They’re built for one job, and they do it well, but you wouldn’t grab them for anything else. The Pinty Nighthawk isn’t that kind of gun. After spending a few weeks with it—shooting paper, knocking down steel, and dealing with a persistent groundhog problem—I’ve come to appreciate it as one of the most well-rounded PCP air rifles in the budget-to-mid-tier space. It doesn’t try to be the most powerful or the most refined. It just tries to be useful, and it succeeds.
What You’re Actually Getting
The Pinty Nighthawk is a traditional sporter-style PCP rifle available in .22 and .25 calibers. The specs are solid across the board: a 200cc air cylinder with a 4,350 PSI (300 BAR) max fill pressure, an 18.1-inch barrel, and a weight of just 5.7 pounds. In .22 caliber, it’s rated for up to 900 FPS with 18.13-grain pellets, producing roughly 32.6 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. The .25 caliber version pushes heavier pellets at around 850 FPS and delivers a substantial 40.7 ft-lbs of energy.[reference:0]
The rifle ships with a sidelever action that’s genuinely smooth—not just “smooth for the price,” but smooth enough that you don’t think about it between shots. The magazine system is reliable, and the trigger, while not a match-grade unit, breaks cleanly enough for precision work. In .22, I was getting around 45 total shots per fill, with roughly 30 of those staying fully regulated. That’s a practical, usable shot count for a hunting rifle or a range session.[reference:1]
How It Shoots in the Real World
I zeroed the Nighthawk at 30 yards with a simple 3-9x scope and spent an afternoon putting different pellets through it. With JSB 18.13-grain pellets, five-shot groups hovered right around three-quarters of an inch from a rested position. That’s not benchrest accuracy, but it’s more than enough for squirrels, rabbits, and the groundhog that had been treating my garden like a buffet.
The .22 caliber is the sweet spot for this platform. It has enough energy for ethical small-game hunting at sensible distances, but it doesn’t beat you up on shot count the way a higher-powered .25 would. The .25 version is there if you need more thump, but for most shooters, the .22 will be the more practical choice.
Offhand, the Nighthawk balances nicely. At 5.7 pounds, it’s light enough to carry all day but heavy enough to settle down for a steady shot. The stock isn’t fancy, but the cheek weld is consistent and the grip angle feels natural. It’s a working gun, not a showpiece, and that’s exactly what it should be.
Where It Fits in the Pinty Lineup
Pinty has built out a genuinely interesting family of airguns, and the Nighthawk occupies a very specific niche. It’s not as compact as the Pinty Buster PCP pistol, which is the gun you grab when you want something that fits in a backpack and handles close-range pest control. It’s not as shot-hungry as the Pinty Falcon X, which is built for extended range sessions with its massive air reservoir. The Nighthawk sits in the middle: a traditional rifle that’s easy to carry, easy to shoot, and versatile enough to handle almost anything you’d realistically ask of a PCP air rifle.
If you’re trying to figure out where to start with the brand, the full Pinty PCP air rifles lineup lays out the whole family side by side. But if you already know you want a straightforward, reliable hunting rifle that doesn’t cost a fortune, the Nighthawk is the one to look at.
Who Should Buy It
The Nighthawk makes the most sense for someone who wants one air rifle that can do a bit of everything. If you’re primarily a hunter who occasionally punches paper, or a plinker who wants something capable of pest control when the need arises, this rifle covers those bases without forcing you to compromise. It’s also a great choice for someone stepping up from a budget break-barrel or CO2 gun who wants a regulated PCP but isn’t ready to spend four figures.
It’s not the right choice if you demand a fully adjustable match trigger, or if you need the absolute maximum shot count for high-volume target shooting. For those jobs, look elsewhere in the Pinty lineup. But for the vast majority of shooters—the ones who want a dependable, accurate, and genuinely enjoyable rifle that works every time they pick it up—the Pinty Nighthawk delivers exactly what it promises.
You can check the current specs and pricing on the Pinty Nighthawk product page. It’s one of those guns that doesn’t need a lot of hype. It just needs to be shot.
