Air gun recommendations

[JEFFPPC]

If your interested in a spring gun and want accuracy at less than a nickel a shot I will recommend 3 I have experience with. I am talking like close 20,000 round experience. Shooting to 50 yards 800 to 900 GPS which is the preferred velocity for pellets. At 25 yards .1 groups. At 50 yrs. 3 groups or less. AirArms TX 200, English Guns with a beautiful walnut stock for less than 800.00. Triggers adjustable to a few ounces. The Weirauch 97 is similar, 100.00 less money, stocks are not walnut but otherwise as the U.S. including the trigger and accuracy. If you want a bit more power with no recoil a Diana 54. Shoots a .22 pellet about 800 fps. Great for outdoors, 50 yards groups .3 to .5. Or less. At 100 yards with pellets 1.5 or under. ,They will teach you bench manners like nothing else. 25 yards indoors they will pretty much shoot in the same hole again at less than a nickel a shoot.

 

[bsekf]

If you go the PCP route keep in mind that you will have more invested in a compressor than the rifle. If you are a DIY'er a $300 compressor will need rebuilding. Over a grand for one that is reliable. Rifle and scope same as a 22rf. $1000 compressor buys a lot of 22 ammo.

 

[JEFFPPC]

Actually what I consider a good pcp rifle is 2000.00. No if you want one that will shoot in the .3s at a 100 yds with slugs a Thomas starts at at about 5300.00 and goes up depending on options. Theybareva work of art. But springers attract me. All you need a rifle and a tin of pellets. We shoot front and rear rest just like our centerfire bench rifles.

 

[Mark W]

@MikeT49 on this site is an avid air gunner. He sold me my first PCP, a modified Benjamin Discovery and helped me with the whole set up including tuning instructions. I’m using a CF SCBA tank that I also bought from Mike for filling. I have a local dive shop that fills the tank for $15.

Mine stays set up in my garage on my portable shooting bench. All I have to do is raise the garage door and shoot. I usually set targets from 20-50 yards depending on what pellets I’m shooting. I have random little steel targets in the woods from 50-70 yards that shoot regularly.

With the cost of components and the rifle range being 1.5 hours away, I’ve been shooting the PCP a lot more than my powder burners. The convenience of shooting at home is pure joy.

I also have a Benjamin .177 springer that shoots great out to 30 yards or so. For years I used it for pest control around the bird feeders with great success. I find it much harder to shoot accurately and it eats cheap scopes like a rat on a cheetoh.

 

[linebaugh]

There are reasons I'm considering an air rifle but I've absolutely no experience with them which is why I'm asking questions.
It's quite possible air rifles won't meet my requirements and if so then I'll abandon the possibility for now. I'd rather ask hard questions than spend money only to find out I won't be satisfied.

Thank you for your reply.

I understand. let me help.
A good PCP will be over 1k and likely 2k plus. They are amazing and stupid accurate but very succeptable to wind.
1moa at 100 is not realistic but you can get those groups on occassion. 3" at 100 is realistic with good environmentals.
I would steer away from 22 and go 25 cal.
Carbon fiber tanks with regulator and fill hose is probably 750-1000 bucks.
You need an air compressor or a place to fill your tank. Chinese compressors are available now that are decent for about 300 bucks. Add a bit to that for a proper fill hose assembly and filter system. You are filling to 4500psi so this is not something you can do any other way.
JSB, beeman, fx and a few others make pellets that are very good. Cant go cheap here.
You will not want to shoot at 1000fps as pellets do not like that speed. 850-900 are realistic and 8-880 is the sweet spot usually.

Good PCPs are amazing. I went through a lot of them and liked most. They will make you feel like a kid again and amaze you. They kill well above their punch weight but head shots and extreme accuracy are the main reason.

Hope that helps

 

[Rsadams]

For air guns a good PCP PLUS the electric pump to fill the tank , hand pumps are out for sure... Time you set it up with all the stuff you could easily buy a Tikka and nice Leupold scoped hunting rifle.... Or a threaded barrel .22lr with a suppressor if noise is the problem but even a magnum springer us a lot louder than you think... The PCP in a large caliber can be hunted with easily but once again for the good stuff you will need a calculator and get ready for sticker shock and the word " really " to come out your mouth several times and a bit louder each time...

Now if you just want to shoot in the backyard a springer is a good choice but if you want .22 at a real not advertised speed of 1000fps you will need to get a magnum springer.... I went with a regular .22 caliber non magnum from Dana because you can actually shoot it a few times without wearing out your arm cocking it.... It's about 700fps... Still not exactly easy to cock compared to something like a daisy or cheap academy airgun...

Now let's talk about FPS which they lie about like a crazy if there's a law they don't care about it... Only a reputable manufacturer tells close to the truth and reputable is expensive... They use super lite weight pellets etc to come up with that number almost like pick up manufacturers pick towing weight numbers... When you get down to the real world numbers it's about three quarters of what they say if not a little more than half...

Now scopes , especially on a springer you need a scope that can handle the recoil , not that the recoil is a ton it's just that it goes back and forwards as the spring jumps when fired... This motion will kill a cheap scope or even a decent .22lr scope it's better to stick with one made for air guns and a good one will make you mutter to yourself again , try and be in a room by yourself so your family doesn't get worried about you talking to yourself.... OR if your wife's like mine she knows exactly what's up when that starts happening.. Usually followed by the words what are you looking at or what are you doing...

So in conclusion air rifles are like rimfire or even center-fire rifles... A decent ones expensive and all the crap you add on is normally expensive and they all have a different use... I don't suggest trying to take a deer or hog with the old trusty red rider but shooting a nice PCP in the backyard at tin cans is way overkill... Plus like a center fire you need to know exactly what behind your target... Your neighbors will not be happy... And those big PCP rifles can easily kill , people use them to take large game at close ranges like deer and hogs no problem... I highly suggest you figure out exactly what you will actually use it for , plinking cans , a little paper shooting or rat control , hunting small game or even larger game...plus do a ton of research before you spend a dime on anything... If you're say fifty years old even the air rifles you had as a kid where better than the ones you would buy at academy etc now... Used to be all metal now all plastic etc.. you want a nice metal with nice wood stocks etc get ready for the mumbling to start and like regular rifles the (for a couple hundred more ) I can get this is a real thing , get ready...

 

[DShortt]

For air guns a good PCP PLUS the electric pump to fill the tank , hand pumps are out for sure... Time you set it up with all the stuff you could easily buy a Tikka and nice Leupold scoped hunting rifle.... Or a threaded barrel .22lr with a suppressor if noise is the problem but even a magnum springer us a lot louder than you think... The PCP in a large caliber can be hunted with easily but once again for the good stuff you will need a calculator and get ready for sticker shock and the word " really " to come out your mouth several times and a bit louder each time...

Now if you just want to shoot in the backyard a springer is a good choice but if you want .22 at a real not advertised speed of 1000fps you will need to get a magnum springer.... I went with a regular .22 caliber non magnum from Dana because you can actually shoot it a few times without wearing out your arm cocking it.... It's about 700fps... Still not exactly easy to cock compared to something like a daisy or cheap academy airgun...

Now let's talk about FPS which they lie about like a crazy if there's a law they don't care about it... Only a reputable manufacturer tells close to the truth and reputable is expensive... They use super lite weight pellets etc to come up with that number almost like pick up manufacturers pick towing weight numbers... When you get down to the real world numbers it's about three quarters of what they say if not a little more than half...

Now scopes , especially on a springer you need a scope that can handle the recoil , not that the recoil is a ton it's just that it goes back and forwards as the spring jumps when fired... This motion will kill a cheap scope or even a decent .22lr scope it's better to stick with one made for air guns and a good one will make you mutter to yourself again , try and be in a room by yourself so your family doesn't get worried about you talking to yourself.... OR if your wife's like mine she knows exactly what's up when that starts happening.. Usually followed by the words what are you looking at or what are you doing...

So in conclusion air rifles are like rimfire or even center-fire rifles... A decent ones expensive and all the crap you add on is normally expensive and they all have a different use... I don't suggest trying to take a deer or hog with the old trusty red rider but shooting a nice PCP in the backyard at tin cans is way overkill... Plus like a center fire you need to know exactly what behind your target... Your neighbors will not be happy... And those big PCP rifles can easily kill , people use them to take large game at close ranges like deer and hogs no problem... I highly suggest you figure out exactly what you will actually use it for , plinking cans , a little paper shooting or rat control , hunting small game or even larger game...plus do a ton of research before you spend a dime on anything... If you're say fifty years old even the air rifles you had as a kid where better than the ones you would buy at academy etc now... Used to be all metal now all plastic etc.. you want a nice metal with nice wood stocks etc get ready for the mumbling to start and like regular rifles the (for a couple hundred more ) I can get this is a real thing , get ready...

Thanks for the realistic advice. I rather figured as much so I'm not surprised. Evidently this will require much more research than I'd originally anticipated but that's OK. I'm in no particular hurry, not even 'kickin' tires'. Just gathering information.

 

[Rank Amateur]

Thanks for the realistic advice. I rather figured as much so I'm not surprised. Evidently this will require much more research than I'd originally anticipated but that's OK. I'm in no particular hurry, not even 'kickin' tires'. Just gathering information.

I don't think we really understand "the why" behind your interest. Obviously the advice provided is informed by our assumptions of what you are looking for. Would you be willing to expound a bit on why you are interested in airguns and what you want to use them for?

Entry into air gunning has a lot of similarities to getting into centerfire. If your interest is in hunting, folks will recommend very different equipment than if you're interested in short range benchrest or F-class. I might suggest you consider entering airgunning the same way. If you have lots of disposable income and want the best, your first centerfire rifle might be a custom build for $10K. If you are trying out F-class, there are lots of threads here suggesting trying a competition with something you already have, or building a relatively modest Savage (for example). If you are unsure about airgunning, don't want to spend thousands, and want to try it out (whether "it" is backyard plinking, benchrest, pesting, silhouette, whatever), starting with a decent "do it all" rifle is likely a better approach. It may not grab you, and being out $1K will be easier to take than having spent long dollars on something that is great, but that you don't use.

If you are in the cost-no-object-buy-once-cry-once position, then consider FX or Daystate or RAW, a SCBA bottle and large electric compressor. If you're in the want-to-try-a-match-with-my-factory-Savage position, then I'd recommend a Benjamin Marauder. For charging the lower end PCPs, hand pumps are adequate, BUT, a Hill high pressure hand pump will set you back a couple of hundred dollars. For 500, you can pick up a small Air Venturi electric pump that will fill to 4500PSI (and there are Chinese pumps available for a bit over half of that cost). Just like the factory Savage, you won't worry about breaking it, and you may end up using it a bunch even if you subsequently move up to better equipment.

Maybe personal experience will help. I've had springers and air ram rifles for decades. I bought a synthetic stocked Marauder as my first PCP and a Hill pump to fill it. I loved it and went on to obtain several FX rifles, a RAW, the Daystate Red Wolf, AirForce, etc. I have rifles and pistols in .22, .25, .30, 357, and 457 calibers. I shoot pellets and slugs, and spent the majority of my airgun time plinking, pesting, and target shooting on my property. With all that, the rifle I MOST often pull out to plink or pest with is my Benjamin Synrod (Marauder with synthetic stock in .22). The Hill pump still works, but I replaced it with a Air Venturi Nomad pump more than 5 years ago. That pump is still running and I use it to fill rifles directly as well as a small carbon fiber tank. I wanted FX and Daystate when I first got interested in this, but do NOT regret the $500 for the Marauder, $500 for the pump, and $600 Hawke Sidewinder scope.

 

[DShortt]

Frankly it's beginning to look like I'd be better off to consider a tax stamp and suppressor. I'd prefer to avoid that but practicality and costs associated with specific accessories suggests otherwise.

 

[DGP4]

If you can content yourself with shooting very accurately at 50 yards, an $800 investment in a quality springer is all you need. The $$$ starts to skyrocket when you go to a PCP and all the fixings.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

If you can content yourself with shooting very accurately at 50 yards, an $800 investment in a quality springer is all you need. The $$$ starts to skyrocket when you go to a PCP and all the fixings.

Yeah I spent more money on accessories and a high pressure air compressors than I did on the rifle.

 

[DShortt]

I would pit my $400 Air Venturi 22 cal air rifle against most custom 22LR rimfire rifles and wouldn't be surprised if my air rifle came out on top for accuracy more often than not.

Rimfire ammo has you by the scruff of your neck. Not much you can do to change it. The pellet selection for 22 cal is nearly as numerous as the selection of 22LR ammo, but the difference is you can really tune in a PCP air rifle. You can tune chamber pressures, try different pellet lubes, use adjustable barrel tuners, and even cast your own lead pellets, Contrary to what some are claiming here, 1 MOA at 100 yards is not a problem with good pcp rifles of you know how to tune them with the right match pellet. And of course pellets are sensitive to wind. All small slower moving rounds are. Try shooting 1 moa with a 22LR at 100 yards with a decent crosswind and you'll have just as much trouble.

That depends on the crosswind. If it varies enough you'll have trouble with a centerfire.

I'm not interested if it's an anomaly on even a dead-calm day.

 

[wyshadow]

Good recommendations you were given. Getting into airguns can be tricky if you don't know what to expect. If you knew someone who shot really expensive airguns and were able to shot them, you would have a better idea. You could also try looking up a match and see if you could look around but airgun matches are very few where you can sample a lot of different guns. There are about 4 big events held every year in the states you could go to. RMAC and EBR the two biggest.

Realistically, shooting one inch or less at 100 yards outside with a airgun is really hard to do. Even if you have spent 5K in equipment, shooting under MOA is tough. Expect under MOA accuracy at 50 yards is attainable with most pcp. I first got into pcp's 13 years ago and at the time the Mrod was the best thing to buy if you are just getting into shooting. Now days there are better and cheaper airguns than the mrod IMO. I've heard good things about DAR. Look up MountainSport Airguns on youtube and watch Dana's videos. Dana is highly respected by most airgunners and this means some manufactures hate him for giving honest reviews.

If you really wanting to purchase an airgun, I would recommend two options. If you not sure if you will like airguns, I would look on the classified on AGN and other forums. You can find really great deals for about 300. Usually most will sell their slightly used airguns for less than half the cost of new. The other options is if you want to jump into the deep end. I would recommend having a tuner tune a good pcp for you. Contact Derrick Wall, Spaw, or Allen Z. They usually have on hand a slightly older (last years model) pcp and tune it for what you want it to do. You could also buy a really old pcp (five years) and send it to one of them and they could tune it to shot as good as anything out there.

Another thing to watch out for is don't believe the marketing and the hype on youtube. Most are paid to say good things about the product.