Precision Air Rifles

[Jager]

I'm sure a lot of us had BB guns as a kid. For most of us, air rifles lost their appeal once we were old enough to start using "real guns" - firearms.

I'm way too far down the rabbit hole of things that go bang to ever have a spring or gas-driven projectile ever be my main thing. But I'm sure air guns for adults have come a long way. And I wouldn't mind dipping my toe in the water of those distant cousins of ours, if truly accurate air rifles are out there.

With that in mind, can anyone point to resources, or actual models, that they have experience with, or that they might recommend?

 

[markT]

Go with a PCP
FX is top dog $$$ ( I own the FX Dreamline and FX Impact M3) / both 22 cal
Daystate is number 2 $$$$$
New USA company that will change the industry Skout Airguns / EPOCH wonderfully engineered pcp..
Lots of choices out there today.
Youtube has lots of videos Ted's Holdover / Matt Dubber lots of others. These two guys are FX sponsored.
Vendors: Utah Airguns / Airguns of Arizona / Pyramid Air/ Skout ( buy direct from Scout)
Its additive and more fun than you can imagine..

 

[Mark M.]

Your budget will determine your choices

 

[markT]

FX Dreamline

 

[bobm]

PCP's equals a HUGE investment in support equipment to use it. A high quality spring piston rifle from Weihrauch like the HW80 in .22 is out of the box ready and accurate. I can't deal with the tiny .177 pellets.

 

[markT]

If you are going to buy a "springer" buy a German made one.. Can be resold and they are built well..
Airgun Nation is an airgun forum its a good ole boy forum where a few can get by with anything and others are censored.. AND but lots of BS people on there with BS agenda... Just so you know..

 

[Adam in WI]

A PCP is a lot of fun. Almost zero recoil, very quiet, but the supporting infrastructure can make or break your perspective on it. I hand pump, but I'm cheap. Someday I'll spring for the carbon fiber tank

You don't need an expensive rifle to have a good time. The Benjamin Marauder gets excellent reviews, and has great aftermarket support if you like to tinker later. I do agree with Bob on caliber, .22 for me.

Just don't waste your money on a Gamo, please...

 

[dantiff2]

GET ONE! I have a couple of the cheapest possible, nothing fancy, no frills, NOT a benchrest gun out there. And my sons and I shoot these things daily because they are so much fun! I have mounted a bipod to ours and with H&N match pellets, our guns can shoot 10 shot strings inside of a half inch at 50 yards repeatily, all day long. We have a 125 yard range in my back yard and its easy to hold 2" groupings with "slugs" with these low tech PCP's. Using Primary arms 4x14 scopes. Go over the gun out of the box and secure all screws like a normal rifle and these things shoot! If the wind is not blowing, I've shot some of my smallest groups and it's sooo addicting! Great trigger training too ; )

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I'd like to add that pellet choice is the biggest factor in the guns ability to shoot. H&N offers their match line in three different head diameters. Our 22 cal guns like the 21.14gn, 5.52 mm the best and while they all shot fantastic, we found there were no "flyers" with the largest option. You can easily put 2-3-4 shots in the same hole : O I honestly couldn't believe just how accurate these things are : O

Dan

 

[TSFineGuns]

PCP is the way to go. Won’t be cheap though.

I had a springer for years and struggled to keep it zeroed or to a level of consistent accuracy that I was happy with.

Made the PCP commitment about a year ago and couldn’t be happier.

Benjamin Marauder - Field & Target - Regulated model with the Lothar Walther Match Barrel. Shoots a consistent 850fps and will put .22cal pellets in the same hole at 50+ yards.

I can get about 50-60 shots out of a 3,000psi charge. I will typically recharge once it falls to between 2,500 - 2,000psi though. Much less work that shooting down to 1,500psi

All in they’re expensive. I waited for a package to pop up on sale and snagged it. Cost of rifle with pump was around $850 iirc. I put a Leupold Vx 3x9 optic I had previously on it, so no additional cost there.

No looking back for me. Thing is dead on and works flawlessly on small game in the back yard.

I shoot my PCP way way more than any of my rimfire or centerfire firearms.

I purchased from Pyramid Air

 

[JEFFPPC]

Ok, I took the leap 18 months ago. Not PCPs, might as well go rim fire, but high end Springer. The Air Arms TX200 I shoot is both pleasing to the eyes, walnut stock, but is very accurate after one learns to shoot it. It will teach you bench manners. I often say shooting it at 25 yards is just like shooting a good PPC at 100 yards. Good groups are .100 to .150 and groups that make you smile are in the zeros. Get bored on the bench, try some offhand. At near 76 my offhand days are behind me but I decided to give it a try. So at 10 meters I could hit a saucer most shots. Now after a few shots a day off hand I am shooting groups inside a quarter with a gun that from an offhand position does not come close to fitting me. Lots of ways to play with it. .03 a shot and little or no cleaning required. I started a local group , we sponsor a monthly bench match at 20 meters and have shot in a winter leagues 20 minutes down the road the last several months. It is deadly on squirrels those no longer living on the ridge behind me found out. Here is some pics from testing pellets and our local group at a match we sponsor monthly. For around 1000.00 you can have a competitive rifle and scope.

 

[JEFFPPC]

Oh, one BIG thing I forgot. A rifle and a tin of pellets is all a Springer guy needs. Otherwise your always a slave to the need for air, thus electricity. Oh, be sure to price what a GOOD compressor will cost you. Just something to be aware of. I have heard that some fire companies will no longer fill your air tanks due to liability. You want to hand pump, better try it first.

 

[CharlieNC]

For low cost practice (and component availability) I bought a springer three years ago. For ease of operation and my believe of longer term stability, I purchased a side lever Diana RWS 54 with a fixed barrel. While the PCP seemed easier and more accurate, I didn't want to go down the air supply rabbit hole. It shoots into a single hole at 25yd and 1/2in at 50yd, surprisingly accurate for a springer which is routinely available from numerous options these days.

 

[bsekf]

PM sent

 

[markT]

If you live in an area with with a dive shop just buy a used SCUBA tank and pay for refills.. I have a dive shop within 15 mins.. I don't shoot that much but would rather pay for good clean air than screw around with a compressor.. Here's a new pcp from a German mfg.. Price seems reasonable for a German made gun and Lothar Walter bbl. I havn't seen any reviews on it yet..

 

[Adam in WI]

A slave to electricity, lol. The Lewis and Clark expedition had along a .40 caliber repeating PCP. My how soft we've become

 

[DGP4]

I agree with the others that starting with a high quality springer is a good idea. If you then find you are bitten by the bug, you can then spend the money and go for a PCP. My suggestion would be to start with a Weihrauch HW30S which is a superb low power springer that will shoot one hole groups at 1-20 meters and can be had for a little over $300. Hard to find in the US but you can order it direct from Krale in Europe.

Weihrauch HW30 S

Weihrauch air rifles are engineered and manufactured in Germany in accordance with the latest sporting arms technology. With decades of experience and a strive for perfection and innovationn, Weihrauch is able to deliver top quality, for maximum performance and a long service life.The Weihrauch...

www.krale.shop

 

[Rocky Mt High]

Good springer- RWS Diana 48.

 

[divingin]

Oh, one BIG thing I forgot. A rifle and a tin of pellets is all a Springer guy needs. Otherwise your always a slave to the need for air, thus electricity. Oh, be sure to price what a GOOD compressor will cost you. Just something to be aware of. I have heard that some fire companies will no longer fill your air tanks due to liability. You want to hand pump, better try it first.

Look for paintball shops/ranges. They tend to be a lot less picky than FD's or dive shops (some dive shops won't fill unless you're scuba certified as a CYA thing.)

Hand pumping my Morini air pistol isn't bad. 60-ish strokes from shutoff to full (I can do it in one go without too much trouble; 4 or 5 minutes. If I have 2 cylinders to hand-pump, a somewhat lengthy break is called for.) That said, I got a cheap ($200 ish) compressor to see what I was missing - a lot, as it turns out.

I suspect an air rifle cylinder would take a lot longer to hand-pump than I would be willing to put in.

 

[7315br]

I'm sure a lot of us had BB guns as a kid. For most of us, air rifles lost their appeal once we were old enough to start using "real guns" - firearms.

I'm way too far down the rabbit hole of things that go bang to ever have a spring or gas-driven projectile ever be my main thing. But I'm sure air guns for adults have come a long way. And I wouldn't mind dipping my toe in the water of those distant cousins of ours, if truly accurate air rifles are out there.

With that in mind, can anyone point to resources, or actual models, that they have experience with, or that they might recommend?

There has been a number of comments in the past on the Rimfire and Smallbore section on this forum about air rifles. Much discussion on Springers and PCP's. As someone else commented...what is your budget? Precision Springers aren't cheap, and super accurate PCP's are usually more. Your choice...Lol!

My suggestion would be if you are going to hunt with one...go to a PCP. Springers can be hunted with, but most people seemed to target shoot them. PCP's do cost more to initially set-up. No doubt about it, but there are ways to keep the cost down. I've mentioned how to accomplish that in comments in the past. One doesn't have to have a compressor or a $600 air tank. There are ways around it. Surplus fire fighter tanks have been the way to go for me. $18 per refill for 4500 PSI is pretty cheap for 900-1,000 shots.

3rd picture is the day I bought my FX Wildcat .25 caliber. The group below 6'oclock is the salesman group and mine at the 9'oclock just below the number 3. That is a five shot group in AOA's range at 22 yds.

I have 4,000 plus pellets through it now, and it still shoots 1/2" (5) shot groups at 50 yds and 1 1/4" groups at a 100 yds.

Best of luck in your decision. Air rifles are really fun to shoot!!

 

[Doug Beach]

Hand pumping a PCP is not a big deal for the reasonably fit. If you can do 20 pushups, or a handful of pull-ups, and walk a couple miles without resting, you can hand pump a PCP. If you realistically cannot do these things, you will need another method of filling your reservoir, and it might get expensive.