A good Air Rifle?

Triton

Triton

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2000
Messages
35,975
Hello all,

I know that there have been threads about these in the past, but in attempting to find them I get masses of threads that contain the words "air" and "rifle." I figure things may have changed since the last of these threads anyway.

So here's what I'm looking for:

1) 1 stroke pellet rifle
2) Good accuracy
3) At least 1200 fps
4) Cost 200 dollars or less

Anyone have any thoughts and / or recommendations or am I just indulging in wishful thinking here?

Also would you recommend .177 or .22 caliber?

Thanks!
 
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I would try Big 5 sporting goods, they usually have some crack and shoot air rifles. .177 is more common, but more stopping power (do I dare say that without Prac tac coming into play) with .22

Try searching pneumatic rifle as well. I enjoy my old school Daisy 770 10 pump. The boys were shooting it this weekend. It is only 700 fps.
 
Hope this is of some help.

I'm an Air Rifle Instructor over here in the UK.

The 177 vs 22 arguement is an ongoing one and both calibres have their merits.

Basically:

.177 flies flatter and faster and penatrates more. This can lead to over penatration of some targets and can be a problem, e.g. pigeons in a barn.

.22 has a loopier trajectory and you need to be able to compensate for that, but this can be easily overcome with practice. Advocates say that it does hit with more power.

.20 might also be worth a look at as a compromise, it's something I'm using more now.

FWIW, alot of people starting with airguns prefer .177 as they don't need to compensate as much.

As far as recommending an Air Rifle goes we're limited to under 12lb power over here without a Firearms certificate so I imagine the availability of rifles is very different. I would think take a look at Crosman as you're in the States, they seem very good, I have several myself.

Goodluck, I really enjoy my shooting, I've recenting bought a Theoben Rapid PCP .20, but that's a very different rifle from what you're looking at. You could look at spring rifles as well; BSA Lightning is a good starter that many people use over here.

atb, John
 
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Check out this one. It's faster in .177 but I prefer .22. Mendoza has a long history and this is no toy. It's solid, well built, not Chinese and a good value. Bought one for my Dad in .177 for Christmas last year and was very impressed.

I have a modified Benjamin 392 in .22 that I prefer but you said you wanted one stroke. I like being able to vary the Benj. between 3-10 pumps and also being able to leave it pumped up for long periods of time which you're not supposed to do with the spring cocked ones.

With my Chrono I'm getting 18fpe out of the Benjamin with 18gr pellets.
 
Its a little more expensive and doesn't have quite the FPS you are looking for, but a Beeman R7 is a sweet little break barrel rifle. The R9 has a bit more power. (Don't get fooled by the "Beeman" models like you'd see in Dick's for $50. They are plastic and pot metal).
 
Shann said:
Its a little more expensive and doesn't have quite the FPS you are looking for, but a Beeman R7 is a sweet little break barrel rifle. The R9 has a bit more power. (Don't get fooled by the "Beeman" models like you'd see in Dick's for $50. They are plastic and pot metal).
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Yeah, those Wal-mart and Dick's Beeman's are made in China and total junk. RWS also has a great air rifle in the $250 range but that's quite a bit more than the Mendoza or Benjamin.
 
i have killed many a small game in my youth with a bb gun. cant remember the make or model but i remember pumping that sucker many times and fully penetrating squirrels at 20 yds. one hell of a gun.. i remember it was not expensive either
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far all. I've been looking at the various Gamo models, now I'm going to look at some of these others.
 
Two thoughts:
What do you want this for? Plinking at cans, paper targets, pest control? Different guns for each.
Muzzle velocity isn't everything and at the price you are looking at may involve compromise with accuracy (and the rifle is unlikely to live up to the claimed velocity anyway).
 
Triton said:
Hello all,

I know that there have been threads about these in the past, but in attempting to find them I get masses of threads that contain the words "air" and "rifle." I figure things may have changed since the last of these threads anyway.

So here's what I'm looking for:

1) 1 stroke pellet rifle
2) Good accuracy
3) At least 1200 fps
4) Cost 200 dollars or less

Anyone have any thoughts and / or recommendations or am I just indulging in wishful thinking here?

Also would you recommend .177 or .22 caliber?

Thanks!
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1. Get a side cocking air rifle. Break barrel aren't as accurate because the barel isnt one piece, and i found that i needed to tighten up the pivot screw every so often.
2. Get an RWS Model 48, i have it and love it. I've shot plenty of other guns but for the money, accuracy and ease of use this is a great gun.
3. Just because an advertiser says "1200" fps, doesnt mean it goes that. They use the lightest pellets to put out a truthful speed. Keep it under 1000fps, anything over that causes pellet wobble because it cracks over the speed of sound. If your gun is shooting quick, up the weight of the pellet. I shoot 10.5gr pellets in my gun and it shoots accurately and packs a great punch
4. go to www.pyramydair.com and check the guns out there. .177 is great for smaller game, target shooting, plinking and whatever else. 22 is best for hunting and occassional target. I have an easier time finding .177 pellets than .22.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
1. Get a side cocking air rifle. Break barrel aren't as accurate because the barel isnt one piece, and i found that i needed to tighten up the pivot screw every so often.
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Nonsense! It has long been proven that there is no difference in accuracy between QUALITYair rifles of either design. I have a Beeman HW77 .177 and a R9 .20. They are both capable of shooting 1/4" groups at 20 yards with their favorite pellets. Also, a break barrel rifle is much easier to load.

The velocity thing is highly over rated. It has also been proven that it is best to keep the velocity of an air rifle under 1080 FPS. Due to the design of pellets, they shed velocity fast when driven past the speed of sound and as they drop back below the speed of sound there is a lot of buffeting that will reduce the accuracy. The advertising of a certain air gun company is mostly hype.

For some good info, I suggest that you go to http://www.straightshooters.com/ and do some reading. You will save yourself some grief.

Of course, I don't know anything about this stuff, so buy what you want.
 
UffDa said:
Nonsense! It has long been proven that there is no difference in accuracy between QUALITYair rifles of either design. I have a Beeman HW77 .177 and a R9 .20. They are both capable of shooting 1/4" groups at 20 yards with their favorite pellets. Also, a break barrel rifle is much easier to load.

The velocity thing is highly over rated. It has also been proven that it is best to keep the velocity of an air rifle under 1080 FPS. Due to the design of pellets, they shed velocity fast when driven past the speed of sound and as they drop back below the speed of sound there is a lot of buffeting that will reduce the accuracy. The advertising of a certain air gun company is mostly hype.

For some good info, I suggest that you go to http://www.straightshooters.com/ and do some reading. You will save yourself some grief.

Of course, I don't know anything about this stuff, so buy what you want.
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I sense sarcasm :D ... and concur with your former statements. Airguns of Arizona, Pomona Airguns and Mac1 are good places to get griefLess choices. While the cost of quality airguns are somewhat high - buy once cry once.
 
1200fps is usually acheived with the new alloy light pellets that dont hold energy for long. Look at an RWS 48, (search, they are less that $200) amazing accuracy, tons of power and wont bus tthe sound barrier.
 
UffDa said:
Nonsense! It has long been proven that there is no difference in accuracy between QUALITYair rifles of either design. I have a Beeman HW77 .177 and a R9 .20. They are both capable of shooting 1/4" groups at 20 yards with their favorite pellets. Also, a break barrel rifle is much easier to load.

The velocity thing is highly over rated. It has also been proven that it is best to keep the velocity of an air rifle under 1080 FPS. Due to the design of pellets, they shed velocity fast when driven past the speed of sound and as they drop back below the speed of sound there is a lot of buffeting that will reduce the accuracy. The advertising of a certain air gun company is mostly hype.

For some good info, I suggest that you go to http://www.straightshooters.com/ and do some reading. You will save yourself some grief.

Of course, I don't know anything about this stuff, so buy what you want.[/QUOTE]

If you don't know anything, then I do not even know what a pellet rifle is. :D
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Yikes didn't know there was some sort of contreversy here! I'll check all the links thanks guys.
 
SVRIDER1 said:
look up the yellow forums
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That's a good one. There are others.

Try this http://www.airguns.net/

They have links to the Yellow Forum and others.

There are two ways (maybe more) to buy an air rifle.

1. Go to Walmart and pick one out that you like and be happy.

2. Study all the information available on the internet. Ask opinions on forums like this. Drive yourself crazy worrying about the minutia of the subject. Been there, done that. ;)
 
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