Air Rifle Recommendation

[sierrastalker]

I'm looking to buy my first air rifle. Main reason for buying it now is that I've got some pretty large rats in the back yard I want to get rid of. They're climbing my avocado tree and stealing fruit and they're making my wife's skin crawl. I live in a residential neighborhood, houses very close together, but fenced. Obviously the .22lr is out of the question. I don't want to put traps out due to other critters also being in the back yard. Just need something simple, but I'm also the kind of person that would rather 'buy once, cry once' so I don't want to go total entry level. I may want to use it for squirrels later, or just general plinking but it's never going to replace reloading and shooting my real rifles. I could see my wife having fun with it on a camping trip. Anyway, I don't want to get into special compressors, etc....so I think the PCP style is probably overkill. I don't mind spending a few hundred bucks, something on the nicer end of mid-range type of thing.

Anyone out there have any advice? Like everything, there's too much info on the internet and some real life recommendations would be very appreciated!

 

[NRA4LIFE]

My Gamo 440 has served me well for 20 years now.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Crosman or Benjamin pump in .22
Rats are tough, hit em hard.

 

[Wolf_trapper]

Air venturi avenger. You won't miss under 100yds

 

[TheGDog]

Umarex Octane in .22 Cal. Trigger is not great, but it's pretty quiet and wops things but good.

Use either Predator PolyMags or H&N Terminators.



EDIT: If you get a Break-Barrel for economical reasons, definitely get one that is a Gas-Piston! And not a Springer.

 

[Mojave]

FTX Dreamline, because it is quiet.

 

[BackSpasm]

I have a gamo urban .22 that I have killed literally over 500 starlings with a smattering of other invasive and game species. It’s a tack driver and bolt action

 

[MallardSX2]

Benjamin Marauder | Synthetic PCP Air Rifle | Pyramyd AIR

The synthetic stock Benjamin Marauder with adjustable comb will give you more shots per fill and reversible bolt for right- or left-handed shooters.

www.pyramydair.com

You can thank me later. Get it in .177 caliber if you’re close to houses……and the pellets are cheaper…

 

[weisenbu]

I have a .177 Diana 350 Magnum springer. It works very well in the environment you describe. I tried several pellet styles and brands to find what it likes best. The magnum springer does have some reverse recoil and isn’t super quiet, but definitely doesn’t have the crack of a .22LR. It is heavy but that helps keep it steady. The attached pic is a 5 shot group from 20 yards.

 

[LeftyWilbury]

I'd suggest .22 over .177 due to more knockdown capability and less likely pass through shots. I'm not a big fan of the Gamo nor benjamin rifles but I've got an older beeman R9 Goldfinger combo (.20 cal with mounted 3x9-40) that's ridiculously smooth with the rekord trigger so I freely admit to being a bit snobby about the whole thing. My R9 in 1994 ran me $500 with scope...the benjamin nitro I had cost me $120 two years ago. Looks like a beeman R9 with scope runs $630 at pyramid air these days!

I'd go over to pyramid air or airguns of arizona and sort through break barrel .22 air rifles in the $150-300 range if you're not looking to go fancy and read reviews looking for people who talk about sound levels. Pyramid Air even has Sound Level as one of their specification categories. Hatsan, Gamo, Benjamin are probably the main brands in that price range. I'd suggest finding one with a mounted 3x9 instead of a little 4x scope. And just understand at that price range you're not getting a nice scope, so a 4x scope isn't even worth looking through. Since you're in CA it's probably not kosher to play with airguns at all in your yard so finding a quieter one is probably for the best. Just remember when you smack something with a .22 pellet at 800 fps, it makes a nice thwack. That all said, you'll get a much nicer experience at $500 but there are plenty of happy people shooting $150 pellet guns all day long.

And make sure you order a bunch of pellets too. You're going to want to find out which ones are most accurate. Usually round nose have worked well for me in my springers and do solid damage to the critters I've shot. Pointed pellets aren't really necessary but the Predator International Polymags are pretty damn impressive. But you'll want pellets to plink with that aren't overly expensive.

 

[MattB]

I got a Benjamin Kratos and have been very happy with how it shoots. Air Guns of AZ is where I got it and they were fantastic to deal with.

 

[Shraggs]

I want one too just cause.

A side note, 22 rifle short sub sonic seem as quiet as an aggressive pellet gun.

 

[Northman.]

I would prefer to buy quality made European ones, then cheap imported plastic stuff.
And a break barrel, compared to a PCP. Atleast until you know you want to spend plenty more money.

I would recommend, Weihrauch (Or Beeman as its called in the US).
I am fond of their: HW30S, HW35E, HW77 or 77K, HW97K, HW80.
And own all except the HW30S.

They all come with the best airgun trigger out there!
The HW35E, is a 70 year old model in continues production, and comes with Walnut stock.
The HW77K and 97K, fixed barrels, with some better internals are nearly competing against full PCP race guns.
The HW80K is a full power house.. I have one in .22 and .25... for max umpfh on things. And easier to load pellets in cold weather.


Men in their 50-60s on airgun forums, who has shot air rifles for decades, quite often rank the HW30S, the smallest of them all, as their favorite, as its the easiest to break and load pellets, with the best trigger. And enough force to kill rodents out to 20-30 yards.

 

[matt91585]

These are great looking guns. I definitely need to buy one.

 

[weisenbu]

I would prefer to buy quality made European ones, then cheap imported plastic stuff.
And a break barrel, compared to a PCP. Atleast until you know you want to spend plenty more money.

I would recommend, Weihrauch (Or Beeman as its called in the US).
I am fond of their: HW30S, HW35E, HW77 or 77K, HW97K, HW80.
And own all except the HW30S.

They all come with the best airgun trigger out there!
The HW35E, is a 70 year old model in continues production, and comes with Walnut stock.
The HW77K and 97K, fixed barrels, with some better internals are nearly competing against full PCP race guns.
The HW80K is a full power house.. I have one in .22 and .25... for max umpfh on things. And easier to load pellets in cold weather.


Men in their 50-60s on airgun forums, who has shot air rifles for decades, quite often rank the HW30S, the smallest of them all, as their favorite, as its the easiest to break and load pellets, with the best trigger. And enough force to kill rodents out to 20-30 yards.

I agree with a lot of what is stated here, which is why I bought a RWS Diana air rifle which is also German made. It has a beautiful wood stock and excellent trigger also. I couldn’t get myself to buy one of those plastic models sold at Walmart. PCP guns definitely have some advantages, but I prefer a break barrel or cocking lever because I didn’t want to deal with pumps or compressors. That took some of the nostalgia out of it. Mine definitely liked some pellets more than others. I also experimented with pellet seating depth in the barrel. My gun preferred to have the pellet seated down the barrel about 1/8”. I made a tool to consistently seat the pellet. Shoots very, very well for me. I bought a .177. I wish I had bought a .22 for pest control. A little more oomph.

 

[weisenbu]

The world of air guns can be very daunting as there are countless options. Don't get overwhelmed. Just focus on your priorities and you'll be happy in the end. For me, my priorities in no particular order were 1) accurate 2) non-PCP 3) good trigger 4) wood stock. I put a scope on mine too. If you put a scope on a springer, just make sure that the scope is rated for a springer as they have reverse recoil and a lot of scopes aren't made to handle that...

 

[TheGDog]

Don't do a springer if you go break-barrel. Just go Gas-Piston spring. That way you can leave it cocked and loaded all day without ill effect.

Plus you don't have all those weird gyrations going on after you pull the trigger necessitating this hold.. or that hold... in order to achieve accuracy. Bump that noise.

Just get a Gas Piston in a "Magnum-Glass" breakbarrel. So you'll get the faster speeds you'll want for taking game.

But definitely get one with a built-in suppressor on it. Mine is comparable to a pneumatic roofing nailer in terms of noise upon firing. The pellet hitting the backstop makes more noise than actual firing of it.

That quiet report helps A LOT when creepin' on game.

And then do her up camo'd once you've found a keeper!



And before I forget to mention it... DEFINITELY get you one of those Pellet Pen Holders which holds the Pellets for you and makes it easy to load it out in the field!

 

[journeyman713]

I'll recommend Pyramyd air for looking and buying!

Pyramyd AIR | Premier Online Outdoor Store

Pyramyd Adventures in Recreation.

www.pyramydair.com

 

[Fastbackperry]

Many good and valid things said above. I've had german made adult airguns for 20 plus years now. Sadly people look down on airguns not knowing the U.S. military trains snipers with olympic grade air rifles today. A FWB 300S I had was marked stamped USMC. Lewis & Clarke would have been in deep dodo if they wouldn't have had one along as their powder got wet. That gun was in Doc Beeman's personal collection until recently when he worked out a deal with a U.S. history museum. People love airguns for various reasons but one is being able to shoot at home at various things alive or not, practicing proper trigger hold, squeeze, breathing, etc. Most have plenty of firearms as I do then get aflicted with collecting nice german and british springers. I have these and PCP's from Sweden, Russia, Czeck Republic, and UK. We keep them subsonic not because they cannot go supersonic but because we want them quiet. A .25 cal 33 gr pellet moving at 940 fps will do some damage. Today I sold a FX Impact M3 .25 cal that over $3,300 into it. Check out Airgun Nation. Pretty much the best site for researching and their is classifieds. To the question. Sorry about the rodents. We have elk in our yard destroying our flower beds so I get it. Their are decent guns that are inexpensive at Big 5, Walmart, Cabella's, etc that will get the job done but if you want something made as good or better than many rifles on this forum choose a german made gun for a springer or some have a gas strut. Weihrauch is very good and who Beeman worked with back in the day mostly. Some of those models are listed above. These types of guns will be family heirlooms if taken care of. Airguns are addicting so be careful. .22 or .177 or even .20 are all fine. Usually larger pellets move a little slower with airguns but not always the rule. Their are ballistics calculators out there that you can plug info into to get foot pounds of energy if you really wanted to know. Attached pic is of the Impact M3 that just left and the wood stocked one is my .25 cal Edgun R5M that is my favorite .25 wood walker. Feel free to PM me if you have a question although I might not be up to those privliges yet. All the best.

 

[TheGDog]

I like the bull-pup designs.. but it sure seems like with the scopes mounted so dang high above the barrels that it'd make taking shorter shots a major PITA. With this style of Airgun, what do they typically recommend as the target distance to zero them at?