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Air rifle recommendation

Red Beard

Red Beard

Well-Known Member
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Hey folks! I'm looking to purchase an air rifle to harvest small game and I'd like some recommendations. Please let me know if you have a particular one that you would recommend, or not, and why.

I'm a clean slate with no preconceived desires in terms of brand, model, or caliber (.17 or .22). I'd just like the thing to shoot straight and be able to group consistently at 30-35yds. I'd also like to stay pretty low on the $$ scale... say ~$225 max.
 
I have a ruger Air hawk in .177 that is a serious tac driver. So much so I never put a scope on it....I'm at 31 for chipmunks this year.

Love the wood stock and classic feel of it as well as the sinlge shot break action barrel. It was very reasonably priced as well. I've taken munks, squirrels, and rabbits with it no problem.
 
Come on Josh, get a pcp. Look at the marauder. Check out Teds hold over on youtube for high end pcp.
 
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All i can add is the .22 Gamo Whisper Swarm i bought my kid doesn’t seem to be very accurate at all no matter what pellets we use.

Maybe user error, maybe it’s a dud, maybe Gamos suck, likely the stock scope is trash??? Idk but i’d personally not buy another one.
 
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swampdonkey said:
All i can add is the .22 Gamo Whisper Swarm i bought my kid doesn’t seem to be very accurate at all no matter what pellets we use.

Maybe user error, maybe it’s a dud, maybe Gamos suck, likely the stock scope is trash??? Idk but i’d personally not buy another one.
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Every break barrel air rifle I've ever shot has been trash. My theory is the barrel isn't returning to the exact same position every time you load it, and you don't have a good seal at the rear of the pellet. Just a bad design. RWS supposedly does better, but I can't imagine any break barrel matching a fixed when accuracy is concerned.
 
I have a gamo varmint in .177. It it accurate but at 35 yards it won't kill a squirrel with a headshot.

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Nutterbuster said:
Every break barrel air rifle I've ever shot has been trash. My theory is the barrel isn't returning to the exact same position every time you load it, and you don't have a good seal at the rear of the pellet. Just a bad design. RWS supposedly does better, but I can't imagine any break barrel matching a fixed when accuracy is concerned.
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I"ve found every plastic stocked brake action to be this way. I"ve found wood stocked break actions to actually be quite accurate. I"ve had this ruger for probably 6 years now and I've handled a couple older benjamins and a newer crossman, and both were quite accurate.
 
Gamo swarm fusion gen 2. I have been enjoying mine


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Right on guys! Thank you for the advice thus far. Keep it coming.

So @kyler1945's Lelya is king... .22 is probably the way to go... no plastic furniture break barrels... 50/50 on Gamos...
 
I know you’re looking at budget options, but a suppressed bolt action .22 will be quieter and more lethal than almost any air rifle you can buy. I just bought a Form 1 kit from QuietBore, which is substantially cheaper (and approved faster) than buying a commercial suppressor—it’s not nearly as expensive as you might think (<$200 kit + $200 NFA tax stamp, and you’re in business). Just another option to consider.
 
Red Beard said:
$410 for an air gun ain't even in the realm of possible bro ;)
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But it's a great excuse to invest hundreds more in things like a scuba tank. And then since you have a tank you may as well...

(but seriously if you're OK to spend over 200 I do kinda feel like you get a lot of value out of doubling the budget to get into PCP if possible. I say this as a cheapass with a break-action hanging around the basement not getting the use that it should.)
 
I use a Gamo that I practice with all year on squirrels, cats, and other nasty creatures in the woods behind my house. It sucks on accuracy though. I have had Benjamin's and Beeman's too, same deal. The one thing I can add is if you stay cheap on one, get the Nitro piston, not the spring (all of mine have been spring charged and my friend's is much better with Nitro). 22 over 177 is the way to go no matter what.
 
I had a benjamin sheridan .20 cal pump for a left arm growing up. It was pretty accurate, but largely forgotten once I started buying firearms. For pest control at current house, I purchased a break action gamo.177. I probably hit 20 of the 100 squirrels I shot at. Of those, maybe a dozen actually died.

Since I bought the PCP .22, I've maybe missed what I've aimed at 5 times out of hundreds, and every squirrel that I've hit, has died within sight. Most just do the floppy thing because they have a 18 grain pellet in their melon.

The difference in accuracy of good pcp's is a real thing. I don't know what a 400.00 or 700.00 gun will do. My guess is there's some that are lights out.

I want a .25 gun, and will probably sell the .22 I have now.

There's a wide array of subsonic .22 options. Those that hover around 7-800fps, are pretty quiet. They also have the same energy as the PCP's shooting the same speed. I'll take two separate tools that do a great job over one that's ok at a few jobs. The PCP sounds like a door slamming or a rock hitting tin. I can shoot it in my backyard with my neighbors 50 yards away, and they are none the wiser.

I'm not saying the PCP is the answer for anyone's specific needs. But for toting along while bowhunting deer, or pest control, a .22 shooting about 900fps, or a .25 about 750-800fps, is about as an effective a tool as possible. Accurate, quiet, reliable, and covert.
 
I have a hatsen 135. .25 cal break barrel. Racoons at 25 yards. No problemo. Busts through 3/4" Baltic birch ply and a steel 5 gal drum like its not there. Heavy but accurate for that distance.
 
Coathanger15 said:
I have a hatsen 135. .25 cal break barrel. Racoons at 25 yards. No problemo. Busts through 3/4" Baltic birch ply and a steel 5 gal drum like its not there. Heavy but accurate for that distance.
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Is yours the vortex air system or spring?

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