Air rifle advice?

[peterb]

Any air rifle enthusiasts here?

I'm looking for a reasonably accurate backyard plinker. From flipping through catalogs over the years I've seen a big move to higher-velocity rifles for hunting and the continuing refinement of the match target guns. I'm looking for something in the middle. Priorities are accuracy over velocity, sized for a small adult, quiet, and not hideously expensive -- something like the air rifle equivalent of a bolt-action CZ .22LR. I was looking at the Beeman R7, but know that's an old design, and wondering what else I should consider.

Thanks!

[JPedersen]

I am following this one as I am interested as well. Hope to gain some insight from someone with experience.


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[mtnbkr]

If you can get one, a BSA Supersport is a fine rifle, but I don't think they're being imported any longer. I bought one in 2000 and loved it. Great, adjustable trigger, great accuracy for a breakbarrel rifle (capable of .5" groups at 50yds), and solid construction. This was no kid's toy. Back then, it was $180.

I sold it in 2002 because in this area, I needed to go to a range to shoot it, which made it no more useful to me than a 22lr.

ETA: Precharged Pneumatic (PCP) guns have really come down in price. Beeman makes a couple models, with one even coming with a dedicated floor pump. If I were going to get back into airgunning, I'd go that route. Breakbarrel guns are simple and self-contained, but cocking the barrel for each shot gets tedious.

Also, if you go the breakbarrel route, get a scope designed for one. The recoil is reverse of that of a normal gun an can break scopes. BSA makes or made a dedicated airgun scope for this purpose.

Chris

[okie john]

When I was a kid, I bought a 5mm/.20-cal Sheridan Blue Streak with money I made throwing papers. It has dropped an unseemly amount of small game and pests over the years, including putting meat on the table when I was a starving college student. I just saw that they don't make them any more, which is a tragedy. The guns were built like tanks and the .20-cal pellet is a excellent compromise of trajectory and velocity that hit way harder than a pellet gun had any right to.

Crosman still makes Benjamin airguns, and I think they'd be an excellent substitute. While they still make .20-caliber pellets, I fear that the .20 caliber rifle may be a thing of the past.


Okie John

[MistWolf]

Benjamin now makes the Sheridan Blue Streak and Silver Streak and the 5mm is still available. Growing up, I put many rounds through Dad's Sheridan. He bought it in the early sixties and we were still shooting it into the late seventies, early eighties. It finally stopped holding air, after that. It needs to be sent out & overhauled. Dad killed a lot of bunnies and several species of vermin with that Sheridan

[Soggy]

I went through this same exercise a few years ago and wound up with a Weihrauch HW30, which is essentially a B7.
http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/spri...30s-air-rifle/

Me and the kids have been very happy with it, so I stopped looking and don't know what the latest greatest is.

(I also have CZ .22 bolt action rifles - I think it is a good analogy!)

Edit to add: Checking my records, I bought it 5 1/2 years ago, for $311.95. Current price for the same shop is $319, so not to bad. I think I went with the HW30 over the B7 because I knew I would never put a scope on it. I think the B7 stock may be more suitable for that, but don't quote me.

[Sal Picante]

I've got an old Beeman R7. Haven't shot it in years. I think the newer designs with rotating magazines, etc are more accurate, simpler, more fun.

Cocking the 'ol R7 was jsut kinda of a PITA. It is also not so accurate since you have a giant spring piston ramming forward...

Just my $0.02.

[Greg]

I have an RWS Diana that I picked up a couple years ago when we finally got enough neighbors that blasting ground squirrels with a .22 probably had to stop.

It is a pretty nice rifle but you shouldn't carry it anywhere without a stubby screwdriver in your pocket. The spring piston (break barrel) action loosens screws like crazy. Apparently they eat scopes as well but the old Redfield I mounted is still going strong.... so far.

A .177 pellet at 1000+ fps does not hit as hard as a .22 LR no matter what you read.

[txdpd]

I would not recommend a PCP, if all you're planning on using is a floor pump. The drawback to PCP is added cost of buying an air tank and finding air, I'd make sure I had a solid air supply before buying a PCP. Best bet is if you have a paintball place nearby. If you have a dive shop in your area, they may not sale air unless you have a padi certification card. Most welding shops and compressed gas places, won't touch a scuba/respirator tank with a 10 foot pole.

I have an R1 and had an R7. The R1 is a little louder, and easily has the extra $150 in price with better quality.
I had an HW100 and traded it off. Never should have done that. If you can afford it, it's a great choice.

[john c]

How much do you want to spend? What part of the country do you live? and how much do you/do you not want to pump?

My question about what part of the country has to do with whether the weather is warm or not. If so, you might consider a CO2 gun. I have a Hammerli 850. It sort of bugs me that it's about $265, considering it's plastic and pot metal, but the gun shoots well and is a repeater.

If you live in a cold area, you'll need a compressed air gun. This can be a Benjamin or Sheridan if you don't mind pumping, or a PCP rifle if you don't want to pump. Pumping gets old if you want to shoot a lot. For pure target shooting a single pump Daisy M853 used from the CMP can't be beat. These are phenomenal air rifles for a great price.