Hey all... I know it has been discussed to death, but not sure if anything has changed since the last big thread on this subject.

I need a pellet rifle for dealing with some small game and rodents that are causing some issues. I would also like to have one for fun/plinking at more reasonable costs versus using a rimfire or centerfire rifle with the current ammo crunch.

I will probably use Pyramyd Air as they are in Ohio and I know they have a good rep (from what I have been told and read online).

I am looking at spending $500 "ish".

I need it to be accurate (I know that is subjective and has more to do with me than the rifle), come with a good set of target sights and the ability to put a scope on it in the future.

I don't care about the method of propulsion, I just want it to be relatively quiet. I do have an air compressor that will go to 125 PSI approximately, don't mind pumping an internal mechanism and would spring for a hand pump if necessary.

I do not care about caliber either. .177 or .22, either is fine, but if one is better than the other, let me know.

I know nothing about these things, so I will be going purely on your recommendations.

Thanks for the help...

Air compressors need to go to 200 BAR to charge modern PCP airguns. Used SCUBA tanks might help you stay within budget if you want to go the PCP route. You have to have a dive shop, helpful fire station, or paintball shop within reasonable driving distance for refills.

If rodents and small game are your prey .177 to .22 caliber may be good choices.

A good spring or gas piston air rifle ( moderated = sound suppressed) with a low power variable scope might be your best bet.

Pyramidair shows relative sound ratings on their website.

Look at Gamo brand among others. I saw a man shooting good groups at 75 and 100 yards with a Gamo break-barrel a few weekends ago.

The better airguns that use scuba tanks are upwards of $2000 when you get done with all the gear to make them work. That was before adding the thermals and you only got 40 rounds before you had to recharge the tank.

I had looked into this when we started ratting.

The solution was Ruger Americans in .22 with CB long and Aguila Quiets.

RWS Diana Model 34, .22. With glass, below your budget and a solid rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
I had looked into this when we started ratting.

The solution was Ruger Americans in .22 with CB long and Aguila Quiets.

Man, I agree with this. .22 Short CB are way quieter than my Diana RWS Model 34 .177. I really like that gun but it is so loud.

My killin'est gun is my Benjamin 397 pump air rifle .177. I've killed many, many starlings with that gun. And it will easily take squirrels at reasonable distances. It's very accurate and quiet enough that I can shoot it in my yard without worrying about what neighbors will do. Not so with my Diana.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m...Air_Rifle_Black/4869

There is a scope mount for this gun that clamps to the barrel that allows you to mount a 1" scope.

I’ve been down this road, ended up with Aguila 22 ammo. I mostly used the 20 grain load at 500 FPS, they also have a 325 FPS load.

This is quieter than most any petter gun, plus you likely already own the 22. No they won’t cycle a semi auto.

I have thumb hole stock synthetic Trail NP. worth a look.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m..._Air_Rifle/2052#4170

I'm at this very crossroad and have decided that a can on a .22 may very well be the cheapest route.

All... I have a couple of .22 caliber rifles/pistols and a couple of cans for them.

That said, I cannot shoot them where I am at. I can get away with a pellet gun as several neighbors have them and use them without getting heat from the fuzz. No way I can use a .22 rifle for this.

I also do not have any appetite for anything that would require a SCUBA tank or high pressure air compressor. Used to run high pressure air for paintball (3500 PSI) and had a SCUBA tank for topping off, but that is all gone now and I have nowhere close to get a tank filled.

So... throw out the pressurized stuff, unless I can buy a higher pressure hand pump to charge it. I see you can get a hand pump that will go to 3600 PSI for $200, so that would leave $300 ish for the rifle.

I am looking for quite, so I think that limits spring driven guns.

So...

• Nothing that requires a SCUBA tank or special compressor (I am okay with a hand pump)
  
• Quiet (as close to suppressed .22 as possible)
  
• Good sights (will be used 50 yards and in, typically 25 yards)
  
• Option for a scope
  
• I do not care about caliber (but I think .22 caliber is "more legal" for small game/rodents in Ohio)

Thanks so far... I am looking at the Diana and Benjamin offerings right now at Pyramyd.

.177 will be flatter and shot placement will matter either way.

A suppressed .22 rifle is gonna run around 115-125 dB.

A LOUD spring gun will be around 95db and much of that is action noise.

As has been said a bolt action .22lr with CB type ammo is VERY quiet and will be carrying a heavier projectile around 400-500fps.

For Rodents and such honestly even a little HW30 will get the job done within 30 yards or so and it will be pretty darn quiet and a hoot to shoot as well.

Moving up the power threshold a Diana 34 or HW95 should fall nicely in your range and will offer plenty of power and are excellent rifles.

With airguns I do find .22 to generally shoot smoother/quieter if you will.

I don’t think you need to or necessarily want to go the PCP route.

Something like a Benjamin pump will certainly do the job but at max power they do have a little bark to them.

The vast majority of iron sights on air rifles are leaf type sights. The Weihrauch’s have a nice front sight with adjustable inserts and a decent rear.

Spend the money on something like a Diana or Weihrauch. They will be far better built, far more forgiving and have excellent triggers.

If you go springer be aware you will need to learn how to shoot it. Your firearm rifle skills will not translate. Use a very light hold. When you are first beginning ........ no the rifle doesn’t suck....it’s you.

Put glass on it if going after critters. Shot placement is paramount.

Hope that helps a little.

Oh and pellets much like ammo come in different varieties and qualities. Don’t expect any rifle to do fantastic with the cheapest crap off the Walmart shelf. Much like a nice .22 you might need to find brands or types the gun likes best.

Crosman Premier is about the best stuff you can buy locally and is generally good quality stuff and runs fairly well in most guns I have found. You will see people refer to it as CPHP for Crosman premier hollow point.

I personally like H&N Field Target Trophy, Air Arms Diabolo Field and CPHPs the best. JSB makes good stuff as well.

If it were me I would buy an HW95 or 95luxus I the caliber of your choice for $420ish and drop a hundred bucks on passable airgun glass (you can do pretty well for glass on an airgun for 100-150 bucks)

It will be more power then you need, built fantastically well, have a phenomenal trigger and be plenty accurate all while being fairly light and handy.

If you like I could kick off a couple rounds and measure the DB’s with my cheap IPhone app at the muzzle.

cslinger... thanks!

Still reading through your posts. Took a break from the forum to watch the hockey game.

Just a couple of questions:

I see mention of air piston or nitro piston guns. Are these quieter than spring driven models?

What do you know of the Hatsan offerings? I typically boycott Turkish made goods as they are not an ally of ours, but they seem to get good reviews.

Looking at the HW95 and HW95 Luxus, it does not appear they are available at Pyramyd, but are available at Air Guns of Arizona. I know nothing about Air Guns of Arizona and have always been told/read that Pyramyd is top notch.

What kind of maintenance is required for these air guns. Are there seals that need lubricated, does lead from the pellets collect in the bore, etc.?

What scope would you purchase with your money? I have read and heard the stories of air guns destroying optics made for rimfire/centerfire rifles. I do not know what is good and what is crap for air guns.

If you are willing and have a .22 air gun, I would love to see some actual sound readings (even if it is with a uncalibrated sound level meter "app").

It may be obvious, but a targeted trapline would be more effective than shooting, quieter also.

Depending on the critters in question, one adjusts as needed. Traps work 24/7/365, can be done covertly. Just an idea.

I have a Gamo whisperquiet springer. It's actually pretty darn quiet for a spring operated gun. A pump up air gun will be probably be quieter, aside from when you're actually pumping it. But this is nothing as far as sound goes to where it would annoy someone. It will shoot .177 pellets at 1200 FPS (hard cast). I use lead pellets and it does a fine job on rats, they drop instantly always.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
It may be obvious, but a targeted trapline would be more effective than shooting, quieter also.

Depending on the critters in question, one adjusts as needed. Traps work 24/7/365, can be done covertly. Just an idea.

I agree, and use a combination of pellet rifle & traps.
My Benjamin C9A pump with a scope gets the job done. But there are a few areas near the house that a shot would be a bad idea. So those areas I have used a few #110 Conibear traps. I lean a 6’ piece of 2x4 against a tree to make a walkway, and have the traps on the wood. If this area is their normal travel path they run right up the wood and bingo.

I went the cheap route and got a .177 Gamo "Big Cat" break action. Plenty accurate for squirrels and such and I use a heavier subsonic pellet to keep the noise down. Hell, I saw a video of a guy taking small hogs with a .22 Gamo gun. Impressive.

RMD

I have a Gamo Whisper Fusion in .22 for Iguanas - tough critters. Not quiet, not loud but the single break action is simple and works great for my purposes. 1000 FPS, but that will vary quite a bit depending on pellet choice/weight. Not quiet, not loud. I also have a crossman pump pistol with shoulder stock in .22 where velocity around 450 FPS will work - smaller iguanas.

AoA is generally good to go. Pyramyd is also first rate. Buy your ammo from Pyramyd. Also Straight Shooters is fantastic and you can buy pellet samplers from them that might help you key in on what pellet you like best. The Beeman R9 is fundamentally the same gun as an HW95. I think pyramyd sells the R9. It’s usually a bit more expensive and has a different stock.

I will try to take a couple sound readings tonight. I have a .22 HW95 and .177 HW98 (think HW95 in a tuxedo set up for more precision shooting but same general power plant)

As far as Hatsan, Chinese airguns, Gamo etc. first let me get my bias out of the way. I FAR prefer German or English guns. I have seen Many folks go cheap on airguns and wonder why they suck. It’s not so much that they suck as much as the fact that the guns are rougher and simply make it harder for the shooter to learn them / shoot them. Triggers are worse etc. and when we talk about the fact that learning to shoot a springer is a NEW skill then the higher quality guns go a LONG way to helping the shooter.

I know folks, especially us gun folks, have a hard time fathoming dropping real gun money on a “BB gun/toy” and trust me I’ve been there. I can’t tell you what is best for YOU but I can say I have a fair bit of experience and my suggestion is to go German or English and spend your $500 on a good gun. You will be amazed at how nice it is and how different it will be from any of your pre conceived notions from what you shot as a kid or what you bought at the “largemart” that one time.

Here is a little write up that talks a bit of my journey to crazy town.....errr higher end air guns.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...310043774#2310043774


Nitro piston vs spring. In my experience nitro tends to be a bit louder offer more of a crack. They are also typically harder to source parts down the line for repair if need be.


Maintenance- My air gun maintenance is a wipe down of the wood and metal after every use with a ballistol impregnated rag.....done. Once in GREAT WHILW I might patch the barrel with a ballistol and then some clean patches but this is only if I see drastic accuracy drop offs and many of my guns have never had this done. Every now and again with a springer you want to tighten all the stock screws or sight mounting screws etc. Spring guns vibrate and “recoil” like a sonofabitch, that is part of the reason why they are so different to shoot form a powder burner. Now by recoil I don’t mean like a .300 win mag to the shoulder I mean a big ass piston slamming forward, bouncing back and vibrating left right up and down. The initial trigger pull is not unlike an open bolt SMG.
At any rate check your screws frequently and if accuracy drops off check this first.

Break in - most airguns require about a tin (500 shots or so) to settle down. I’ve never had one shoot HORRIBLY out of the box and suddenly get fantastic but I’ve had many that don’t shoot to my standards out of the box and suddenly start to tighten up/smooth out over time.

Again my bias’ and experience don’t make me RIGHT and what I say isn’t GOSPEL by any stretch but I do have a fair bit of spring gun shooting under my belt with a lot of spring guns so anything I say comes from my own journey and mistakes and knowledge I have gleaned over the years. Well that and I am probably just a bit touched in the head but be honest all the greats were a little crazy dammit!!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cslinger,

Actually now that I think about it Straight Shooters has a sound rating chart of many popular guns. I will still do what I can for you tonight but this is a good start in that regard. Also like is said, great vendor as well.

http://www.straightshooters.co...king-of-airguns.html