I'm pondering the idea of an airgun. I need to be able to hit a House sparrow sized target just about every time from a max distance of 30 yards.

Sparrows are taking over some bluebird houses and due to my location, shooting them with firearms is out of the question.

I can set up a bench within 30 yards of the houses for a firm shooting position.

What are the least expensive options available for 2nd tier airguns.

I don't know what the quality of the current production is, but for killing power it's tough to beat a benjamin pump 22.

The Benjamin pneumatic pump, as 458 Lott suggested, would be a good choice. Either .177 (397) or .22 (392) would work well for sparrows at about $175. If you're not into pumping, its CO2 brother (2260) would probably do the job as well for about $125.

Deerwacker,

If shooting sparrows at 30 yards is your goal then you probably need a scoped rifle and enough power to generate 800+ fps at the muzzle. Those 397 and 392s have to be pumped 7 or 8 times (not much fun) and have pretty crude triggers. There are a whole bunch of springer rifles that are much easier to scope. I would suggest an HW50s or an RWS34.

Hangmancreek is right about the spring guns being easier to put a scope on, but the flip side is that any scope will work on a pneumatic, but spring guns are hard on many scope and mount setups. Another option for the Benjamin is a rear peep. With the peep on mine, I can shoot 30 yards just about as well as with a low powered scope.

He also has a good point about the pumping though. For extended shooting, I leave the Benjamin in the closet and grab a spring gun.

For your application the Benjamin 392 on Amazon for 115 busks is hard to beat.