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I need to buy an air rifle to kill starlings out to about 15 yards. What do you like?

405wcf

For starlings at 15 yards a Daisy 880 is all you need.

I've been shooting and winning with a Benjamin 342 for around 50 years.

I like my Benjamin Trail, by Crosman, in 22 cal. with the Nitro Piston II break barrel and a 3-9x Center Point scope. I chronographed a 14.6 gr. pellet at eight hundred and twenty something FPS average and it will take squirrels out to about 20 yards in my experience. Haven't tried it on Starlings yet but judging by my squirrel results it should be great. Got to be honest and admit that while I like it a lot and it shoots good; I have nothing to compare it to as it's my first air rifle. I've discovered that these things are more fun than most folks think.

What is the performance difference between .177 and .22 pellets?

What's your budget? I started out with a RWS Diana in a model 34 and then moved up to the model 54 for a little more punch. Both are pretty deadly.

$250??

.177 cal is plenty for Starlings. I have a Ruger Air Hawk (break barrel) that slays them. I think if I was going to do it again, I would seriiously consider a Spanish made Gamo with the "Whisper" technology, which is sound suppressed for suburban hunting fields.

I have a Benjamin - Sheridan #392 in .22 cal. with a red dot sight. With six pumps and a 14.5 grain pellet, I get 550 fps. For Starlings you might want to get a compressed air gun to avoid all the pumping between shots. The 392 will take out squirrels no problem.

I like the old Sheridan 5mm Blue or Silver Streaks

What about for crows. Out to 50 yards?

I would go .22 cal for crows.

I kill wood chucks on Long Island out past 100yds with the FX Crown in .25 caliber. Certainly a lot more $$$ but crazy accurate with good optics and the right holdover chart.

No matter your quarry, go for a 22 cal over 17. I've had both. Too many flyaways with the 17. The 22's = DRT.

RWS Diana is an excellent choice.

I believe a few companies are making integral silencers that are legal as long as they cannot be removed. No federal fees to be paid either. (Someone will chime in that pellet guns are quiet enough without a silencer, but my neighbors would disagree.)

You might get a couple more ideas if you posted in the Air Rifle forum further down the page.
The Benjamin/Sheridan pump rifles work well and aren't as hold sensitive as some spring powered and gas ram rifles but for my uses, I like a spring or gas ram rifles and a good Air Rifle rated scope.

I've got a Crosman 760 and Daisy 881 from the 70's, a Mac-1 steroid Benjamin 392, a Sheridan 2260MB, a BSA Meteor and a Walther Parrus. Every damned one of them will kill the shyt out of starlings at 15 yards. The old.177 caliber Daisy 881 will shoot into less than an inch for 5 shots at 25 yards and has killed uncountable starlings, chipmonks, red and gray squirrels and rabbits around my bird feeders/yard. It's really just a matter of what you want to spend and shot placement. I will also say that spending more doesn't always mean better performance/accuracy as my Daisy 881 is fully as accurate as my Mac-1 Bejamin and cost 1/10 as much while my Sheridan 2260 and BSA Meteor are more accurate and cost less than half as much.

My Benjamin 317 has killed a boxcar load of grackles. Three pumps = death to birds.

I never noticed we had one! I will look there as well.

thanks, 405wcf

For a good quality hunting airgun at moderate cost, I would look at an RWS (Diana) Model 34 in .22 caliber. It has a decent trigger, good accuracy and adequate power. You will probably want a decent air gun scope as well if you're shooting at any distance. However, quality air guns are in somewhat short supply right now.

Good advice...