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Is there a pellet rifle that I could buy with reasonable expectation of reasonable accuracy? I tried one a few years ago, and the accuracy was dismal. When I returned it to Scheels, they said a lot of people had problems with the break action type.
I just want something to keep my shooting skills up.

Thanks for any help.
Royce

You can buy one with phenomenal accuracy if you're willing to pay the price. First we'd need to know what you consider "reasonable accuracy" and how much you want to spend.

I would be happy with two inch groups at fifty yards for around $300 dollars. Let’s use that as a starting point.

You could get that with a quality break barrel. An RWS 34 should do it and I think you can still get those for under 300. A cheap PCP like the Diana Stormrider or Benjamin Maximus should do it easily. I've never put my Sheridan 2260 co2 rifle on paper at 50 yards but it will consistently shoot 1" groups at 30 yards and it was only 149.00. Any of them will require testing with various pellets to achieve best accuracy.

Great. Thanks.

Royce

I got into air rifles a couple years ago for the same reason.

Be careful it's a deep rabbit hole.

Now I've got three break-barrels, and two PCPs.

The thing about the break-barrels is that shooting them accurately is quite a bit different than shooting a regular rifle accurately. It takes some time getting to know how and where it like to be held, and what pellets shoot well in it. Also it can be hard on scopes.

A PCP has a longer logistics train behind it, requiring repressurizing. But they are quite accurate, and easy on scopes. They shoot more or less like a regular rifle.

I have a Hatsan 125 Sniper Vortex 22cal that shoots pretty good. It was around $285 when I bought it. makes 830 fps with 18.3gr pellets,





This is an Air Venturi Avenger, 22 cal. The wood stock version is around $425, plastic stock around $350. It has an adjustable regulator so you can tune it to the power you desire. I use a Hill MK5 hand pump to refill it. When the wind is down, it will easily hold 1" at 50 yards. I added the supressor aftermarket from DonnyFL.

Shane

Any preference between Hatsun and the Avenger? Is the 25 caliber the best in wind? Any problem getting pellets for any of the different calibers?

Royce,

Well, the Avenger is a lot easier to shoot well. When I need to kill a pest, I always grab the Avenger because I know it's going to be a good accurate hit, even from an improvised position.

The beauty of the Hatsan, or any break-barrel, is that all you need is some pellets, and the rifle. The PCP needs recharging. That said, this PCP I have the regulator at about 1900 psi. The reservoir can be filled up to 4500 psi. This gives about 70+ shots before the reservoir falls below regulator pressure. So unless you are shooting high volume, it's really not such a handicap. The recharge using the hand pump takes about 150 pumps, give or take.

I've found that the break-barrel can be picky about what pellets it likes. Where the PCP seems to shoot very good with anything I've put in it.

The 22 or 25 can actually both be fairly equal in the wind. The BC of the typical pellets is around .025, give or take...in other words it's really low, considering a 22LR 40gr is about .120 or so. So the difference in the windage between 22 and 25 cal pellets isn't really significant to a casual shooter like me.

Now, if you are going with a PCP, you will have enough power to utilize the airgun slugs that are out there. They tend to have BC around .09 or so. These projectiles will buck the wind and retain energy much better, and many target shooters use them out to 100 yards or further. I've never tried the slugs myself, but probably will get around to it eventually.

https://hardairmagazine.com/ballistic-coefficients/

As far as pellet availability, 22 and 177 cal are the most popular, and mostly available, even at walmart most times. When you veer off into other calibers, supply can get a bit more difficult, and expensive. 25 cal isn't too bad though, but you won't find 25 cal at walmart. I order them online.

Pyramyd Air is a good online source for just about everything airgun related. Also, Airgun Depot. Both are actually the same company. Order from either and they ship from Pyramyd Air's warehouse.

https://www.pyramydair.com/ammo/pellets

https://www.airgundepot.com/airgunpellets.html


Hope this is helpful. Shane

I would say the PCP is more enjoyable, satisfying, to shoot. Due to the inherently easier shootability over a break-barrel.

The buy-in is a bit more, The hand pump is $150-200 or so on top of the rifle. I've seen many good reviews for the EBay/Amazon china-pumps that you can get for under $100, but have no experience with them. An electric compressor will run you north of $500 if you go that route.

One thing to pay attention to if you opt for a break barrel is size and weight. My Walther Parrus is powerful and accurate but so big and heavy it's rediculous. Not much good for anything but plinking/bench shooting off the back porch. I'd never consider taking it anywhere it had to be carried any appreciable distance, which pretty well rules it out for hunting in my book.

It sounds as though the PCP in 22 or 25 will suit my use pretty well.
Shane, thanks for all the effort you put into your replies.
Black heart, appreciated your input as well. The one break barrel I tried was nothing but an exercise in frustration. It was unbelievably inaccurate with about every ammo Scheels had.

Royce

You bet.

Look at Flying Dragon air rifles out of Iowa, Mike has great reviews and has some great rifles. Own 4 of them myself

I’m a long time shooter but really an air rifle neophyte (excluding my youth with the old Sheridens and Benjamin’s). Anyway, I talked to Mike of Flying Dragon last Friday about the inexpensive Ruger Impact .22 I bought from Walmart several years ago. With a 4x scope, it was about $140 or so. I threw the scope and added a Hawk Airmax worth much more than the rifle

The Ruger is big and hefty, has a 2-stage trigger which breaks pretty heavy when it breaks, and is powerful and loud, but seems to show much more quality than I would have expected. He affirmed that and that it was very much worth a tune-up which may go to a $100. For that money and the expectations, I sent it off to him.

I think this Ruger model was dc’d or evolved into another model, but my take from our conversations was that, generally, these Ruger models are pretty good basic guns.

Guys, this is an excellent thread with a lot of grounded, succinct info and advice.
I hope many new airgunners read it.

Beeman R7 - Wonderful low powered spring air rifle that will put 10 pellets in the same hole at 10 yards. Smooth, easy to cock, easy to shoot and accurate. You'll pay a bit more for the quality of the Beeman but it's money well spent. No pumps, no tanks, no pumping, just break it open - put a pellet in the barrel and shoot.

+1

I have 2 springers and 1 pcp, all 177.

Light, fast pellets tend to be inaccurate. Gamo brags about their hi velocity (with super light pellets) but I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to hit much with them. I would be surprised though if they didn’t shoot well with heavy pellets, just much slower.


The FWB 124, which I’ve had for almost 40 years, is mid powered and will shoot 7gr (or so) and up pellets very well. The RWS 48 is more powerful and scatters the 7gr pellets but shoots heavier 9-10 gr pellets very accurately.

My PCP is very accurate with the heavy pellets 9-10gr, (JSB Heavies 10.3gr the best). The 7gr pellet groups look like shotgun patterns.

So, get a good pellet, matching the weight to the power of the gun, and I think most of them will do what you want.

I have a FWB 124d I purchased about 48 years ago, for about $125 or 150 at the time. I replaced the factory leaf sight with a williams reciever sight and at the standard 10meter/yard for airgun testing I could off a rest shoot groups less than 1/4", closer to 1/8". A few years later I replaced the receiver sight with a scope that stayed on for close to 40 years, and having to have the piston seal replaced last year went back to the receiver sight, plenty accurate out to 30-40 yards. I also recently purchased a HW 98, also a break barrel, with an adjustable stock comb, a barrel shroud for weight, and put a large Airmax scope on it, shooting on a good day at 30 yards I can get about 1/2 to 5/8 " groups. There are plenty of highly accurate break barrels out there, just do your research and some shopping.

I almost forgot I have a FWB 300s match rifle, a side cocking spring air rifle, a type that was used in a lot of Olympic and international matchs back in the era in which I purchased it, the mid 1980's. It is of a recoilless type, when you pull the trigger the entire barrel breech assembly is released and slides back probably 1/2-3/4 inch and cancels the recoil or jerk from the spring and piston flying forward. With the match type double aperture sights it will literally put pellet after pellet through the same hole if you are good enough, Back in my younger days when I was a lot steadier I could light kitchen matches, shooting across my deck at about 25 feet, nowdays I am not so good and have eye problems which do not help also. I paid just under $900 for it at the time, about 35 years ago, so think what that level of precision would cost today.