Accurate BB/Pellet Pistol?

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Panzerschwein

Panzerschwein

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Hello everyone!

I'm in the market for an accurate good quality BB or .177 caliber pellet pistol for indoor shooting practice. I don't know all that much about airguns, other than that I want one to practice shooting when I can't get to the range and just for some fun recreational stuff. I live in the country so no laws about shooting indoors etc. I plan to use an airgun rated bullet trap with paper targets in front. I also have no kids or pets, no risk of shooting anyone, and would be using eye protection at all times and ear protection if needed.

I have no real requirements for the gun, other than it must be as accurate as possible and I don't want to spend much over $200 if I can help it, but can budge on the price. I don't care if it's Co2 or spring powered, don't care if it's a single shot or repeater, and if it's a replica it can be of anything.

Thanks so much for your help everyone! :)
 
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My indoor air rifle is something like this Gamo youth model:
http://www.gamousa.com/product.aspx?productID=460
The velocity with lead pellets is about 550 f/s, plenty for indoor use without worry.
They quite often are on sale for not much more than $100.
There's quite a few like this from most of the manufacturers and are more than accurate enough for indoor distances.
The big box stores that sell airguns usually stock them.
 
Beeman P3 or HW 40. Both the same gun. These are ssp guns and model the grip of a P99. Stupid accurate. Great triggers. The Beeman P17 is a CHEAP Chinese knockoff of these.

Hw75 very nice wood and steel ssp pistol. Great trigger, also stupid accurate. This one is all metal and wood.

Beeman P1 or HW45. These mimic 1911s. They are spring guns and can be had with a variety of grips and also use standard 1911 grips. Awesome triggers accurate but hard to learn to shoot well due to them being spring guns with fairly stout recoil. Hint use a very loose hold.

Crosman custom shop build your own. This is the Ruger mark II of the Airgun world. Uses co2 meh triggers great accuracy.

If you go the pre charges pneumatic route the sky is the limit so is the price.

I know it's hard to justify real gun money on what many consider a toy but trust me these guns come with a great pride of ownership and are in many ways better then many firearms. Don't cheap out as you may get turned off and miss out on some spectacular shooting you can do anywhere.

Hope this helps.
 
I wouldn't shoot BB's for accuracy. Airgun barrels are made of soft steel, and the BB's wear out the rifling. So if you want to shoot BB's, then do so, but stick to dedicated BB guns for that.

As for accuracy of an airgun, well, it really hardly matters. The design of a diabolo pellet makes it stable, and the oversized skirt fits to the bore. All you need is to add a little spin and give a consistent muzzle velocity. To break it down:

1. A good pellet head-to-bore fit, and that will vary between pellets. Not so much anything to do with the barrel.
2. A repeatable power source/muzzle velocity.
3. If a break-barrel, you need a good, consistent barrel lockup.
4. A decent crown, so as to not upset the projectile upon exit.
5. Some spin, so the pellet will continue veering off into a different direction, continuously. Thus, staying on course.

Almost any rifled air-gun you can buy is going to be more intrinsically accurate than you are at the ranges you're inquiring about, IMO. You can spent a whole lot more, but a $2000 gun probably can't do those things any much better than a $50.00 gun. The best pool players in the world might use $2000 pool cues, but that's not what makes them the best. The only caveat is that springers that are overly powerful for their weight are going to be near impossible to achieve that accuracy in practice due to the fact that the recoil starts before the pellet even begins moving, and is about done before the pellet even gets out of the barrel. Most of the "magnum" spring pistols will probably fit this category. For an accurate pistol in your price range, I would probably stick with a single pump pneumatic, a multi pump pneumatic, or CO2. And you really can't hardly go wrong.

If you want to upspend, do so for durability, balance, trigger, quality of sights, ease of use, et al. Check out the Daisy Avanti/717.

If you wanna experiment with a cheap toy, try a Crosman 1377. Plenty accurate.
 
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P3, HW40, and the P17 are essentially the same pistol, the P3 and the HW40 are the same, the P17 is made in China under license of Walther, while much less costly, it is the best bang for your buck. I just received mine yesterday, little hard to cock and you will have to get used to loading the pellets, but highly accurate and a super trigger.

This 71 yr. old fart has over 150 pellets down range to the pellet trap already.
 
cslinger said:
Beeman P3 or HW 40. Both the same gun. These are ssp guns and model the grip of a P99. Stupid accurate. Great triggers. The Beeman P17 is a CHEAP Chinese knockoff of these.
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No, the P17 is an inexpensive version of a P3. Works just fine.

I also like my 1332. Multi pump. .22 caliber. Tons of fun.
 
I have seen several p17s go down, blow seals etc. hence my personal dislike for them. I have read that if you take the time to rebuild them they can be a great bargain. Side by side my p3 feels better then a p17. The polymer is thicker or at least feels so where the p17 feels like plastic.

Again this is only from my personal point of view. They still have wonderful triggers and are very accurate, I just don't feel they are all that durable. Course they are very inexpensive so buying another isn't that big of a deal.
 
Had the P17 for one day maybe 200 rounds and seal went south. Sent it back wasn't interested in getting another. My most accurate inexpensive action type gun is the M&P .45 by Umarex. $60 + or - it's a lot of fun for not a whole lot of money. I can tip over soda cans at 25 yards when I first change out the CO'2 @ 60 degrees for about 16 shots. I want to get the Umarex 686.
 
Before I'd spend the extra for the P3 or HW40, I'd go for the Webley Alecto .177 cal Pneumatic Air Pistol. Adjustable vel. from 380 all the way to 600 plus with only 6 pumps.
 
Had the P17 for one day maybe 200 rounds and seal went south. Sent it back wasn't interested in getting another. My most accurate inexpensive action type gun is the M&P .45 by Umarex. $60 + or - it's a lot of fun for not a whole lot of money. I can tip over soda cans at 25 yards when I first change out the CO'2 @ 60 degrees for about 16 shots.
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If you like spending dough on Co2 cartridges.

The P17 is as easy to fix as going out a picking up your morning paper. Google is your friend!
 
CO2 cost is a non issue. Running out of them well thats another story but normally I keep a 100 or so around so I am good for about 6,000. Right around a penny a shot it's pretty cheap. Where I have issues with CO2 is during the winter below 50 degrees. Then it's PCP all the way. I like to shoot more than one shot before stopping to reload. I find single shots not as fun hence why the P17 went back without reservation. Although I do have a 1377C I drag out every once in a great while. It's much more accurate than any of my CO2 action style guns.
 
GLOOB said:
I wouldn't shoot BB's for accuracy. Airgun barrels are made of soft steel, and the BB's wear out the rifling. So if you want to shoot BB's, then do so, but stick to dedicated BB guns for that.

As for accuracy of an airgun, well, it really hardly matters. The design of a diabolo pellet makes it stable, and the oversized skirt fits to the bore. All you need is to add a little spin and give a consistent muzzle velocity. To break it down:

1. A good pellet head-to-bore fit, and that will vary between pellets. Not so much anything to do with the barrel.
2. A repeatable power source/muzzle velocity.
3. If a break-barrel, you need a good, consistent barrel lockup.
4. A decent crown, so as to not upset the projectile upon exit.
5. Some spin, so the pellet will continue veering off into a different direction, continuously. Thus, staying on course.

Almost any rifled air-gun you can buy is going to be more intrinsically accurate than you are at the ranges you're inquiring about, IMO. You can spent a whole lot more, but a $2000 gun probably can't do those things any much better than a $50.00 gun. The best pool players in the world might use $2000 pool cues, but that's not what makes them the best. The only caveat is that springers that are overly powerful for their weight are going to be near impossible to achieve that accuracy in practice due to the fact that the recoil starts before the pellet even begins moving, and is about done before the pellet even gets out of the barrel. Most of the "magnum" spring pistols will probably fit this category. For an accurate pistol in your price range, I would probably stick with a single pump pneumatic, a multi pump pneumatic, or CO2. And you really can't hardly go wrong.

If you want to upspend, do so for durability, balance, trigger, quality of sights, ease of use, et al. Check out the Daisy Avanti/717.

If you wanna experiment with a cheap toy, try a Crosman 1377. Plenty accurate.
Click to expand...
Wow, both of those look very good. Is the Avanti 717 really accurate? It appears to be a single shot .177 cal pellet gun and cocks with one stroke of the lever? Forgive my ignorance!

The Crossman 1377 looks good as well. It appears to be a pump and can have a velocity of 600 FPS? Is that right? Will it be as accurate as the Avanti?

Thanks so much for the recommendations everyone! This is alot to digest right now, still looking at all the options mentioned!
 
Wow, both of those look very good. Is the Avanti 717 really accurate? It appears to be a single shot .177 cal pellet gun and cocks with one stroke of the lever? Forgive my ignorance!
Click to expand...

As I stated, just about ALL pneumatic and CO2 guns are accurate. Even the plastic toy replica CO2 guns I've had (Crosman 357 and a plastic 1911 wannabe) with rifled barrels have been dead nuts accurate.

Yes, the 717 has a reputation for being very accurate. Yes, it takes just one pump. A lot of 10m competition-style pneumatic pistols take one pump and shoot around 380-480 fps.

The Crossman 1377 looks good as well. It appears to be a pump and can have a velocity of 600 FPS? Is that right? Will it be as accurate as the Avanti?
Click to expand...

Quality control can let some minor issues through. But this is a quality DESIGN that is modular, durable, and easy to work on. Some guns are built more disposable-like. If you do your part, I think just about ANY pellet gun is inherently accurate, and this one is no exception. As I said before, for more money you get better quality/durability/trigger/sights, etc. For $50.00 you can get a basic, accurate gun, like a 1377.

I'm not sure about the speed. I don't have a chrony. But it's known as one of the fastest non-pcp air pistols around. It's fast enough to sink a wadcutter about 1/4 into a piece of plywood, by my scientific testing. There's also a valve and piston kit that will give it about 100 fps more top speed. But mostly I shoot it with 2-3 pumps. That probably gives it around 350-450 fps, and it's plenty accurate to shoot paper targets or cans up to 10m at this speed.

If you want more power, the gun comes in 22, as well. 1322 or P1322. Lower speed, but the pellets are a lot heavier. One of my childhood friends had one, and I recall he took a pretty big rabbit with it. For target shooting, I would slightly prefer the 177 version. The 22 pellets make more of a ruckus when they hit your backstop and are a bit more expensive.
 
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CO2 cost is a non issue. Running out of them well thats another story but normally I keep a 100 or so around so I am good for about 6,000. Right around a penny a shot it's pretty cheap.
Click to expand...

That's a good one, quality pellets themselves cost more than a penny a shot.

The cost of .22 rimfire is what's driving the Air Gun market.
 
I have an old Beeman/Webley Tempest made in England. The new ones are made in Turkey I believe. I like it for a plinker, but my Beeman P1 is more accurate. I would recommend either for having fun.
 
Daisy

The Daisy Avanti 717 or 747 are both good choices.
Some years ago now, the late Don Nygord won the CA State air pistol Championship shooting a Daisy 717 air pistol. It had a Walther barrel and a Nygord modified trigger but it was a Daisy.

Pete
See this link for a Nygord article about accurizing the 717:
http://michaeljedelman.com/PDFs2Post/daisy717.pdf

PPS: Google "Don Nygord" and you will come up with all sorts of good stuff about and by Nygord who was a Master shooter and master gunsmith...an Olympian twice (84 and 88), World Champion, (1988?), and National Champion 16 times.
 
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Pete, you are correct, my only dislike for either Daisy is they are heavy towards the front. That is of course MO.

In other words they don't "hang right" in the hand.
 
I'll chime in with recommending the Daisy 717/747 as well. I have the 747 and it's a great for shooting indoors. The prices have gone up on them quite a bit since I got mine about 8 years ago. I'd see about going the used route. A lot of the Daisy SSP's seem to go for peanuts on the used market.
 
Crosman 2240 is excellent bang for the buck. It's a .22, but doesn't have a .177 counterpart at its price point. I have the pump version (1322) and at living room range it'll shoot one hole groups all day. (Not really, I get tired of pumping the thing after a while. I'm getting a CO2 gun next.)
 
Cooldill said:
Wow, both of those look very good. Is the Avanti 717 really accurate? It appears to be a single shot .177 cal pellet gun and cocks with one stroke of the lever? Forgive my ignorance!

The Crossman 1377 looks good as well. It appears to be a pump and can have a velocity of 600 FPS? Is that right? Will it be as accurate as the Avanti?

Thanks so much for the recommendations everyone! This is alot to digest right now, still looking at all the options mentioned!
Click to expand...
What kind of accuracy do you expect? Are you looking to practice 10m target shooting? Then the 717/747? (I forget which one has the LW barrel) is the good choice, or really, anything with a LW barrel. If you are looking to practice shooting, and an inch, or thereabouts, at 10 meters is good enough accuracy, then most pellet pistols will do the trick, especially the ones we have mentioned.

Just don't go BB pistol, that's more for action shooting, but less accurate.
 
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