Zoogster is using some truth some not quite right...
A spring gun can be "hold sensitive" and need "technique" to shoot well but QUALITY spring guns have been made up to OLYMPIC quality in accuraccy etc.
Well he won't be wanting olympic quality for a budget pest gun. Olympic quality guns cost 10x more than one almost as good.
In budget quality I think the springers are the cheapest design, the spring beats them up, the safety of the firearm is dependent on holding a powerful spring at tension, and they need special optics because they rattle themselves so much. You can't even use firearm optics.
Some may disagree and that is fine, but imho springers are at the bottom in airgun actions.
and the
"They have about the power of a black powder muzzle loader."
totally nutz! My DAQ .50 is a 700-800 fps gun with roundball and a .50 cal RB with powder is way over 1000 with basic loads let alone the big powder heavy conical loads...
yes they have killed big game but they are not in the leauge of BP! A daq .50 is about what a standard .45 acp is and a .50 cal muzzleloader ouclasses a .44 mag in normal loads.
Here is an airgun that gets over 1,000 foot pounds launching over 1,000 grain projectiles.
I call that on par with a muzzle loader.
In response to the thread, the benji 392 mentioned by others is a great airgun in the price range. 15 grain .22 pellet at close to 700 FPS. Made of quality metal and wood for the price point, which will be rare for power and quality at that price range.
If you want to go even cheaper there is some crossman budget pumps with plastic furniture that have the power of some of the more expensive ones.
The 1377 pump pistol is very handy getting 600 FPS with .177 and many crossmans are heavily modular, allowing you to order cheap parts for a wide range of other model guns that will also work in the gun you got. You can get shorter.longer barrels easy, and every other part.
The 2240 is a .22 co2 version that is overdesigned for a time when it was a bulk fill, and is very modular sharing parts with other guns. That means you can seriously customize it. People turn them into PCP guns as well.
I worked on a project and turned one into a PCP firing at 600-650 FPS for several shotswith a very short barrel. You can get steel breachs, improved valves, new reservoirs, and turn it into a PCP on par with a gun that would cost upwards of $800.
Here is one similar that started out as a 2240, and it fires at close to 700 FPS in the demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0dssUvyPR4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g43XL73xSc
(in spanish made for someone in Mexico where legaly enjoying firearms is not so easy, but you don't need to understand the language)
Here is someone that got 805 out of a 10 inch barrel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DLAHxokmHE
Though they have it hooked directly to an air souce which I find unacceptable.
There is even more powerful ones that started out as them, in .25 and 9mm chamberings using many custom parts and heavy pellets and bullets. If you want a do it yourself project PCP airgun it is an excellent platform. You end up with something with as much power, accuracy, and handiness as ones people can pay thousands for, and have something modular at the same time. Allowing you to change barrels, go from carbine to portable pistol etc, and in a platform that will readily ship you parts you need (unlike many maufacters). There is many times you will be able to use a pistol in a neighborhood that you just couldn't use a rifle. That means while you sacrifice power, you get to use it without spooking your neighbors a lot more.
Be safe though and know what you are doing customizing. Certain parts have different stress levels and need to be upgraded accordingly or you end up with a broken gun or a bomb.
Keep in mind the more powerful ones can cause serious injury or death to people and mistakes or criminal offense with them will be treated no differently than if a firearm was used. The main difference is with air the option has still not be regulated out of existence like it has many places with firearms. That is because many people still associate airguns with the red ryder bb gun types, and firearms are so prevelent in our society that they have not gotten around to excessively regulating airguns in the US yet.
So it fore example can be illegal to use a .22, but an airgun with as much or more power can be perfectly legal.
Be responsible, and expect the police to be called because they are as loud as firearms if you plan to shoot multiple times, try to fire and disappear before people are looking out thier windows wondering what that was.
Don't ruin it or get it legislated like firearms. They are not toys, and places where firearms are not legal are that way for a reason...and people won't appreciate you sidestepping the law with another weapon just as powerful, so use discretion when you use it.
The price point of many of the powerful ones, and the fact you can get a more powerful firearm much cheaper keeps most of the irresponsible individuals away.
