Playing catch-up

[Armored farmer]

I learned to shoot on a series of airguns. The last were pump-up crosman and Daisy s. My mother claimed that if she wondered where I was, she could stand on the porch and listen in the direction of the stream that ran through our cattle pasture, and she would soon locate me by the whackety-whack of an air rifle being pumped. My parents got me a .22 rifle for Christmas one year, and I never looked back at air rifles.
Now, as the title reads, im playing catch-up to try to find a good adult rifle that will have a satisfying level of accuracy and dependability.
I am looking for a wood stocked rifle of good quality.
Breakbarrel, I like to keep it simple.
.22 Caliber, I will like to squirrel hunt and barnlot pests.
Quality scope, I have scopes on everything except leverguns anymore.

I was ready to buy a Benjamin Trail NP2 SBD on sale for $189, but they're sold out. Maybe that is a good thing if you gentleman can steer me towards a better match for me.

Any suggestions?

 

[Steve Milbocker]

What’s your budget?Looks like you want a springer. Can it be an under lever instead of a break barrel?

 

[Armored farmer]

I get a bit uncomfortable thinking about spending over $350 on an air rifle, but im keeping an open mind.
I like the Diana 460
I'm looking for the air rifle equivalent of a.......ruger American target.?

 

[readyeddy]

The RWS 350 is about $400. A nice quality gun. German craftsmanship. Should shoot 14 grain pellets around 800-850 fps.

The Hatsan 95 is about $150. I like mine. It's accurate and looks nice. 14 grain pellets go around 750-800 fps.

And both have nice wood stocks.

 

[Armored farmer]

I'm not sure that I will shoot it enough to justify a $400 airgun.
I will look into the hatsun 95.

 

[Armored farmer]

I'm not sure that I will shoot it enough to justify a $400 airgun.
I will look into the hatsun 95.

I like the looks of the hatsun 95. I see there is a hatsun 95 vortex that uses a gas piston. I like it. Is the scope decent?

 

[dh1633pm]

I just got a Gammo Bone Collector Hunter in .22. Works good. 10 shot with a break barrel.

https://www.airgundepot.com/gamo-bone-collector-hunter-igt-cat-22-cal.html

 

[Shane in MT]

I just got back into airguns myself recently. In the last few months I've bought two 22 caliber, and a 25 caliber.

Here's the cliff notes on the 22s,

RWS 3500 22 cal - Looks great, nicely finished, pellet picky, hold sensitive, screws loosen fast. Killed a Hawke 3-9x40 in under 50 shots. Likes Crosman 14.3gr, 850 fps. I like it, it's kind of finicky though. I cut the barrel off 16" to try to improve accuracy. it tightened up some, and gained a little speed.


After cutting the barrel,



Hatsan 125 Sniper Vortex QE 22 cal - shoots most everything well, big, heavy, kind of crudely finished in places. JSB 18.13 840 fps, Crosman 14.3gr 935 fps

 

[readyeddy]

Scopes that are bundled with springer air rifles are known for poor quality. They often eventually break from the springer's reverse recoil. I threw away the scope that came with my Hatsan 95.

Look for an airgun rated scope manufacturer. Centerfire rifle scopes will likely break on a magnum springer. Something to do with the reverse recoil.

But remember that magnum springers can break just about any scope. So if you notice your shots start drifting, clean your barrel with Goo Gone and fishing line or cable brush, and check the screws on the gun, mount and rings. If the gun still won't group, then the scope is probably dead. It happened to two of my scopes, a Leupold Rimfire and a Hawke. I personally prefer Hawke scopes.

 

[Armored farmer]

Hatsun 95 vortex and 1k variety of pellets ordered from Aurgun Depot first thing this am.
I'm hoping the vortex chamber will be easier on scopes than pure spring power. We'll see?
The rifle is actually on backorder, so i will need patience.

Has anyone tried a red dot sight? I wonder if they will hold up better?

 

[Armored farmer]

Scopes that are bundled with springer air rifles are known for poor quality. They often eventually break from the springer's reverse recoil. I threw away the scope that came with my Hatsan 95.

Look for an airgun rated scope manufacturer. Centerfire rifle scopes will likely break on a magnum springer. Something to do with the reverse recoil.

But remember that magnum springers can break just about any scope. So if you notice your shots start drifting, clean your barrel with Goo Gone and fishing line or cable brush, and check the screws on the gun, mount and rings. If the gun still won't group, then the scope is probably dead. It happened to two of my scopes, a Leupold Rimfire and a Hawke. I personally prefer Hawke scopes.

That rws is a beautiful rifle.
It sounds like I'll be needing a Hawke scope.

 

[bannockburn]

Armored farmer

Like you I spent a lot of my youth plinking away with a BB gun in the backyard. Once I got into .22s I really didn't have much interest in air rifles anymore until recently when I decided to use part of my basement for a BB gun shooting range. Got a couple of CO2 pistols ( a Remington 1911RAC and a SIG M17 CO2 air pistol), just for fun plinking and then not too long ago I received a Benjamin Regal II air rifle. Haven't put that many pellets through it yet but so far everything is working fine and the 4x32 scope that came with it is still holding up alright. The wood stock is relatively plain looking and seems a little bit heavy (unlike the air rifles I grew up with), but it's a good feeling and is made to adult dimensions.

 

[readyeddy]

That rws is a beautiful rifle.
It sounds like I'll be needing a Hawke scope.

Beeman also makes beautiful rifles. I hope you enjoy your 95.

 

[Armored farmer]

Beeman also makes beautiful rifles. I hope you enjoy your 95.

I hope so too.
I spent a good part of the afternoon on the phone jumping through hoops and stumbling blocks that the state of Illinois put in place to infringe our second amendment rights. Apparently Illinois classes anything capable of firing a projectile in excess of 700fps a firearm. Thus requiring a foid card, a waiting period, and a background check from the ISP. Then the transfer must be made through a ffl holder. Yes, i am serious. All that for a pellet rifle...
Rant over.

 

[Armored farmer]

Armored farmer

Like you I spent a lot of my youth plinking away with a BB gun in the backyard. Once I got into .22s I really didn't have much interest in air rifles anymore until recently when I decided to use part of my basement for a BB gun shooting range. Got a couple of CO2 pistols ( a Remington 1911RAC and a SIG M17 CO2 air pistol), just for fun plinking and then not too long ago I received a Benjamin Regal II air rifle. Haven't put that many pellets through it yet but so far everything is working fine and the 4x32 scope that came with it is still holding up alright. The wood stock is relatively plain looking and seems a little bit heavy (unlike the air rifles I grew up with), but it's a good feeling and is made to adult dimensions.
View attachment 971388
View attachment 971389
View attachment 971390

I would have gotten the Benjamin trail np2 sbd but they were sold out everywhere. That fact sort of fueled my urgency to find a rifle.
We get quite a few opportunities to take out pests from the garden and the grain bins. I will be able to shoot birds out of our trees without worry. I just can't be shooting up at that angle with a .22lr.

 

[Armored farmer]

There is a very nice Diana RWS 460 magnum with scope for sale used on Gunbroker right now.....$350
FYI

 

[troy fairweather]

I'd like to try one of the fixed barrel air rifles, they have the lever under the barrel. The name is escaping me at the moment, there pretty cheap since there a knock off.

Not for hunting but you may like the daisy 853s from cmp there $115 last I got one, there very accurate(one hole at 10 meters) and are fun to shoot, plus there theoretically military surplus.

 

[troy fairweather]

I hope so too.
I spent a good part of the afternoon on the phone jumping through hoops and stumbling blocks that the state of Illinois put in place to infringe our second amendment rights. Apparently Illinois classes anything capable of firing a projectile in excess of 700fps a firearm. Thus requiring a foid card, a waiting period, and a background check from the ISP. Then the transfer must be made through a ffl holder. Yes, i am serious. All that for a pellet rifle...
Rant over.

N.Y. Did the same thing to US recently, anything over 600 fps is classified as a firearm. So defeats the purpose of using one and now means we can't shoot any vermin in are yards if in town or a village.

 

[readyeddy]

I hope so too.
I spent a good part of the afternoon on the phone jumping through hoops and stumbling blocks that the state of Illinois put in place to infringe our second amendment rights. Apparently Illinois classes anything capable of firing a projectile in excess of 700fps a firearm. Thus requiring a foid card, a waiting period, and a background check from the ISP. Then the transfer must be made through a ffl holder. Yes, i am serious. All that for a pellet rifle...
Rant over.

I can understand the pain. We also have lots of firearm regulation in Hawaii. So far air guns aren't regulated here.

 

[KevininPa]

I hear the 95 is a good airgun. Buddy of mine at work has one. He also said it's not too heavy to tote around like a magnum springer. That's where I made my mistake. I bought the Hatsan 135 Vortex in .30 cal. Nine pound airgun with a heavy scope making it over ten. Gave that to my stepson for pest control. He's a big boy. Now I'm considering a Hatsan 95. Lighter weight. I do like how they're built. And the Vortex feels smooth to operate compared to springers that I've had in the past.

 

[Armored farmer]

And the Vortex feels smooth to operate compared to springers that I've had in the past.

I'm hoping the vortex won't eat scopes

 

[KevininPa]

I'm hoping the vortex won't eat scopes

I don't believe the 95 is a magnum. For the ranges you'll be shooting at I've always had good luck with UTG scopes.

 

[PapaG]

You wouldn't believe the number of people who walked away from an airgun purchase when they found out about the 4473 and three day wait. That's just us in the People 's Republik of Il. What will slow jo do nationally.
I shoot vintage Crosman, Bejamin 22s, a Sheridan 20, and a new RWS 45.

 

[Armored farmer]

Has anyone tried a red dot, or reflex sight?
I'm curious if they will stand up to the odd recoil curse?

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

I can’t contribute much to the discussion of higher end air rifles, but the IL limitations on air guns sure is a bummer. I have a Crosman 1322 which is a pump .22 pistol and for $40 mine has held up to thousands of pellets at this point. Crosman also makes a very similar pistol that takes co2 capsules and is a lot less work to shoot.

One of the cool things either pistol can do is mount a stock easily to make it sort of a carbine. There’s a whole lot of aftermarket accessories for this series of air guns, actually. The other beneficial point to your situation is the velocity of either the co2 or pump version should be below that 700 FPS “firearm” threshold.