Bushnell states that all their scopes will handle spring rifle recoil. That does not mean they are all recommended for air rifles, that has more to do with parallax correction and size. I have this 4-12 x 40 AO Sportsman on my .177 B26. Approx. 300-400 pellets worth and it has worked fine. It is a good scope for the money, especially $40.00 from Natchez. I nought mine at a local Wal Mart for about $70.00. It has decent optics, a bit critcal for eye relief. The AO markings seem accurate, and it does focus down to at least 10 yds.. It is not the equal of a Banner or Trophy, for optics and is about an inch longer than either of those scopes. It has a nice, heavy duty, one piece tube.