Best .22 Air Rifle

[madpuma13]

I am new to the Air Rifle scene but not to firearms in general. I guess some would argue that doesnt hold merit here :-P

My Father-in-law recently bought an air gun and I thought it would be great to have as well. He lives out in the country and is a collector of sorts. I live in the city and would like to use it for small game in the house as well as taking out for plinking/hunting small game including racoons (if its possible with this type of firearm.

My dilemma comes in the fact that it seems that I cant find any broad/consistent reviews on air rifles. Each forum I see has it's own favorites and doesnt seem to look at each rifle objectively. In any case, i have settled here, it seems there is a lot of experience in this forum.


I think for my uses a .22 it is better suited than any other bore. There seems to be a great deal of 'good' guns. Which are the easiest to work on? Which are the most accurate? Which have enough power to take out a 'coon maybe a smallish hog with that superb accuracy. My father-in-law has the Walther Falcon. i think it's a nice gun and for some reason is cheaper than the similar powered ones (beyond me as to why).

If a budget is needed, lets say $500 with a $100 leeway, if its a superb gun. I just want something that will last and I can work on.

[madpuma13]

If there were any questions as to which I have researched and found a little info on, they include the following:

Beeman R1
Walther Falcon
RWS-350
Air Arms TX200 MKIII

As I said, it's hard to find good information on all these and other guns, any help is appreciated :-)

[jwh2]

madpuma13 - 12/16/2009  9:52 AM

If there were any questions as to which I have researched and found a little info on, they include the following:

Beeman R1
Walther Falcon
RWS-350
Air Arms TX200 MKIII

As I said, it's hard to find good information on all these and other guns, any help is appreciated :-)

The R1, rws 350 and TX are all nice rifles. I am not familiar with the Walther. I have an almost new condition, tuned 350 in .22 with custom brake, sight cover and brass screw cups installed that I am going to sale soon if you are interested.

[crowpopper]

well depends on if you want pcp or not
you can get a disco with a pump withing your range and it will be a great hunter and it can be tuned for more power
but if you want springer then the tx200 and beeman are going to very accurate if you can shoot springers
i dont have any experience with the rws or the walther but
persoanlly i like pcp for hunting
there are lots of choices and lots of options out there
for a little more you can get a used airforce gun and find a deal on a pump or scuba tank and have alot of power actually with some mods you can make more power than a 22 lr if u wanna go extreme eventually
but for begining id say a disco is a good start pcp and the tx is very nice if springer
others with more experience will chime in here im sure

[shadow]

First off WELCOME TO THE GTA FAMILY, A GREAT PLACE WITH GREAT GUYS AND GALS. If your looking for a springer then I would be looking at Magnum shooter's like the 350 Magnum which has had great success in the hunting field here. Another Magnum shooter with enough punch to tackle Bandit's etc. would be the Gamo Extreme. 22 but the only drawback would be the lack of replacement part's for it. Several family members here have the 350 Mag and love the shooter for small game and larger like Bandit's Country Rat's and G-hog's. I myself have the Gamo Hunter 1250.22, English version of the Extreme and have taken load's of Bandit's, Country Rat's etc. with it. Magnum shooter's are heavy hitters and take a little time to get accurate with due to the recoil etc. but tuning them really makes them shine in the hunting field. Another route would be to go PCP but along with the shooter you will have other item's to get like tank's etc. to keep it up on air. I'm sure that more of our great family members here will jump in with some good advice on some great shooters for hunting etc.. Ed

[Mark 611]

A good reasonable gun with power an accuracy and over all build quality hunting gun  IMO would be an RWS m48 .22cal will probly take care of your needs and thier not that expensive

[noisemedia]

I have recently been able to receive an RWS 48 and I would have to say it's one of the smoothest shooting and most accurate guns I've tried. The 350 is an excellent gun too. I've also had the RWS 34P for a while and that is another easy shooting accurate gun. I will say one thing; I was able to fire a Walther Talon recently and I really didnt care for it at all. But...thats just my opinion.  So yeah...my vote is for RWS for the value and quality you receive for such a good price.

[longislandhunter]

Welcome to GTA,, very nice to have you with us  

As for your question......if you're looking for a hunting rifle then I  would recommend either the RWS 48 or the 350.  I own both and they are awesome hunters, easily capable of taking out any small game you may run across including game as large as raccoons, woodchucks and possums.  

The 350 is a rather long gun, which is why quite a few people "chop" the barrel, however I left mine stock and don't have a problem with it. The 48 on the other hand is a much shorter rifle but it is also a bit heavier than the 350, however since it's a "side cocker'  it's very easy to install a set of sling swivels on the 48's stock which makes it a pleasure to take on long hunts in the woods.  Since the 48 is shorter it's also easier to maneuver with the rifle when hunting in thick brush and such.  

Both rifles have a good "out of the box" trigger and both rifles can be incredibly accurate if you do your part.  The 350 is quicker to reload since it's a break barrel rifle however once you get used to it the side cocking 48 can be reloaded quickly as well.  

From the "hunting aspect" If I had to pick just one of them I'd go with the 48 due to the shorter length,  the ease of installing a sling, the better overall balance of the rifle and the fact that the 48's extra weight, while a turnoff to some, actually helps absorb the spring recoil of the rifle.  

Stay away from the Walther rifle.....  it's a harsh shooting rifle.  You'd be much better off with an RWS.  

The Beeman R-1 is supposed to be a real nice rifle as well but I don't own one or have any experience with one so I can't comment on that rifle.  

If you decide to go the PCP route then I would say get a .22 Discovery/Pump combo, there are some good deals around now.  The .22 Disco will give you good accuracy and good power and the PCP's are much easier to shoot accurately than a spring rifle since there's no recoil at all.  The other nice thing is that on a PCP you can use any scope you'd like due to the lack of recoil.  If you go the springer route then be sure to get a scope that is "springer rated", like a "Leapers" or "BSA".  These are just a couple brands of springer rated scopes, there are of course others available as well.  

Well, let us know what you choose and again,,, Welcome to GTA.....

I"ll be looking forward to your future posts....

Jeff

[JimL911]

The TX is a fine accurate rifle that with shot placement and at a conservative distance will do the job. The R1 has a great trigger and more punch. Look at Weihrauch HW 80 to save a bit of $ (same just not paying for Beeman re-lable). The 350 has Great power and a decent trigger and is easy to work on IF you have a spring compressor (needed for all except the TX). Magnums take a bit of getting used to when shooting. You need to learn your gun. The TX will be the easiest to shoot right off the bat but with time the others will hold their own as hunters. If you plan on using a scope the 350 will require a robust scope with a warranty as they can be hard on them.
Hope this helps.

[madpuma13]

Yeah, Ill definitely be aiming for spring-air. Maybe precharged down the road

[airgunandy]

Here's something else to chew on....
Gonna shoot it in the house as well as outdoors? Get a MAC1 Steroided Benjamin 392. A couple of pumps will take care of all the indoor needs without the dangers of high velocity pellets flying around in the house. Plenty of oomph at full power for 'coons and such.

http://www.mac1airgun.com/

[madpuma13]

Yeah, that was a typo... Sorry about that I meant to say Ill be shooting it in town as opposed to the country. Although it will get it's fair share of country shootin' too.

[dk1677]

Welcome to the group! Paul Capello has great reviews at pyramid air, I saw his one on the Crosman Nitro piston that looked good. Have you shot a springer much? They do take a good technique ( like the artillery hold) and some have a steeper learning curve but no air tanks or co2 fills to worry about. I love my Hammerli 850 but its not a cold weather gun if you dont mod it for HPA

[ledtone]

the walther is great power but its made in turkey i personally havent had  good luck with them there triggers are terrible also the barrels are a crap shoot some  are ok and some arent id get an rws 350 mag if you want somthing  in that price range thats powerful or an rws 48 if you can spare a little more get a beeman r1 or rx2 but you can get a nice 350 mag for under $300 and youd be happier with that by far than a walther imo

[Zzyzx]

How would the Tech Force 89 figure into this catagory? I read good things of it on here and it is well within the budget, including scope and a potload of pellets. For what he says he has to spend he could even get a turbo tune done and have change left over.