First adult air rifle

[crisancosmin19]

Hi there! I need your help and opinions. I finally raised the $$ (400-ish) for my first adult air rifle. I do not think I will turn into a collector any time soon, so this rifle has to be my "everything" rifle. I will not hunt (much), all I like to do is plink at long ranges (I will try to train for the 50 to 100 yards range).

I have narrowed down my choices to RWS Diana 350 Magnum and Benjamin Discovery, both in .177.  As you can see, 2 very different rifles. The first WAS  my clear, no doubts about it choice, until the Discovery came along. So now, I have a huge dillema. I could live with the steep magnum springer learning curve the Diana offers, but, as far as the Discovery is concerned, besides the fact that I just love it, just because, I am a bit afraid of future complications (leaks, valves and so on).

To keep it short, you will make the decision for me .  Thank you!

[melloroadman]

Cosmin I dont know if either of these rifles will do the 100 yard mark with any reliability. That's a long shot for a air rifle  . I have a Discovery in .177 that I call my go to gun . I do target only at this time. Today I had the Discovery at the 50 yard range and that's about as far as the .177 is going to shoot accurately at . You might get 60 yards but it will take a lot of work on your part . I was able to get a 6 shoot group about the size of a quarter one time. I was using CPH 10.5 pellets and if I cranked the power all the way up the pellets wet to fast and I had flyers . The group I mentioned was with a 1700 fill at shoot 10 -16 with stock spring and the power adjuster turned in one turn . I played with the fill pressure and power adjuster and from what I could see of the pellet in flight with the scope on 24 power the pellet was my issue . The average group for 10 shoots was 2 inches. The pellet either went to fast or ran out of gas to keep it as tight as I would have liked . A heaver pellet would help but that leaves you with a Beeman super arrow at 11.5 in the .177 and I dont know if that would be enough of a difference to do the trick . So a .22 for that range would probable do a little better IMO. But all in all I am very happy with my Discovery and for about $25 I can convert it to a .22 if I decide to . But now I have a .357 to use for my long range target shooting so I dont know if I need to do that . I might add that at 25 yards the Discovery will keep 20 shoots in a 1/2 group so you see there is quite a difference here. Marvin

[Progun]

Cosmin, Welcome aboard.and glad to see you here. I don't have a Discovery but I have shot the RWS350 for at least 10 years.There really isn't much of a learning curve that you can't easily handle with this fine German made spring piston rifle. It has a great trigger right from the factory and will shoot all the long shots you care to take. These guns are very accurate and yes it does have a noticeable recoil but it really packs a punch on target. Leapers is coming out with a new scope mount for this rifle that will make it easier to scope although a lot of us have been doing just fine with the mounts that have always been available.The rifle also lends itself to being easy to tune and it is not "new" on the market.(no bugs that haven't been worked out). If you shop around you can find some good deals for less than you expect to pay.Since it's a break barrel springer all you do is cock it, insert a pellet in the breech and shoot. No pumping required and you never run out of air.RWS has one of the best warranty's in the industry to boot.In addition, should you ever decide to sell it it will be snapped up quick. And for a final plus .177 ammo is much less expensive than the other calibers.Ask Joe/ airgun cuz who is a member here to get you a good deal from the dealer he works for.(Cobra Air Guns).There are many other members here who will also give you good testimonials about the 350. Timmy, Only 1 harry, Long Island Hunter  just to name a few. I'm not bad mouthing the Discovery mind you as many of the members here are fans of the Discovery(melloroadman). This is just my opinion and I'm sure you will get others to offer theirs as well. Good luck with your choice and again welcome to the GTA.

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Grab your gun,, grab some pellets,,, Get Er Done!!!!! The Diana 350 Magnum,, is a Classic!!! Show me a match for the POWER,, ACCURACY,, & value,,,,,, When I get the money,, I will buy one!!! A Better Magnum value?? PLEASE enlighten me!! LOL!!  Tim.

[Splash]

First off welcome to the forum. Now Comes the tough part, as you can see most are leaning towards the R9, which is a fine rifle, but it takes finess to be able to be consistent with it. Springers are a totally diff animal, so I would recomend the 350 for a first. I'm not trying to turn you against it, but I don't think it would be right for a first. I've got a few and everyone that has shot them, wants my MA2250xt.

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

P.S. Dont think I did not pay attention at Genes house recently,,,,,,The "Dark Side" is a callin me LOL!!!!! Just something about the conveinence of "Grab & Go" springers that will always be a part of me,, & many others Im shure!! Tim.

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

A Poll?? First Adult air gun?? Pretty simple choice,, RWS (Diana) 34 Panther (Or "Classic" wood stock version)  Tim.

[Splash]

AHHH FEEL the force,hehe. Tis nice if ya got the dough, for all of the extra stuff, just glad that I got a buddy that gave me a tank,hehe. I wish I could afford to get more.

[TCups]

Accurate shots at 50-100 yards in a "first" adult air gun is going to stretch your budget and your air rifle to the limit.  Kind of like saying you'd really like or your first car to be a Ferrari but on a budget more in line with a Toyota or a Honda.  Not to say it can't be done, but practically speaking, 25-50 yards seems to be the real world for most airgunners,  And for the longer shots, a good mil dot scope is a likely investment, on top of the cost of the rifle.  Leapers and BSA come to mind.  With mounts, there goes $100 to $150 or so.  I agree with Splash about the Mountain Airguns 2250-XT.  These are really great airguns, but CO2 guns are temperature-sensitive and mostly like warm environments.  So,the Toyota (or should I say, Audi?) -  Beeman R9; the Volkswagen - Diana 34 Panther;  the Mercedes Benz - RWS 54 recoilless; the Ferrari - Theoben Eliminator.  And then, there is the "Dark Side" . . .

[airgun/cuz]

COSMIN,,,,First & Foremost,,WELCOME TO A WONDERFULL GTA, WACKEY AIRGUN FAMILY!...I went through the same thing,undecided on which should be my first big name airgun......350 MAG....R-9.......RX-2.....Well after about two week of twisting & turning,I decided on all three,with the power monster 350 mag first up to the plate(recently sold)....The RX-2..was second in line &  will never be sold(just an absolute beauty)....it took me about four months of listening to many wackey R-9 owners bragging about this toy(or at least I thought so)...you know what they say about thought ?....Finally I grew a set & bought an R-9 GOLDFINGER,,,,What a jerk I was....I will say this everyday for the rest of my life....I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE R-9 MUCH SOONER THAN I HAD....Hands down the perfect all around air-rifle....not over-powered, just enough to handle your daily small game hunts yet soft enough to shoot paper in your yard(or your neighbors widow,when they annoy you)..just kidding...LOL!......Plus it's made by WEIHRAUCH,one of the top manufacturers ever......If you have ever taken advice from anyone,this is what I will say......BUY AN R-9, TAKE TWO ASPIRIN & CALL ME IN THE MORNING.....The aspirin are for your headache you will get from becoming extremely excited after shooting this baby....ask, PEAKCHICK, LONGISLANDHUNTER,BIG BILL,FATBACK,SPORT171,TCUPS, & One of our favorites(I can't say because he has to post it first)what it feels like when you first shoot an R-9.......GOOD LUCK!

[HNT5]

If your budget is for rifle, scope and mounts here one option. Natchez Shooter's Supply has Gamo 440 .177 cal for $99. Send it to Charlie for a tune $ 150.  Grab a BSA 3X12X44 for $55 bucks and a good mount for about $50 and you are still under the $400 budget.

Nathan

[Bhawanna]

Plinking at 100 yards?.....C'mon.  sure its fun to "reach out and touch someone" but serious plinking will be under 35 yards.  i would recommend the BSA Lightning XL.  this is one sweet gun straight out of the box.  very smooth and doesn't need tuning.  i know all the rws, beeman, and gamo guys are freakin' over my suggestion.  YOU gotta own one to know what i'm talking about.  ask peakchick or gene, they will tell you this is a sweet gun with enough power to take tree rats at 25 yards.  mine will chrony 870 fps with cph's. and that's straight out of the box!  you can pick one up in the $400 range and this will be a gun you will always want to keep.

[riarcher]

HNT5 - I like your thinking. About what I've done.
But, where do you find the BSA scopes at $55?
Been looking, best is around $70/80,, and all out of stock.

I'd vote for a quality used gun in (near) excellent condition and get her tuned also.
I'd be looking at a used R9, etc. if I was to do it again,,, and I'm sure I will.

[HNT5]

I got one from Natchez along with a 4X32 BSA The 3X12X44 was IIRC right around $55. I think they are pretty good scopes for the money and I have yet to have a BSA airgun scope fail on a spring gun. Having said that I probably jinxed myself! I agree the R-9 platform is a great gun. I have a R-10 Carbine deluxe and the HW quality is top notch. But a R-9, even used, will eat up a good portion of his budget. If he wants scope and mounts in that $400, I looked for a lower end way to go. One other option would be either a tuned B-26 or B-40 from Mike Melick. That would get him a tuned rifle well within his budget. Choices, choices...
Regards

Nathan

[tjk]

Although I agree with everyone's opinions, I'll offer my two cents.These GTA folks are great people to cooresponde with, and provide a wealth of knowledge in the sport, as well as friendship and comradary. Nathans idea is the closest suggestion to me as far as being on a tight budget. Yeah you can buy a super nice high dollar rifle if you've got the 'disposible income', but just think how great you'd feel showing up with what J calls a "beater" to a shoot out. Trick it out with a tune and some accesories, and out shoot those fellas  with their fancy rifles. Kinda *_*_*_*_*_* 'em off LOL's Then you can talk a little $#!t.  I personally get alot of satisfaction taking something and improveing it to it's fullest potential.  There are tons of decent rifles out there, and with a bit of determination and work, they can be developed into great weapons. OK folks, that's my opinion. Now you can all "bash" me!!! LOL's Happy Shooting, tjk