First adult air rifle

[airgun/cuz]

Roger,I absolutely agree with what you said.....   It is a bit more pricey,but definitely a great choice....as for my personal taste I would rather spend the extra money on something that I know is ready for business,right out of the box......I have tuned rifles & luv every bit of them,but for me I would rather put the exta cash into the better gun.....

[Splash]

I meant to say, that I wouldn't recomend the 350 for a first, or any magnum springer for that matter. Sorry guys, but I don't feel that a Magnum springer, is what you want to cut your teeth on. You would probably get discouraged and give up, before you learned the proper technique, needed to be consistent with it.

[airgun/cuz]

Mkey Splash,You are correct,I can see how one can become discouraged over shooting the 350 & try to maintain consistant accuracy..I feel a lighter rifle would be much easier.....

[melloroadman]

Now that I have considered your question and think you understand the 50 - 100 yard shooting with a air rifle a little better . I recant my statement and out of the two I would go with the .177 Discovery and change it over to .22 when I got to a point of long distance shooting. I am surprised that no one mentioned to you the 350 is known to be a heavy recoil and a scope eater which makes it a poor choice for me to recommend as a entry level air rife. I know at this time you think you can get by with one purchase but that's like saying I only need to buy one car to last me my life time . To answer your other question about the up keep of the Discovery it should be minimal and parts are easy to get and cheap. There is up keep on springers as well . Springs and seals do not last for ever . I went the springer rout at first and still own several but the firing cycle of them almost turned me away from air gunning it can be frustrating to say the least . The smoothness of the Discovery will allow you to enjoy the sport and perfect your shooting style so you can advance in your shooting with out the hold sensitive and recoil issues of a springer. If you said you were going to plink and hunt then the springer would be a better choice . But to start with target practice and truly want consistency and enjoyment then the PCP I believe will give you more enjoyment . This is just my opinion being said not to offend any one or any type of rifle. Marvin

[TexasShooter72]

The RWS 350 Mag will do you no wrong, HOWEVER...   it's a kicker and isn't always the best suited for plinking.  In my opinion, a good all around shooter would be a .177 caliber RWS Model 34.  You'll get a limited lifetime warranty on defective parts, they come very nicely made and it'll keep a few bucks in your pocket.  Out of the box most rifles can stand a little improvement whereas the 34 comes very well made.  Another choice if you don't mind a pump rifle is a Benjamin 392(.22).  It's American made(New York) and are still made of decent quality.  There are many to choose from.  Very few will do you wrong!   :p

[ac12basis]

For the first air rifle, I recommend a LOW powered rifle.  
Just like learning on a 22RF before you move on to a .30 center fire.

If you go for the Diana 350, get a LOW powered spring rifle like the R7/HW30 or similar.  That will let you work on your spring technique easier than starting on a magnum.  While the R7 is rather pricy, you should be able to find an equivalent low powered springer for near the $100 price point.  Might need a bit of work/tuning but the result should be good.  Besides, you can shoot all day w a low power springer, whereas a magnum will tire your arm out a lot sooner.

The Discovery does not have the spring recoil/vibration of the 350, but a nice low powered alternative would be nice as well.  How about a Daisy 953, available for about $80.

[Progun]

Cosmin, Gary is right in my opinion  about starting out with a lower powered rifle to begin with. Learning to shoot and idiosyncrsies and maintenance issues makes more sense with a lesser powered rifle. Your first car for the same reasons isn't a Formula 1 race car.Of the two options you gave I suggested the 350. But if you are willing to consider others I will say based on my own personal experience after owning and shooting many air rifles for almost 20 years that when I finally bought a Beeman R-9 Goldfinger .177 combo I liked it so much that I realized that  that if I had just bought it sooner I might not have bought a lot of the other guns.

[crisancosmin19]

Guys,thank you for your overwhelming response. You are great.
I now realise a few things I forgot to mention. This rifle that I will be buying will by no means be my first. I am 27 right now. I started at 12 on a german made LG .177, breakbarrell, then I bought another german underlever, also in .177 ( the brand starts with N..., I forgot the name). So, I think I can shoot decent with springers. My personal best is a bottle cap at about 25 yrds, open sights.
I am sorry for not mentioning this before. If you feel you need to change your opinion, in light of this newpiece of  information, please do so, as your opinions matter a lot.
Also, the $400 will also be only for the rifle. Scopes and mounts can wait 1 or 2 months.
Thank you again.

[Splash]

Then why the title "First adult air rifle"?

[crisancosmin19]

The previous rifles I owned, I tend to consider them as ''beginner", because they were quite cheap (50$, 60$). This is a major investment for me.
Sorry if I confused u guys.

[TCups]

On careful reflection, I am not sure I have met an "adult" air gunner.  Most, like me, are just big kids having fun -- but perhaps at adult prices, I suppose.

[crisancosmin19]

You are so right! Same mile-wide silly grins, only at a higher cost.

[Bhawanna]

Once again......BSA Lightning XL.  bite the bullet.  check the used prices, these guns hold their value but once you own it, you won't want to get rid of it.

[Machinist]

Cosmin:

If the purpose of the desired rifle is to shoot distances of 50 to 100 yards, any breakbarrel has by design has quite a handicap, regardless of price or brand name especially if you plan to use a scope attached to the receiver/spring tube.

For example, with a working breakbarrel pivot clearance of only a half thousandth (.0005) 2" below the top of the barrel, shot to shot POI variance could be 0.900 inches at a 100 yard target. With a fixed barrel that 0.900 variance does not exist and the POI is that much closer to your POA.

Thus my recommendation in a RWS would be any one of the fixed barrel 46 series underlevers, and for long range the 460 which is also an underlever and loading is as convenient as a breakbarrel. This selection may seem a bit heavy scoped which is good and if too heavy you have a good excuse to go to a gym.

If considering anything other than a springer, you might ask your self how much crap you want to lug around.

Mike

[melloroadman]

N/T