Air Rifles/Pellet Guns

[Mr Savoy]

I'd really like a new air rifle so I could practice shooting every day, rather than every week. The one I have now is a smooth-bore BB gun that just cannot offer me the accuracy I desire; it has bad sights that are a pain to adjust, it needs to be pumped 9 times to get full power, and it's not too accurate. (Partially my dad's fault for the decline in accuracy, though. He left it outside for a week or two and it rusted.)

What I'm looking for is a good, accurate, reliable air rifle (pellet gun) that shoots at a high velocity, comes with good sights, and can have a scope mounted. (A scope mount is only a very minor preference, though. First and foremost, I want good iron sights.) I'd really like a match grade air rifle, but I need it to be under 250 dollars. I've no real knowledge in pellet guns of any kind, and I'd like some assistance in finding the right one.

Also, regarding velocity- what would be the best velocity? I think 1200 fps would be really cool because of the supersonic crack. xp Contrariwise, it might make it especially hard to pump, and accuracy comes first. So, what's a good speed for a pellet gun to shoot a projectile at?  

[Mr Savoy]

Okay, I've narrowed my choices down to three main contenders. From lowest to highest price: The Avanti Champion 499, Avanti 853, and Gamo Whisper Classic.

The Avanti Champion is probably the least accurate and definitely not powerful. 240fps is pretty damn slow. The Avanti 853 might be the most accurate, but I do not know for sure. It still only fires at about 560fps. The Gamo Whisper Classic is surely more accurate than the Champion, shoots pellets at 5 times the speed, but is the most expensive and does not come with aperture sights.

Which one should I get? And are there any better?  

[Mr Savoy]

Actually, the Gamo CFX might be a bit better. Less expensive, reportedly very accurate, and with a high velocity.

Bah, I should just go with the reviews and buy one already. It was just the synthetic stock putting me off, because I hate the look and feel of most synthetics.  

[Maddness91]

yeah i have an old pellet gun my dad gave me.. it was his when he was a kid... idk what is model is, but it's a Ruger and was made in the USSR, so it has an extra point in the badass column xp
it fires around 300fps (because here in canada u need a license for anything above 500fps) and it does it's job of shooting sparrows xp

my dad got a new ruger airhawk maybe 6 months ago for under $150, and it shoots right around 500fps, but u can get it in a 1000fps model (all it is is a stronger spring in the piston)... he has nothing but good things to say about it... he opened it all up, and adjusted it to suit his needs, and away he went... i've fired it a few times, and it is a nice rifle... it;s a bit big for what it is, and the wood (to me) feels a bit odd, prolly just being new and having whatever the factory puts on wood to seal it, but these arn;t big deals for me... the scope that came with it is accurate, but nothing special, and he hasn;t taken it off so idk anything about the iron sights, but just from the look of them i;d say they were good enough for a good shooter to use effectively...  

[Man of the Demoneye]

I used to use a Benjamin Sherridan pump pellet gun when I was younger. I remember you had to pump the thing 6 times and it was a bolt action single shot. I could get minute-of-can at 30 yards, and that's going back a ways. Not sure if it was rifled or not, but it was much better than that plastic crap they sell now!  

[Fresnel]

Gamo is incredibly accurate and I've shot mine (Shadow 1000) to death. The break-barrel takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can build up some real muscle. The only problem: the sights are s**t. They never worked right for me, but with another $7, I slapped on a Daisy-brand air rifle reflex sight, and that's been working great. It'd work better if I ever SIGHTED IT IN, but it does okay.

But yeah, I used to take rabbits with my GAMO all the time, and my brother put a copper/lead sabot pellet through a champagne bottle with his. It's really an excellent rifle. Just... wear glasses. The things ricochet like a ********. Shot myself several times. It doesn't hurt, and I ******** Matrix-dodged one once because they come back so slow, but if you ever get one in the eye, you're done.  

[Man of the Demoneye]

Fresnel

Gamo is incredibly accurate and I've shot mine (Shadow 1000) to death. The break-barrel takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can build up some real muscle. The only problem: the sights are s**t. They never worked right for me, but with another $7, I slapped on a Daisy-brand air rifle reflex sight, and that's been working great. It'd work better if I ever SIGHTED IT IN, but it does okay.

But yeah, I used to take rabbits with my GAMO all the time, and my brother put a copper/lead sabot pellet through a champagne bottle with his. It's really an excellent rifle. Just... wear glasses. The things ricochet like a ********. Shot myself several times. It doesn't hurt, and I ******** Matrix-dodged one once because they come back so slow, but if you ever get one in the eye, you're done.

 

[Fresnel]

Man of the Demoneye

Fresnel

Gamo is incredibly accurate and I've shot mine (Shadow 1000) to death. The break-barrel takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can build up some real muscle. The only problem: the sights are s**t. They never worked right for me, but with another $7, I slapped on a Daisy-brand air rifle reflex sight, and that's been working great. It'd work better if I ever SIGHTED IT IN, but it does okay.

But yeah, I used to take rabbits with my GAMO all the time, and my brother put a copper/lead sabot pellet through a champagne bottle with his. It's really an excellent rifle. Just... wear glasses. The things ricochet like a ********. Shot myself several times. It doesn't hurt, and I ******** Matrix-dodged one once because they come back so slow, but if you ever get one in the eye, you're done.

A perfect example of why you should wear safety glasses. He DIDN'T shoot his eye out, he only broke the glasses.  

[Mr Savoy]

Fresnel

Gamo is incredibly accurate and I've shot mine (Shadow 1000) to death. The break-barrel takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can build up some real muscle. The only problem: the sights are s**t. They never worked right for me, but with another $7, I slapped on a Daisy-brand air rifle reflex sight, and that's been working great. It'd work better if I ever SIGHTED IT IN, but it does okay.

But yeah, I used to take rabbits with my GAMO all the time, and my brother put a copper/lead sabot pellet through a champagne bottle with his. It's really an excellent rifle. Just... wear glasses. The things ricochet like a ********. Shot myself several times. It doesn't hurt, and I ******** Matrix-dodged one once because they come back so slow, but if you ever get one in the eye, you're done.

What do you think about the Avanti 853? I'm actually thinking of getting that, instead. Better iron sights, slower pellet so I can use this with it.  

[Fresnel]

Mr Savoy

Fresnel

Gamo is incredibly accurate and I've shot mine (Shadow 1000) to death. The break-barrel takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can build up some real muscle. The only problem: the sights are s**t. They never worked right for me, but with another $7, I slapped on a Daisy-brand air rifle reflex sight, and that's been working great. It'd work better if I ever SIGHTED IT IN, but it does okay.

But yeah, I used to take rabbits with my GAMO all the time, and my brother put a copper/lead sabot pellet through a champagne bottle with his. It's really an excellent rifle. Just... wear glasses. The things ricochet like a ********. Shot myself several times. It doesn't hurt, and I ******** Matrix-dodged one once because they come back so slow, but if you ever get one in the eye, you're done.

What do you think about the Avanti 853? I'm actually thinking of getting that, instead. Better iron sights, slower pellet so I can use this with it.

Looks like a decent rifle. No idea how it feels or how well it'll work next year, but I'm sure someone on the internet has written a review for one. On the other hand, you could always get this...  

[Mr Savoy]

Fresnel

Mr Savoy

Fresnel

Gamo is incredibly accurate and I've shot mine (Shadow 1000) to death. The break-barrel takes a while to get used to, but once you do you can build up some real muscle. The only problem: the sights are s**t. They never worked right for me, but with another $7, I slapped on a Daisy-brand air rifle reflex sight, and that's been working great. It'd work better if I ever SIGHTED IT IN, but it does okay.

But yeah, I used to take rabbits with my GAMO all the time, and my brother put a copper/lead sabot pellet through a champagne bottle with his. It's really an excellent rifle. Just... wear glasses. The things ricochet like a ********. Shot myself several times. It doesn't hurt, and I ******** Matrix-dodged one once because they come back so slow, but if you ever get one in the eye, you're done.

What do you think about the Avanti 853? I'm actually thinking of getting that, instead. Better iron sights, slower pellet so I can use this with it.

Looks like a decent rifle. No idea how it feels or how well it'll work next year, but I'm sure someone on the internet has written a review for one. On the other hand, you could always get this...

No, I could not. razz  

[Floyd]

Man of the Demoneye

I used to use a Benjamin Sherridan pump pellet gun when I was younger. I remember you had to pump the thing 6 times and it was a bolt action single shot. I could get minute-of-can at 30 yards, and that's going back a ways. Not sure if it was rifled or not, but it was much better than that plastic crap they sell now!

I still have my .22 B/S and love it. It's accurate and reliable enough to justify the $150 I paid for it. Used to be a CO2 nut, but got tired of having my guns go to the shop to replace the rotted gas seals. Never had that trouble with a pump gun.

I also have a Gamo CO2 Smith and Wesson clone revolver. Gutless wonder. When you can see the pellet in motion and watch it drop, you know you got a real loser.  

[Longshot CS-6]

I have a Daisy Grizzly BB/Pellet gun. I'm not sure of the FPS, but they are very accurate and work well at one pump. It takes about 3 to get full power. It's light, and cheap