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New to airguns and air gun hunting.

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J

JJD

Member
May 31, 2016
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Advice request;
I am a hunter and in years past, a competitive shooter.
Interested in getting into air gun hunting for small game.
I expect I will get a number of differing opinions here, but what air rifles offer the most bang (or pop) for the $$ in the $500.00 range.
There is so much out there, I don't even know where to begin looking. Which brings me to begging advice from you folks.
Thanks in advance.
JJD


 
For roughly $500 for the gun, I'd say a Benjamin Marauder in 0.25 cal is your best bet. I own one and it packs a serious punch on small game and the gun is very accurate and tunable. 
You will have to factor in a pump, scope, pellets, scope rings, and the total may be closer to $800. 
If you want a complete gun package for a bit over $500, I'd look at a Benjamin Marauder pistol as an option. Less powerful and comes in 0.22 caliber but one of the most fun guns to shoot. 
Even less inexpensive is a Benjamin Discovery or Maximus - both cost roughly $200 for the gun only, but you'll be missing a lot of features you may want/need and end up buying a better gun later, thus more money spent. 

Bottom line: buy the most gun (PCP) you can afford. Also get yourself on the AirgunDepot and Pyramydair mailing list for coupon codes. 

 
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"Ghostmaker"Springer or PCP?

$500 will get you a top of the line springer and a bottom of the barrel PCP. 

Do you have a preference?

my personal opinion, and as you said there will be many, is that $500 is not enough to get a PCP and associated peripherals that is worth owning.
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Agree. If small game hunting is why you are most interested in air guns you could get by a lot cheaper with a 22 rimfire shooting shorts and if you really wanted quiet you could put a silencer on it. This pcp game is an expensive addiction.
 
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yes the disco is the best PCP for the money payed you can even run co2 air with a small drop in fps not many guys i know of actually do that though everybody run high pressure air, if a springer or pumper is your thing then European spring rifles are best like webley RWS(Diana) to name only a few pumper rifles are some what limited to the Benjamin 397/ 392, crosman 66 shoots 680 fps co2 rifles like the crosman 1077 it all depends on what you like .
 
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Save your money a $500.00 dollar setup is like a gateway drug. It is just the start. of a addiction. We are all here because we are all addicted. Weather it the guy who has a small budget, the guy who has to have the best and latest equipment or someone like me who like to tinker and make better than the factory did. We are all addicted and we all like to help others interested in getting started. So save your money and get with someone in your area that already has several to shoot get your feet wet and then make a more informed decision. I live in Phoenix AZ. if you are in my area I would be glad to help. What city and state are you in?
 
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"pcphunter"Save your money a $500.00 dollar setup is like a gateway drug. It is just the start. of a addiction. We are all here because we are all addicted. Weather it the guy who has a small budget, the guy who has to have the best and latest equipment or someone like me who like to tinker and make better than the factory did. We are all addicted and we all like to help others interested in getting started. So save your money and get with someone in your area that already has several to shoot get your feet wet and then make a more informed decision. I live in Phoenix AZ. if you are in my area I would be glad to help. What city and state are you in?
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The mature voice of reason.
 
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I am on the far east side of WA state. Being new here, that's as much detail as I choose to offer.
I understand the gateway to an addiction thing. Building an accurate center fire rifle can easily run into the thousands of $$
I don't mind paying for quality, just want something that will work reliably. I know that does not come cheap.

As far as the .22 rim fire goes, I have several and enjoy shooting them. Issue as of late has been availability of ammo. One month I can find one brand of ammo and the next, another brand is all I can find and I spend way too much time re-zeroing. So far, larger quantities have not been available. The price has gone through the roof. As far as I can see, hoarding of pellets has not been an issue like rim fire ammo has been.

I will lurk here a bit to see what I can learn.
Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help.
JJD
 
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JJD,
It is more than $500...but a FX Wildcat is a great hunting platform. .22 Wildcat gets you 45 shots or so before a recharge, I think a Ben Maurader is like 25 shots? But bullpup style is so much better than you would think, esp if you're walking alot. Super fast follow-up shots too, believe me. FX is making the new ones with better triggers. Any rifle scope you have around will work save for the parallax issue as most your hunts will be under 50 yards. Athlon Talos models are under $175 (get illuminated reticle!) and work well for all that tested them out so far myself included. If you are fit a handpump will work but a tank is better for the gun (no humidity buildup). A non-cabon fiber tank is less than $300. Carbon fiber is safer and lighter, has a 15 year lifespan.

I have 9,000 pellets, and that is nothing compaired to most based on what I can tell.

https://sportsgearoptics.com/5-rifle-scopes
Also sold at Optics Plantet. Check, one may be lower than the other depending on the model.
 
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"JJD"Anyone had any experience with CZ 200 S Hunter. I have one of their .22 rimfire rifles, with a $15 trigger job, it is sub MOA out of the box.
Wondering if their air rifles are of the same quality?
Leaning hard toward the Marauder as I will likely be able to get replacement parts till I die.
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I have both-the CZ S200 in .22 is a great little gun about the size of a Ruger 10/22. One thing you can be sure of with the CZ is a good barrel. It's not as powerful as the Marauder, so I'd limit my shots to around 50 yards. I regularly pop paintballs with either gun at 45-50 yards. The Marauder in .22 is capable out to 65 yards in calm or light wind conditions. The Marauder is a bit on the bulky and heavy side compared to the CZ. On the plus for the Marauder, extra mags are $15, they're around $40 for the CZ.
 
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