I have been a lover of airguns all my life. I have a ruger .22 break barrel that is ok , and been collecting dust. I've been watching reviews and I think I want a Benjamin steel eagle in 177 or a hatsan model 95 in 177. Any other suggetions would be great.
New Guy, north Texas wanting a break barrel
- Thread starter Jason30
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Jason. Welcome on board! You are sure to find lots of information, help, and opinions here. Enough to make your decision.....more confusing and difficult to make. But seriously, there is a lots of information already in here if you know where to look, as we have all pretty much asked almost the same questions when we join. May I suggest you go to the Springers section and type in the search bar a particular gun and see if you get any threads on it.
I am not familiar with those guns you mention, but generally speaking you will want to look at getting a good quality gun, as you will end up buying two, instead of one if you buy a "Walmart" gun. One of the first questions you should ask yourself is: What I'm I going to do with this gun? How far I'm I shooting? Are you happy with hitting beer cans as you toss them in the yard? Or do you want to take out small mice at 25 yards?
I am not familiar with those guns you mention, but generally speaking you will want to look at getting a good quality gun, as you will end up buying two, instead of one if you buy a "Walmart" gun. One of the first questions you should ask yourself is: What I'm I going to do with this gun? How far I'm I shooting? Are you happy with hitting beer cans as you toss them in the yard? Or do you want to take out small mice at 25 yards?
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I don't want to go with cheap junk but I don't want to spend a fortune either. Small groups at 50 yards is what I'm "shooting for"
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You are going to have to define things a bit. For example: What is a small group...to you? What IS a fortune...to you? There are guys here whom can shoot 1/2 group at 50 yards with PCPs that start at about $1K. That does not include peripheral equipment, such as compressors, scopes, etc. Springers are hold sensitive, take a lot of practice to master, and the good ones are not cheap.
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You'll be much happier with something like an HW95/Beeman R9. If you are not opposed to underlevers, the HW97 ordered from Krale is the best value in airgunning.
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Thanks for replying. 20 yards, would be ok. I don't really want to spend over 400 but I may if I find the right gun. I want as tight of groups as I can get of course.
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A RWS 34 will fit the bill nicely, I have one and it shoots great. Midway has them on sale now, at this price you can buy the rifle and a decent scope and stay within your budget.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1297117902/rws-34-pellet-air-rifle-wood-stock-blue-barrel
If the scope is decent this is a great deal, I like the looks better than with sights too.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/496074/rws-34-meisterschutze-pro-compact-break-barrel-air-rifle-177-caliber-pellet-wood-stock-blue-barrel-with-rws-air-gun-scope-3-9-x-40mm-matte
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1297117902/rws-34-pellet-air-rifle-wood-stock-blue-barrel
If the scope is decent this is a great deal, I like the looks better than with sights too.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/496074/rws-34-meisterschutze-pro-compact-break-barrel-air-rifle-177-caliber-pellet-wood-stock-blue-barrel-with-rws-air-gun-scope-3-9-x-40mm-matte
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Jason Airguns of arizona. Has a .20 HW90 used for I believe 419.00 I have one in .22 and I love it. A bit on the heavy side but you can't beat the quality. I also have a R9 in .20cal. And I'm a big fan of that caliber. It's worked just fine on jack rabbits and is very accurate. I'm considering it for myself it's a great buy.
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@Jason30, the reply from @intenseaty22 was on target - know what, for you, defines acceptable performance at an acceptable price. For instance, my Benjamin Summit NP2 break-barrel in .22 will shoot 2-liter bottle caps at 50 yards all day as long as long as I have a decent scope on it and use pellets I've found to be accurate for the gun. It took me a couple of months of testing different pellets, learning how to hold the gun for best accuracy (artillery hold, naturally), polishing the sears in the trigger group for best performance, laying hands on a real quality scope... all things I learned to do by reading material here on AGN and then going to YouTube for follow-up on specific topics.
I have another gun, .177 from Walmart (!), that gives me sub-1" groups at 25 meters in my own yard. Can a PCP do better? Oh yeah, by far. OTOH, that Walmart break-barrel cost me under $100, including the washer bearing and replacement trigger adjustment screw (see "Crosman trigger fix" on YouTube), plus another $55 for a scope. Compare that to the $400+ that you most often see cited as the cost for a beginner's PCP by well-meaning airgunners who share opinions here on AGN. And that only gets you into the low end of PCP shooting. Even a used European springer will easily cost double my Walmart gun, to say nothing of still having to put decent optics on it.
What I'm saying is that only you can decide what price and performance will satisfy you. There is a HUGE range of "traditional" air guns out there and, contrary to oft-repeated opinions here on AGN, many in the $100-$250 range can be excellent shooters with only a little TLC and a minimum of mechanical inclination. I am living proof of that - seriously. If you want to go for a high-end springer, new or used, more power to you. I tear up while watching some of the British guys use their Weihrauch and Walther spring rifles, thinking to myself how nice it would be to have such lovely guns. Then I go out and shoot my Crosman, Gamo, and Benjamin spring rifles at 25, 50, and 100 yards and find that my accuracy is getting better, my groups are getting smaller, and the guys at the gun club are getting more and more interested in "modern airgunning" as they see me picking off bottle caps at 50 yards and shattering clays at 100 yards. Decide for yourself what meets your need - the airgunning world is your oyster, man!
I have another gun, .177 from Walmart (!), that gives me sub-1" groups at 25 meters in my own yard. Can a PCP do better? Oh yeah, by far. OTOH, that Walmart break-barrel cost me under $100, including the washer bearing and replacement trigger adjustment screw (see "Crosman trigger fix" on YouTube), plus another $55 for a scope. Compare that to the $400+ that you most often see cited as the cost for a beginner's PCP by well-meaning airgunners who share opinions here on AGN. And that only gets you into the low end of PCP shooting. Even a used European springer will easily cost double my Walmart gun, to say nothing of still having to put decent optics on it.
What I'm saying is that only you can decide what price and performance will satisfy you. There is a HUGE range of "traditional" air guns out there and, contrary to oft-repeated opinions here on AGN, many in the $100-$250 range can be excellent shooters with only a little TLC and a minimum of mechanical inclination. I am living proof of that - seriously. If you want to go for a high-end springer, new or used, more power to you. I tear up while watching some of the British guys use their Weihrauch and Walther spring rifles, thinking to myself how nice it would be to have such lovely guns. Then I go out and shoot my Crosman, Gamo, and Benjamin spring rifles at 25, 50, and 100 yards and find that my accuracy is getting better, my groups are getting smaller, and the guys at the gun club are getting more and more interested in "modern airgunning" as they see me picking off bottle caps at 50 yards and shattering clays at 100 yards. Decide for yourself what meets your need - the airgunning world is your oyster, man!
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Are .20 gauge pellets easy to find? I've never seen them before but that does not mean much.
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Ironlion makess some good points. If you have the money and want something that is made to last with all metal parts nice wood and blueing it will cost. You know the saying you get what you pay for. I did see you were looking at a Hatson mod95. My son has a .22 mod 85 same power plant as the 95 and it's shooting a 15gr pellet at 770fps and is as accurate as anything I have and paid around 130. I also have the Hatson mod 135 .30 carnivore it has nice wood and a good feel. And it shots as advertised. Really like it. Look at the Hatson web site they have refurbs and discontinued models at a good price.
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You can get them, just not the same availability and variety as the other Cals. Go to Pyramidair.com and look at what is available under Ammo. The thing about airguns is, yours will shoot a pellet better than all others, it can even be a pellet that shoots horribly out of someone else's gun. So you can't go by that. Best thing to do, which I am not sure if you mentioned yet or not, is to figure out what you want to do with the gun. Pellets don't like too much speed. If punching paper, go .177 and a softer shooting gun (HW30 or HW50 for example) If hunting anything other than birds go with the .22 or higher (HW50 or HW95) If your rifle is pellet on pellet pretty much every time, you can shoot small game up to rabbit with .177, the British do it all the time, just make sure it will hit the right spot each time.
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I have the Ruger Air Hawk in .177. it's OK, but I've never mastered how to shoot it. I can't blame the gun, as I just don't use it enough. You probably need to understand who makes Ruger, RWS, and a dozen other brands. It's Umerex. They make most brands other than Crosman, Diana, Beeman, and a handful of others. They do make: Beretta, Browning, Hammerli, Heckler & Koch, Ruger, RWS, Umerex and Walther rifles.
With possibly the exception of the RWS, it seems to me, that Umarex uses basically the same power plant across multiple brands. I'm not sure that RWS is an exception, just that it gets better reviews than most Umarex guns. Mostly, different furniture on the same basic internals (I'll probably get flamed for that but whatever). The Ruger Black hawk I just got rid of shuddered like a son of a gun and made the gun almost unusable to me. The Air Hawk is heavier and uses wood furniture. It seems to shoot better. While I'm one of those guys in the PCP camp, I like springers from time to time. I would advise, listen to the folks on this forum and get a gun with minimal vibration (Diana gets good reviews here) and a nice gun that you can live with for a long time. I've had my Titan for almost 7 years now, and still enjoy it.
I would recommend one thing. If it is a .177 and claims 1200 fps or more, run away. If it's a .22 and it claims 1000 fps or more, run away. These are the "Magnum Springers" and the vibration / recoil is much worse than the lower velocity guns like the Diana. Maybe that's why the Diana shoots better? Just imagine that the piston slamming forward causes normal recoil as the compressed air pushes the pellet out the barrel. When the piston stops, all that energy pushes the gun forward, away from you, causing vibration. The pellet probably hasn't left the barrel by the time this kicks in. I definitely recommend the lower powered springers, as they will typically shoot better. Either effectively puts holes in paper or cans. Either will take small game just fine or dispatch a raccoon when needed. The extra 100 or 200 fps really isn't needed.
Just my thoughts. Ignore the overly powerful guns, get one that has a good reputation.
Good luck.
With possibly the exception of the RWS, it seems to me, that Umarex uses basically the same power plant across multiple brands. I'm not sure that RWS is an exception, just that it gets better reviews than most Umarex guns. Mostly, different furniture on the same basic internals (I'll probably get flamed for that but whatever). The Ruger Black hawk I just got rid of shuddered like a son of a gun and made the gun almost unusable to me. The Air Hawk is heavier and uses wood furniture. It seems to shoot better. While I'm one of those guys in the PCP camp, I like springers from time to time. I would advise, listen to the folks on this forum and get a gun with minimal vibration (Diana gets good reviews here) and a nice gun that you can live with for a long time. I've had my Titan for almost 7 years now, and still enjoy it.
I would recommend one thing. If it is a .177 and claims 1200 fps or more, run away. If it's a .22 and it claims 1000 fps or more, run away. These are the "Magnum Springers" and the vibration / recoil is much worse than the lower velocity guns like the Diana. Maybe that's why the Diana shoots better? Just imagine that the piston slamming forward causes normal recoil as the compressed air pushes the pellet out the barrel. When the piston stops, all that energy pushes the gun forward, away from you, causing vibration. The pellet probably hasn't left the barrel by the time this kicks in. I definitely recommend the lower powered springers, as they will typically shoot better. Either effectively puts holes in paper or cans. Either will take small game just fine or dispatch a raccoon when needed. The extra 100 or 200 fps really isn't needed.
Just my thoughts. Ignore the overly powerful guns, get one that has a good reputation.
Good luck.
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I watched a video where a guy had a recoilless Diana. That looked like a crazy good gun. The breach had a locking lever. Looks cool. I can't find the gun for sale.
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Hi Jason, consider a Benjamin Maximus PCP. If you order from Crossman with the 25% off code in the banner ad at the top of this page the gun and a hand pump will be $310 then get a Hawke vantage 2-7x for $100 (or check out the cheap scope reviews by Joe Wayne Rhea on here or youtube). You'll be a hair over you're budget but you won't believe how accurate you'll be! AEAC at the top of the page has reviews of this gun full power and European version.
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May also consider the new Fortitude. May be a bit of an upgrade from the Maximus. It’s $300 retail. Can probably still get the 25% deal.
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Sadly, Fortitude isn't on the Crosman site yet. Looks like giving dealers first crack at the Fortitude.
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