New to air gunnin

Benjamin marauder in .25 is a hunting beast and pretty quiet for the amount of power it makes. It is much quieter in .22 though. And welcome to the world of airguning you came to the right place. 

Hello, welcome to the forum!
It may be difficult to hit all your wants in one gun. As quiet as possible means small calibre .177 .22 with a moderator. Coyotes and hogs will mean at least a 30 or preferable a .357 cal and will be much louder and will be overkill for smaller game. It also rules out spring powered guns. That means PCP guns and they need support equipment. Some way to pump them up. You can get a basic hand pump for under $200. But pumping can get old fast. That leaves high pressure air (HPA)tanks that can be filled at paint ball outfits or scuba shops or also getting an HPA compressors. You can spend from a couple hundred to a couple thousand just on equipment. Spend some time here asking questions and searching and reading then that will help you make a more informed choice. There is a lot more to air gunning that meets the eye. If you really have to get something now then maybe a good quality spring gun to cut your teeth on for a few months. Then you can be saving for something bigger/ better/ different down the road.

Squirrels 177 (head shots) to 22 caliber. 
Raccoons 22 (head shots) to 25 caliber. 
Coyotes 25 (head shots) to 30caliber. 
Hogs 30 caliber and up. 

Each caliber up will be louder using the same model gun. 

You have to make a choice; there are no guns that can take squirrel through hog and is quiet. 


For $500 to $800 I agree that the Marauder is a great choice. 

If you leave quiet off the list, options open up quite a bit. If you remove the $800 limit obviously more options are available too. If you take Hogs and coyotes out of the equation that will really help. With all those requirements together though...that's tough. I think the .25 Benjamin Marauder or .30 or 9mm/.357 Hatsan Carnivore are the closest you'll find. I think you might be able to take a small hog or a coyote with the .25 Marauder, but you'd need to have your gun tuned hot and accurate. The .30/9mm/.357 Carnivore would likely do the job, but of course it will be louder. With the Marauder you'd have some money left over to buy a pump. With the Carnivore you'd need to save a few more months to get a pump. I'd suggest that you look at our map and see if there are any users nearby who you could shoot with. Get some hands on experience and try as many different guns as you can before you buy. As mentioned, with PCPs you need more than just the gun. You'll need a pump and/or air tank.

http://zeemaps.com/airgun_nation

The AirForce rifles, IMO, are under the radar but extremely accurate guns and quite affordable. My only dislike initially is they are not a multi-shot rifle. That said, I now have 3 single shot PCP's. There are plenty of reviews on U-tube to help you with your decision. You can't go wrong starting out with a .22 caliber rifle, plenty of shots per fill and pellets are available in many sizes. I am uncertain if AirForce rifles are quiet or not.
FYI- From my observation, loudness of a rifle seems to alway be compared to the loudness of the Crosman Marauder. 

The Airforce guns come in both shrouded and non shrouded. They do tend be on the higher power side. The SS models are the quiet ones. Yes you can fill your carbon fiber tanks at the fire house. Just need the appropriate adapter. A pygmy bottle will only give a handful of fills. But if you can fill it at work then that might be fine. I would still want a larger bottle though. You will go through air faster than you might think. The bigger and more powerful the gun the faster it will empty the bottle.

The main key to selecting the best airgun for your needs, is to be realistic with your needs. Backyard plinking to hog hunting just isn't realistic. While there are definitely airguns that excel at all the tasks mentioned, there isn't one that will do them all well.

"Hi guys and gals,
I am looking at getting into air rifles because I now live in the city and it sucks! I would like to get a rifle that is quite, and when I say quite I mean as quite as possible. I would also like to be able to hunt with it ( squirrels, coons, coyotes, and hogs if possible) . I don’t have a couple of grand to spend, but 5-800 isn’t out of the question. What are y’all’s thoughts? I would be practicing in the back yard, and hunting at the in laws place.
Thanks.
Jeff"

Welcome to the sport, you will find many good and nice people around the shooting community and among airgunners...

You have read very good advice above my response and I will try to reinforce it...What is used to hunt squirrels is not the optimum for Hogs and coyotes and vice versa, what is good for hogs will be an overkill for squirrels...

This is my personal recommendation but there may be some other and maybe better alternatives...
I would suggest you to consider an airgun with 2 barrels...A .22 and a possibly a 9 mm for coyotes and hogs...The .30 will be OK for Hogs but the extra punch and mass of the 9 mm for those huge hogs in Texas and AZ is always desirable.

For a small budget but considering a good gun: An Airforce with 2 barrels (.22 and either 9 mm or .30 ) is a good alternative...You get the power, reliability and enough accuracy without deploying your bank account...then if you ever want to move up, those guns are commodities that are easily sold.

Regards,

AZ 

No ONE gun can fit in to the category of needs you have listed from the way I have read what you are asking for. A .25 maurader is the minimum I would hunt a coyote with.. I own one and have done it.. So my recommendation is a .177 springer for the backyard practice and at minimum a .25 for the inlaws (hunting) but a .357 would be better.. Just my .02c

The Marauder has a moderator built into it. It's pretty quiet already. Recordings of air guns don't really capture the sound at all. You need to hear it in person. A .25 Marauder is just barely backyard friendly from a noise perspective but it's a powerful gun compared to the .22 or .177 versions. I use a surplus SCBA from a fire department to fill my gun. 

It is not uncommon for me to drain my 88 cf Airhog tank over the weekend. Understand that for a Maruader, once your tank drops below 2800 psi you can no longer fill it completely. When my son shoots with me, we have two guns going, and that kid shoots fast and blast through the air. You really want to start off with a larger tank, if you will be shooting a lot "back in the woods" then the smaller 90ci tank would be easier to carry and may be something you buy later. My Cricket fills to 3200 psi. I tend to shoot my Cricket on Saturday and end up shooting the Maruader and my other guns that fill to 2800 psi on Sunday when the tank goes below 3000 psi. I have never actually counted how many fills but it usually lasts me about three sessions (2-3 hrs) of shootings. The smaller tank will only give you a fraction of the fills. It is great you have access to the fire station. There are also adapters that can convert your fireman tanks for pcp's ( see Airhog's website). I think our member, ztirffritz has a post on it. Another one of our members, Neil Clague, can make a suppressor for most rifles for a reasonable price to help with the noise. Not pushing the Maruader but if you have ever shot a Red Rider BB gun, that's how loud the .22 Maruader is (maybe quieter). AJshoots has an open invitation to help any Marauder owner on this forum. He is a wonderful person and is a major contributor to this forum! My friend, Van Jacobi, former owner of Airhog, thinks very highly of AirForce, and may be working on a project with them. He told me that if you think it is an ugly gun (I think it is ugly), wait til you shoot it and you will love it. There are a lot of fine shooting rifles!
Vealboss, I spent nearly 3 months every night watching videos and looking at all the dealers websites before I finally decided which gun to choose. It can be difficult and frustrating to finally making THE decision. I actually bought two guns, the .22 Marauder and the .22 Cricket Carbine for my son and I. Buying two did make it easy for me.
Best of luck in your decision
Doc
PS- In less than a year I have 5 pcp's and trying not to buy another………LOL…….. it is addicting! I have one .177 and the rest .22. Can't make up my mind on a .25 so I'm still deciding…..LOL

The only thing I have aginst the maurader .25 in the backyard is the backstop… IT HITS HARD! I have a pile of fire wood as my backstop so no worries for me but not everyone has that.

At that budget I would also explore the Hatsan quite energy (QE) series. They are Turkish made guns, very accurate and the quiet energy models actually keep the sound down. The condor is a great rifle but the only reason why I don't like them is due to the tank which doubles up as the cheek rest. I find that to be Preety uncomfortable. But they are built for high power and keeping hunting in mind. Also they have a power adjustable wheel that allows more flexibility. Do take a look at the Hatsan series. They will fit your budget and shoot well. 

Welcome to the sport,a great one at that! Something in .25 would be suitable for all your needs with practice of coarse. I would personally recommend something with a magazine for hunting. The Marauder in my opinion and from experience is a great hunting tool for the money. The thing I've found in using it is the versatility of it. The gun can be tuned,modified and has plenty of backing such as aftermarket parts.A stock .25 Marauder is very quiet,has repeat ability for quick follow up shots. I've used many guns to hunt with over the years and it's still my favorite. You can always get a hand pump temporarily until you upgrade to a suitable larger tank. The Marauder can be tuned up and down with some help from guys like AJ and a few others. Take your time in choosing,the worst thing that will happen is you'll learn something new and have fun. Best Regards

Jeff,
Many of the latest guns available are really ready to shoot out of the box. That said, many will tune it themselves or send it out to have it adjusted to their liking. If you do it yourself, plan on buying a chronograph. Hunters will tune for fewer shots and increase the power. If you are a plinker you may tune it down for more shots and possibly more accuracy. Some of the dealers have people they can recommend or will do it for you. It can cost a few hundred bucks. If you choose the Maruader there are plenty of U-tube videos ( and you can consult AJshoots). Sometimes it is best to start out small and work your way into this game. Pyramidair and AirgunDepot both have package deals for a scope and gun. I think keeping your costs down initially makes it easier to jump in and if you find that this is not for you, your wife wil not ride you for spending your life's savings. Many will choose Crosman, Hatsan,or Airforce for their first gun and I believe this is a great starting point. Make sure you get a good scope. You will have just as much fun researching these. I chose a Hawke Sport HD for my Marauder. Once dialed in I never have had to adjust the windage, only the elevation for different distance. It is an entry level scope but works great. I have an Aeon on my Cricket. I really like the Aeon, however you will find, the more you pay the better the scope.I have returned a scope I bought at Walmart.
Hope this helps,

Doc