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Best .22 break barrel?

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kingston73

kingston73

Member
Dec 9, 2017
178
3
MA, United States
I have an fwb 124 that I use for fun, plinking and targets. Also have a .177 marauder. I want a .22 and I want a break barrel. I want .22 mainly for possibly killing pests, maybe up to a raccoon size. Break barrel because of the ease of decocking. I’d be shooting at most 30 yards. Given all these parameters, what do you think the most cost effective option would be? I guess I’d consider a fixed barrel if it was the best choice..
 
My choice, HW95L.

IMG_4233.1604707886.JPG

 
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My trusty old David Slade tuned RX2 in .20 is putting our 22 fpe and is dead nuts accurate (can't kill what ya can't hit.)

It would surely be Capable of dropping a raccoon,but I have pcp's that would get picked first as I don't condone performing "ballistic experiments" on live animals. Just because it Can be done doesn't mean it Should be done.

By and large,I limit my quarry to crow/rabbit size critters with my spring piston rifles.

That said,you Can't go wrong with an HW springer.

I will put my Beeman RX2 up against a Sig ASP20 Any day!

Mike
 
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I 2nd Scotts opinion...the RX2. I have/had NO problem taking raccoons, skunks and groundhogs with my old one. I shot a groundhog at 72yds with mine before. I know that i'll hear "oh thats unethical" and such. Whatever. Why whatever? Because I was confident with my and the rifles accuracy. And yes, it was a one and done shot. I'm not worried about loopy trajectory and such. But I know my and my rifles abilities and limitations which every owner should.

Anyway I also like the HW95 Break Barrels. IMO it has all good things going for it. Weight, accuracy, dependability and a good trigger. The RX2 is heavy but I like heavy rifles.
 
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My trusty old David Slade tuned RX2 in .20 is putting our 22 fpe and is dead nuts accurate (can't kill what ya can't hit.)

It would surely be Capable of dropping a raccoon,but I have pcp's that would get picked first as I don't condone performing "ballistic experiments" on live animals. Just because it Can be done doesn't mean it Should be done.

By and large,I limit my quarry to crow/rabbit size critters with my spring piston rifles.

That said,you Can't go wrong with an HW springer.

I will put my Beeman RX2 up against a Sig ASP20 Any day!

Mike
Click to expand...

I don't think I started a competition here. That Beeman RX2 is one fantastic gun. Given that I dont own one, I can't really comment, but I KNOW its one hellava gun. I bet it can outshoot my sig asp 7 days a week and twice on sunday.

A few things I love about my asp20. One, mine is dead on nuts accurate, and powerful as hell. Two, I don't worry at all about dinging mine up. Its not very pretty to begin with, lol (MUCH MUCH more utilitarian). I know yours is one that will be passed on, and unlikely my asp20 will. Three is my cocking effort...measured at 33 lbs. Makes it easy for me to plink all day long, hundreds of shots. Four is the weight at 8.5, its probably amost 1.5 pounds lighter. A little friendlier on the hunt carry. My asp20 scoped is possibly lighter than just the unscoped rx2.

But, I would LOVE to add that rx2 to my stable. It is an absolutely beautiful keeper that can shoot like mad! I'm envious of your gun.

Agreed, you can't go wrong with an HW springer.
 
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My personal choice. Because I have both, and have taken 100's of marmot 4 raccoons and several coyote with them are the Hatsan 135 .30 and the 130QE. They are very accurate at 50 yards or less and give you plenty of muzzle energy. Unlike a smaller caliber that looses fps quicker the heavier pellet will retain much of its fps at 50 yards. A marmot and raccoon size critters go down even without a head shot. A coyote head shot or a Idaho enama works great.

**For those of you that don't know what a Idaho enema is. A coyote will turn and run if he sees you or you make a noise. Shoot it in the ass aim for the natural bulls eye. It will tear him up and they drop every time within a couple steps.

They are heavy guns.10 + lb. The cocking effort is around 50lbs. Mine a little more because I have upped the ram pressure. The triggers on the Hatsan is very nice and very adjustable. They are not even made for plinking, you will be tired after fifty shots. They are a hunting rifle. 


 
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I have an fwb 124 that I use for fun, plinking and targets. Also have a .177 marauder. I want a .22 and I want a break barrel. I want .22 mainly for possibly killing pests, maybe up to a raccoon size. Break barrel because of the ease of decocking. I’d be shooting at most 30 yards. Given all these parameters, what do you think the most cost effective option would be? I guess I’d consider a fixed barrel if it was the best choice..
Click to expand...

I’ll narrow your choices down for you. Diana 460 Magnum. Weihrauch HW90. Diana 56 (and 52 if you can find one), or the Sig Sauer ASP20. I don’t agree with the HW95L...only because it’s putting out 17 F.P.E. and that drops to about 15 at 30 yards. You’re looking at a medium sized game here, so you’ll need at least 20 F.P.E. muzzle energy.
 
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I have an fwb 124 that I use for fun, plinking and targets. Also have a .177 marauder. I want a .22 and I want a break barrel. I want .22 mainly for possibly killing pests, maybe up to a raccoon size. Break barrel because of the ease of decocking. I’d be shooting at most 30 yards. Given all these parameters, what do you think the most cost effective option would be? I guess I’d consider a fixed barrel if it was the best choice..
Click to expand...

I’ll narrow your choices down for you. Diana 460 Magnum. Weihrauch HW90. Diana 56 (and 52 if you can find one), or the Sig Sauer ASP20. I don’t agree with the HW95L...only because it’s putting out 17 F.P.E. and that drops to about 15 at 30 yards. You’re looking at a medium sized game here, so you’ll need at least 20 F.P.E. muzzle energy.
Click to expand...

Good choices!
 
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Thanks for the feedback. I’ve been looking at the suggestions, the hw 90/beeman r2 are great but way over what I wanted to spend. So I’m thinking either the Hassan 135, sig asp, or Diana 460.


So, narrowing down the field, which of the 3 would you say? Also, is .25 much of a step up from .22? Basically would it make sense to get a .25 or .30 over a .22?
 
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Any of the 3 fits your want of a magnum .22 magnum pest wrecker and would get the job done. You decide .25, you just cut your choice to only the Hatsan and .25 pellets are more expensive.

Other side of that is parts are fairly easy to get for either the Hatsan or 460. Sig won't sell you parts, you have to ship the gun to them for repairs or have an expensive door stop...lol.
 
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For me:



Go .22. Much easier to have a large and inexpensive pellet selection, and the tradoff for the slightly smaller size is probably fairly negligible if you can do your part. The .177 is plenty powerful to do the job in many instances, and may have a better pellet trajectory, but arguably the .22 might be a better choice for your application. 



The diana 460 magnum might be the same weight as the asp20, but I think the gun might be harder to find. Plus, the cocking effort is a little higher. If you are going to shoot round after round, that effort will add up. At 33 lb cocking effort, I literally have shot my gun all day long.



The hatsan 135 has a much higher cocking effort, and is a heavier gun. For my use, it would get to be a PIA. I will target shoot, paper, spinners and hunt all day long. I've sat and shot my asp20 airgun HUNDREDS of times at my range in my yard (with spinners and paper and targets out to 40 yards) in one sitting no problem at all.



The asp20, to me, might be the gun of choice. The weight is not bad. Cocking effort light, muzzle FPE is great, and accuracy for me is stellar. Plus, its easy to find, the price is not bad, its backed by a large company with government contracts, and if it gets a bump here and there you won't twitch about it.



Downside is you won't be able to tinker with it, but I have my other guns to tinker. Parts? I havent needed any, and I'm near 10,000 rounds with no signs of any mechanical wear or problems whatsoever. My lockup needed oiling. Thats it. It destroyed 2 scopes. If I want to tinker, I have my dianas, hws, rugers. This one I treat like one of my firearms.



Today, 40 yards. .177 DRT. No supports, off hand.

20201108_134048.1604862010.jpg



 
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People went nuts with covid money and even used prices the last couple months have skyrocketed. I was following an auction on a Beeman R10 .20 I thought would end up somewhere in the $500 range that the winning bid ended up at $1075 and that's only one of some of the crazy prices I've seen paid for guns. 

PA still shows the ASP20's in stock, scoped and unscoped:

https://www.pyramydair.com/search-results-ext?Ntt=asp20&sid=1375A617A415&N=0&Ntk=primary&q=asp20&cx=002970863286801882398:jlcminxfwdw&cof=FORID:11;NB:1&saSearch

A used Beeman RX2?? Even if you find someone interested in possibly selling one they have, you're likely looking at even more than PA wants for that Sig. It's been a couple months since I saw one last and that one had an asking price of $850.

Doubt any of this helps you, but thought I'd toss it out there.
 
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That said,you Can't go wrong with an HW springer.

I will put my Beeman RX2 up against a Sig ASP20 Any day!

Mike

I have a HW 50s and a 97k in .177 and really like both. I've looked hard at the HW 90 in .22 for longer range shooting, however, been advised to consider a more shootable gun(sig asp20)due to the 90's intense learning curve. One large retailer of HWs called it a horse and said avoid it. Can you comment? 
 
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I have an fwb 124 that I use for fun, plinking and targets. Also have a .177 marauder. I want a .22 and I want a break barrel. I want .22 mainly for possibly killing pests, maybe up to a raccoon size. Break barrel because of the ease of decocking. I’d be shooting at most 30 yards. Given all these parameters, what do you think the most cost effective option would be? I guess I’d consider a fixed barrel if it was the best choice..
Click to expand...

I’ll narrow your choices down for you. Diana 460 Magnum. Weihrauch HW90. Diana 56 (and 52 if you can find one), or the Sig Sauer ASP20. I don’t agree with the HW95L...only because it’s putting out 17 F.P.E. and that drops to about 15 at 30 yards. You’re looking at a medium sized game here, so you’ll need at least 20 F.P.E. muzzle energy.
Click to expand...

The Diana 56 & 52 are not break barrel rifles.
 
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