Best entry level pcp

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All depends what you want I guess. Full length rifle? Bull pup? Pistol carbine?

if I was to do it again, I’d buy a marauder or an urban for my first. Both hand pump friendly, backyard friendly, and budget friendly. Also tonnes of aftermarket support. 


if you go the bull pup route, the new akela has a good following, and being a Benjamin product, comes Greta warranty and service. 


good luck on the hunt!
 
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theres alot that will fit the bill .. as you get into it you'll come around slowly to what you actually need and want .. many airguns, although very capable are 'big' and heavier than most firearms really, and that matters alot depending on what you plan on doing with it for pesting around the home for instance a smaller gun that may not be this and that and a slug slinging power beast that can take down antelope will be way better .. and then theres support equipment and how involved it is to actually operate .. my choice for entry level would be marauder pistol or urban ...
 
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Your budget? I started with the Umarex Origin because for $300 you get the gun and the hand pump. Added a $100 scope and pellets and I was shooting. If you have a little higher budget the Umarex Gauntlet 2 looks very compelling, as it has a lot more shots and power. However, you would not want to hand pump that rifle, so you would need to buy a bottle or compressor, taking the overall cost to $700-$800.
 
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Having bought and sold a lot of the entry level airguns, I would take build quality over features if I were doing it all over again. I would go with a Gamo Urban if I was choosing an airgun in the $300 price range. A lot of people will say Gauntlet, Avenger, Flash, etc. But I'll take the BSA barrel and smoother fit and finish of the Urban over the adjustability of the others.
 
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If your going the route of cheap as possible and just plinking a qb chief is hard to beat. Easy as pie to hand pump and very sturdy. 180 bucks. For a little more you can get a Benjamin maximus and it will be lighter. 200-220. Then you get into the 300 dollar price range. If you want power and you want cheap the avenger would be a good choice. Lots of options with it having the adjustable reg and power and all that however tuning it properly is vital. Your probably OK just with factory tune but if you adjust it wrong you can make is waste tons of air or several other issues. To get the most out of it you will need a compressor. Also from what I've seen it has little to no barrel crown. It seems accurate enough on videos but keep in mind that it's a hollow plastic stock. If you tune that thing to its max pushing 25 cal pellets it's going to be a bit harder to control and get accuracy with. This is something that you can train yourself to do but it takes time. Honestly I do not thing a tunable reg 4300psi rifle is a good first budget gun. That's just my opinion lots of people love that gun. It's just too much to hand pump and I really feel like getting in cheap to the pcp world should be cheap. Do you really want to buy a 300 dollar gun and then go and have to buy a compressor that can be 5x the price of the gun? Or you can tune it down and hand pump to 3000psi but then why not just get a cheaper gun to start with? If I were you I would get a cheap 35 to 45 dollar handpump from China "they work great" get a 15 dollar Inline filter and some desiccant beads to fill it with and buy a cheap gun. Or save your money for a mid priced gun. The marauder is my favorite but I hear great things about the other guns mentioned above as well. I love my marauders because of warranty and aftermarket support. Unregulated guns also allow you to learn how to find the right shot curve. A very important skill to have. Good luck to you
 
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I was in the same boat as you. I chose the Benjamin Cayden as my first PCP

Built quality is good.

Hand pump friendly

great accuracy

super nice trigger

Follows the more traditional rifle style

Adjustable power for basement (350-400FPS all the way up to 1000FPS for full power/Hunting.

Priced under $500 but has lots of nice features.

I've only had it a few days and I've been very impressed with it.
 
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Having bought and sold a lot of the entry level airguns, I would take build quality over features if I were doing it all over again. I would go with a Gamo Urban if I was choosing an airgun in the $300 price range. A lot of people will say Gauntlet, Avenger, Flash, etc. But I'll take the BSA barrel and smoother fit and finish of the Urban over the adjustability of the others.
Click to expand...


+1 on that!



as for the future of your airgun hobbie you will sell the avenger and get many other guns so…..save yourself some trouble. But it’s a hobby, go for it because it won’t be the last no matter what. 
 
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For my first PCP I too was drawn to the Benjamin Craftsman line.

Deciding between the Cayden, Akela and Kratos was the harder part. In some ways I'd like all three. I decided to get the Kratos as my first for the larger bottle and more shots between refilling. I really like this rifle and would recommend it highly. The Cayden will be easier to hand pump, and will look less, well, weird :) and handle more like any sporter.

I've yet to really get familiar with any bullpup, one of the turn offs is they can be butt ugly. The Akela is quite an exception in that regard. I know it's not as lightweight as many, but it is still much more compact than the Kratos. I expect the Akela Will be my first bullpup at some time in the future.
 
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I have the Beeman Commander in .22 and it shoots 80+ shots on a fill and very accurate and pretty good power for a .22 , especially for the price.

For the price of $220 or so I'd say it has very few downsides, the main downside being a fairly heavy stock. But with a foster fill port, "1000 fps rated" and seems to like heavier .22 pellets like the JSB heavies, it also has some advantages. Oh yeah, it shoots H&N .22 slugs like a laser.

If that's too low budget for you then maybe pre order a Umarex Guantlet 2.. $399 seems like a heckuva deal for what they promise. Early reviews look very good.
 
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I pretty much have only bought low price point guns. I've had issues with marauders. Good luck with the urban and flashpup. Very intrigued by the new gauntlet . The original was a rough handling piece but it got the job done. Second generation should be refined in the tune and shoot ability. I do suggest to people looking to cheap out that you just buy a better gun initially because you're going to buy it sooner or later anyhow. My dreampup is nice and I feel it's a step or 2 above the 450$ guns. I got it used and for 700$ I feel I got a great deal.
 
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