Break barrel setup budget 1k

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dcimonline

dcimonline

Member
Mar 15, 2022
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MI, United States
Hello everyone

Currently in the process of getting my first air gun. Was leaning towards PCP rifles just for ease of shooting but with everything needed the budget kept going up and up. After looking at break barrels it seems like I can get an extremely nice one for my budget. Any recommendations? I'll be using it for backyard shooting and small to medium game. Also to note I'm a big fan of iron sights. I will want a scope at some point but iron sights are just neat imo.


 
To answer your specific question: I'd choose an HW95. Just the right size and power level to do about anything. And also the ability to use good iron sights including diopters. 

However, the 77K in .177 would be my personal pick. 

It will be excellent for anything you want to do with it. 

Great setup with iron sights (even diopter and aperture sights) and match winning potential with a scope mounted. 

Easy to shoot accurately and built like tanks. 

Little on the heavier side, but they balance well and I feel the shootability is worth the trade off. 
 
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HW97, extremely accurate and also beginner friendly. It will not take long to learn to shoot it. Now this is a heavy rifle, around 12 pounds with a scope. Most hunting shots are within 35 yards or shorter in my experience so the ballistic curve of the pellet is very manageable. Plan on a sling(I use a loop sling and do not drill the stock) and plan on a set of shooting sticks for hunting. I shoot the predator GTO 11.75 pellet in mine and it hits 843 fps around 17 to 18 fpe.

Still not cheap, lol. Even use it will run 5 or 6 hundred and a good scope around 400. Iron sights I dunno I am old and blind!!! However you do not have to worry about barrel droop with the 97 so a rear peep would be feasible. Keep in mind that most break barrels do have barrel droop and you may not have enough adjustment for a rear peep. Depends on the rifle. 

Cheers

Kit
 
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Now the HW95 is the same as the Beeman R9 if I saw that correctly in another post? This will be sufficient for squirrels or rabbits? What caliber?
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Correct. I own both. HW95 in .22 and a Beeman R9 although it's in .20 caliber. Don't know the distances you're wanting to shoot but my 95 in .22 has easily taken both squirrels and rabbits out to the 30ish yards I have for shooting and most owners say they've taken small game out to 40 and 50 easily, just practice lots. While I can just about hold my own with open sights, in my case, older eyes necessitate use of scopes but your mileage may well vary on that one...lol.
 
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Like most of the replies above I don’t think you’ll go wrong with a HW50,HW77,HW95,HW97,HW98 or a TX200. Just try a figure out what would suit you best. I started out with a HW95 in .25 then got a HW97 and just got my HW30. The 95 and 97 are tuned as will the HW30. Only thing I would change if I had to do it all over again would be to have got the HW95 in .22 instead of the .25
 
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Now the HW95 is the same as the Beeman R9 if I saw that correctly in another post? This will be sufficient for squirrels or rabbits? What caliber?
Click to expand...

Yes, they are the same rifle with A LOT of air gun history. Really interesting stuff in a nerdy air rifle way. I have the HW95 in .177 and I am able to hit one inch spinners at 55 yards off of a deck rail with a scope. With open sights on the HW95, I am able to hit tin cans at 55 yards. Very flat shooting rifle. The .22 is more loopy than the .177. Much lighter than my HW77. I would not want lug around an under lever rifle, too damn heavy. The HW95 with scope comes in around six or seven pounds. The HW95 gives a solid 16 foot pounds of energy, plenty enough for squirrels, woodchucks, rabbits, starlings, sparrows and grackles. If I could only have one rifle, it would be HW95.
 
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Another thumbs up for the HW95/R9. I’ve had both .177 and .22 calibers over the years. I favor the .22. You can however get heavy weight 177’s to combat the wind a little better. Remember you will always have to compensate the elevation for different yardages no matter the caliber. A bit more for the 22. In the wind you will need to compensate also for windage much more so in 177.

Gravity is predictable and you will learn it in any caliber. The wind is unpredictable and the least affected pellet would be favorable.
 
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As you can imagine this question comes up all the time. And the recommendations will range from the lower priced all-purpose type guns to the top end springers. My thought is to point you toward a gun that is not specialized for any particular type of shooting, yet still of what I would consider heirloom quality, one you will always want in your collection. The TX200 and HW97 are out since they don't easily adapt to iron sights. The HW77 K is a similar platform to the 97, but does come with sights and can easily be adapted to a peep sight or scope. I favor .177 caliber in a springer for the flatter trajectory and lower cost of ammo.

If you think the HW77 K might be the one for you, I would start asking what people's experience has been with that rifle. Is it a keeper, one they would never get rid of? Any problems? Something they didn't like? From my recollection, comments have been uniformly positive.

Assuming you do go ahead and buy a springer, your next question will be which ammo to buy. If you plan to shoot at distances over 20 yards, start with the type of pellets used for field target. The JSB brand is a safe bet. In .177 the 8.4 grain pellets should give good results. You might find something better, but the JSB 8.4 is a good place to start.

On learning to shoot a springer, some people don't seem to have much trouble, others will talk about getting 2 1/2" groups at 20 yards. Out of a quality gun, groups averaging around 1/2" at 25 yards, meaning some groups a bit smaller and some a bit larger, is typical once you gain some experience. That is with a scope, with open sights my groups tend more toward 3/4" at 25.

Hope this is helpful, let us know what you decide.
 
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