My suggestion is a bit unorthodox, I have about a dozen break barrel air rifles in .177, .20, and .22 cal., three of which are Weirauch built rifles, a HW-30/R-7, HW-95/R-9, and a HW-80 K, IMHO they are among the finest air rifles made, however, the rifle I favor for the woods and informal backyard plinking is my Crosman Vantage NP in .177 cal., while not the equal of my Weirauch rifles in looks it does sport a nice wood stock and good bluing.
I've had it now for going on three years, it has been 100% reliable, unerringly accurate out to 50 yds., not pellet or hold picky, and with 10.5 gr. domed lead pellets gives me consistent FPE in the 18~20 pound range, topped with a Hawke variable scope I can split playing cards and pick off wooden match sticks at 35 yds. from a rest.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't give up my expensive German made air rifles, but when it comes to taking a good air rifle into the woods after bunnies or tree rats or just playing around shooting novelty targets in the back yard I'll take my $100.00 Crosman Vantage any day.
There's only one con, it has a really lousy trigger, but it can be made wonderful at about 1-1/2 pounds with 15 minutes of work and a small bearing made from a plastic pen barrel, or by replacing the trigger screw with a longer on, these fixes are easily found on U-tube videos.
The Vantage NP can be purchased at Pyramyd Air in .177 and .22 cal. or in the Coil Spring Optima model, prices run from $129.00 ~ $149.00.
