The best hunting air rifle.

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fmglass from what I can see of your needs the following features I would look for in a rifle. For squirrels and pests particularly at longer ranges you want a rifle with a good barrel know for accuracy. For long range accuracy over your entire shot string demands a rifle with a regulator. While for squirrel hunting you don't need a big shot count but for pesting and target shooting it would be very nice to get more than 40 shots per fill. It sounds like you don't need an extreme level of fpe for the small game, target shooting and pesting but if you are going to be shooting the .25 cal at longer distance having more that 40 fpe will help flatten out the trajectory. It also sounds like with you wider shooting needs that a rifle with a power wheel with repeatable high, medium and low setting would allow you to match your power to your shooting needs. If you do more hunting and walking around a lighter rifle of less than 7 lbs. is a big plus otherwise you can go heavier. Remember though the added weight of the scope and bi-pod if you use one. Then there is your price range to consider.
There are just some things are the top of my head. If you think about your shooting environment and needs it will help you see what you need in a rifle. There are a few rifles that have many of there features. I have a FX Wildcat that I love and has some of the features I recommended to you. I like some of the bull-pups mentioned by others here as they are accurate, powerful, have great shot counts and are well made. Now I am going to make a suggestion for a new rifle that does not have a track record but I think would fit your needs to a T and the is the new FX Streamline. It has almost all the features I think you need and at a great price. Here is a hunting pesting video of the rifle in action. The rifle using existing FX components like breech and magazines so I don't think the rifle will have problems like the Impact, plus AOA stands behind their products. Bill





 
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As you can probably tell by now, nobody can tell you what the best 25 cal hunting rifle is. This is partly because there is no concensus, partly because there isn't a "best" air rifle, partly because most people haven't tried that many air guns and partly because there is a curious feature of humans that makes people want you to buy the same gun as them (or the one they sell for a living). 

With a $1500 budget, a 25 cal with a good shot count actually narrows it down quite a lot. FX and Kalibrgun have the most efficiency valve / regulator combos I have seen for 25 cal pcp guns.

The 25 cal Wildcat, Royale, a Cricket bullpup and Cricket rifle all get a good number of shots per fill and fit your budget. Nobody has recommended a better gun in this thread (without ignoring your budget) IMO.
 
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Well I have heard a lot of good guns so far I own a Benjamin Marauder 25 Cal I love but also on a Daystate Airwolf tactical 25 a Cricket Kaliber carbine 25 and also a FX extreme 25 it's just going to depend on what type of hunting your planning on doing and at what distance all of the guns that have been named are good rifle but if I were to pick one it would be the Cricket High shot count dead on accurate and is regulated my Cricket gets about 55 shots at 900 fps with a 25gr pellet
 
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I am new to the sport and haven't even received my first rifle yet.. but however I was Also in this same boat looking for a proper pcp hunting rifle in .25 cal. I was originally looking for a daystate huntsman as I Love the looks of them but from what I have gathered the shot count wouldn't of been all that great in the huntsman .25's. I ended up finding a good package deal "supposedly" on a custom .25 Armada, w a pump and bipod scope etc custom work hammer spring etc etc.. well long story short I got scammed, totally fell for the bs story and got taken for my money. Absolute horriable experience and after that I got pissed off and threw budget out the window and just ordered a brand new Fx Streamline in .25 from AOA, it is on the way in transit rightnow. I also got a Athlon 6-24-50 first focal plane scope. I can't wait for it to get here, super stoked.. I will do a review on it when I get it lined out. 
 
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"MrStr8line"I am new to the sport and haven't even received my first rifle yet.. but however I was Also in this same boat looking for a proper pcp hunting rifle in .25 cal. I was originally looking for a daystate huntsman as I Love the looks of them but from what I have gathered the shot count wouldn't of been all that great in the huntsman .25's. I ended up finding a good package deal "supposedly" on a custom .25 Armada, w a pump and bipod scope etc custom work hammer spring etc etc.. well long story short I got scammed, totally fell for the bs story and got taken for my money. Absolute horriable experience and after that I got pissed off and threw budget out the window and just ordered a brand new Fx Streamline in .25 from AOA, it is on the way in transit rightnow. I also got a Athlon 6-24-50 first focal plane scope. I can't wait for it to get here, super stoked.. I will do a review on it when I get it lined out.
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@mrstr8line - how did you decide on the Athlon 6-24x50 FFP ?
I am pretty settled on theVulcan .25 who has these in .30?
 
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@jmdesignz I licked that scope because of reviews and also mainly got to looking at it because it was the only FFP option from a few of the places I was looking and talking to about scope .. I kind of wanted to get one of the new Optisan EVX4 F1 which is a FFP also but they're not in the us yet and so what happen was as soon as I heard from AOA that the FX Streamline was in and shipping out to me, 9 called am went ahead AN ordered the Athlon. 
 
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"fmglass"Thank you for the information about the regulator option but I have a WAR ssg in my Marauder and I'm getting 32 shots on a fill to 2500psi. I'm looking for better accuracy past 85 yards. 85 yards seems to be the spot either me or the rifle can't over come.
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This is good to know fmglass. I just got mine back form WAR but with the weather here I have no had a chance to shoot it yet.
 
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This IMHO is somewhat a loaded question, no pun intended. "I have a budget of $1500 to get the best hunting air rifle in .25 Cal. let me know what you think," A question being asked to a very large group of shooters that most likely are passionate about nearly every airgun out there. Don't get me wrong, it is a legitimate question with a hundred good answers. Lots of research will go a long way to helping you decide on a gun. I agree with most here but I think you will do yourself a favor and think about what AirgunBill and others have posted. Just my opinion for what it is worth. Good luck with your choice.
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My son is asking me this same question right now. He has it narrowed down a bit. He already owns a Regal XL in .22. I have an FX Wildcat in .25 that he can shoot. He wants maneuverable to carry into tree stands in deer woods (hunting squirrels while bow hunting or when not bowhunting). 

From what I can tease from above, the Cricket is the ticket? In .25 caliber. Strong shot count and high FPE (70 and 45+).I often see them for sale in the classifieds but none right now. I've never seen one in person. 
 
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