What company makes the best air guns?!

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Thank you so much, Scp52. If you're talking to the OP, then you're talking to me, as well because I had the same questions, which is how I found this site and thread. I DO love my Hatsan, and I keep hearing entry level rifle. Sure, I know someone listed about four brands above like AA, FX, Edgun, and something else which I had never heard of before until I read that yesterday. I looked them up because he was kind enough to have a link next to each brand. Now you're talking lots of money and definitely out of the plinking territory and into the hunting territory. I live in Plinkerville (just made that up now !) but I don't want a slouch. I've been able to consistently hit dime size targets over and over again with my Hatsan. It sure doesn't seem entry level to me. After obsessively looking at all the rifles I could find it seems there's entry level and hunter (or pro) level with not much of a middle of the road. To me from my research, a middle of the road, which I would consider high end for plinkers and pests, would be the Sig SDA20's, Hatsan's, and the Weihrauch HW's. Thanks again for your future input and this is fun... - Mike
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If I help you both somewhere along the line, definite bonus...lol. I can't afford the high end guns being listed. I don't target shoot or hunt 80, 100, 120+ yards. Not a competition shooter either. I pest things not wanted in the yard, not hunt. I target shoot out to 30ish yards although I can squeeze almost 45 should I want to. My guns run the range of inexpensive $100 rifles up to my HW/Beeman and Diana rifles. Yep, also own a couple PCPs but those are, you guessed it, Hatsans in a Galatian III QE .25 and Flashpup .25. Also have a vintage 1973 Sheridan Silver Streak, a CO2 pistol and a couple oddballs most don't even consider and may even not know about..lol.

What I have fits my wants and needs and they get the job done whether it's targets or pests and why I said buy what fits your wants and needs and I'll add, not because the crowd says you should :)
 
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So here is 20 shots with my Gamo Swarm Whisper 10x. I know 20 is a little excessive, but I was testing my scope. I installed an NcStar 3-9x40 that I got at the Goodwill. 

This was about at 15 yards. Not too far, but still. Showing that Gamo is accurate.



This can is really COOL !!!! I've NEVER seen one do this !! This is from my Hatsan 25 SuperTACT Vortex at the same distance.


 
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While certainly not in the same category as FX, Daystate and others, I think Hatsan gives very good performance for the money. November is just a month away and Hatsan has had some great deals on Cyber Monday. I bought a brand new (not refurbished) Hatsan AT44S-10 PCP last Cyber Monday for $117 delivered to my door. I have been exceptionally impressed with it and it has all the precision I could ever hope for. I know some folks have not been happy with Hatsan customer service but I have not had any issues the two times I contacted them. In both cases I was shipped the parts I asked for free of charge. I think it helped that I purchased them from their website so they had a records of my purchase on file. I have 4 Hatsan Break barrels and 2 Hatsan PCPs, all have performed very well.

The Umarex Gauntlet can also be had for a good price if you are patient and look around.
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Agree on the Hatsan brand. They get quite a bit of bad press but I own 3 and all have functioned very well. My Hatsan Gladius Long .22 is very powerful and very accurate. I also own 3 Weihrauchs and they are all solid well made guns. My HW100 and HW44 both shoot as good as could be desired and the HW97 is a very good rifle as well. I've also been very happy with the RWS/Diana rifles that I own and the Walthers have been excellent performers and totally reliable. Probably hard to say that any single brand would always be better for any particular person. Seems we are all lucky to live in a time when so many excellent air guns are available across a wide price range.
 
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Victor7k, DON'T get the Gamo Varmint Hunter! You will be disappointed & possibly turned away from this great sport. That was my 1st .22 & even though some reviews said it was a "tack driver" in 6 months of shooting & trying to refine it, it NEVER was a tack driver. Being that you're a "newbie" your requirement for 1000fps is setting yourself a bad precedent. More speed does NOT equate to more accuracy! For your price range get a DECENT break barrel (lots of research, lots of reviews) & shoot it till you can shoot it well. If at some point you move on to pcp's you'll already have the skills needed to be a decent shot! PCP's are NEVER about just the cost of the gun, there's a lot of support equipment & expense that go with them & it doesn't sound like your current budget will handle that. Look through the "Springer, piston, break barrel " section of this forum & hopefully you'll get a feel for where to put your money. Accuracy is key!!! ESPECIALLY if you'll be shooting animals. DO IT AS HUMANELY AS POSSIBLE! Keep asking questions but try to learn as much from unbiased research as you can. Good luck & straight shooting. 

Gerry 
 
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like others have mentioned dont get caught up in the fps game imo does not mean anything most of my airguns shoot 700 fps or less but will kill any thing you want accuracy is what counts and the fps numbers on the box mean nothing. i should not have said means nothing the fps on the box is just a general idea of how fast that model of gun will shoot with lit weight pellets .
 
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Most if not all people will shoot a PCP a lot better than a springer or gas piston gun. That is important for hunting. Most PCPs are magazine fed and can be recocked for the next shot a lot faster than a springer. PCPs can also be much higher in foot pounds of energy (fpe). FPE is a better measure of a guns power than fps. Manufacturers often seem to quote the fps with a very light alloy pellet you probably will not use for hunting. My opinion is you want about 20 fpe or more for small game hunting but I have a couple PCPs a little under that and they work fine. But 20 fpe is a reasonable goal that many PCPs, especially 22 caliber or bigger, will meet.

The issue with your budget and PCPs is you have to have a source of air. The cheapest is a hand pump which is what I started with. For a gun with a small air storage capacity and low charge pressure it works fine, My first PCP was a Benjamin Marauder Pistol which I shoot as a carbine. Only stores 60cc of air at 3000 psi or less. Filling it takes 25-30 pumps on a pump and gives you at least that many shots. Plenty for hunting. I tuned mine up to 16-17 fpe and the last 11 squirrels I shot it at died very quickly. All were less than 25 yard shots. A Umarex Notos may be a better version of my Prod, it would barely fit within your budget but adding an inexpensive chinese hand pump would put you over, I think, but not by a lot. Adding a scope will put you well over, however.

I prefer my 32 fpe 22 and my 32 fpe 25 and I think they kill small game a little quicker and tolerate shot placement that isn't perfect a little better. But if I had to go back to the Prod all the time, I would still have fun hunting. But I'd try hard to stay within 25 yards. My Prod is accurate enough for a 50 yard shot but it would be pretty low on fpe by that point.

If you really have to stay below $300 you may be limited to a springer or gas piston. I don't have much experience with the but I did shoot my son's Crosman gas piston and I had a lot of trouble keeping it to 1 inch groups at 25 yards. I think it is marginal for small game at least in my hands. But a good shot could undoubtedly do a lot better with it (but he can't nor can the guy he got it from). You might fit a discovery or an inexpensive SPA gun (could look at air archery fun website) and hand pump under $300.
 
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Victor7k said:
I have no idea which company/manufacture makes the best air guns... I am new here on these forums and I apologize if this has been mentioned before. I believe these company's are the best, correct me if I am wrong,
1. Gamo?
2. Hatsan?
3. Diana?
4. Crosman? (Some guns are good)
5.?

So what company do you think makes the best air guns? And why????

I am looking for a great air gun that will last me for a long time, I will be hunting birds, squirrel, chipmunk, rat/mouse, rabbit, possibly Turkey, and much much more! The gun must be 1000 FPS or more, and the price range I am looking to spend is around $200-300 also is IGT better then standard spring break barrel? Thanks!!!

I may buy the Gamo varmint hunter HP, Gamo bone collector Bull whisper or the Gamo hornet...
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There is no "best" in your price range. Look for an RWS 34, used is fine. HW50 or HW95 would be worth stretching your budget for. Any of these will last a lifetime, parts are availible to rebuild them if you have to. Forget the 1000 fps, pellets don't like to go that fast. Gas rams are fine, but the quality of the rest of the rifle is more important, and most of the GAMO, Hatsan, and Crosman magnums are just not worth messing with,
 
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Im not a Gamo fan but the pcp Gamo Urben in 22 is made by BSA>i got one real cheep>he tried to take the shroud off and fouled up the end of the barrel.Any hoot trued it up.Man its a shooter.It does everything the big boys will do.10 shoot roto mag.Iv had it for years.I think ya can find them for $250 on E-bay.Just don't let people see it? its BUT Ugley"""its lite ,no noise.
 
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