First Air Gun !

Consider getting someone's used gun. It has the advantage of you being able to see what they posted about the gun after they got it.

You leave out a couple of critical things, caliber, desired energy (foot pounds of energy) and the distance you wish to be effective at.

Birds can be strange, I have shot doves with a 40FPE air rifle in .25 caliber square in the chest, but the uncommonly tough breastbone on that dove did not result in an instantaneous kill; it flew off (and most likely died somewhere a few hundred yards away). Most people would normally tell you that birds only require about 12 to 20 FPE to kill them.

Any good quality ten or twelve FPE gun will be fine for pesting birds and small mammals as long as you keep your ranges short (shoot from blinds/cover), you take very precisely delivered shots (I'd only recommend headshots on birds). The gun which comes immediately to mind is the Diana Model 34, if you can find one used. It will likely be twice your budget though. I don't know what lower end guns people are recommending but stay away from magnum rifles for this purpose. You DO NOT need an 18 FPE spring air rifle for this job and IT WILL be a liability rather than an asset because they are so darned hard to shoot well. Find a nice medium or low power spring rifle and practice, practice, practice.

You asked about pump rifles. The will most certainly do the job you are describing. They are by their mechanical nature easier to shoot well than a spring rifle. Given the right pellet choice and fit they will shoot as tight as most PCP rifles. You can't say that about spring rifles.

I might suggest a Daisy 880 multipump since you only mention invasive birds. It's .177 caliber and quite accurate out to at least 25 yards. You can vary the amount of power you want/need by pumping more or less. I get 6 fpe of energy at 5 pumps, 8.5 fpe at 10 pumps and 10 fpe at 20 pumps on the stock gun. It is also just about indestructible and comes with open sites that work well for the gun. I've put an inexpensive 3-9x32 scope on one of mine. Best of all, the 880 runs $35 at your local Walmart. I have taken two chipmunks, two english sparrows and a starling with this gun. The longest shot was 21 yards and, honestly, I wouldn't shot at anything past 25 yards with it. But it definitely has the killing power out to 25 yards with a properly placed shot.

on the energies above listed... I should have mentioned that's using 10.6 gr Crosman Piranha pellets (also on the same shelf at Walmart).

I would recommend a study on proper shot placement on the exact species you are going to target as that is more important than I used to realize and others also. 

The really high powered springers are hard to shoot. This isn't limited to the Ruger Air Hawk, anything that claims really high power in a springer is difficult. Here's what happens inside the gun -

• You cock the gun compressing a huge spring.
• Pull the trigger, releasing the spring, pushing the piston down the cylinder to create the air pressure. this is the first recoil for a springer.
• The piston HITS the end of the cylinder and wham, jolts the gun forward - this is the second recoil on a springer.

I had an older Ruger springer and finally gave it away because it shook so much when shooting it was impossible for me to hit anything. Oh, and Ruger along with most other brands from the powder burner world are actually manufactured by Umerex, and they are OK, but understand Ruger doesn't make airguns, they license that to Umererex.

Speed in airguns isn't your friend for accuracy either. Usually, best accuracy and plenty of knockdown power is in the sub-900 fps range. I've got both of my PCP's tuned to about 830fps for best accuracy, and in a springer it'll help reduce that double recoil as well.



I'm not aware of any really bad break barrel's in the $150 range, but look for the guns with maybe 900 or 1000 FPS with lightweight pellets and 800 to 900 fps with lead. You'll still have the power to make the kill but it won't shake nearly so hard when you shoot.

have fun out there.

Well, a starter PCP is a great choice. I have both the synrod and gamo urban in .22 and love them both. Both are easily capable of doing what you want (taking out invasive birds) and both are more than $150. Remember, the gun costs but for PCPs, you need a way to fill them too. As you've probably learned, the least expensive way to fill them is with a manual pump for about $50.

But just to add some information for you on the Air Hawk Elite II... I have one (he "Air Hawk Elite II" not the original Air Hawk Elite). It shoots quite well for a $53 gun. It is a gas piston, not a spring-powered break barrel (Crosman calls it a TNT piston). Mine shoots .177 Crosman wadcutters (7.4 gr) right at 950 fps. It took a good couple hundred pellets for the piston to settle down, but it has done so nicely. The trigger is fine but not great. Mine measures 4 lbs at break. I think it's a fun gun to shoot, I have a 3-9x32 Kruger scope zero'd at 30 yards on it. Nice little setup for well under $100.

I have the wildfire. Its ok. Trigger pull is they worst thing about it. It will affect accuracy. That being said it has dispatched starlings chipmunks and red squirrels effectively. I had a cheap $50 pump.that just crapped out on me after less than 10 .fills so beware. Waiting on a replacement as we speak. Guns range is good out to about 30 yards or so. I had a cheap cv life scope on it that worked well enough. Open sites on it arnt the worst but are far from great. No issues with leaks as of yet.

This Norica was posted to the GTA bargain gate, Imho it's the best deal on a springer right now.here are the links to the rifle.

GTA post

norica 

have you thought about a CO2 like the Beeman QB78 deluxe ? I just take a shot beforehand to check vertical aim at different temps

When I used to shoot pest birds, I'd go for the base of the skull from behind and lights out  every time If did my part. Some birds also have a crop thats stops a clean kill from the front

Crosman break barrels have notoriously bad triggers. I have one, I believe it's the Titan, and even tried replacing the trigger with an aftermarket. It helped, but crosman break barrel triggers are ugly. Which is sad, because the Marauder trigger is probably one of the best triggers on any gun under $1000. Crosman knows how to build nice triggers, but they cut corners on the breaks.

There are a number of $150 range PCP's out there, but as someone else mentioned, you need a pump and they run a minimum of $50 on eBay, where the nicer pumps will run upwards of $200 alone. If you can stretch the budget, try the Benjamin Maximus directly from Crosman. Here's the math - 

1. order the gun from Crosman and use the coupon code AGNATION. The gun is $220, and the code will get you a 25% discount. Final price - $165

2. Order on Friday and it's free shipping.

Total cost to you is $165 for the gun. Buy the pump on eBay for the $50 range and you are in using a nice PCP for around $215. Bit over your stated budget but I think you'll find it worthwhile. Use your existing scope, you'll probably need new scope rings though. Make sure you have 11mm Dovetail Rings (.22 Tip Off mounts??). Those can be found on eBay for under $10 or at Walmart for about the same.

Total cost is about $225 give or take.

Here's a review that might help. Yes, the trigger has a heavy pull, don't be surprised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4Wqj9mfjo

The 2000 PSI fill on the Maximus will make pumping so much easier.

You can get a Used PCP like the Maxximus, Mrod Varmint, Gamo Urban used for around $150. I'll send you my new Varmint for $150 shipped...then you can get a $39 PCP hand pump off eBay or Walmart.

Also a C02 Crosman with an 18 inch barrel in .22 is awesome. I had one I called the BKM (Bird Killing Machine) because I hit like 300 birds in a row with it without missing. I literallly shot birds every day for years without one miss. I got it here: https://www.crosman.com/custom-shop/

Nope a common air compressor will not work.and if you do need a hand pump don’t buy a cheap one you will be replacing it often

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l8blaHuNO8&feature=share This might be just what you want

I bought an 880. It was the worst shooting gun I have ever seen. Even after extensive work and 2 different scopes this thing had groups of 6 plus inches at 15yards. I must have gotten a lemon as I have seen numerous positive reviews. Thank goodness for walmarts return policy