Looking for a good accurate but quiet air rifle for hunting squirrel and rabbit

I have a nice 25 bullpup for $700 very accurate and backyard friendly. I can include scope for a extra $100

co2 doesn't generally get that high in fps I think you mistaking gas propelled got gas ram witch uses a compressed gas you push the piston over a spring but there

​and these are most likely also .177 now don't get me wrong a good springer is a good springer but if you can look around for something in the .22 caliber shooting close to 900-1000 fps for a break barrel you generally have more pellet stability and the .22 will offer you a bit more knock down power plus the fps is sub sonic so that will help reduce noise report

Hi, Stevie,
Here's a little reading for you-may answer some of your questions
here's an explanation of different airgun types-http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/Review%20-%20Airgun%20Powerplants%20-%20Jock%20Elliott.html
and here's an article or two on getting the best accuracy from your springer-http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/blog/author/jockelliott/page/9
Whatever gun you get, try different pellets (stay away from the PBA pellets) and shoot it a lot. Most springers take some time to settle in, usually a tin of pellets will get you there. Have fun and resist the temptation to hunt until you can reliably hit a 1" circle at the distances you plan to hunt. Both squirrels and rabbits are best taken with a head or heart/lung shot. Take the time to get close. Have fun!
John

I will soon have two excellent small game rifles up for sale: Marauder .22 pistol with RAI folding stock and Red-Dot sight, and a Daystate Pulsar .25 synthetic with Sightmark Photon 4.6x night scope. But, my understanding is that I must log at least 10 posts before I can advertise in the Classified forum. (This is only my eighth post.) So, stay tuned! 

Hi, Stevie,
A couple things-first, those numbers don't mean sh**. They are what the gun will do with inaccurate super light PBA (aluminum?) pellets. They sell guns by having those high velocities. It's very rare that any of those pellets at those velocities will be stable enough to hit anything past maybe 10 yards, if that. The PBA pellets are supersonic and make a sonic crack similar to a .22 LR, so there won't be any stealth advantage as far as your neighbors are concerned. Using lead pellets expect maybe 900 fps in .177 or around 750 fps in .22.
Spring-piston and gas-rammed guns are not very loud unless excess lubes are igniting in the compression chamber (dieseling). Many new breakbarrels will diesel for a few to several shots until the lubes in the chamber have burned off. If your gun diesels a lot during break in make sure to pull some patches to clean out the carbon fouling as this will affect accuracy.
As far as the difference between gas rams and spring-piston guns, the recoil is similar but the rammers seem to have a quicker, snappier shot cycle. I haven't spent a lot of time with gas rammed guns, but I found the one I had for a while pretty easy to shoot. I myself am not a big fan of Gamo stuff, they use a lot of plastic and in my opinion their guns would be easier to shoot accurately if they were a bit heavier. For a spring gun I'd look at the Walther Terrus, Airguns Of Arizona (see ad bottom of page) has them for $189. They're German made and Walther barrels are very good. Another solid choice would be a refurb RWS 34 (also German made) from Airgun Depot (see ad bottom of page).
Get used to the idea that good airguns are pretty cheap to shoot, but not cheap to own. When I finally gave up on the cheapos that had been making me frustrated for a year, I spent $450 on a Beeman R9. Have to say it I just wished I'd done it sooner, could have been hunting instead if diagnosing accuracy issues! I'd have jumped on the HW95 deal at AOA if it had been going on back then for sure.
John
PS here's a pic from a few years back-

Hi, Stevie,
The gun in my picture is a Beeman R9.
Here's a link to Airguns of Arizona-click on "specials" on the left side of the homepage
http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/?utm_source=holdoverforum&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=smallAOA
The Terrus is a breakbarrel available in .177 or .22. As far as caliber, it's kind of a personal choice-.177 shoots flatter so trajectory is less of a factor, .22 hits harder but has more trajectory. I favor .22 myself, but there are plenty of knowledgeable shooters who say .177 is the way to go, so it comes down to what you think is best. .
In my opinion most of the noise a breakbarrel makes is due to the internal mechanisms and is more apparent to the shooter than the bystander. There is a bit of blast but I'd say the report is maybe a little louder than a mechanical stapler? 
As far as the accuracy, it should be equal in either caliber. Bear in mind you'll need to try different brands of pellets and see which shoot the tightest groups. A good place to start would be JSB, H&N, RWS superdomes, and Crosman domed. Usually domed pellets are best for distance shooting and hunting. The Crosman pellets available at big box store may or may not shoot well in your gun, if they do, great! If not, get your pellets online like most of us do.
Regards,
John
PS-have to go cook my quail dinner

Everyone is kind of dancing around it, but I'll come out and say it. Unless it is an old used one and proven good, don't buy a Gamo. 

Also, don't buy based on manufacturer's velocity claims, as they test with 4.5 gr. pellets, which is not what is used in reality. Sometimes, they'll be realistic enough to publish a velocity spec with lead pellets too, but then, assume that is the 7 gr. wadcutter pellets, which is not what you'd use for hunting.

What's your maximum budget? Folks always come into this wanting to spend around $100-150, but they don't realize that a $150 spring gun (gas spring or steel spring) is not even going to be as accurate as a typical Crosman 2100 that costs half as much. At that price range, you're generally trading accuracy away for power.

My advice is either for a Benjamin 392 (a high end pumper) or a mid-level German springer. (Diana 34 or Weihrauch HW95 (which is the less expensive version of the Beeman R9 pictured above) For something worth keeping, you'd be looking at maybe $250 + $110 for a decent scope and rings that would let you get good accuracy out of the gun.

If you need to keep the budget down a bit more, a tuned Chinese springer from Flying Dragins Air Rifels could be good, or better yet, a used-but-not-abused German springer.

I just traded my old Stoeger X20 with aftermarket trigger away to a friend, or I'd offer it to you for a song. That gun is good mechanically, but had a CRAP trigger, which robbed it of 50% of its accuracy potential. It's a common complaint for entry level springers below about $250. That, and the included scopes in kit deals are also crap. (can't take the recoil)

I'm not sure what the deal is with ^ these characters offering you $700 PCP airguns when you mentioned you're looking at $100 ones...

"StevieRay"Walther Terrus, Airguns Of Arizona (see ad bottom of page) has them for $189 I can do $189 and that is in my budget. Is this a spring break barrel .177 or .22? Are these loud and reliably accurate? Please post the link again on where to get this pellet gun. Is this the gun in the photo with the rabbits? Thanks

Click to expand...

It'll be loud, as it is a magnum air rifle and it hasn't got a moderator. But we have one member who has one and loves it. He hunts. 

The Beeman R9 or Weihrauch HW95 can be bought from straightshooters.com (I like them; a small ma 'n pa dealer in Minnesota) pyramydair or any number of other places.

if you can stretch a bit and get the HW95, you will not regret it. It is in a higher class than the Crosman, Benjamin and Gamo springers. Much better trigger, quality and fit & finish. Not to mention a nice Beech wood stock. But they're not all that quiet. Not loud, but not quiet either. Your neighbors will definitely know you're shooting airguns in the back yard if you fire more than once.

Some of the mid level Crosmans are pretty quiet, but you'll need to tune the trigger to shoot them accurately, and they'll never shoot as accurately as the German guns. I have my eye on a Walther LGV, which are VERY quiet, but they're around $700 too.

Hi, brand new here, but your post compelled me to join, just so I could comment. A few questions first; What temperatures are you going to be hunting in, and at what range are most of your shots on squirrel or rabbit going to be from? The reason I ask is because there are a couple of inexpensive options in the CO2 powered category that are very accurate, and produce enough energy to humanely dispatch small game in the right environment. I personally went from using a Marlin model 60 and 795 for small game, to a conservatively upgraded QB78, and I could not be happier with it. Even the non-deluxe model has an amazing trigger for any gun, much less one for $130. And it's very quiet. I also have a slightly more modded Crosman 2240, but it has a bit of a report, so it's not as neighbor friendly. I use a fixed 4x scope on both guns, and I can consistantly maintain sub-inch groups at 20 meters, using 18gr JSB Jumbo Exacts. Neither of these guns is going to break the bank (or win any gun snob awards), but they are good shooters, with a few inexpensive or free upgrades.

Just a new to PCP rifle airguns man opinion:
If you are looking to what appears to be a great gun for the price, you should check out the Air Max Varmint PCP Carbine from MRod Air. 

http://yhst-139878093962642.stores.yahoo.net/airmaxvapcpc.html

Here is a great video of it in action:
I personally have a Umarex 0.177 Octane (1450 fps/lead 1250 fps) and it just has too much recoil to make me want to buy a better scope cause I am afraid it will destroy it just like it did the original scope and a $100 dollar scope I bought. If I saw this video before I bought my break barrel I would have just bought this Chinese Import that is checked by MRod Air. For approximately the same price I paid for my Umarex ($200) I could have bought the Varmint Air Max $210. It has open sites so you don't have to buy a scope and it also has multi and single load tray standard. I recently purchased a .22 Fx Impact and am debating whether to pay the $550 for the 0.177 barrel set up or just buy the Air Max Varmint for half the price. Now this rifle is a PCP so you will either have to purchase a hand pump or compressor but let me tell you from experience, a PCP is hands down better in my opinion for pesting, specially if you plan on night shooting with IR set-up. 

PS I did purchase the Gamo Silent Cat before my Umarex and was not impressed. The gun felt like cheap plastic, had a hollow stock and because I didn't know any better; loud like a .22 LR. After immediately returning it (2 days of play and not satisfied) I purchased the Umarex and also learned about the dieseling occurrence from factory oil gun set-up. If you purchase an Umarex I suggest a .22 because you have to buy the heavier pellets in 0.177 to keep FPS down to accurate results. 

save up and buy a decent pcp air rifle many good ones out there under $700

I've got several premium airguns, but BY FAR the gun I grab the most when I hear a squirrel barking, is my lowly .22 caliber Crosman 2400KT with iron sights.
Cheap gun, always ready, super light weight and minute-of-squirrel-noggin out to twenty yards. 
It is just a tad louder than a mouse-fart with an 18" barrel.
Bought it after selling a 2260 to a friend who HAD to have it and would not stop pestering me to sell it to him after seeing how well suited it was to harvesting squirrels, which similarly was the squirrel killing king of my arsenal that the 2400KT replaced.
Sometimes less is more.

The problem for ALL first PCP purchasers is cost of support equipment. Hand pumps while not extremely costly are a pain if the shooter shoots much or shoots at much above 2K psi fills. SCBA bottles are expensive and require a source for filling (Paint ball shop, Diving Shop etc.) and compressors are VERY expensive.

All this adds up to a very expensive experience to get into PCP guns.

The OP clearly stated his budget and it does not allow for even an entry level PCP although the Air Max with pump is around $330 plus shipping.

http://yhst-139878093962642.stores.yahoo.net/airmaxvapcpc.html

Just my 2 cents to further confuse the OP. lol

Thurmond