Old man rifle

FWB 300s is the top pick. I own two of them. They are extremely accurate. Easy cocking. Easy to mount scope on. Diana 75 is another option. I don’t own one but have heard great thing about them and they look awesome! Eventually I will get one. 

HW30/R7

Use the left over money and have John in PA do a vortek tune in it.

I have both rifles. The FWB would be my pick for indoors. Now if there is any thoughts of plinking outdoors or pesting then go HW. Or if money counts The big difference is side lever or barrel cocking. The side lever is a little easier. Finding a really good FWB is getting harder to do for $650.

 

HW30/R7 is the perfect rifle for us old guys. 6 pounds and 40 inches. 700 fps with easy cocking effort. This model is around 400 but a blued one in a wooden stock much less expensive.

The FWB 300S and R7 were also the first two that popped into my mind.

The FWB is of course the better rifle of the two, and can literally be cocked with your little finger (quite amazing considering it will shoot over 600 FPS!). The only caveat would be its weight. Most 300S's have a full-length barrel with epoxied-on sleeve and are well north of 10 pounds, with a very muzzle-heavy balance. Great for bench rest, but difficult for off-hand plinking or toting through the woods, if strength is an issue. You might go for a Junior (or "Mini") version (short barrel with no sleeve), or a full-sized one without sleeve (not common in the US, but they are out there). These are significantly lighter, and the difference in handling/balance sans sleeve is VERY noticeable.

The R7 is pretty marvelous for such a simple light gun. A tuned one is an durable, beautifully finished, accurate, easy-cocking, smooth-shooting delight with a very fine trigger, and may be all that you need. A friend of mine recently set up an R7 with an adjustable buttplate and Anschutz match sights, and that little package does a purty darn good imitation of a full-race match rifle.

If you have your heart set on one of the classic-era springer match rifles, interesting alternatives might include the Diana model 60, a barrel-cocking gun of beautiful walnut-stocked classic styling, the Weihrauch HW 55, or the Walther LG 55 or LGV-series rifles. All of these designs have barrel sleeves (semi-rare option on the HW, standard on the Walther and Diana) that can be easily removed. The Diana has the utterly recoilless Giss double-piston system, the other two are not technically recoilless, but all are compact, silky-shooting light rifles of top quality and accuracy.

I second the HW30s. Here's the same gun in the deluxe version. Less than $300 at AOA.

Another recommendation for the HW30 here. I’ve only had mine a few months and it is becoming one of my favorite air rifles. It’s light weight, easy cocking and plenty of power for backyard shooting. The trigger is awesome and the little rifle is amazingly accurate. Mine is a twin to the rifle Trunion has; right down to the same rear sight.

You didn't mention what distance you plan to shoot. That would make a difference in recommendations. Another question is if you will be shooting only in warm weather or inside in winter. There are some really sweet C02 match rifles that don't get any love anymore that you might consider if you will not be shooting in the cold.

David Enoch

I think you would be better off with the R7,I bought mine at the Beeman San Rafael shop in 1981,you could pick them out from the rack and pay a little more for deluxe wood,anyhow came with a ten meter target,one hole for 5shots...oh and no safety.Why I think this is the way to go is because of the weight,it is light.

As Dave said,there are good CO2 RIFLES THAT CAN ALSO WORK,AND AT A LOT LESS $$$$$$$....

To me, the HW 30/R7 is truly a "Goldilocks" springer, LOL - just the right amount of everything. Even if your interests later drift toward more specialized springers - vintage, match, field target or silhouette, hunting, whatever - the R7 is the perfect first one, and will always have a role in your "airsenal." I've monkeyed with springers for 35+ years, own a BUNCH, but will never sell my R7.

My personal little obsession is the older match guns as I described in my first post. But being long out of production, those do bring the burdens of being harder to find, and trickier in the parts and maintenance department (especially the complex Giss actions). Awesomely gratifying air rifles, but not a necessary first step into spring land...if you go this way, the 300S Mini would absolutely be my top recommendation from both the performance and durability standpoints.

Dave, follow your first instinct. Just call Jim e and tell him what fwb 300s you want. The mini is sweet for pesting and 300s for bench. Both are winners.

I can hit targets with a much easier and boring regularity at 55 yards with a FWB300s than my Vortek tuned 177 HW30s and R7. It's like cheating that's how accurate the FWB300s are. If you want a challenge shooting a mild recoilling gun buy the HW30s or an R7. They're fine if you only want to shoot to 25-30 yards IMHO so buy BOTH and then you will know which one you grab to make that 55 yard money shot. YO!

One vote here for the Walther LGR. 
there is a reason that the 10m rifle target is the size it is now, and that is due to the accuracy of the LGR. 


oh wait, you aren’t going to find one of them easily

If you're old and fragile the FWB300s is much easier to cock and shoot all day long compared to an R7 or HW30s. You can cock it with one finger. It's also quieter than the R7 HW30s to shoot. Only negative is they are heavy but at the same time well balanced guns. All of the 300s I shot were extremely pellet friendly so just about any kind of pellets shot very well even the cheap ones from Wal-Mart if that matters to you and a cheap pellet may be your magic pellet to plink at 55 yards or beyond. This is not a very fair comparison because this is comparing a proven accurate world Olympic gold medal winning target grade specifically match grade of yesteryear. Then use a 1 piece BKL Drooper mount with a decent scope at least a variable up to 16x or 20x because it's worth it for that gun. When you're totally bored with its accuracy then grab your HW30s or R7 for more challenging shooting where you have to actually try and be disciplined to get one hole groups all day long. YO!

+1 Yo

The FWB300's what ever fashion is a fantastic gun, The one I own is a FWB150 which is the predecessor to the 300's

The HW30 / R7 is also a great choice have one of each of them.

But to help muddy the water for the dollars you looking to invest you could also get into a FWB124. They make a little more energy, but they cock just about as easy at the HW30/R7, and yet they are a FWB and set the standard that other sporters are judged by. Both my 124's and 127 sill rival most any of my springers for accuracy. 

Good Luck finding what ever you decide, but my recommendation is to get at least one of each.

Hairsmith

Just convert your LD to HPA then you won't be limited to only seasonal shooting due to temperature change and will probably get you shooting at longer distances as well giving it a little more oomph just by doing the HPA conversion which would be a lot cheaper than buying another co2 gun which wouldn't make much sense now that you mention limited seasonal shooting IMHO. The HPA LDs are capable of one inch or better at 50 yards more like nickel to dime size. YO!