Looking for a serious air rifle for training or hunting? I tested and ranked the best options for the money. Read hands-on reviews of my top picks.
FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Gamo Varmint Air Rifle .177 Caliber Combo
Highlight: Kit includes the rifle and the Air Venturi .177 pellet pen.
Helpful review: Up first is the Gamo Varmint Air Rifle. Mine is .117 caliber, and this kit came with the Air Venturi Pellet Pen. It's pretty cool and another level of fun to have, especially if you can't get outside to shoot.
The Gamo air rifle is impressive and a lot of fun to shoot. As the name says, Varmints will soon be scarce in the area. When I got the box off the front porch, I took it to my shop, opened everything up, laid everything out to take inventory, and ensured everything was there. I read the owner's manual on how to install the scope. It's no big deal; everyone can do this, but you will want to use a dot of Loctite on the threads to keep everything where you left it. I put up a box (foreshadowing) on one end of my shop, set up an old table on the other as a bench rest, used a hand jacket as a high-speed rest, and got to work trying to zero the crosshairs.
As a tip to everyone else, this is not the Red Ryder BB gun in my youth. If you set up a box to work as a trap, fill it with very dense stuff to stop the pellets, or you will make a fine decoration in the sheetrock behind the target.
Suppose you have never zeroed a scope, especially one that just got put on the gun. In that case, this is a time for much patience and maybe even returning after supper or the next day's patience. To make sure everyone understands, horizontal and vertical adjustments are made by turning the screws one click at a time, and you will want to count them and write them down to know where you are from where you started. To keep it simple, every time I turned the adjustment one click, the pellet moved about eight of an inch on the target when I finally got it to hit the rings so I could keep track of my adjustments. All it takes is a stable place to shoot from and patience. You can't screw this up unless you let frustration take over, then good luck keeping anything on the track.
After I got everything lined up and put a bunch of old clothes in the target box to stop the pellets, I shot about 50 pellets in the shop; the scope held center like a champ. Low-end or average shooter-priced air rifles with scopes in the package usually do not have incredible quality scopes, and this one is the same; I would be lying if I said anything different. The scope in this package is great to work with and will serve your varmint hunting for as long as you care to do it.
When I got outside, out of sight from the neighbors, I was shooting probably 15 to 20 years old, maybe. The pigeons are dumb enough to keep returning, and my skills improve weekly. This thing is deadly on a very small game and whisper-quiet at that range. I doubt this rifle is a bullseye competition gun, but it plays hell on the pigeons that should know better than trespassing in the yard. — Gary Anderson
Get it from Amazon now: $139.99 & FREE Returns
2. Hatsan 95 Air Rifle .22 Caliber Combo
Highlight: Genuine walnut stock, original precision-rifled German steel barrel.
Helpful review: I like the Hatsan 95 air rifle's wood stock most. It's made the old-school way with walnut and looks like a million bucks—and on an air rifle to boot, it's not too shabby. The barrel is all steel; I think it's made in Germany (if I remember correctly). The little air gun has an actual two-stage trigger.
It’s the air rifle you take to do serious small-game hunting, like the folks that hunt squirrels in the south and eat them for supper. Here in Utah, our squirrels are barely bigger than a chipmunk, and by the time you hunt enough to make a meal, you will be out of pellets and starving.
This rifle is more like a deer rifle in quality and nearly the same weight. You will want a sling for this gun if you plan on packing it away. The sights are excellent; I shot them in the shop "range" and immediately mounted the scope. The scope that came with the Hatsan 95 seemed nice, better than most when they came in the box with the gun. Still, I mounted a Monstrom Low Power Variable Scope from another review, which worked like a charm. I used the supplied scope rings, put a dab of Loctite on the threads, got everything situated, and then went through the tedious sighting process.
I went to Walmart, bought a tin of .22 caliber Crosman Piranha pellets, and used them exclusively. I do not have a love for the Crossman brand; that is the only pellets that were on the shelf. The air rifle worked like a champ, and the more I shot it, the better the accuracy got; right now, I can cover the group with a quarter or so at about 20 years, or however long my backyard is, and that is good for what I need this rifle to do.
The adjustable two-stage trigger is my favorite operational feature of this gun. It adjusts to fit the shooter, not the other way around. There is no surprise or yanking of the trigger like some air rifles; this one breaks crisply and improves accuracy. My second favorite operational feature is that this thing has power. I would say it will knock the tar out of critters, and small games stand no chance up to 50 yards. — Tom McFoolery
Get it from Amazon now: $199.99 & FREE Returns
3. Umarex Ruger Blackhawk Pellet Rifle .177 Caliber Kit
Highlight: Includes a scope kit with mounting rings.
Helpful review: When I first saw the name of this rifle, it made me double-take. Once upon a time, I owned a Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum, one of my all-time favorite revolvers. I had very high expectations for this pellet gun if it was sporting the name of Ruger Blackhawk.
The Ruger Blackhawk air rifle is not designed nor intended to fire BB rounds, only .177 pellets. This air gun is a spring-powered unit. To cock this rifle takes a bit of effort; the manual says 30 lbs of cocking effort. I don't know how that is measured.
I measure cocking effort by: “Can a twelve-year-old easily cock this rifle?”
The answer is: “Yes, most twelve-year-olds can cock this rifle with some effort.”
The trigger takes a very light touch to send the pellet downrange, and the recoil is barely noticeable against the shoulder. When I say the trigger takes a light touch, it takes just over three pounds of force to pull it. That trigger weight is what most after-market AR15 triggers are set at. For younger or new shooters, this may cause some issues as a 3 lbs trigger pull is nearly a hair trigger setting. With almost zero recoil, it may sound like a good learner gun. Still, the light touch on the trigger will need close supervision and good range day etiquette instruction for young and old alike.
The air rifle is made with a black composite body or stock and is weighted more towards the stock than the barrel. The weight distribution makes this rifle shoot and feel like a firearm, not a cheesy toy gun. The length of the pull is 14 and a half inches, which will fit most adults like an actual firearm and most young adults perfectly. For some of us more XXXL-shaped shooters, this can feel slightly on the short side. The stock comes with a butt plate, not a recoil pad. Add a two-inch thick recoil pad as a spacer for a longer pull length shooter. The gun has zero recoils; the recoil pad will only make the stock longer.
The Ruger Blackhawk has open iron sights and a 4x32 scope. The open iron fiber optic rear sights are set at the midpoint of the barrel. This mid-barrel rear sight leaves space for the scope to mount behind the sights. This makes it obvious the air gun is designed to use the scope. The midpoint rear sights make them nearly useless unless I use the bifocal area of my glasses to bring it all into focus or get some shooting glasses made so I can see the sights. When I get my old man's eyes to focus on the sights the gun shoots on-the-money out of the box with the fiber optic open sights. The scope is easy to mount up, and after I got it zeroed, the crosshairs stayed on target after every shot. The supplied scope is all you will need for this air gun. No need to chuck out the original for a better scope; this will hit a pigeon in the head all day if you are up to the skill level to match the rifle's ability. — Jason McGillivray
Get it from Amazon now: $139.99 & FREE Returns
4. Gamo Whisper Fusion Mach 1 Air Rifle .22 Caliber Kit
Highlight: Bundle includes the Gamo 3-9×40 scope.
Helpful review: I first learned about Gamo at Shotshow of all places. Gamo had the entire place jammed with very energetic folks, making sure everyone knew about Gamo. I had to hand it to them; these guns are absolutely extraordinary. The Gamo Whisper in .22 caliber is the one I chose to get. For the price, the dependability and power cannot be matched.
My first impression of the rifle is that the stock on this is one sexy beast. It's a new take on the old Monte Carlo style, my favorite rifle stock type. The stock raised area puts my eye right in line with the scope, and the drop of the recoil pad sits precisely where I want it on my shoulder, not just the toe of the recoil pad; the entire recoil pad sits in the socket. The foregrip of the Whisper Fusion is pretty much the same as all the rest and very comfortable to shoot. Gamo makes their air guns with the adult market in mind, and by that, I mean the size will fit full-sized adults perfectly, with no scrunching to fit the shooter to the gun.
Like most break-action cockers, the Gamo Whisper Fusion has the rear sight set at the mid-way point of the barrel. I have a hard time with this placement for shooting, and I understand why it is there, so the closing of the breach does not rattle this or run the risk of knocking the sight off target but focusing on the rear notch halfway down the barrel is difficult for me.
The Gamo Whisper kit came with a 3-9x40 scope. I mounted the scope right away, zeroed that in my garage air rifle sighting range, and went into the area looking to dispatch some flying rats that plague the paint on my cars.
The quality of the air rifle, the build, and the components are top-notch. All of the reviews condemning the supplied scope are correct. I agree; use the stock scope until you can afford a better one and replace it. Gamo is a world-class air gun builder and not an optics builder. The scope is a nice try and will work out of the box, but a new optic should be on the list for improvements. A new scope is the only improvement to this rifle anyone needs.
When I cocked the Gamo Whisper, it took a little doing to get it cocked, but once it was charged and loaded, the pellets hit hard. Any vermin in the crosshairs will not see the next day. Suppose you are not planning on shooting critters with this rifle. In that case, it will knock over anything you use for a target, so you may want to use the spinners or get good at running to reset whatever you are going to shoot. The Gamo Whisper Fusion uses its IGT Mach 1 gas piston. This piston setup is quieter and delivers higher velocity than standard single cocking air rifles on the market. Most importantly, this Mach 1 piston will send that much power repeatedly for a long time; this air gun will not wear out quickly; it will be knocking targets over for a long time to come.
Gamo uses the name Whisper for this air gun. The reason for that is the Gamo noise reduction technology. This is not just a cool name for selling an air gun; the silencer works. The pellet's noise when it hits the tree is about three times louder than the noise it makes leaving the muzzle. Gamo included a four-pack of different pellets to use for different applications. The long-distance pellets in this rifle will result in a squirrel hunter's dream. The low to no noise level of the GamoWhiper Fusion will provide successful hints about whether the shooter is as good as the rifle. — Max Fisher
Get it from Amazon now: $239.99 & FREE Returns
5. Benjamin Marauder Hunting Air Rifle .22 Caliber
Highlight: Official Benjamin five-year warrant.
Helpful review: This is a hunting beast in .22 caliber, and it’s the only rifle in this review marketed and sold as a hunting air gun, not a shooter's air rifle. What do I mean by that? The stock has an adjustable comb to fit the hunter, not vice versa. The air rifle feels like a high-caliber rifle, and the good thing is that it does not make any noise or recoil.
One feature that makes the Marauder Hunter stand out is how they built the stock to balance the gun. The stock is high quality, all-weather synthetic, and the barrel is rifled steel. If they did not work to balance the air gun platform, this would be very front-heavy heavy, and it would wear a hunter out trying to hold a forward-heavy gun when trying to take small game animals.
The supplied trigger is great to shoot. It is a two-stage trigger setup, like target firearms, which makes the break on the trigger glass smooth. The accuracy this rifle will attain will be exceptional. I lent this rifle to my buddy so his kid could use it for the high school air rifle team. So far, it has not returned home, and from the trophies he is putting on the mantle, I have now donated this rifle to the sport.
The action is a proper bolt action style operation. One caution for firearm bolt action users: the throw on this little air rifle is short, and you will get frustrated when the action only moves fractions of an inch versus what you are used to operating, or at least I did more than once. The breech can be loaded one pellet at a time, or the Benjamin Marauder Hunter has a 10-round rotational magazine that can be used. I found the rotational magazine great for bench shooting, but I think it will become a memory if it is taken to the field as a hunting air rifle.
The one thing I do not like about this rifle is the safety lever is inside the trigger guard, and to take the safety off, my finger was on the trigger. This is a faster method but an inferior design for the safety. Any safety switch or button must be outside the trigger guard, and only safe action triggers lie in the style of the Glock pistols, and others should be inside the trigger guard. For this reason alone, I would not recommend this rifle for young or inexperienced shooters.
The air chamber is recharged with a bicycle pump, so you will not have the issue of CO2 cartridges or the break barrel charging. The no-moving barrel thing is excellent as this barrel is floated and delicate, so grabbing the barrel to cock a spring would make this gun a boat anchor quickly. I could get between 27 to 35 pellets flying down range at full speed on a full charge. After 35 shots, the speed dropped enough that I could see the pellet as it approached the target. This drop in speed would not stop a day of target shooting for fun; just move closer to the target. However, for hunting, a method to recharge the chamber needs to be considered.
The Marauder Hunter does not have open iron sights and is made to use an optic. The mourning rails, or whatever they call them on air rifles, are at the back of the action. This puts the optic close to the shooter's eye. Near-zero recoil makes the scope close to the eyebrow ridge not a problem, but the parallax on a large scope for squirrel hunting may be an issue. The parallax issue can be resolved with current market scope mounts. If you choose Benjamin Hunter, you must look into this before you buy the gun and make sure your plan will work.
Internal silencer technology is another feature that helps the Marauder Hunter choose a deadly squirrel or small game-getter. The Benjamin air rifle is built to be quiet, making this a stalk-worthy air gun. Some air rifles make about as much noise at 22 shooting shorts, and this one barely makes a sound other than the target hitting the ground. — Bradley J. Thomas
Get it from Amazon now: $469.99 & FREE Returns
6. Hatsan Invader Semi-Auto Air Rifle .22 Caliber
Highlight: Includes 100 targets and 250 pellets.
Helpful review: The Hatsan semi-automatic air rifle is a new one for me. Most of the air rifles I have previously owned were a bolt action style or close enough to count as a bolt action. Open the bolt, place the pellet in the loading gate or groove/tray, then shut the bolt. I later bought a couple of air rifles that used a rotary magazine with the bolt action loading, and that was great until I shook the gun somehow, and the damn rotary magazine fell out. The Hatsan Invader was different and refreshing in how well it worked after the trial and error phase of owning a new air rifle was over.
The rotary magazines are the most uncomplicated design, generally meaning they will work without issues. That thinking is dead wrong. This design is a good try, but it will take some tinkering to get them to work correctly. Usually, that is not an issue for me; I don't use them, but this air gun is semi-automatic, so it must use magazines. If you follow my lead and get one of these rifles, be very patient when working with the magazines, to the point of sometimes putting the gun away and watching TV is better than scrapping the whole thing and wasting the money.
The Hatsun Invader is fully enclosed, or shrouded, as the manual calls it. This makes the air rifle look awesome and mean, to be honest. It also makes it very big and bulky. When I say big and bulky, this air gun weighs more than my deer rifle, punching in at a little over 8 pounds, according to the manual. The length is 40 inches, nearly as long as the Remington 1100 I use for ducks. There is nothing wrong with a large-size gun; hell, I am a large-size shooter, so who am I to judge? This length and weight will make this air gun troublesome for young shooters and lends itself to be more of a bench shooter style gun than a carry-and-shoot chipmunk. The stock is made in the reinvented thumbhole style. The reinvented thumbhole style came about when California outlawed rifles from having a pistol grip, so the manufacturers connected the bottom of the grip to the stock. Now, it is a thumbhole stock.
The Hatsan Invader has an integral magazine with 12 pellets and works well. I have not had this air gun long enough to try and wear it out or break it in, whichever comes first. At this time of this article, the magazine and all the rest of the rifle are working fantastically. If the magazine and loading feature keeps working, I may keep this one for pigeon removal because I can shoot semi-auto. Before I go, I want to mention that the Hatsan Invader comes with some ammo and a bunch of targets to practice on; it is very refreshing to have the whole kit to take to the range in the box.
The sights on the Hatsun Invader are locked in the removable carrying handle. The handle mounts to the built-in Picatinny rail and can be removed and replaced with whatever style of optic you find necessary. With this gun weighing eight pounds or so, the carry handle may be needed for smaller shooters, or get a sling and end the need for the built-in sights; that is my choice. At this point in my air rifle-owning journey, my jury is still out on this rifle as one of the best due to the magazine and operation.
What I am impressed with is the power this gun has; it shoots fast and hits hard. The .22 caliber pellet is not a joke. When I get enough time behind this semi-auto pellet gun to make it do what I want, I feel an update will show me in love with this, if not for nothing else, the follow-up shot ability of the semi-auto function. — Carl Gantz
Get it from Amazon now: $549.99 & FREE Returns
7. Benjamin Marauder Air Pistol/Rifle .22-Caliber
Highlight: This powerful pistol is ideal for practice and small game hunting.
Helpful review: I bought this Benjamin Marauder as a stealth rifle when walking in the neighborhood to take care of vermin. Think of the Benjamin Marauder Air pistol/rifle as a Thompson Contender or a Ruger Charger-looking gun. The rifle-style stock is a cutout or skeletonized stock, and it can be removed and the pistol grip installed.
I want to say it is a pistol grip, not a total conversion to an air pistol shooting pellets. Putting in a plastic grocery bag is much easier than carrying an air rifle down the sidewalk. With some practice up the road and in the weeds shooting from the hip, I got pretty good at hitting a beer can about 10 feet away; there is a reason for this style of practice. With that said, if anyone else needs to think this way, the Benjamin Marauder will shoot right through the bag and take out the pesky critters, and no one will know what did the deed.
As a covert pigeon shooter, the size is excellent, but the noise is not. The Benjamin launched pellets at 700 fps. The accordion got the manual, which is less than most air guns in these review articles and makes more noise than most. I am sure that is due to the other full-sized air guns using internal noise suppression, but this air gun does not. Everyone will know someone shot the pest. No one will see who did it if it is appropriately concealed.
The Marauder air gun is picky on its pellets as well. I did not think anything about pellet selection, so I grabbed the first ones I found and bought Crossman .22 caliber from WalMart. This little air gun did not look like that at all. I returned and bought the expensive ones (I can't remember the name), giving it a new attitude. The expensive ones may have been lead-free, and the Crosman was heavier. I did not look; I just used the new pellets, and they worked, so they won the ammo selection.
The skeletonized rifle stock is horrible, as you can expect from a "transformer" style gun; it is nearly an afterthought, and the quality shows it. The Benjamin also uses one of the rotary pellet magazines, which is a standard feature, and if I carry this air gun carefully, it works just fine. If I put it in a plastic bag to wipe out the pigeon nuisances, the rotary magazine will fall off and be caught in the bag. I chose to use the single load feature to avoid magazine issues. The onboard air tank? It’s refillable with a pump, or an air compressor or air tank can be used. Be careful not to overfill and fill slowly, checking the onboard gauge.
The air rifle/pistol does not come with sights. I suggest getting a low-cost red dot, mounting it halfway along the barrel, and avoiding the parallax issues. The rifle stock is short, and a full optic may be too close to the shooter, and worthless when using this as a pistol. Installing a red dot like the CV Life WolfCovert at the mid-way point will work with both applications of the gun, and you will never go wrong with the CV Life products. — Bruce Seals
Get it from Amazon now: $429.99 & FREE Returns
8. Daisy Powerline 880 Air Rifle .177 Caliber Kit
Highlight: Bundle includes 500 Daisy pellets,750 BBs, safety glasses, 4x15-mm scope and rings.
Helpful review: The Daisy Powerline 880 is a throwback to the good old days of air guns. I bought this Daisy Powerline as a teaching tool for my grandkids. The kit comes with some ammo (one can of each type), a set of shooting glasses, and a cheap little scope. The air rifle also has good open iron sights that look and work like the sights on a real firearm. This rifle shoots pellets and BBs in the .177 caliber setup. I have not had a BB gun since I was ten, and I like the homemade ammo catcher idea of reusing the BBs a lot.
The difference between the BB guns of my younger years and this one is vast. In the old Daisy BB guns, the single cocking lever did not produce much in the way of power, and the new Daisy Powerline air rifle is potent.
The Daisy Powerline can be pumped up to a specific power level. So for new to any shooting at all shooters like the grandkids, two to three pumps and we knock over cans all day in the backyard. Later, as their skill grows, or if this is needed for torrid pests, pump it up ten times and let it fly. The gun shoots BBs and .177 pellets. Robust and accurate are the two descriptors of this air gun that I would tell everyone, along with "this ain't your granddaddy's BB gun," as a matter of fact. For a trainer, this works great as I pump it three times to get the cans knocked over, and if I need to blast a rodent, I pump it to a maximum of ten times. I am sure the BB will pass right through it, and so will a .177 pellet.
As most reviews point out, the supplied scope could be better. It does not make it up to good on the scope-quality meter. If you have an old and unused optic, maybe a take-off of an old 22 Long Rifle or something, use it and don't bother with the one that comes with the kit. If you find yourself in the market to buy a scope to punt, go for the LPVO which is a tacticool way of saying a low-powered variable optic, cheapo knock off and get it, and the mounting rings to put it on the gun. Make sure the rings match the scope AND attach to the air gun. Look on Amazon, especially at a maker called CV Life. They make high-quality stuff at a very affordable price.
The stock has a wood grain look and is made of plastic, much like the old BB guns of the past. The stock does have a molded-in Monte Carlo cheek rest, and if you are of small stature, it will work great for you. This air gun is more for young adults instead of old farts looking to cash in on some nostalgia. The best and my favorite part of this gun is the ability to pump in just enough to reach across the yard, shoot the rotating flipper targets, and not shoot through the vinyl fence or damage anything. Shooting an air rifle for a couple of hours is a great way to keep basic skills up to speed and ammo costs to a minimum, and it fills in the time for endless reruns that were dumb the first time around. — Frank Salisbury
Get it from Amazon now: $79.99 & FREE Returns
9. Gamo Raptor Whisper Air Rifle .177 Caliber Combo
Highlight: Super-quiet with Gamo’s Whisper Technology.
Helpful review: Oh yeah, 1300 fps, and it's quiet. After learning about Gamo at Shotshow and trying one of their air guns, I had a chance to get one from a friend for nearly free, so, of course, I had to do that. I mean, I am not crazy after all. From past experiences, I replaced its stock scope with one I had just reviewed. Their CV Live LPVO on Amazon has been very happy with both performances.
The Gamo Raptor is part of the Whiper offerings and uses the noise-dampening technology that Gamo is famous for. The large outer tube size of the barrel is fluted to resemble fluted barrels of precision rifles. The fluting has two jobs, one to hold on to when cocking the gun, and two is to look so damn cool it makes others jealous. The owner's manual does not list that second feature, but the advertising copy points it out. The sock is made of high-quality polymer and will be around forever until it falls out of an ATV rack and gets run over.
The Gamo Raptor uses the patented Intert Gas Technology feature that Gamo has perfected. This feature replaces the spring with a gas-charged tube to push the pellet out of the barrel. This technology is how Gamo gets so much velocity or speed onto the ammo. This is also one way the Whipser offering works. There is no noise from the spring releasing or stopping at the end of the tube, just gas released from the muzzle (stop laughing; you know what I am talking about). Cocking the Raptor is a bit of a challenge, as the break-action barrel is used as the lever to charge the gas tube. The amount of strength and arm span may be a challenge for smaller shooters.
Gamo's trigger in the Raptor is their Smooth Action Trigger, which is not to be confused with Glock-style Action Safety. The smooth action Trigger is a target trigger with an adjustable two-stage trigger. The Glock-style Action Safety releases the safety when the finger presses against the trigger. The Gamo line of guns uses a cross-bolt external safety button. The ability to dial in the trigger pulls makes the precision shooting of the Gamo Raptor easy and deadly to trespassing pigeons. From about 40 feet or so, I can stop an invading pigeon dead in its tracks. I do have to shoot them on the lawn as I am sure this rifle in .177 will punch a hole right through the vermin and damage the house. I have no idea how all the bread spreads across the lawn, but it is safe if I am outside with the Gamo Whisper.
A Whisper rifle makes more noise than I want it to for urban adventures. The other issue is that this rifle looks like trouble to anyone watching. The barrel is thick, and the stock feels like a firearm, so you may have the neighbors nervous enough to call the police. Be a grown-up and talk to your neighbors. Let them know you come to rid the neighborhood of the nasty critters and will not damage their animals, kids, or property. You may soon find a few others sitting on the deck with you and their new Gamo Whispers. — Gary Anderson
Get it from Amazon now: $129.99 & FREE Returns
10. Barra Airguns Sportsman 900 Air Rifle .177 Caliber Combo
Highlight: Ideal for long-range target practice and small-game hunting, as the pump arm reaches velocity of 800 fps.
Helpful review: The Barra Sportsman 900 looks like a space gun, and I find myself in need of a new space gun. Add another pump air gun to the collection; the Barra Sportsman 900 is great. It can pump from 1 to 10 times to adjust the amount of terminal power you want or need. This gun can shoot one-inch groups at about 30 yards.
Barra has used a 20-inch barrel on the Sportsman 900, so you will need to use all ten pumps to get the maximum accuracy, and when you do, the Barra Sportsman 900 will deliver. The air gun comes with a tiny tube with an old-school-looking scope. Just order a good one when you order this rifle, mount it, and get it sighted in once, not once with the cheap one and then again with your replacement. I was still determining how long I would keep another air rifle, so I mounted up the stock optic, got it mainly bore-sighted, and then spent some delightful time tuning up the crosshairs. In about three days of shooting the Barra Sprotsman, I replaced the otic with one off the shelf in the shop and went through all that again; let me save you the hassle and just get an upgrade.
Using hindsight, since this was a space gun-looking machine, I should have put a cheap laser sight on it and tried to make that work instead. If you don't want to buy a new scope, leave it off and use the installed open iron sights, and you will not be sorry; they are good quality items.
The thing about getting good accuracy from the Barra Sportsman is consistency. You must use the same pellets, number of pumps, and temperature outside. Also, the rest of the equipment must be the same quality each time. Some reviewers talk trash about the Barra Sportsman 900 accuracy; they always have the variables changing. The test is not accurate from shot to shot. If I block this air gun in the lead sled or just use some sandbags or something and test fire this into a stationary target (bullseye taped to a cardboard box, the fancy kind), this rifle will cut them in at under an inch from across the backyard, about 60 feet or so.
After I bought this gun, I traded it with a buddy. The stock and bolt are hollow plastic; to put it bluntly, there are better-quality guns in the air rifle world, and this one just did not fit my needs. The gun functioned correctly while I owned it, and it was robust and accurate for what it was; it was just not for me. Even the space gun look did not win me over. If I did not have an ever-growing pile of air guns in the garage, I would have kept it, but my buddy had a thing I needed more than this air gun.
With the hollow plastic stock, this little air gun is light and great for young shooters who need to carry it for a while. They will not become fatigued as soon as possible. Pump the Sportsman 900 ten times, put it in a fixed hold, and let the young folks take their first small game with the gun, and everyone will be happy, except for the squirrel. — Jack Ritchie
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
11. Umarex Ruger Air Hawk Break Barrel .177 Caliber with Scope
Highlight: Can shoot pellets at up to amazing 1200 fps.
Helpful review: Wood stock (composite) and real-live open iron sights—what's not to like? As expected, with something sporting the Ruger name, the Air Hawk has a natural steel barrel and spring housing. It also sports a genuine wood stock, and it feels like you are shooting a real gun; holding, operating, and bragging to the other guys about this rifle is lovely.
For an air rifle sporting a wood stock and steel barrel, it also has a heavy weight and tips the scale at nine pounds. For a young shooter, this may be too heavy, and one of the other hollow plastic stock air rifles would be a better choice for a while. I like the Umarex Ruger Air Hawk as it has a raised cheek weld area made into the stock, but they lose a couple of points for not carving it Monte Carlo style.
The Air Hawk has mounted open iron sights and one of the cheapest scope mounts ever. The stock-fit open iron sights are fiber optic and work very well; the scope mounts are a different story. To get the scope mounts to work, you must make modifications to get them up to a good enough level.
The best idea is to scrap them and get better ones from Amazon. The included scope is great. Keep the optic and replace the mount. The included scope is a fixed power scope at 4x and is 32mm objective. The scope is good enough for an air gun, and you will have the time of your life shooting it. The rear sights are mounted midpoint due to the barrel being used as a cocking handle for the mid-break point. The rear sight, which has fiber optic inserts, makes them more usable, but for my aging eyes, that distance is annoying. The scope will mount in a usual spot, making this rifle much better.
The front sight works as a built-in muzzle break. I am pretty sure that is a cool factor and not necessary, but it is pretty cool. My trigger was a little wonky, so I had to practice with it a bit more than others before I got the type of accuracy I think this rifle can produce.
If you decide on the Umarex Ruger Air Hawk, be prepared for a trigger made for an air gun, not a precision firearm. Just be careful, and you will get all of that figured out. Cocking the spring was easy enough for any shooter. Loading the ammo in the breech is a breeze, I did not have to try and wrangle the pellet under the scope and not drop it on the ground; it is easy to reach the loading gate and then work the bolt home. — Mark Ritchey
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12. Crosman 760 Pumpmaster BB Repeater .177-Caliber Starter Kit
Highlight: Includes safety glasses, 4x15 Scope, and target.
Helpful review: Fill the onboard BB well or magazine with BBs, or use the single loading pellet function, just like when I was a kid. I bought this rifle just to see what it was all about. Unfortunately, it is all about a cheap air gun that needs some love right when you open it. I had to tighten all the bolts and screws as soon as it came, so if you go this route, check to make sure it will function correctly from the start, even before you zero the scope.
The power comes from the pump-up ability, just like they made them back in the old days, and it still works the same. Put a couple of pumps in the air chamber, shoot cans all day, and put a few pumps in a shoot to seriously penetrate the target in case you have a mouse problem in the barn.
I bought this rifle to teach grandkids to shoot and soon found myself giving it to my friend who has a son who suffered some severe physical damage in an auto accident and needed a way to recreate in the backyard; this is the gun for him. The Crosman is made almost entirely out of plastic; the only test I should have done was throw it in the tub to see if it floats.
They won't let me come over and follow up on that test now. With the light weight of the air gun, it is easy for the shooter in his state to handle and get set onto his sandbags to shoot towards the range backdrop. He shoots the spinning targets and some pop-up-style rock chuck targets so he does not need to travel across the grass in his wheelchair to reset the targets after he knocks them all down.
With the limitations, he does not use the pellet function; he just loads BBs in the well and shoots from here. The scope that comes stock with the kit is a BB gun-worth scope, not an inch more. For the young man, I put a CV Life JackalHowl red dot on the receiver.
For a shooter who is not limited, save the money to upgrade the optic for this air gun; just use the supplied optic. It has a scope and is good for a cheap air rifle. The scope will do the job this air gun is bought for, not target shooting at the 50-foot line.
This rifle is good, to begin with, but it will not last for a long time, and if modern kids treat their BB guns like we all did growing up, this BB gun may not last a year before it is too worn or broken to keep working. If this rifle is going to be kept in a case or closet and only brought out to sit on a table and whoot targets, it may last a few years, but then it will slowly wear down in power and need to be replaced.
This may seem overly harsh for a review, but it is honest. This gun is not made for generations to shoot, but a cheap and easy gun to expose shooters to, and then they can grow into the next level of air guns in a few years. I only wish it had some of the more tacticool options as I would like to put a cheap laser sight on this air gun to make it easier for the young man to sight on the spinners. — Renee Magee
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