Best air rifle for the money.

Wife was looking for a Christmas gift for me so I told her to pick up the Crossman air rifle I saw at WallyWorld for ~100.00 so that I could do some backyard plinking.

Not too crazy about it. I'm shooting 5" groups at ~40 yds with 3 out of 5. The other two being flyers. And that's with the best ammo I've come across and a 3-9x scope.
If it were my 10/22 I'd be doing less than an inch on a bad day.

So what if I return it and throw another $100 - $150 at the project?
Can I get something that will group better and at least allow me to shoot a squirrel or two somewhere down the road?

 

I paid $120.00 for the Crosman, "benjamin" .22
Could not return it...Store will NOT take it back, period.
Crosman never answered my emails to return it...
It is/was a POS right out of the box! It will not hold any pressure,and it's accuracy is like a spitball fired with 4" piece of pvc pipe!
JUNK.

 

You should be able to get a good RWS or Beeman for the amount you're talking about. I've had beemans, theobens and now have a RWS, all were/are excellent rifles. That theoben was death on squirrels, I still kick myself for selling it.

 

I had 2 as a kid, the "Slavia 618" and a Russian "T-3" training rifle. Best I ever saw or have owned! Both were in .177 caliber and accuracy beyond belief at ranges more like those of a decent .22!
Wish I could find one like either of those today!

 

check the beeman web site.they sell some used high buck air rifles

 

Uh.... I would say a Benjamin/Sheridan 390 series. I like the wood and metal.

I like the idea of a .22 cal but you really have to have some velocity behind it. I bought a little .22 Chinese spring piston gun here off the local market. It's a tack driver. Problem is that it lacks the velocity and penetration. We had a bit of a pigeon problem in the rafters of our little warehouse (home). All I was able to achieve was a plume of feathers as the pigeon flew off. It's a good deterrent I suppose.

Of course, .177 pellets will be easier to find about anywhere. Penetration and velocity are better in must multi-pump models. If only I had a dime for every bird I shot as a kid. I used to kill squirrels and rabbits without much problem. You have to be close, though.

There are several sites online for guys that like to mod air rifles. Not really my cup of tea but they can probably give you more answers.

As a side note, I think a good pellet and seal repair kit is a good piece of kid to keep around. It's quiet and ammo is cheap. There are a few articles online about making your own ammo. The lead has to be softer than what we might use for casting/ swaging bullets (wheel weights) but the process is identical. With a good stockpile of lead, a pellet gun could pot a lot of meat.

Good luck

 

A friend of mine has a "Sheridan" in 5mm, and it's darn good, even though it must be 30+ or more years old by now! I mean the guy is older than me, and has had it since he was about 25 or so...guess that really makes it an oldie but a goodie!
Especially since he just turned 65!

 

Everyone: Thanks for all the advice.

Walmart now has in their possession a nicely broken-in, terribly inaccurate Crosman.

Now to do a bit of shopping.

 

I was given a slavia 618 air riffle it seems to have compression but I can't figure out how to load it. Maybe I'm wrong but I'm thinking that there has got to be another way besides dropping the amo down the barrel. any help would be helpful.

 

Why use pellets when CB Caps are so quiet? Actually I ha e a couple of pellet guns and grew up shooting a Benjamin. It was deadly.

 

This is true, the theoben crow magnum I had was louder than cb caps and and about the same as standard subsonic ammo. If you have already have a .22 those are great options to buying an air rifle. IF you can find the ammo.

 

Pellets: 500 for $4
CBs: 100 for $7.50

Think about it the next time you put away some ammo.

Also, I'm in the 'burbs where you can't discharge a firearm legally.