First purchase all rounder advice

[stooby doo]

Hi Degs, thanks very much for the kind offer. My mate is also a member of the Bolton club in Leigh and the plan is to get down there when restrictions allow. He has an S410 and a HW97 amongst others that I'm going to take a look at. I think PCP is probably the way I'll go. I'm in Billinge, just up the road from Carr Mill Dam.

[Jesim1]

Hi Degs, thanks very much for the kind offer. My mate is also a member of the Bolton club in Leigh and the plan is to get down there when restrictions allow. He has an S410 and a HW97 amongst others that I'm going to take a look at. I think PCP is probably the way I'll go. I'm in Billinge, just up the road from Carr Mill Dam.

If you get stuck for anything let me know if I can help, I'm in Garswood and have a TX you can try as well as PCPs, but they are all high end target rifles, so you have to bare that in mind as they are nothing like the budget your thinking of but would let you know the different between a PCP and a springer if your not familiar with it.

[D_H_P]

Maybe join a club first. As you can see from some of the posts above plenty of people will happily let you have a go on their rifles. Aintree Pistols in Liverpool used to be good, having some troubles at the moment, but if they get the issues sorted try them, indoor, open week nights and Saturday afternoons. Atherton indoor range (AIR) also good.

I started on a springer, now have springers, CO2 and PCPs, I would highly recommend starting with springers, they are harder to shoot, so are a very useful tool to develop proper technique, if you can shoot a springer well, you can shoot anything.

Most important considerations are fit and trigger. My TX fits me really well, finger just goes to the right place on the trigger, feels heavy but balanced.
The weight is important HW99 is great if your carrying for hours, but you will notice the recoil more.
I run a lot, I have a slow strong pulse, I notice with any gun the pulse bounces the rifle slightly, the HW99 bounces a lot more than the TX - not an issue if your trigger pull is between heart beats, but interesting.
I have a pair of 30 year old BSA Superstar underlevers, lovely capable quality guns, as accurate as my HW98, HW99 and TX200HC, but the trigger is nowhere near as good, this makes them much harder to shoot well. If I get the trigger right its pellet on pellet, but the "surprise break" is much harder to achieve consistently, the HW and Air Arms triggers are a huge improvement and contribute enormously to consistently accurate shooting.
I am isolating at the moment - partner is in a vulnerable group, otherwise would be making the same offer as the posters above.

.177 or .22 doesn't matter at all if your shot is in the right place, I use mainly .177, but .22 on rats at close range.

[Phil Russell]

The 97, 77, TX200, 95, 98 (smarter 95) are all excellent rifles but do not forget the Walther offerings ... the break barrel LGV and the u/l LGU. Both these latter rifles are excellent.
Sorry to add more confusion. The answer is really to find an opportunity to shoot them. I accept that may be hard at the moment with lockdowns etc.
Cheers, Phil