newbie needs help choosing rifle please :)

[Enceladus]

hi all
i'm looking to purchase an air rifle, mainly for vermin control at home and at work.
the "targets" would be pigeons, rats, grey squirrels, and (very rarely) rabbits.
i have a budget of approx £450 (although could be slightly flexible).
having done a bit of research, i guess i would need a .22, more for the squirrels than anything else.
quite fancy a pcp, but given that it won't be used massively, i guess a break barrel would be better value.
any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated
would rather spend a bit more and have a good quality, accurate rifle to avoid any suffering to the prey.
many thanks

[davymole]

hi and again welcome,if you look on the sale section you more than likely find what your looking for.There are a great choice for vermin control,AA TX200, Weihrauch 97k or even a 77k S/H all for less money than you have to spend try and find a local club or a RFD who has the shoot before you buy facility try as many as you can .22 is the better choice for your needs, good luck with your quest

[rhyslightnin]

A hw95 would be a good lighter option which would also give you spare to buy a decent scope, the Nikon Prostaff & Vortex Diamond back ranges are exceptional for the money if you want somthing better than your norm for about £150 but for a cheaper option hawk as a brand seem to cover it all, and if you can get one with an adjustable objective you won't need to fiddle too much don't bother with ir, just choose your reticle wisely.
I'd say a .22 is good, try it with light pellets like falcon accuracy plus (really good for .22 springers), crossman premier or rws superdomes.., this will hello the trajectory a lot. Just remember to try a few different types to get the best for your barrel.
Hope that helps

[angrybear]

Also as I'm guessing you're a novice shooter, know/learn the law, wherever you shoot you need the legal permission of the owner, a safe backstop to prevent the pellet leaving your property & a good reason to shoot certain species.

For occasional use a break barrel might make more sense & remember to include a scope & gun slip in the price, personally I'd go for a quality used outfit over a new but lower quality set up.

[Enceladus]

many thanks
i'm a semi experienced shooter (although out of practice) with a railway embankment behind my property so no chance of a stray round going far or causing any danger to anyone (safety first, second and third!)
at work i have already got the permission of the boss (will save him pest control fees so he is up for it!), just need the rifle.
any firing at work would be done after hours to keep everyone safe.
trouble with second hand is there are very few (if any) stockists around my area and due to work & family commitments i can't get out and about as much as i would like.
so i'm guessing i'll need to use someone like pellpax to buy the rifle from (as they deliver).
time for a bit of internet browsing me thinks

[512k]

You will be able to see the sales section of this forum fairly soon now that you've made the required number of posts, you've just got to wait for the server to update itself now

[Shed tuner]

Whilst I'd go .22 for rats, I much prefer .177 for (wood)pigeons.
Rabbits and squizzers it doesn't matter, cos it's always brainbox shots.

So work out which you'll be shooting more of, and factor in that distance estimation / holdover is much more forgiving with .177

Also if you can buy secondhand, you'll get way more for your money...

[smallman28]

many thanks
i'm a semi experienced shooter (although out of practice) with a railway embankment behind my property so no chance of a stray round going far or causing any danger to anyone (safety first, second and third!)
at work i have already got the permission of the boss (will save him pest control fees so he is up for it!), just need the rifle.
any firing at work would be done after hours to keep everyone safe.
trouble with second hand is there are very few (if any) stockists around my area and due to work & family commitments i can't get out and about as much as i would like.
so i'm guessing i'll need to use someone like pellpax to buy the rifle from (as they deliver).
time for a bit of internet browsing me thinks

I would avoid Pellpax if I were you.
They have gone bust on more than one occasion I believe but seem to keep cropping back up somehow.
Whilst delivery might seem attractive I would avoid them.

[TonyL]

so i'm guessing i'll need to use someone like pellpax to buy the rifle from (as they deliver).
time for a bit of internet browsing me thinks

As long as you choose a rifle from the Weihrauch, Walther, Diana or Air Arms ranges of spring guns, you will be the proud owner of a well-engineered and accurate rifle.

I appreciate time may be at a premium, but you really do need to, at the very least, get to a well-stocked shop where you can handle as many different models as possible and see what suits you best in terms of weight, balance, handling, ease of loading etc.

Even better, if you could visit a decent club, you may get to try a few different ones there.

There may be other shops closer, but I'd guess that Wighill Park Guns may be a good place to try?

Make sure you're using a decent quality scope and, personally, I'd always use a Sportsmatch one piece mount.

Once you have acquired your rifle, you'll need to do some accuracy testing to ascertain which pellets give the best results for YOUR gun. And then you need to put some time in on the range....lots and lots of it. Practice at ranges up to your maximum expected range, at five yard intervals, and learn the aim points. Remember, the kill zone is about half an inch, so your maximum range is the longest distance at which you can consistently keep your shots within that kill zone UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS. So, initially, this may only be 15 to 20 yards...With time, practice and experience, this will improve.

[Enceladus]

many thanks for all your thoughts and comments
guess i have a bit of thinking to do !
did spot one rifle that looked rather intriguing, and wondered what you all thought........
Umarex 850 .22 co2 rifle
or would i be better sticking to the break barrel ?
many thanks

[jon_h]

No no no to the umarex. £450 will easily get you a probably lightly tuned(nicer spring and piston seal) hw80 with scope, moderator and slip. That's where I would head. And I've just bought my second having sold my first a few years back. I've had a fair few rifles in between but for some reason it just really does it for me and I've never met anyone who dislikes them. Probably get it posted at that money as well.

[TonyL]

I have never owned or shot the Umarex.
Many of the tests seem pretty favourable, but it's not self-contained, and the performance of a CO2 gun does vary with ambient air temp. Recoilless, though!
If you wanted to go recoilless, your budget would net you a pre-charged rifle.

However, go for one of the quality springers, as mentioned up above...Solid, dependable and self-contained. And there's a huge pool of knowledge and goodies out there to further improve the experience.

I don't know if McAvoy's are still offering the Diana 280, including basic 4x32 scope, at £220? Now, that IS a bargain!

Several very high quality underlevers....Weihrauch HW77, 97, TX200, Prosport and the new Walther LGU.

Walther LGV, Diana and Weihrauch break barrels....lots to choose from. Within your budget.

[jon_h]

There was a hw 80k about 3 pages back on the for sale on here went with scope mod and bag for £240 posted which is great. Then £200 left to tinker with it if you wish, shiny bits and tuning kits etc

[gsxrman]

hi man,
If ya fancy .22 try a Fenman.... Brilliant little rifle.
Bit tough to cock in .177 so think about one of the evo/taunus/sirocco variants.
Personally id choose .177,have used both calibres .
If you hit the mark both calibres do the job very well but it is easier to do this consistantly with .177 and it will stop every airgun quarry instantly.
Good luck in your search
Steve

[MrGreengrass]

Moderated s\h.177 S200 and a s\h bottle.... .177 will kill anything on your list easily enough... squirrels are tough little animals but fall easy enough to headshots...