What is the Best .22 /.177 Air Rifles on diff. brands

[David]

All

Appreciate if any one could list down the best .22 /.177 models in general ( technically & cost range ) available is each brand. Most of the blogs revolves around Weihrauch , Diana. But there seems to be technical issues even with good brands in certain models which will never be shown anywhere until and from personal experiance. There are lot of Gurus here in this forum. can someone come with this check list so that people who need help in this forum can have this as a benchmark to choose what they want. May be I am not very much concerned about the Purpose of the Air Rifle but just to have a idea to choose the best on any day .

I am ready to prepare a chart but I need inputs . Please let me know if this make any value to the readers in IFG. Else will drop it.

The reason behind this is , many blogs are found to be 'How to choose' or 'What to Choose'.

Cheers
David

[shahid]

Diana 35 in .177 or .22 is an all time classic.

HW 80 in .22 is one of the best ever field use springer.

Gamo Hunter 550 and BSA meteor are also proven rifles.

Cadet models like Diana 25 and Cometa are great starters.

[jonahpach]

Hmmm.. is this a trick question?? I think there can be a lot of differences in opinion on this one. One would need to first agree upon what one means by 'best' Some would swear by the power of the RWS 350 magnum while others (like me) would go all out for my MPR target rifle which is a really refined and hi precision airgun though lacking in power. It all depends on what one expects of the airgun and this would depend from person to person. For a real beginner target and competitive shooter on a budget one could go for the slavia 613 or the Feinwerkbau 300 both of which are springers and one of the best around. On a slightly higher budget, the Airarms MPR is the one to go for.

On the other hand if you are interested merely in plinking, vermin irradication or whatever you have a much bigger choice. Beginning with the Ihp-35, it would all depend on the budget. I hope this answers the question and gives a better insight in choosing the 'best' airrifle.

Jonah

[David]

Hi

There are lot of blogs that says some are best like HW80K break barrel. One of the IFG member says that HW series are realy good but there are few not to choose from that. Indeed I got help from Mack The Knife sir to get HW77K and many say its good.

So do some other blog in IFG says Diana 54 Airking is one of the best in DIANA .. 360 mag is not good, 450 mag is know to be the best powerful underlever etc...

Lot of blogs on Diana, HW.. Lot good are with Gamo, Webley & Scott , Umarex etc.. but only from someones experiance other ( may be a person like me ) may come to know the best one that fits for the budget..

You have to get good stuff when you shell out money on anything for that matter.

There are Guru's in IFG who are very knowledgable techincal and experiance in Different air rifles who can really throw some light..

Cheers
David

[shahid]

Technical experience, theories, blogs don't really help. What is really important is what fits you best and what is available within your budget for your particular application.

HW 80 is a very nice rifle, but can a hunter carry it in the field for 5 hours ?

Similarly the heavy side lever rifles from Diana / RWS are difficult to carry.

A Diana 35 on the other hand is very handy to carry for hours.

Similarly Diana 350 Mag is a very long rifle. If your height is above 68 inches or your arms are long with a good body built then it is the rifle for you.

Otherwise its best to go for one that suits you.

[hamiclar01]

david, please classify your question.
did you want a best rifle in either calibre :

springer or pcp?
field use or plinking
match grade or general
price ceiling? (quite important, is you are looking for the best)

do note that even mediocre air rifles can be customised majorly to masterpieces

otherwise, i quite agree with shahid, get one that suits you. simple!

[TenX]

Hi
I know people who have owned a 30 year ols unheard-of air rifle which is still doing great. I took the advice of co-shooters and got me a HW77.
Some settle for the Indian pneumatic.
To decide, I would advice:
1. Make a list of known guns (From the forum, from other internet reviews, from co-shooters, etc)
2. Start making a chart on approx. pricing, velocity, brand name, re-sellability, type of ammo, maintenance, availability, how many you know have it, personal remarks, freebies that come alongwith it, howmuch the rifle can be extended (to remove/join other sights or scopes, remarks from the forum gurus, remarks from users world-wide, how apt it is to your usage*, type of gun (Pnuematic, CO2, Compressed air, break--barrel, under-lever, etc.
3. Start entering either ratings or notes on this. (Trust me. I did this ot 4 months ago, and it helped a lot)
4. You will boil down, looking at all the facts in a glance, as to which of these suit you most.
5. It is now easier to make a decision and you can re-question guys asking which of (a), (b), (c) or (d) should I buy for the following <reason>
Why I am telling you this is that any rifle is good for a different purpose. Some are good for plinking at 20 feet, others very accurate at 10m match-type competitions, some handle very well, some look beautiful, some perform for long, and some have great velocity.
So, to hone in on the 'best' air-rifle is a far approximate.
All the best and please msg me if I can help you in anyway.

[salikt]

Hi guys,

First of all, sorry for repeating the same question which has posted here a couple of times. I'm a newbie here and just introduced in the introduction section. Since few weeks, I went through almost all the posts related to air guns. But still couldn’t make a final conclusion about which brand is the best to buy. I hope experts can give me a good and best answer for my queries here. Following are my requirements:

I want to use it for my outings (Edited: Please note that most hunting is banned in India and is illegal.Avoid any reference in your posts.Also,please go through the posts across various boards on IFG on similar subject.Thanks-Moderator)).

(1) A Foreign made
(2) In .22 Caliber
(3) Powerful and in good range (100meter if available)
(4) Springer (Prefer break barrel type - I never saw and used a side or under lever model)
(5) What else to check? (Your options)

From the previous postings here, I noted that HW (Weihrauch) and Magnum (Diana) Series are the most popular amongst you all. I hope some of you guys here used both model or more than those two and know the performance of each. I really appreciate the Air gun experts/Gurus opinions and suggestions for the best buy in the market.

Thanks to everybody,


Sali.

[b.baracho]

Hi go for th HW90 one of our members ai has for sale go for the high power one you will love it.

[Sid_kapur30]

if you're open to under levers Air arms TX-200 is one candidate which wins HANDS DOWN - for me at least

[yash3_great]

Diana 350 Magnum if you want only a break barrel. Else you can try HW77K or HW97 in underlevers.
As Sid mentioned the AirArms line is great too.

[mundaire]

Threads merged - request you not to start random new threads on existing topics. Start a new thread if there is a new topic to be discussed.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[ai]

To each his own, but the Mod-350 IMO offered no advantage over an HW90 so I never owned one and chose HW90s. HW90 has a gas spring that can be adjusted for power upto 24-26 bars. The finish and functioning of each part of HW are better than Diana for any of their respective models. The gas spring never weakens. In case of any part needing replacement, they can be found and replaced easily, and the spring recharged with a PCP pump.

However, the Diana 54 is also a great gun. I have owned it. Its recoil dampening allows a wider choice of scopes. It has no barrel droop, and allows use of a variety of mounts as well whereas the HW90 needs adjustable mounts. Prelimnary zeroing of scope can be done by fixing a laser dot between the breech and piston air outlet, so that the laser projects a dot through the barrel.

The rachet preventing damage during cocking in the Mod-54 is a useful feature.

Mod-54 shoots very flat as well. It allows fixing a QD stud on the stock for a bipod or sling. Further, its recoil does not affect the trajectory whilst using a bipod.

In conclusion, if it is power and lifelong reliability and durability you seek, go for the HW90. If sheer power is not so important, and the other factors listed above matter more, go for the 54.

Its not fair for me to comment on the 350 without using it, but on the face of it during selecting a gun when all were available, I did not consider it. I doubt if it can surpass the HW90 in any respect, and specifications indicate so.

I hope this helps.