High Quality Pellet Guns

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WinkingTiger

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Is anyone aware of a pellet gun that is made of wood that has good craftsman ship? I am looking for a model that looks like a hunting rifle that shoots pellets using a spring.

Also which pellet caliber is better for taking small game (squirrel, rabbits, mice) .177 or .22

Thanks
 
There are tons and tons of pellet rifles with wood better than most actual rifles. I wouldn't make wood you number one concern, overall shooting quality is more important unless you're a collector.

.22 is always better for hunting.

Beeman, RWS, Webley, and Weihrauch all make great spring rifles. Price range $100-1500.
 
Beeman for the best.

I have a Beeman C-1 made by Webley.
Powerful, but not near the quality of the German made guns.

I also have a Beeman R-7 in .177 made by Weihrauch.
This ones a real honey!
Excellent light two-lever trigger, beautiful wood & checkering, and more accurate then you can hold!
BeemanR-72.jpg

As for caliber, the old saying is, ".177 for Feathers, .22 for Fur".

The C-1 .22 kills squirrels like lightening, even with body hits.

The R-7 .177? They often get up and run off with body hits.
But it plays heck with Sparrows & Starlings!

Velocity is almost exactly the same on these two guns.

All said and done, I think there is much more variety of .177 pellets & guns that are match accurate, but the .22 just flat out kills small game better.

And the better German made guns ($300 & up) are a cut above anything else in smoothness & accuracy.

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rcmodel
 
The general rule for airguns is .177 for feathers, .22 for fur. That said, there are other options these days. .20 makes a good general purpose airgun, and if the airgun's powerplant can handle it, .25 packs a real wallop.

There are many high quality pellet guns available these days, RWS and Beeman are two distributors in the U.S. that are well thought of, but there are others as well.

These folks have a good selection of quality airguns and also have a lot of useful information on their website to help you make a decision.

http://www.straightshooters.com/
As for caliber, the old saying is, ".177 for Feathers, .22 for Fur".
Click to expand...
Beat me by 2 minutes! :D
 
I have a beeman. around 1000 fps with .177 cal pellets. works wonders for squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, etc.

heavy though, about 8.5 pounds
 
One other thing I would mention is cocking force.

If you want a gun for doing a lot of rifle practice or target shooting, the big Magnum air-guns will wear you out.
Some require upward of 40 pounds to cock them.

On my two guns, velocity & cocking force is:
C-1 .22 - 670 FPS with 35 pound cocking force.
R-7 .177 - 700 fps with 18 pounds cocking force.

Guess which one is more fun to shoot all afternoon?

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rcmodel
 
My vote for a quality entry level gun is the RWS Model 34. It's not nearly as pretty as that Beeman above, but very well made and functional.
 
i have a gamo, bought from dicks with a crappy scope. the gun is great with iron sights, even replacement scopes are hard form me to sight in. the bsa scope that came with the gun was seriously the worst scope ever for clarity, etc. make sure you retain your scope stop it you scope one, the scope will slide and this does prevent it. the gamos are about 179 and feel like a real gun. my friend has nearly eliminated his neighborhood squirrels with his.
 
While not exactly meeting you spec a Sheridan should meet your needs. It is a great gun. Mine is 30+ years & going strong. Some of those years it collected dust. The company was bought since them. Not sure of the current price. May be worth a look. May have gone downhill.

It is 5mm so pellet choice is not wide open. It will out do a .177 in terms of lethality. I hunted with it as a kid & it was the one to have.

just another choice
WNTFW
 
The problem with the Crossman, Benjamin & Sheridan pump-up guns are they are way too darn loud.
Might as well shoot a .22, and won't be near as much work pumping them up 10 strokes every shot.

For rifle practice, target shooting, or quite shooting, the barrel-cockers are the only way to go.

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rcmodel
 
Benjamin/Sheridans are built like, and shoot like, exactly what they are. 40-year-old youth-style pellet guns. Except the new ones have weaker pump arms and different triggers. They're not bad rifles (I have one) but for anyone looking for a firearm-like pellet gun it's not the ticket.

I've never been a fan of spring rifles (pump or PCP is more my thing) but there are a lot of great ones out there. Honestly, I'd skip any Gamos but the most expensive ones. The triggers are pretty rubbery without a lot of smithing.
 
is there an airgun dealer near you?

most of the better shops will have a range where you can try a couple of the models you are interested in. It is always a good thing to be able to handle a few rifles before making your decision as there are real differences in cocking force, trigger pull, sights and finish quality. The Webley guns I have seen sound like they may be the closest to what you are looking for but yours is the opinion that matters most.
 
Pyramid Air has some big bores, but if you want to get serious, Dennis Quackenbush is the man to talk to. I'm hoping he gets caught up with orders, because I want to add one of his 50 cals to my collection.
 
FYI Beeman doesn't make Airguns they put their name on on other companies work. You mileage may vary.

I have found RWS quality to be consistent and excellent.
 
I have found RWS quality to be consistent and excellent.
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RWS, like Beeman is a distributor, not a maker. Diana makes most, but not all, "RWS airguns". ;)
 
You can't go wrong with RWS but the new Gamo Hunter's seem nice too. Whatever you get you might want to look for an adjustable trigger. I bought a Beeman that had a 10lb pull and couldn't do anything about it except return it. As for caliber I've never had a problem with the .177, there is a large selection and always in stock. The .22 is hard for me to find sometimes. The new PBA pellet from Gamo only comes in .177 and they are really nice when you want penetration, they go through my fence boards instead of getting stuck half way.
 
recommended air rifle

Air Arms TX200 is a quality springer, fixed barrel with underlever cocking. slide breach opens to load pellet directly in. have a look on the net and you'll find it hard to find a bad review. .177 is flat shooting but i've always preferred the .22's. Air Arms make their own pellets but any quality lead pellet is worth a try. these springers are cabable of half inch groups out to 40 yards or more. lots of tuning kits available if you are bothered
 
Is anyone aware of a pellet gun that is made of wood that has good craftsman ship? I am looking for a model that looks like a hunting rifle that shoots pellets using a spring.

Also which pellet caliber is better for taking small game (squirrel, rabbits, mice) .177 or .22

Thanks
Click to expand...

Are you sure you want to use a pellet gun on a squirrel? Some of them are getting tougher and you don't want to run into this guy:
 

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Beeman Webley Feinwerkbau Diana and RWS all make good quality air rifles.

On a budget a Sheridan or El Gamo can do what is needed just don't expect to split aspirin tablets.:D

I have tried more than a few in over the last 30 years and ended up with a .22 RWS model 350 and a .177 caliber model 34.

An old favorite is the Feinwerkbau 124 it was the Rolls Royce years ago when it came out and I was a kid.

A properly taken care of spring air rifle will last a lifetime they tend to shoot better as they age.

A good scope or set of peep sights is a must to take advantage of the accuracy some of these are capable of.

www.airgundepot.com

www.pyramydair.com for reviews
 
RWS, Beeman, or one of the Cabela's house-branded guns. Loud as can be, heavy as the dickens, but nice looking, powerful rifles.
 
RWS, like Beeman is a distributor, not a maker. Diana makes most, but not all, "RWS airguns".
Click to expand...

This is good to know. I will rephrase; I have found Diana quality to be consistent and excellent. :p
 
i have a crosman 2260 that i modified, it will shoot 21.1 grainers at around 900 fps. but enough bragging,:) if you want a plane jane hunting rifle then I would get a crosman 800x. its .22 and will do a number on anything up to and including coons.

if you want something nice than stick to german guns. i have pretty much stayed with crosman and gamo, but i use them for hunting and practice only. the problem i find is that nobody makes a gun in any kind of american styling. all of the european and german guns just look stupid to me, and i just see nice wood and metal in a wierd shape.
 
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