Looking for 22 caliber pellet gun

I am fond of my Gammo sportsman RS2 using the Gammo red fire pellets.
It came with both .177 and .22 barrels .
I prefer the .22 barrel as the .177 is going fast enough to get the sonic crack.
Might as well use a real .22.
The .22 is still humming along at 900 something FPS .
Lots of Squirrels and a few chucks as well.
 
widnerkj said:
When these threads pop up. I mention that I have a .22 cal Benjamin Marauder. Which I totally love. I bought the upgraded one with the railed receiver, and LW barrel. I use a Hill Mk4 hand pump to charge up the air cylinder to 3000 psi. I'm averaging 30 good accurate shots, (3 magazines) before the velocity begins to drop, and I've got to top it back up. If you don't mind the dovetail europian style scope mount, Amazon's got one in your price range.
Mine really likes the JSB Exact jumbo heavy diablo ppellets. 18.3 grains. But still shoots well with the crossman .22 cal pellets I find at walmart.


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Agree, great rifle. Quiet and pinpoint accurate under 30 yds. But, closer to the $500 price point. Worth it if you can afford...
 
I have a Diana RWS 350. Surprisingly, my Marlin XT-22 when shooting 710 fps CCI quiet is about as loud or maybe even quieter than the springer 22.
 
RankAmateur said:
Agree, great rifle. Quiet and pinpoint accurate under 30 yds. But, closer to the $500 price point. Worth it if you can afford...
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I should have added, that I hear a lot of good things about the Umarex Gauntlet.

www.pyramydair.com

Umarex Gauntlet for Sale | Pyramyd Air

We've got a great price on the Umarex Gauntlet PCP Air Rifle, Synthetic Stock. Shop and get expert advice from the largest airgun retailer!
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Pilgrims Pride said:
The Mrs signed off on squirrel elimination in her garden. The little tree rats are raising hell with her plants.
I've got a near to 50 year old crossman pump gun that always served me well. But it doesn't have the umph it use to have.
Any thoughts on a replacement?
I see there are "suppressed" models these days. Might be a good idea.
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The airgun guys used to call them "moderators" to make it clear they weren't suppressors. Not sure that that makes any difference, they are good to go and non-NFA btw. Even though they are fine, the twist on ones are the ones people would get nervous about. A lot of them go with full barrel shroud designs that keep it compact.


Pilgrims Pride said:
I'd spend a couple/300 or so I guess. Quick follow up would be a real advantage. The old crossman is single shot and pump.
(If) I miss I need to wait til they come back. I'm looking for better accuracy.
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Benjamin Discovery aka Disco is probably in your price range. Has a very good reputation and long track record.

There's plenty of fancier stuff out there, but the Disco bundles are hard to beat for the price.

*edit: not sure if they still make these.
 
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P51MA said:
The airgun guys used to call them "moderators" to make it clear they weren't suppressors. Not sure that that makes any difference, they are good to go and non-NFA btw. Even though they are fine, the twist on ones are the ones people would get nervous about. A lot of them go with full barrel shroud designs that keep it compact.
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[laugh2] When I got my first airgun suppressor everyone was pretty paranoid about them despite the fact that they would probably explode if used on an actual firearm. Because of the paranoia, all references to them in on-line forums used the acronym LDC in place of suppressor or moderator. LDC = Lead Dust Catcher [rofl]
 
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PappyM3 said:
That’s impressive.

My Crossman Valiant SDB nitro piston .22 can’t shoot that at 30 yards. It can land a few shots within an inch at 30 yards, but then it will have a flyer or two out at like 2”. I’ve tried Al sorts of different pellets and slugs from different manufacturers and weights. I just assumed it was the fact it was a piston and not a PCP.

View attachment 762259
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Super late here, but what do you use for ammo? Do you pre-sort them based on their OD using a caliper? I went from a 4" 5 shot group at 25 yards with my NP Trail XL down to a dime sizes group (off a rest) by buying bulk Crosman Dome Pellets 14.3 grain and tossing anything out of spec. I can't recall exactly what size they had to be for me to keep them, but if you just measure them and get rid of the bad ones, your groups will tighten up. Option two is just to go with higher quality ammo, like JSB Jumbos. Also, have you re-tightened + blue loctite any screws holding the stock to the gun?
 
Pilgrims Pride said:
The Mrs signed off on squirrel elimination in her garden. The little tree rats are raising hell with her plants.
I've got a near to 50 year old crossman pump gun that always served me well. But it doesn't have the umph it use to have.
Any thoughts on a replacement?
I see there are "suppressed" models these days. Might be a good idea.
Click to expand...

Benjamin Trail NP XL if you don't want to drop the money on the best bang-for-buck PCP - the Benjamin Marauder.

If you go with a springer or a piston Air Rifle, the first thing you do is remove every screw and blue loctite it back down. First few shots out of a brand new gun will sometimes go super-sonic, so don't be surprised by the crack, and don't do it where Karen can complain.
 
Agnotology said:
Benjamin Trail NP XL if you don't want to drop the money on the best bang-for-buck PCP - the Benjamin Marauder.

If you go with a springer or a piston Air Rifle, the first thing you do is remove every screw and blue loctite it back down. First few shots out of a brand new gun will sometimes go super-sonic, so don't be surprised by the crack, and don't do it where Karen can complain.
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More likely dieseling. I get it when I use pen-gun oil in my chambers and seals on springers. On CO2's, I just put a drop on top of the cylinder cap before inserting and puncture and don't experience it.
 
Taipan01 said:
More likely dieseling. I get it when I use pen-gun oil in my chambers and seals on springers. On CO2's, I just put a drop on top of the cylinder cap before inserting and puncture and don't experience it.
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Dieseling is exactly what is happening. My first two shots were over 1500 fps on my buddy's chrono, then settled down to 1050-1070.
 
I really like my Hatsan at44. I've shot all kinds of varmints with it, mostly squirrels & dropped a few raccoons
www.pyramydair.com

Hatsan AT44 QES | Open Sights PCP Air Rifle | Pyramyd AIR

Check out the Hatsan AT 44 QES PCP air rifle - updated model with open sights. Learn more at PyramydAir.com.
www.pyramydair.com www.pyramydair.com
The best pellet Ive used so far is the H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme Pellets
 
This thread has me going. Ordered a Hatsan 135 QE that arrived yesterday. I unboxed it. Took one look at the scope rail and boxed it back up for return. It was visibly off center not lined up vertically on the rifle. Processed the return and now I have a Marauder FT .22 on its way. Does anyone have recommendations for a good lower cost compressor? I ordered a hand pump but we’ll see how long that lasts.
 
I have been using the original version of Air Venturi's Nomad compressor for more than 5 years. No issues. No experience with the newer, less expensive, offerings from several other manufacturers. Congrats on the Marauder! Was also my first PCP, and I still love it.
 
Using a hand pump can get really old fast, though I guess you can look at it as a good workout.
I recently picked up a Yong Heng compressor ($239) and also have been using a friends for a few years, works fine, so far no issues though neither has seen a ton of use.
Rebuild parts are also pretty cheap and available if it comes to that.
 
wcorey said:
Using a hand pump can get really old fast, though I guess you can look at it as a good workout.
I recently picked up a Yong Heng compressor ($239) and also have been using a friends for a few years, works fine, so far no issues though neither has seen a ton of use.
Rebuild parts are also pretty cheap and available if it comes to that.
Click to expand...

I am anticipating the hand pump getting old really fast. Which Yong Heng pump did you end up going with. Was watching reviews on them earlier and the Utuber was saying there are actually counterfeit Yong Heng’s being sold now. Did you get the same model you’ve been using for a while now?
 
Caveman said:
This thread has me going. Ordered a Hatsan 135 QE that arrived yesterday. I unboxed it. Took one look at the scope rail and boxed it back up for return. It was visibly off center not lined up vertically on the rifle. Processed the return and now I have a Marauder FT .22 on its way. Does anyone have recommendations for a good lower cost compressor? I ordered a hand pump but we’ll see how long that lasts.
Click to expand...
Now thats a quick turn around
From a break barrel to a pcp
Now you need a field target scope for that field target rifle
 
I kept researching breakbarrels. Checked out the nitro pistons and then the springers. Eyeballing a Diana 54 currently for a side lever springer. When researching the break barrels it seemed as though accuracy and noise categories were beat out by the pcp’s. Everybody raves about the Marauders for their out of box accuracy and how quiet and reliable they are so decided to give one a go. I’ll probably grab the Diana next month so I can try a springer out. I’m sure I will like both for their own reasons.

I don’t want to go that crazy with scopes yet. They will be chipmunk and pest control around the property along with plinking with my nephew. I have a Athlon BTR 4-14x I am going to try on this Marauder FT. May grab another base model Marauder to have fun modding that. Keep the Diana using irons.
 
Caveman said:
I kept researching breakbarrels. Checked out the nitro pistons and then the springers. Eyeballing a Diana 54 currently for a side lever springer. When researching the break barrels it seemed as though accuracy and noise categories were beat out by the pcp’s. Everybody raves about the Marauders for their out of box accuracy and how quiet and reliable they are so decided to give one a go. I’ll probably grab the Diana next month so I can try a springer out. I’m sure I will like both for their own reasons.

I don’t want to go that crazy with scopes yet. They will be chipmunk and pest control around the property along with plinking with my nephew. I have a Athlon BTR 4-14x I am going to try on this Marauder FT. May grab another base model Marauder to have fun modding that. Keep the Diana using irons.
Click to expand...
You could probably find Diana 54 on the used market cheap. ?
 
mac1911 said:
You could probably find Diana 54 on the used market cheap. ?
Click to expand...
It’s something I will consider. I am not sure that I know enough about them currently to be able to judge a good buy on a used one. What to look for or listen for on the internals etc. But it’s an option on the table.
 
Caveman said:
I am anticipating the hand pump getting old really fast. Which Yong Heng pump did you end up going with. Was watching reviews on them earlier and the Utuber was saying there are actually counterfeit Yong Heng’s being sold now. Did you get the same model you’ve been using for a while now?
Click to expand...
Got it on fleabay, happystore something or other, basically just picked a vendor that had sold a ton of them and had a close shipping location.
Don't know about the counterfeits or how to tell but yes mine looks the same as the older one though.
I got the cheaper one without the auto shut off, I don't 100% trust the shut off so don't want to depend on it dealing with this much pressure.
I just fill the gun tank, no scott pack tanks, so it only takes a minute or so anyway...

I used to have an RWS/Diana 48, more or less a plain version of the 54, very nice gun. Passed that one along to a friend but still have a model 45 and 24.
I do like side levers for the ergonomics but a quality break barrel can be just as accurate.
 

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