I have several airguns, both rifles and pistols.
For the time being the stable consists of one PCP, a tuned/converted Daystate Huntsman and a bone stock Webley Tracker. The Huntsman are quite new (late last fall) to me and replaced a Merlin from the same company. Both of these rifles are bolt action, magasine fed PCPs, somewhat general purpose quality airguns. The Huntsman are tuned down to facilitate basement (low power and canned) training after the Merlin chewed up a bullet trap and made noise on a level of needing earpro so it was hardly the training tool I wanted it to be. Its also quite classical in its stocking, so it makes a good general airrifle. The Huntsman, I`m ashamed to say have not been utilised much since I got it.
The Webley Tracker are a british, classic aircarbine and are the "go-to" gun for basement/garden fun for close to a couple of decades in companionship with its fellow factory pistol, Tempes (which should be seeable by some sort of attachement thingy). These guns was also part of my training regime before I deployed in 09, working on the basics and running them on the timer for shaving my reaction times.
The rest of the battery consist of a Feinwerkbau 65 (older spring comp model) and a Crossman 1701 PCP pistol. Gone but not forgotten are the two top notch competition guns I`ve had, a Steyr 101 rifle and a Feinwerbau C55, 5 shot "Semiauto" pistol.
All of these can be used to train basic markmanship with, all have their peculiarities and dare I say niches (atleast pertained so) and none will let a fellow down so its up to the buyer to define some sort of "need" as to what the gun should be able to do.
Its been stated earlier in the tread that you pretty much get a airgun for almost all tasks and I think that that sentiment are true. But what are the needs of the user ? For a general shooter I whouldnt underestimate a springer for .177 pellets but stearing clear of the Chinese, Turkish and Spanish ones. I would also give a wide berth around everything that uses "Magnum", "Extremely high speed" and such nonsense in the marketing dept.
Unfortunately the British brands (BSA and Webley) are now made in Turkey or Spain, so I`ve wont give them the thumbs up, either. The US brands I dont know much about but the entry levels Daisy`s I`ve stumbled on have been less than satisfying. That leaves the German guns such as Feinwerkbau, Diana and Weirauch, the latest I think is sold under the Beeman brand in the US, atleast some of the models. The British AirArms TX200 are also a safe bet.
Furthermore I would look for a lever cocking gun aka fixed barrel, not a "break barrel" gun. Top it off with a Dampamount and a springer rated scope and you should be good to go for hours of cheap entertainment. Be adviced that the guns can be .22 RF finicky on pellets, if you`re after maximum precision, better be prepared to do some experimenting on what sort of pellets your gun goes to town with.
On the PCP scene the British guns are still british and seriously good to go but with the premium pricetag that comes along with it, I do have a soft spot for the AirArms S200FT in this category, its a tiny 10 shot carbine built by CZ, rebranded and sold under the AirArms umbrella for rather nice price when it comes to PCPs. If I hadnt gotten a killer deal on the Huntsman, this is what I would have got.
As for scopes, I`ve wouldnt put on a premium scope, my guns sports BSA in 2-7X and 3-9X not because I dont enjoy a nice glass as much as the other fellow, but because they to the job and are rated for spring guns and I`ve found these to be adequate. I wanted something that could focus way down and the BSAs gives me the possibility to come down to 7,5 yards and still use the full range of magnifying. I ran a non-airgun rated scope on the Tracker for a decade (Shirlstone 2-7X) but this scope was not usable on higher magnifications than 2X on close distances and that somewhat trashes the notion of basement training ranges, shooting dots made from dotting a papersheet with a writing feltpen from prone actually needs a bit of cranking up.
If you havent guessed it yet, I think that the airguns have a place in a well rounded armoury and that every home should have one, same as atleast a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle and a pistol in no less than 9mm.
Tools for a afternoon of garden fun...
