Topic: The Best Pellet Guns: Budget-Friendly Pellet Rifles for Target Shooting and Hunting (Read 37 times)
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Topic: The Best Pellet Guns: Budget-Friendly Pellet Rifles for Target Shooting and Hunting (Read 37 times)
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Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Diana 340 N-TEC has the power and accuracy needed for small game hunting with great ergonomics. And it costs less than $500.
Pros
Cons
Product Overview
The Diana 340 N-TEC is the best spring piston pellet rifles to hunt with because the gun is lightweight (7.9 pounds), ergonomic, streamlined, a great offhand shooter, has a nice trigger, and has the fit and feel of a conventional centerfire sporter.
The trigger is a two-stage adjustable design, but co*es out of the box just about perfect with a 2-pound pull weight. The power plant uses nitrogen-piston technology that has a smooth cocking action and produces a very smooth shooting experience. The rifle produces velocities of approximately 800 fps with most medium weight .22 pellets, for a small game getting power output of 20 ft-lb.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
The Air Venturi Avenger offers a lot of great features at a fantastic price.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
My pick for the best PCP pellet rifle for small game hunting is the Air Venturi Avenger, available in .177, .22, and .25. I chose this rifle because it provides so much upside at such a low price point. First are the features, and this rifle is feature rich: it is regulated and between the regulator and hammer spring adjustments can be fine-tuned for a particular application or projectile.
Even though the regulator can be set to operate at a range of pressures, the tank can be filled to 300 BAR (4,350 psi). This high-pressure air charge on the Air Venturi Avenger can provide a high shot count, a lot of power, or let the operator select the right balance. The ambidextrous synthetic stock is ergonomic, the side lever cocking and auto-indexing magazine are fast and reliable, and the rifle is intrinsically accurate and powerful (up to 45 ft-lb).
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
If you want to just have fun shooting steel in the backyard, the SIG MCX pellet rifle is a fantastic choice because it can be fired rapidly and has many of the same controls as a centerfire MCX.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
Plinking is an application where CO2 guns rule because it is an inexpensive system to operate, the guns are fairly quiet, the power is low, accuracy can be quite good, and the technology lends itself to being incorporated into traditional firearm replicas.
The CO2 pellet gun that I’ve had the most fun with is the Sig Sauer MCX pellet rifle. The cosmetics of this CO2 replica are based on the Sig MCX short-stroke rifle. It uses a 30 pellet Roto Belt magazine to support semi-auto shooting as fast as you can pull the trigger. Set up some metal spinners in the backyard and don’t look back, this gun is a blast.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
For under $200, you get an easy-to-use pellet gun that is ideal for backyard shooting and pest control making it our pick for the best budget.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
In a highly populated segment of the market, the budget-friendly springer, I like the Stoeger S6000-E Underlever rifle. It’s available in either .177 or .22 and priced under $200. This underlever spring piston rifle is accurate and has a power profile that is good for backyard plinking but can serve double duty as a pest control or even a small game gun. The rifle, which is available in a synthetic or hardwood stock (slightly higher price tag), is well balanced, easy to cock, and fun to shoot.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
You’d be hard pressed to find a better air rifle for the money than the Benjamin Maximus. It’s a great backyard plinker, works well for small shooters, and has enough power for small game.
Pros
Cons
My pick for the best budget PCP rifle goes to the Benjamin Maximus. Its best feature is its price at around $200. What you get is a single shot rifle dressed in a sporter-style synthetic stock, with a very lightweight and streamline design. This gun has features that make it friendly to new PCP air rifle shooters. One of the best is that the rifle operates on a low fill pressure that is easy to fill from a hand pump. Even though it has a low pressure tank it still provides the accuracy and power for plinking or small game hunting.
Key Features
Why It Made the Cut
If you’re looking for your first PCP airgun, but don’t want to jump in with an expensive PCP or buy an entry-level model that’s lacking features, the Umarex Gauntlet is for you.
Pros
Cons
Product Description
With so many outstanding rifles that could take this position of the best PCP pellet gun for beginners, I choose the Umarex Gauntlet because it ticks all the boxes. The rifle is available in .177, .22, or .25—I have a strong bias for the .25. The Gauntlet is a 10-shot magazine fed repeater, that features a regulator set at 1100 psi producing excellent consistency and is a very solid range and field gun. It is cycled with a bolt action that auto-indexes the magazine. A 13 cubic inch air tank is used for onboard air storage and is removable so additional tanks can be carried and swapped in the field. With an excellent power and accuracy profile, all of this co*es in at around $330, which is a great way to enter the sport with a gun that will grow with you.
