For a rifle to be a great entry-level gun, it has to be easy to set up and shoot, offer the performance to allow a new shooter to achieve success and see improvement, and continue to support the shooter’s needs as their experience level grows. The Avenger does an outstanding job of addressing this requirement.
The standard Avenger is a full-sized PCP rifle in a black synthetic sporter style stock that will fit most shooters well. The air reservoir sits below the barrel and provides a surprisingly high shot count due to the high fill pressures it can acco*modate. The rifle is cycled with a sidelever action using a well-designed cocking lever that reliably auto indexes the magazines. Two pressure gauges display the status of the air storage and the regulator setting.
The Avenger is an excellent example of a gun that can adapt to the shooter’s needs. It is an excellent choice for novice PCP shooters and airgun aficionados who want to tune and modify a gun to make it their own.
I have used the Avenger .22 to hunt squirrels and rabbits with standard Diabolo pellets, and dialed it in to work with airgun slugs for long-range prairie dog shoots. The intrinsic accuracy, tactile trigger, smooth cocking action, and overall ergonomics make this an easy gun to shoot accurately. The low price makes it an attractive rifle to purchase, and the features and functionality ensure it will continue to provide value as a new shooter gains experience. And for all of these reasons, the Avenger was my pick for best budget .22 air rifle.
What makes a spring-piston gun stand out for me—in addition to accuracy and a solid power output—is a smooth shooting cycle, a manageable cocking effort, and a good trigger. I also want a co*fortable and ergonomic stock, a quiet gun in terms of the muzzle report and mechanical functions, and is fun to shoot. The Model 65 ticks all of these boxes.
The Hatsan Model 65 is a conventional spring-piston air rifle that co*es with thumbhole stock made of Turkish hardwood, that has stippling on the pistol grip and forestock, and an adjustable cheekpiece. This rifle is loaded with the technology Hatsan developed such as the SAS shock absorber system for taming bidirectional recoil, the Quiet Energy sound suppression system to bring the report down to a backyard-friendly level, and the Quatro trigger which is one of my favorites in this category of guns.
With all the interest in new airgun technologies these days, we sometimes forget that spring-piston airguns are still one of the primary gateways to airgunning. There is something to be said about a fully self-contained rifle. You just need to grab a handful of pellets, and you’re good for a day in the woods—no spare tanks or co*pressors needed. And the Hatsan Model 65 is one of the best .22 air rifles of the breed: It is intrinsically accurate, has a well-designed stock, a trigger that breaks crisply and is consistent, along with a smooth shooting cycle that allows the shooter to get the most out of the gun, and that’s why the Hatsan Model 65 is my pick for best spring piston .22 air rifle
Another great spring piston: Gamo Swarm
The Brocock Sniper XR Magnum is based on a semi-bullpup platform. The standard gun incorporates the Brocock HumaAir regulator system, a choked Lothar Walther Polygon match grade barrel, a Hi-Lo power adjuster for quick modifications, a 10-shot magazine, a two-stage adjustable trigger, and a 480cc Carbon Fiber air cylinder. The sidelever action is silky smooth to operate and incorporates a hammer and valve assembly that increases the power output and reliable shots-per-fill count.
The Brocock Sniper XR .22 leverages elements of both carbine and bullpup platforms. This hybrid “semi-bullpup” design results in a short and lightweight carbine that has the performance of a full-size rifle. The HUMA regulator provides outstanding shot-to-shot consistency and is adjustable so the shooter can fine-tune the gun for a specific projectile. I’ve used three-position power control as a quick means of adjusting to various shooting conditions, starting the day shooting long-range prairie dogs, then shifting to hunting cottontails around the sheds and outbuilding at the farm, then pigeons in the barn. The co*bination of a co*pact platform with outstanding performance is the reason the Brocock Sniper XR makes my list for best co*pact .22 air rifle.
Another great co*pact .22 air rifle: AirForce Talon
I am not a serious co*petitive shooter, though I occasionally co*pete and have had a chance to watch and speak with some of the best co*petitors on the circuit. Many of the top shooters I’ve talked to have told me without reservation why the Impact is one of the best .22 air rifles for benchrest and speed silhouette. And when a group of the best co*es close to a consensus, I’m going to pay attention.
The FX Impact is a bottle-forward bullpup built on a CNC aluminum stock with an adjustable recoil pad and an AR-style pistol grip. It uses a sidelever action that quickly and smoothly cycles. The two-stage adjustable trigger uses a post and blade configuration and offers incredibly light and tactile responsiveness. There are several barrel options, and they are interchangeable.
Airgun co*petitions in the U.S. and Europe are gaining popularity, especially benchrest, high-speed silhouette, and field target. The FX Impact has beco*e one of the most widely used and successful platforms co*peting in benchrest and silhouette, and it is because every aspect of the gun has a laser focus on wringing every bit of accuracy. I am not a co*petitive shooter, but I have an Impact .22 set up for long-range prairie dogging, and it is quite simply one of the most accurate air rifles ever built. The FX Impact’s track record for incredible accuracy and consistency is why it’s my pick for the most accurate .22 air rifle.
There are a few semi-auto PCP air rifles on the market, but not many good ones. I’ve been shooting the HP Carbine for a few months now, and besides having a good track record for reliability, they have built this gun on a smaller frame and kept both the size and the price down. AEA seems to have found the sweet spot.
This is a tactical design with a folding AR-style buttstock, pistol grip, and bottle-forward configuration. The gun folds for easy packing and transporting, deploys quickly, and offers an ergonomic and stable shooting platform that I like for offhand shooting. The shrouded barrel does a good job of reducing the sound signature.
It’s accurate, powerful, and spits out pellets as fast as you can pull the trigger. I think this caliber is one of the best .22 air rifles for plinking or hunting. With this gun, you will consume a lot of air and a lot of pellets, so you need to ensure you have access to both. I would suggest that you think about investing in a co*pressor, so you always have air available.
Another great semi-auto airgun: Hatsan Invader
To select the best .22 air rifle you need to answer three questions:
If your budget is over $1,000 you have a lot of accurate and powerful .22 air rifles to choose from. I’d suggest a PCP for maximum accuracy and power. Then you just need to decide if you’d like a target rifle like the FX Impact or a hunting air rifle like the Brocock co*mander XR. In the $500 range you can choose from excellent PCPs like the Air Venturi Avenger or a springer like the Hatsan Model 65. The deciding factor will be if you prefer the simplicity of a springer or the precision of a PCP. In the $250 range you can still find excellent PCP and springer models like the Gamo Swarm and Hatsan Flashpup QE.
I think a .22 makes a lot of sense for beginners, especially in a PCP air rifle. It is fairly flat shooting, offers good performance for small game hunting, and ammo is inexpensive.
With airguns, it is the gun that generates, stores, and releases energy, not the ammo. The same pellet in a gun generating 12 ft-lb will carry far less distance than one producing 30 ft-lb. That’s why adjustable power is a great feature on an air rifle. But I’d say that depending on these variables, between 300 to 400 yards is a good rule, though the energy at this distance will be very low.
Some rifles will get up into supersonic velocities around 1400 fps, but there are a couple caveats: often these velocity claims are based on ultralight alloy pellets that have little practical use other than driving up the velocity rating. And second, Diabolo pellets are designed for subsonic velocities and may destabilize at high speeds.
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The .22 caliber is arguably the most popular caliber being used in PCP air rifles, and right behind the .177 in spring piston guns. If we look specifically at hunting applications, the .22 is probably the most widely used caliber.
They’re the most popular for good reason. There’s a broad selection of .22 rifles; they’re flat shooting, and have good terminal performance. There’s also a vast range of affordable pellets in varying designs and weights. I’d advise you to look at the online retailers when choosing pellets for your .22 air rifle, as they will have a much better selection and often better prices than you’ll find in a big box store. If you choose the right gun and the right projectile, one of the best .22 air rifles will serve you well whether you plink, shoot co*petition, or hunt.
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