N/A What is considered the “best”

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Allot of good air rifles on the market today in different price ranges, I have several air rifles offered by Crosman, Diana, Ruger that were under $125.00 that have been great performers for the several years that I have owned and shot them, I have a GAMO Bone Collector .22 cal. Swarm 10 shot magazine fed air rifle that is a good small game rifle, it's in the $260.00 price range.
I also have higher end rifles made by Weirauch in Germany, HW-30, HW-80K, and HW-95, all wonderful air rifles.
The three air rifles I use as hunters are all Gas Piston powered rifles, my plinking and "target" rifles are mostly Coil Spring powered, I shoot three calibers .177, .20, and .22 caliber, I don't get into the larger calibers because I don't need a pellet with more mass for my kind of air gunning, and when shortages happen it's always the odd caliber that are unavailable, .177 and .22's are always in stock.
My suggestion if you are just starting out with break barrel air rifles is to start out with a lower priced model in a good quality brand, a good pick to look at seriously would be the Diana model two fifty, it is a Gas Piston air rifle, nice wood stock, well finished bluing, mostly all steel parts, very accurate, good hunting velocity, a sweet trigger, and a smooth shot cycle, and it's topped off with a good quality Diana scope, my adult son and I both have one, mine is in .177 caliber, his is in .22 caliber, we've had them for about year and they have been very reliable and trouble free.
Good luck with your search.
 
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Money not withstanding the?

Here's one that has fully adjustable power levels. Plus it has a two stroke option. First cocking stroke delivers a lower speed. Cock it twice and it has a high power.
Full power settings on low power can generate well over 20 foot pounds of energy. At high power, upwards of 38 foot pounds. All that in an elegant stock with top tier looks and first rate bluing on the action.
Meet the Theoben Dual Magnum. Does it all in style

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If money is no object, and we're talking about airguns currently in production and readily available, my vote would be for the Pro-Sport with a walnut stock and a nice, light scope, like the Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9x33. It's just as accurate as any other top-end springer, not as front-heavy as the TX, the trigger is better than the Rekord when properly adjusted (imho), and the nicest looking (again, imho).

Pro-Sport cocking effort complaints are perennial, but I'm guessing most owners haven't found the right technique. I have a full power Pro-Sport, and I find it very easy to cock -- when done correctly. Assuming you're right handed, the natural thing to do is to put the butt on or around your right hip while cocking it with the left hand. That's bad ergonomics; it causes your left arm to cross in front of your torso, limits the involvement of your strongest muscles, and forces your left shoulder to over exert. Instead, move the butt to your left hip and, when you cock it, keep your left elbow from flaring out. That way your bicep and lats do most of the work, kind of like a rowing motion. I can shoot my PS all day that way.

Pro-Sport and Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9x33.jpg
 
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graycrait said:
Holy Moly! Seeing as I'll likely never see one in real life can someone who has one make a Youtube video with a review of one? I looked and didn't find a video.
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There's a member here called Dualmagmike who probably has the most extensive collection of dual magnums of anyone. If you do a search for his posts you'll find plenty of pictures. He's got a pretty amazing collection of other springers too.
 
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PaulK62 said:
If money is no object, and we're talking about airguns currently in production and readily available, my vote would be for the Pro-Sport with a walnut stock and a nice, light scope, like the Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9x33. It's just as accurate as any other top-end springer, not as front-heavy as the TX, the trigger is better than the Rekord when properly adjusted (imho), and the nicest looking (again, imho).

Pro-Sport cocking effort complaints are perennial, but I'm guessing most owners haven't found the right technique. I have a full power Pro-Sport, and I find it very easy to cock -- when done correctly. Assuming you're right handed, the natural thing to do is to put the butt on or around your right hip while cocking it with the left hand. That's bad ergonomics; it causes your left arm to cross in front of your torso, limits the involvement of your strongest muscles, and forces your left shoulder to over exert. Instead, move the butt to your left hip and, when you cock it, keep your left elbow from flaring out. That way your bicep and lats do most of the work, kind of like a rowing motion. I can shoot my PS all day that way.

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Fair point about using the right cocking methodology. I do the same as you describe, and do not find it difficult to cock. Even more so because mine is setup at 12fpe. But the wide arc of travel for the cocking arm, and the need to leverage the butt against your hip, are awkward. Not a big deal for target shooting from a seated position. But a lot less convenient than a break barrel for hunting in the field.
R
 
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Silver Ace said:
For what it’s worth, I asked Grok what the best mid powered springer is and he says HW77. The best all around springer, according to Grok is……………..the HW80

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A totally reasonable opinion given the R1/hw80's pedigree and historical significance. More interesting, IMHO, is that the hw80 had not been suggested in any of the prior 50+ replies to this thread. Having owned (and sold) and R1, I can understand why.
R
 
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There are also a number of spring piston airguns that may belong on this list that are no longer in production. Someone already mentioned the Sig Asp20, but there were many others as well that were very well regarded like the Air Arms Pro Elite or the Theoben Fenman. I mentioned in another thread that the Golden age of spring piston airguns was the 1990's and these days we've only got a handful of the high end springers from that era still in production.
 
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