Break barrels under $400

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JDR said:
RWS 34 can be bought for under $400. Great guns for hunting. If you must have a magnum, AOA has a fantastic deal on a RWS 350. I have one and it hits hard and accurate but takes a lot of practice to shoot consistently.

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That's a great deal. I have one as well in .22. Good shooting magnum after some practice.
 
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HW50, HW95, or HW97 if you order from Krale in the Netherlands. The first time you visit the site, the price may still show with the European VAT tax. If you are in America, you won't pay that tax, and the site will self correct once it figures out where you are. They ship faster than some of the big name dealers here as long as your credit card company doesn't flag the international purchase. You can save more by ordering 2 rifles for 1 shipping charge.
 
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Hatsan has the only .30cal break barrel, commercially available. The other guns in it's class are .177 to .25cal., I personally think .22 is best overall at these power levels...

Under $400 "Magnum" offerings are:
Gamo Magnum or Extreme Hunter Pro (Gamo USA exclusive)
Diana 350 magnum (sometimes)
Benjamin Trail XL or Crosman Valiant (less powerful)
Hatsan 135, 125, 150
Maybe some I missed...

To be honest, none of these have had a spotless record. Most of the issues have been resolved or the companies make good on returns/repairs/exchanges. Pick what you like, all is basically a wash in the end. Also, you might find you don't need the extra power and depending on experience with piston guns, might be better off with something less powerful. Good luck getting parts from Gamo. Parts for the Diana are easiest to get (ARH/Vortek), then Crosman with Hatsan nearly trailing. Hatsan hardware (bolts/screws) are very easily damaged. Diana T06 triggers are the best of the guns listed. All will bust a scope eventually, some sooner than later.

I own/owned most I've listed above or variants of, in .177 to .25, and none are what I reach for first. Most are safe queens that might only come out a few times a year.
 
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gendoc said:
i think we need a vote for hatsan or Gamo break barrel guns :sneaky:
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I don’t think it matters. Either one is a mediocre power house that will do the job alright but not really well. In my experience the Gamo has a better trigger out of the box, but the Hatsan can be tuned to a higher standard. The Gamo stock is lighter weight while the Hatsan is adjustable. Accuracy of either one is decent but not good.

My experience is that the Swarm mechanism is junk. If you get a Gamo save some money and just get the single shot model.

Hatsan is far easier to cock for the power level it produces. My Gamo Magnum is a beast to cock and produces 3 fpe less energy. It does shoot way flatter however. Of course so would the Hatsan if it wasn’t a .30.
 
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gendoc said:
i think we need a vote for hatsan or Gamo break barrel guns :sneaky:
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No vote. Hold yearly competitions of new out-of-box airguns from various makers (not cherry picked guns, & using only bundled optic or sights). Make it a week long event, needing a minimum of 1000 shots during competition only, allow an additional 1000-2000 shots prior for breaking in on the first (test) day if competitors want. Bet you'd see an increase of QC across the board if something like this had a lot of publicity...
 
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Just Zack 2 said:
No vote. Hold yearly competitions of new out-of-box airguns from various makers (not cherry picked guns, & using only bundled optic or sights). Make it a week long event, needing a minimum of 1000 shots during competition only, allow an additional 1000-2000 shots prior for breaking in on the first (test) day if competitors want. Bet you'd see an increase of QC across the board if something like this had a lot of publicity...
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My experience was that bundled optics on sub $400 guns won't last the 1000 round beak in.
 
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GotMilk2 said:
Not a break barrel, but a side lever action, look at Diana/RWS 48 in 22, its a spring gun to be reckoned with for sure! It will cost you 50-75 more, but you will not regret it!
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If we get away from the break barrel requirement, I've actually read mostly good things about the Air Venturi M1A. For $200 it looks to me like the biggest downside to it is optics mounting.
 
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