How would you start getting into AGs with a 700 dollar budget?

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Antedev

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Dec 31, 2018
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Hi all,

I would like to get into Air guns but currently only have about a 700 dollar budget to get into it. Looking for a good reliable gun I can maybe can deal with some gophers in my house and perhaps go hunting for some small game like rabbits. I was looking into a Brocock compatto you might find new for about 699 on sale, preferably I have been looking into buying a used one to make more budget for the other things I would need like a scope, rings, hand pump, etc. I was also looking into getting maybe a used Marauder Synrod/Mrod package from a user that might have most things i need. 

Most people i talk to tell me to save for the most expensive gun i can buy from the start...

I am curious to hear opinions and ideas from experienced shooters, and people that have spent money in AG to point me in the right direction. What to buy, what to not buy , etc...



Thanks



Andrew
 
+1 to what Insanity said, probably the best 'budget' rifle is either the American Tactical Nova (this has on onboard pump, great reviews), or even the American Tactical Liberty (requires hand pump or tank to fill). If I were in your shoes I would opt for one of these OR a Crossman Fortitude as they have great customer service / part availability. Just my 2c
 
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Aloha Andrew, 

With a 700 dollar budget, I would look into an 300 dollar price gun (Umarex, Benjamin, Hatsan) these guns will accomplish what you stated and still leave you money left over to get a really nice scope and hand pump. 

Search youtube (aeac, hajimoto, cyclops) etc. They will help you with very good information, I know it did for me when I started out just over a year age.

Aloha
 
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You didn't mention PCP or springer, although you did post the question in the PCP subforum. The thing about PCPs are that the gun has one price, and then all the "stuff" you need to go with it is another. If you've only got 700$ to spend on the whole package (gun, scope, compressor, ammo, and other accessories) you're probably going to come up a bit short. And furthermore, even if you don't come up short, much of what you buy you'll either want to, or will have to, replace in the relatively near future anyway if you get deeper into it. 

There are a couple "onboard pump" airguns as ackuric noted, which are in-budget and you could go with them. For a variety of reasons I'm not a huge fan of this concept, not the least of which is due to weight and bulk. It has its place, certainly, but it just isn't my preference. 

I'd actually recommend you seriously consider a spring gun. The Air Arms TX200 and Weihrauch HW97 are both excellent, although the power of the Diana/RWS 54 or 56 might be a little more your speed if whacking gophers is one of your goals. They are fantastic guns which are self-contained, top of the line, and do what you need them to do. They should also have good resale value if you take good care of them. Doesn't leave much extra money for a scope, but some of those springers I mentioned come with iron sights and/or enough room in your budget to start with something modest. 

I realize this may be a bit of a different direction than you had in mind, but it is food for thought. It seems like these days everyone is so caught up in the PCP rush we forget about the venerable springers that served us all so well for so many years and still shoot great today. 
 
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Love my Compatto and I got it used here on the classifieds. It's a .22 and is a tack driver. Would be easy enough to hand pump (lots of recommendations here on the forum for those) and I have a Discovery scope which packs a lot of quality for the buck. I think you could do this combo for pretty close to your budget. Even used, this gun is waaaay better than low end PCP (Umarex etc) and you won't be wishing you had something better right away or putting more money into it to make it better. My 2 cents.
 
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From personal experience I would suggest starting with a quality Springer, depending on need, an HW30 or HW97, get a good quality scope, and some pellets. If you haven’t already, check out Krale in the Netherlands. 

Then, keep reading and learning here and elsewhere while you save $. You don’t have to buy the absolute most expensive PCP out there, but you will save tons of $ if you get a solid gun with good reputation from the start. They also keep their resale value and are easier to sell and upgrade if need be. Keep an eye on the Classifieds down below. 


 
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From personal experience I would suggest starting with a quality Springer, depending on need, an HW30 or HW97, get a good quality scope, and some pellets. If you haven’t already, check out Krale in the Netherlands. 

Then, keep reading and learning here and elsewhere while you save $. You don’t have to buy the absolute most expensive PCP out there, but you will save tons of $ if you get a solid gun with good reputation from the start. They also keep their resale value and are easier to sell and upgrade if need be. Keep an eye on the Classifieds down below. 

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Fully agree. $700 goes very fast with PCPs when you add in the cost of a scope and support gear. That amount could buy you a top quality springer with scope, and leave a good amount left over for pellets. An hw95 or hw97k from Krale would be less than $400 delivered. Or you could go with a TX200, but that would push the high end of your budget. Any of these springers are heirloom quality guns that will shoot well for decades.

If you are set on a PCP, start with a Marauder and go from there......



R
 
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The cheapest way I know to get into a relatively decent PCP is to go to the Crosman website (Crosman.com), use the AGNATION discount code for a 25% discount.

Look up the Benjamin Maximus. It's a single shot PCP that gets excellent reviews. That's $165 for the gun. The advantage of the Maximus is a 2000 PSI fill, so easy to fill with a hand pump. You can buy a Benjamin hand pump for about $145, or buy a high pressure hand pump on eBay for around $50 to $60. The Maximus comes with open sights, but you can add a scope if you wish.

The Fortitude is $300, magazine fed, and regulated. It's getting good reviews but is a very new gun on the market. Could be build issues, but so far, good reviews.

Do understand you'll want another gun later, and you'll need to upgrade air supplies as well. This will get you into the game, and get you shooting while you learn, research, and decide what you want for your next gun.

Just my opinion
 
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Wow so many replies already, more than I expected. 

It seems this is a great community i stumbled upon. 



Correct me if I'm wrong but the reason that I wanted a PCP is mainly because I wanted to be as quiet as possible as i have close enough neighbors. Can Springers be quiet?? 



I will look into Air Arms and Weihrauch Springers . 



Thanks alot for all the replies! its helping me alot and opening new ideas of what to get. 

A




 
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Hello,

I would advise to buy a Hatsan Flash pup and pump. New pup is $400, used pump for $100, used UTG scope and rings $75-100. I had a Flash pup .22 that shot 920fps average for 40 shots and only used 50bar of air. The air cylinder is very small so you could use a pump to refill. They are extremely accurate and not pellet picky. Very cable of taking the prey you want plus be quiet. 
 
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There is no way to get into PCP for $700. Anything you buy now, you will replace in the end. Go springer or save your money until you have the budget. PCP is expensive because you will want a regulated gun and all the support gear to use it. Just a WAG would be $4,000 at a minimum.
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I would have to disagree pretty strongly. If you could round up a few more hundred dollars you can get a very good pcp and a hill pump for under 1500. For under 1500 I got a daystate huntsman in .22 a ok scope and a hill 4 pump. Everything I need for hunting or shooting out to 100 yards. Am I going to buy more? Hell ya. But he wanted to get started. But I would recommend buying from a big name brand and store. I know that I would be hard pressed to fix any potential issues with my set up if I didn’t have a good warranty. 
 
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There is no way to get into PCP for $700. Anything you buy now, you will replace in the end. Go springer or save your money until you have the budget. PCP is expensive because you will want a regulated gun and all the support gear to use it. Just a WAG would be $4,000 at a minimum.
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I would have to disagree pretty strongly. If you could round up a few more hundred dollars you can get a very good pcp and a hill pump for under 1500. For under 1500 I got a daystate huntsman in .22 a ok scope and a hill 4 pump. Everything I need for hunting or shooting out to 100 yards. Am I going to buy more? Hell ya. But he wanted to get started. But I would recommend buying from a big name brand and store. I know that I would be hard pressed to fix any potential issues with my set up if I didn’t have a good warranty.
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Yeah agreed, can get a used royale 500, 300$ scope and cheap handpump for 1500 total.
 
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All airguns make noise, and if the pellet goes supersonic, it'll have a loud CRACK to the shot. So, one secret is to keep the pellet speed under about 900 fps to keep all airflows around the pellet below about 1050 fps (roughly speed of sound.)

Next source of sound is the mechanics of the gun. Springers will typically be louder because there are lots of large parts slamming inside the gun.

Next is the movement of air out the end of the barrel. Lower speed pellet guns have a smaller sound signature due to lower energy of air escaping out the barrel. This can be quieted in either PCP's or springers by a moderator. Something like a Marauder is heavily moderated, making it a very quiet gun. The Maximus with the same power will be louder than the Marauder because the Maximus has no moderator. For example, Airgun Depot rated the Marauder loudness a "2" on a 1 to 5 scale, making it back yard friendly. The Maximus is rated a "4" making it not so back yard friendly. It's got a solid crack from the air leaving the barrel.

Whether springer or PCP, either can be very loud, but it's easier to quiet down a PCP than a springer because you have more room on the barrel to moderate the sound. Where you must "Break" the barrel, you can't use the full length to shroud the barrel.

So, if quiet is a must, that changes the equation completely. Look at the Fortitude. $300 on Pyramyd Air, or $300 on Crosman.com with the AGNATION code. Buy a handpump from eBay or Crosman as before. You will need a scope as it doesn't come with open sights.

So, a Fortitude at $300, Benjamin hand pump at $135 from eBay and an inexpensive 3-9x50 scope from Crosman.com for about $68 brings the total to around $400. Order on Friday for free shipping.

Is this the best combination? Not really. It will get you into the game. It's basically how I started except I started with the Marauder.

Once you start pumping, you'll start looking for a tank and fill station. Those start at about $400 for a 88 ci tank. If you skip the hand pump and go straight for the tank, you'll still come in under $700 and if you have a paintball shop or scuba shop where you can fill the tank, you'll be a lot happier.

So, to make this long, rambling post a bit longer, Here's what I'd start with:

Benjamin Fortitude in .22 $300 at Pyramyd Air.

Air Venturi 88 CI bottle and fill station at PA $400

Adjustable objective scope for around $75

Sales Tax for your jurisdiction

and you come in about $800. A touch above your budget, but you'll be much happier than with a hand pump.


 
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The Walther LGVs are about some of the quietest Spring guns out there. I added a DonnyFL Koi to my .177 and it really brings down the noise level in a very noticeable way. Makes an already quiet gun very quiet. I think I have it shooting the 10.34gr JSBs in the 700fps range. 

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1546395091_10516426295c2c1dd352bee8.38502531_780D1A1B-1C60-4F8A-84F0-166BB50E91E0.jpeg

 
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Saltlak seems on to it for a new person. Go with 100% reliable and also outstanding service parts & support if needed. Croman with a coupon/discount is the only starting option.

Maximus is an outstanding value and if more people has fired the new barrels more people would own them, Marauder is an outstanding rifle, match trigger ( copied from a famous maker) , if desired a drop in ( that easy, unscrew end cap drop in screw end cap back on) regulator is $69.00. Any of the crosman regulated is is an excelnt choice as well. Years of transferable warranty. on and on.

I say stay away from unproven designs ( nova etc... ) .



The taousa low dollar hand pump is great.

The buy the best ( naturally many seem to think higher price means better but ) is great advice IF you can go shoot them all first. Which would be an outstanding idea for you.



John



John
 
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