Susan, go to air pistol and view this tread.

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I have many,I get the fully functional metal replicas, and most of them are made in Korea, some are German, and the Japanese ones are hard to get; The "gas" ones I have are good.
My replicas are like the real "thing", same weight, size, and function....cost about $120 on up, and some of the .45 you can customize to your liking.
What happened was I sold all my real ones and missed them so much I then got the exact replicas of "some" of them....
 
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I really enjoy replica airguns, usually more than the real thing, so I've got quite a few.

I've got Glock Gen4 and Gen5. The Gen4 is much more realistic in terms of trigger pull and function. It even field strips much like the real thing. The Gen5 fires pellets and is more accurate and more powerful, but has an atrocious trigger that really can't be made any better than bad. It's also not as realistic in terms of function.

I've got a Barra Schofield in .22 and it's pretty good, but I think the Dan Wesson replicas are better.

The Barra 400e is perhaps the best BB gun made. I've shot all of the BB guns I consider accurate off a bench and it's the most accurate of any I have shot. It's not the most realistic replica, but it's the best BB gun overall IMO. Very expensive though.

The new Crosman M1 Carbine is also an excellent BB gun considering the price, which is very reasonable. It's also very accurate for a BB gun with very good sights and it has full auto and is very efficient with the CO2. It's not particularly realistic, but considering everything else I'd highly recommend it. Dollar for dollar I'd rate it above the Barra.

The Umarex MP40 is excellent and a lot of fun to shoot. It's both very realistic and very accurate for a BB gun. This is my #3 pick overall.

The Umarex M1 Carbine is extremely realistic and more accurate than the Crosman, but it's a CO2 hog and uses expensive 15 round magazines. If you're into Larping or something then get the Umarex. If you just like plinking and having fun, get the Crosman.

The Crosman MPW is very realistic, but accuracy is marginal and magazines are pricey. Kids will think it's awesome though.

My Springfield Armory M1A has been a turd and I really wanted to love this gun. It's a full size wood and metal rifle that looks and feels very close to the real thing and is quite powerful for a replica, rated at 800 fps in .22. It has good iron sights and is quite affordable. Mine has been a super twangy, minute of can rifle at 20 yards however and I've yet to find a way to make it shoot accurately.
 
I had a BB gun as a kid 9-10 years old, was a M1 and the barrel jacked in and out to cock the gun, it had a bb reservoir, you turned it upside down to load a bb in the chamber. It was fairly accurate as I remember?...for a 9yr old. I killed a few birds with it, so it had a little power. Wish I could find another like it.
 
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I had a BB gun as a kid 9-10 years old, was a M1 and the barrel jacked in and out to cock the gun you turned it upside down to load a bb in the chamber. It was fairly accurate as I remember?...for a 9yr old. I killed a few birds with it, so it had a little power. Wish I could find another like it.
Those are pretty collectible these days and you’ll probably end up paying $150+ for one. I never saw one until I was in my 20’s, so I don’t have the same nostalgia for them that a lot of people do. To me, they’re just another BB gun like the Red Ryder, but better looking. Still, Red Ryder type performance is what you can expect out of one. The new Crosmans are CO2 powered and shoot at 400+ fps and mine is pretty accurate.
 
Well I have 3 of the Umarex Legends co2 BB guns; the MP40, Thompson M1A1 and the M3A1 Grease gun. I can hit targets at 16-20 yards. it is a stretch but it does work. I fell in love with the auto firing replica guns and never looked back. Between all three of them, maybe 10,000 plus BBs thru them. I also fitted full wood stocks and greps on the Thompson M1A1 (love it). I also have several replica Pistols P38, Luger, Cowboy pistol, Webley pistol and others.
 
As an avid shooter and collector of both revolvers and WWII handguns I think I've picked up most of the replicas at gun shows over the years and held them. I've yet to see one that couldn't be spotted as a replica from several feet away and when you pick them up there is nothing similar in the feel to the genuine weapons. For shooting cans at a few feet they may be fine but I couldn't imagine them ever being more than a novelty.

I shoot almost everyday and it was one of the reasons I was looking at adding a quality PCP rifle to reduce my ammunition burden which is costing as much as $100 a day in retirement. While I don't shoot all my guns due to age and value of many of them I still have one Luger, one High Power, one P38, one VIS and several 1911s that I shoot on a regular basis.

I've owned and shot this 1916 DWM since the early 70s and still get a charge out of shooting it. It still shoots excellent and has a good bore for a weapon that is 109 years old and served in WWI and was captured in WWII. It is all matching except the magazine, it has a WWII Haenel Schmeisser 8 round magazine.

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"I was looking at adding a quality PCP rifle to reduce my ammunition burden which is costing as much as $100 a day in retirement."

I agree that this is one reason that I fell in love with my replica guns. The cost of an actual M1A1 Thompson sub machine gun in ok condition (it works lots of wear) is about $40,000 dollars; .45 ACP ammunition is around $54 for a box (50). The M1A1 Thompson rate of fire is 600 - 900 rpm. That is a few seconds of shooting for 50 rounds. It was a simple solution to buy the replica(s) all under $225.00, and no hassle with regulatory agencies, and the ammo is dirt cheap (BBs and Co2 cartages).
The big plus is one does not have to go to a private range to shoot them. A Big back yard is fine not NEAR the noise of actual weapons fire.
I do have friands that do own automatic (M1A1, M3A1 Grease Gun among others). Last year I spent over $1560 dollars on .45 ACP and $215.00 9mm at their range (Private). Add in air fair, rent a car expenses having a good time (etc.) . So Way More Expensive than BBs and C02.
Although I did freak out at the plastic furniture on the Umarex (BB-Co2) M1A1 Thompson, every time I picked it up I heard this plastic ticking sound... drove me nuts the cheap sound of plastic on my favorite replica BB gun;..! So; I replaced it with all wood furniture; now I am very happy! It is posted on this Airgun site somewhere.
 
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