Need Air Rifle Education

Have a friend looking for recommendations on a good quality air rifle. $500 max amount willing to spend. Looking for great accuracy at 100 feet, quiet operation.

What brands, models need to be on the list?

Thanks.

Beeman R7. Low velocity awesomeness.

Big boy air rifles are not quiet, especially springers. Beamen and RWS are excellent rifles. Just stay away from the lower end models marketed to box stores

I've got a Diana RWS model 48 with the TO6 trigger and it's a tack driver but it ain't quiet. They run about 450.

Thanks for the replies to date, on the quietness issue, what would you compare to or describe what the sound these rifles make to.

HWY_MAN was just looking at those RWS 48s, since this will be used for rodent control, would you say that the noise produced is something that would get the attention of neighbors?

They don't sound like regular rifles, but they make a sound like smacking a board with a hammer.

Quiet and pest control don't really go together. The R7 is backyard awesomeness, but it only gets about 600 fps, which isn't what you want for pest control. I have an RWS 460 and RWS 52 and neither are remotely what I'd call quiet. .22 CB loads out of a bolt action .22 are noticeably quieter than the springers. That said, an occasional shot may be fine; but not banging away in the back yard for a couple hours.

Colt W. Knight and syncerus, thanks for the information. This feedback is really enlightening for me and extremely helpful.

I'll not take credit for your knowledge, when sharing it with my friend.

This will go a long ways to help him make his decision.

Doing this research is starting to peak my interest in these rifles as well.

Gamo Whisper series is good. Not real loud... until you hit a steel I-beam with the pellet.

In my opinion, if you want to shoot small critters, I would want 1000 fps in .177 or at least 800 fps in 22. Rifles start getting expensive quick when you exceed those velocities, but powerful air guns are about as fun as it gets.

I have a RWS 34...loud! Had a FX, but too much Drama....both were and are very good...

I've heard conflicting information about PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) rifles. I've seen some video where they appeared to be very quiet, but I've seen other information that they aren't quiet at all. In either case, they are somewhat north of $400, and a complete quality set up with a 4500 psi carbon fiber tank will put quite a hole in $2000, although you can get entry level equipment for maybe $800.

My personally preferred option is below. Of course, you may have to deal with zoning issues, etc., and this isn't $400 either.

Yes! The 22 cal runs at about 1000 fps and has a distinct crack to it.

There are a lot of options with air rifles, and some are very quiet. If your neighbors are cool, you can plink to your heart's desire in the back yard. "1,000 fps" with an air rifle isn't like the same velocity with a bullet. The hollow skirt of a pellet is like a shuttlecock, stabilizing it in flight but also slowing it down very quickly. Like down to 600 fps or maybe even less at 50 yards.
My personal shooter is a .25 cal breakbarrel. It pushes a 25.4 grain jsb exact about 700 feet per second. On armadillos, one shot through the pumphouse is a kill. Also not very loud. The slap of the pellet is worse than the report.
Visit www.gatewaytoairguns.org if you really want an airgun education. Refer your buddy there as well. Great group of guys, all very airgun savvy. It will open your eyes to a whole new world of shooting.

Regular Guy - thanks for that link, have sent it over to my friend. Took a look myself and some good stuff there.

Thank you.

I love my family bull whisper

CB caps in a 22 is good quiet medicine for pest control and no need to invest in a BB gun

Not for us...

I'd say this is the gun to go for.

You might want to check out Stoeger Air Rifles . They have some excellent air rifles and very quite .

Stoeger Air Guns

This is a friend of mine's place, you can call him and he'll steer you straight, his name's Edwin.

https://www.airgunsoftexas.co/