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Basic rule of airgunning, as well as nearly everything else: you get what you pay for.
First off, be realistic about what you want the gun to do. Everybody is impressed with 1000 ft/sec power from a .177 springer, but for simple, relaxing shootin' pleasure that's just too much gun. Cocking force is high, the report is moderately loud, and it's really too powerful for close-range bunting/pest eradication. In a spring-piston gun, for general recreational purposes I'd be looking at the 700 ft/sec power level in .177 cal.
As far as caliber is concerned, you have a greater variety of pellets available in .177, they're a little cheaper than .22 pellets, and accuracy is generally better than the .22. The .22 is the better hunting caliber, as it retains its energy farther out and of course makes a bigger hole. The 5mm/.20 cal was staked out by Sheridan eons ago, and then Beeman promoted them as an intermediate between .177 and .22. I don't see much advantage to .20.
If you have a liberal budget, the pre-charged pneumatics (PCP) are the top of the heap, but entry-level is in the kilobuck range.
For optics, get a dedicated airgun scope. The bidirectional recoil of airguns, especially the springers, can destroy well-made scopes for regular firearms. Adjustable objective scopes are worth the extra bucks for the reduced parallax error at the shorter ranges over which you'll be shooting.
As far as brands, I confess to appreciating the German makes (RWS and Weirauch), and the English have come a long way with their airguns since owning firearms is so restricted these days.
Some good retailers with a wide selection and good advice are Straight Shooters and Airguns of Arizona - check 'em out.
First off, be realistic about what you want the gun to do. Everybody is impressed with 1000 ft/sec power from a .177 springer, but for simple, relaxing shootin' pleasure that's just too much gun. Cocking force is high, the report is moderately loud, and it's really too powerful for close-range bunting/pest eradication. In a spring-piston gun, for general recreational purposes I'd be looking at the 700 ft/sec power level in .177 cal.
As far as caliber is concerned, you have a greater variety of pellets available in .177, they're a little cheaper than .22 pellets, and accuracy is generally better than the .22. The .22 is the better hunting caliber, as it retains its energy farther out and of course makes a bigger hole. The 5mm/.20 cal was staked out by Sheridan eons ago, and then Beeman promoted them as an intermediate between .177 and .22. I don't see much advantage to .20.
If you have a liberal budget, the pre-charged pneumatics (PCP) are the top of the heap, but entry-level is in the kilobuck range.
For optics, get a dedicated airgun scope. The bidirectional recoil of airguns, especially the springers, can destroy well-made scopes for regular firearms. Adjustable objective scopes are worth the extra bucks for the reduced parallax error at the shorter ranges over which you'll be shooting.
As far as brands, I confess to appreciating the German makes (RWS and Weirauch), and the English have come a long way with their airguns since owning firearms is so restricted these days.
Some good retailers with a wide selection and good advice are Straight Shooters and Airguns of Arizona - check 'em out.