What are some good, common, break barrel springers, new or old preferably wood and steel over plastic?

I got one of these crossman A4, it is an crossman nitro air gun in an AR15 shell, I put back up sights on it to practice with.
The safety is crossman not AR15 type. The mag is just storage bin for pellets.
For some reason the strap ring on the stock in normal size and the one forward on smaller than normal so a GI sling will not fit, so it is around the barrel for now.
I did the crossman trigger upgrade with a 9x5x3 mm ball bearing,  has a very good trigger now. V
Can be had for <$100l

https://www.crosman.com/dpms-classic-a4-nitro-piston-177

I just picked up a Beeman R7. Not cheap but the quality is excellant and it's a laser so far.

Dr. Beeman imported a number of guns in the old days (look for the San Rafael Ca. address).  Most of these break barrel guns were re-branded Weirauch HW series  guns (notably R1, R7 and R9) with some RWS thrown in there as well.

For new guns, any of the Weirauch HW guns are going to be rather top notch for break barrels. The new Beeman R7 and R9 are still the same as the old guns (rebranded HW series), while many of the other new Beeman named stuff is rather shoddy Chinese made stuff.

The RWS 34 is what I'd consider the low end of the good guns.  But, this is likely to be a good starter gun if you are on a budget.  It is what got me into airguns.

Don't overlook the Air Arms (made in England) guns either.  The Pro Sport is a most capable gun.  It is at its best, however, in the non FAC (Fire Arms Certificate) at just under 12 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.  This is often true with most spring guns.  Oh, and the Air Arms have very nice polished blue steel, and decent wood.

Nice recommendations so far thanks! The HW guns may be beyond my price point for a new airgun but I will search locally used and the R7, R9 look like a decent bargain. The RWS 34 looks nice and simple like me, kinda Mauser/CZ like.

Keep em coming.

I just saw an old Baikal gun locally and very cheap that needs a missing nut for the barrel pivot screw.  Anybody have a US parts source? It’s would be a good plinker till I get a nicer gun.

I have been playing with a Gamo Varmint .177 rifle for a few months.  Now that I have the artillery hold down I can hit some really small targets easily.  Now I am starting into the rabbit hole of airgun mods and have a gas piston and new seals on the way and have an order in for a new trigger from charliedatuna.com for the Gamo.  Tonight I ordered a Crosman 1322 tonight to plink with since I need a pellet pistol too.  Now I need to fix my old RWS 94 and get it going!

I have been looking at the PCP big bore rifles but damn you can spend a lot of money on the whole setup.

I had a 1322 Medalist as a kid and loved that pistol so much I wore all the bluing off of it. It was very accurate. Wish I still had it.

Lol, I just ordered a 1322 last night!

You will find that there are many different interpretations and ideas of what "good" means in a spring airgun.  

I would use the HW77, HW97, and TX200, as the baseline standard and go from there, till somebody stops me with "the budget".

Probably better not ask me about scopes either...

If you have access to a dive tank compressor or if the local fire department is cooperative, I would also think about a decent PCP rig since you would get up the curve without mastering the hold required for a spring gun.

Diana 34 has worked for me.

Picked one of these Medalist up a year ago at a local thrift store for $7 and it needed a little cosmetic work but works fine and accurate. OP check your local pawn shops and LGS for high end air rifles. Found a Beeman RX-1 .20 cal and Fienwerkbau 124D .177 at my local LGS, guy wanted $400 for the Beeman and $275 for the FWB. After talking I managed to get the Beeman for $100 and the FWB for $75.

Been checking gun shops and pawn shops, got an old Baikal for $50 and the only other decent one I’ve seen is a Hatsan made Powerline 1000. Gonna keep looking though.

HW 98 one of the absolute best and prudy too.

Was out with one today. (.22) Was hitting 9mm cases at 25 yards using a Nikon ProStaff.  STELLAR gun and worth every penny.



Pic of said gun from a few years ago.

I have a Webley Patriot in .22 that is accurate, hard shooting and won't break the bank.

I just got a XS-25 SFB ,fully tuned for $185 delivered. so far it's a tack driver. See pics in my earlier post.

Boy, that is nice! Bull barrel is interesting, what’s the weight?

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Weihrauch_HW98_Air_Rifle/4402#8541

The specs show 8.6 lbs.

This is the default answer....world wide.

The RWS 34 is nice . . . really, really nice.
The Weihrauch HW95/Beeman R9 is nicer.

Personally, my favorite spring guns (out of about a dozen I own) are the Weihrauch HW50 (old version)/HW55/Beeman R8 variations. They don't shoot as hard/fast but they're better suited for basement target shooting. The match guns (I have a FWB300s and RWS 75) are a whole different experience. But overall, my Beeman R9 represents the best of the breed if you're looking for one gun to do it all. It really hits the sweet spot of power, firing behavior, weight, balance, etc.

The RWS 34 is simply a rock-solidly functional and reliable rifle. It will serve you extremely well for years (decades) to come. It's like an old pre-electronics Chevy with a 350 v8 engine. It just works. I've owned a few model 34s (as well as a couple of the stronger side-cocking 48/52 guns) and they've all been good guns.

In terms of a tactile experience (how it feels in the hands), the Weihrauchs are on a different level than the RWS guns. The precision of how they're put together may not translate to performance, but the Weihrauchs are more satisfying to use. The Rekord trigger of the HW guns is better than anything you're likely to use, short of a match trigger. Not everyone can appreciate the difference, but for those who can, it's unmistakable.

If you buy any of these German made guns, you'll soon get over the price. In all cases, it's money well spent. The Weihrauch will cost more than the RWS, but will likely return a greater reward on a personal level. You will not have the same reaction with any airgun you can buy at a big box store.

This right there above is pretty much my experience, except that the Air Arms TX 200 is a small step above Weihrauchs.  The TX 200 is heavier than even the Beeman R1, however, and for some it is quite heavy.  But, in my opinion, it is part of why it is such a sweet shooter.

Point of order, Dave . . . the OP asked about break barrels. The TX is not a break barrel . . . (yeah, I know, I mentioned the FWB300s and the RWS75 and they're not break barrels, either).

BTW, is the TX200 heavier than the R1? It probably is, but for some reason I never got along with the R1 and don't look back on the one I used to own with any regret. I really like my TX, but yeah, it's a steady muther.

I think it comes down to a Ford vs Chevy type deal.  I love the 34, it is just the all around perfect BB spring gun.

More like a Honda vs. Lexus sort of thing. Both are really good, but one is just a bit more refined.

As RegionRat said: just under 9 pounds.  A wonderful shooter.

It's actually the same barrel that's on an R9, but with a shroud. I know that's a fact because I bought just the shroud from Pyramyd Air and put it on my R9.

https://www.pyramydair.com/s/a/Weihrauch_HW98_Beeman_R11_Barrel_Sleeve/4455

Speaks the chevy driver

I grew up shooting an R1 .177.  Most people couldn’t shoot it worth a damn, but my brother and I killed hundreds (possibly thousands) of blackbirds as pre-teens, and knew how to hold it.  That gun still kills blackbirds, squirrels, and the occasional crow at my dad’s place (going on thirty years of service).  

Even though you specifically asked about break barrels, don’t discount a good condition HW77, HW99, or TX200.  My old school HW77 that was Venom Tuned back in the 90’s is still amazingly accurate if you know what you’re doing.  

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Wow, gorgeous.

Don't go cheap/low end on scopes with springer air rifles. My Beeman R1 has destroyed several. Seriously thinking about just staying with iron sights.

My Diana 54 slaughtered one of the "vaunted" (what a crock of shit) Hawke "recoil proof" scopes.  Which I knew it would.  

JB Hicock is right....put good money into your mount and optics.

I thought the 54 was recoilless.

There is still recoil, guess the easy way to say it is the "gun" part slides inside the "stock" part.  As the scope is mounted to the "gun" part it is going to take the full hit.  I have a 48, and it is a very hard shooting gun....sucker will really jump and that says a lot as the thing weighs a ton and a half....perhaps even a metric shit ton.

It is the only side cocker I have and that takes a bit of effort there as well.  It is not a gun for little Johnny's 12th birthday.

Yeah, I'm familiar with the 48/52. I've owned a couple of them. But I was surprised to read that a 54 tore up a scope. Again, my understanding was that it was a recoilless gun.

The 54 is recoiless in the same way the FWB300 S is recoiless.  The gun itself is not any different than the 48/52.  The way it mounts to the stock, is the different part.  Upon shooting the metal parts behave exactly the same way, but become essentially disconnected from the stock and it slide on rails that are mounted to the stock.  The scope will feel every bit of motion, and perhaps more since there is not the additional mass of the stock dampening things.

This right here.