Updated, bought this and some accessories.

Air Venturi Avenger in .22




think the list says it all. I'll follow up with some candidates. Note the two priorities: quiet and reliable.

¦ Budget:
•$400 to $700 for rifle (but it’s only money)
•$300 more for tanks and accessories
•$200 to $400 for scope and mount(s)

¦ Type of Gun
•PCP

¦ Shooting Scenarios and Ranges
•Backyard plinking 10y to 40y
•Pesting game: 10y to 40y
•Target shooting (not competitively) up to 40y
•Will take outside of house and shoot. Probably 80m or less.
¦ Basic Shape & Size of Gun
•Prefer some of the more compact rifles
oLooked at Benjamin Akela and kind of like the bullpup

¦ Style of Gun
•Synthetic - Composite stock OK
•Laminate stock OK
•Wood stock OK but prefer other two options

¦ Power and Caliber
•Either .177 or .22 (probably .22)
•Power needs (FPE)– nothing drastic
•Not decided on regulated or unregulated. If I shoot low FPE I should get a good 30-40 shot string before loss of power.
•If regulated, external adjustment

¦ Specific Features
•Right-handed shooter but ambi is fine
•Weight should be normal to less than normal
•Reliable is high on list
•Lever action semi
•Backyard quiet is high on list
•Standard mag capacity 8-15 or what is stock.

Benjamin Marauder in .22 with a Vortex scope.

This compressor and get a hose extension and some silicone grease.

GX CS2 Portable PCP Air... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYRS15R?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Well, here is what I did (looked for advice on an air gun site also).

The Maurader is highly recommended, but I wanted something a bit lighter and regulated. I will start with this and know for certain a $1200+ PCP will be in my future.

Air Venturi Avenger in .22


and the following: 0 DB suppressor with adaptor, Four Uncles pump. I am working with a local shop to buy a bottle and air from but that's a bit out. Might keep an eye out for a compressor in the future. I don't shoot enough right now to warrant.

Awesome, they have a great reputation. Let us know what you think when you get it dialed in.

I have a MROD that’s 6 years old and it’s been a great gun. If the avenger was  being made when I bought mine I would probably have one. I’m a hand pumper and air efficiency is so much better.

I think this will be the beginning. I have caught myself using my tripod more now with my PCP’s than my high powered precision rifles. Have fun 🤠

I spent hours today understanding regulators, hammer springs, how to adjust, best settings...

All without the gun yet. But being my first I wanted to learn. Steve from AEAC is just one cool dude!
He did a whole video (1.5 hours) on the gun including various settings. That and Hard Air Magazine have giving me a lot of info.

Looking forward to setting it up in the coming week.

This is Steves vid on the Avenger...

I am up and running.
Hand pumping now and it's not the best. Have ordered a compressor.

Got the scope mounted with the correct ring height (1" center of ring to base). Score is a Hawke 4-16x42.

Everything torqued and it took three shots to zero.

Pics of setup including a Buck Rail moderator.

You’re going to love that thing. What compressor did you end up going with?

X2! It’s as much fun shooting different weights and styles of pellets as developing reloads.

Bought the Yong Heng as recommended on Air Gun Nation.

Will follow their set up and use instructions. Delivery on Saturday. Getting the Royal Purple iso 100 recip compressor oil from NAPA this week.

I went with an eBay seller they suggested. Only hoping it’s a real YH.

I guess a carbon bottle is next.

Still having a ball with the Avenger, and two other springers.

The Avenger is total geek gun. It has a regulator (how much PSI for each shot) and a hammer spring (how much the hammer will hit the valve and release that PSI)...

I have a hand pump, compressor, and now a brand new SCBA tank. Air is not an issue, but hand pumping is quite easy with a gun like this (180 cc).

I bought a really cool chrony on Amazon for $33
Here

So now I have ran all my rifles through the chrony and have baseline info. On Avenger I am running what is called an eco tune (1500 psi, 1.5 turns in on hammer sprint).
Details below. Yesterday I decided to increase hammer spring to 2. The data showed no increase in FPS but my groups went way down... WAY down to one hole on paper at 20 yards.

I'll keep the eco tune for now as my range only goes to 30 yards in my backyard. Will go out this spring and shoot longer with different settings.
The chrony defaults to MPS but I built a quick excel spreadsheet to convert all to FPS and FPE (foot lb of energy). Having a ball.

From an article on Gateway to airguns, it's as accurate as $180 chronys.

If nothing else, you have a baseline for what you fun is shooting.

This thread cost me over $1k.  I ordered the bullpup version, pellets, donnyfl moderator and adaptor.  Also got a compressor from Amazon.  Going to slap on a spare 10x scope I have.  

Stupid arfcom.

I feel your pain... The bullpup would be cool, looking at an Akela now but might do the "Daystate" buy once, cry once route.

They are fun, now go spend another $33 on a chronograph. The moderator works very well on this pellet rifle. It's a really bad habit, but I can shoot every day!

I have the same one. .25 caliber.
  Love it. Powerful. Quiet. Etc.
     Right when it started to get cold here in Wisconsin I noticed point of impact would change day to day fresh air fill vs left full from day before.
    I haven’t looked into it yet because too cold outside to shoot anyway.

I guess first define your budget.  Benjamin makes some great stuff for their price point.  There is cheaper Chinessium stuff available.  If you want stuff nicer, there is German stuff as well.   I kind of want either an FX or an Edgun (but I don't see many of them marketed anymore).

I am spoiled I have several PCP's.  Then the next question is what do you want to do with it.  If you want accuracy or power.  I have an AirForce (junk - ok cruel, but lowest tech of any I own and I don't know what hole I have stashed it in).  Air Arms (ok maybe one.  It was a CZ marketed first by Daisy, then by Air Arms), a Benjamin, an Alpha Proj (damn nice), and 2 HW (fucking sweet).

I also have several non - PCP's that are sweeter.  I have a FWB and danm - too drunk to recall, Ok Tau - awesome trigger on a CO2.  Some of this shit is beyond imagination on how good triggers can be.
---
Newest addition to the pile - a russian SSP.  It has been marketed as a BiCal, IZH, and now Air Venturi.  I think the Russian Company is called Apha.  Still Jone'ing a FX and a high power (most of the FX do not hit the Texas ft lb's for hunting yet.  

You made the statement that airforce is junk.

As someone who is looking into getting an air gun why should the airforce guns be passed over?

I have one (Condor). It is not air efficient and not sexy but it makes a lot of power (.25 tuned is equivalent to standard velocity. 22lr). For longer range hunting or target practice it is great, not so much for volume shooting or short range urban backyard type use. Different tools for different tasks and all that.

I got a Benjamin Maurader and an Airforce Talon at roughly the same time (within a few weeks of each other, IIRC got the Talon and then found a deal on a referb MRod that I could not refuse.

The MRod has a near precision trigger - the Airforce was meh.  IIRC the Mrod was more air efficient, accurate, and quiet (not to mention the MRod is magazine fed - so it is much more fun to shoot).  What I really liked about the Talon is it could be converted to CO2 - accept never managed to get it to not leak with the AirForce CO2 adapter.   They just were on different levels of performance.  The only thing I really preferred on the Talon was the form factor.

Now in all honesty, I don't shoot either much.  The Mrod is fun, within it's limits - but it's limits are still under 50 yards.  Groups just want to start opening up past that - but 50 yards is not bad for an air rifle.  My HW is a level or 2 nicer than the Mrod - but it's price shows that.  Kind of want to get an FX - but in all honesty, I doubt it would have much on the FX - The HW is a dream gun.  Beautiful in form and function.  FX might (big might) have a little better function (especially when you consider they have larger calibers) - but it is simply not a traditionally beautiful wood stocked gun.  Kind of not hand polished by little old German grandmothers.

I wanted something similar 10-40 yards for targets and small game.  I wound up going with the Umarex Notos. So far I am pleased with it.  After I finish Paramedic school I plan on working to get an FX.

You won't regret the Daystate, they are awesome guns.

@outdoorgb
How is the cheap chrono holding up? I've got a Avenger Bullpup inbound and a cheap chrono would be nice for tuning it.

Used it in November. Repeated what I found last summer… but is it accurate?

I’m an engineer so my brain says, how are calibrating this? I sleep well, it’s cheap and a base line.