I know most had a BB gun, but I am referring to the Air guns for hunting.
Everything from .177 and up.

a few years ago, I had a rodent pest problem.
After some reading, So off to the store to get a new pellet rifle.

Ended up with a Gamo Varmitter .177.
I must say I had fun with this little rifle. ( I think more than the kids did).
Sit on the deck and just wait.

unfortunately, it does have it's limitations.
so I moved up to a gamo whisper fusion elite .22.
Again I have had fun. With the right pellets, it is accurate and hard hitting in the 30-40 range ( probably better if got better glass for it.)

I like that it hits hard, but unlike a .22 rim fire ( don't have to worry about extreme over penetration, beyond the target.)

Anyway, I enjoy the off season shooting with it. So I have decided to upgrade into higher end Air Rifles and move away from the springer break barrels.

I know I can research it until my fingers bleed and brain cells ooze out.
So ,just seeing if there are any out there playing the game with the air rifles.

After visiting several forums, watching numerous videos of folks making 100-150 yard lethal shots on pigeons, rats, ground hogs, etc.... I am intrigued

More $$$ spent on air guns (not the Wal Mart variety) than on the powder burners here.  They are fantastic if you go top shelf and get to know their internal workings.

This is what I have found out in my research.
I know I will be stepping away from the "toys" at the box stores, and moving into serious equipment.
as I said, I am intrigued.

Have to pay to play in the big league.

I do not believe I will venture into anything bigger than a .22.
As with most things, it starts as a hobby and turns into an obsession.

so I am now into the listen to others, tell me what you have. The Pros and Cons of what you have.
mistakes made, lesson learned, etc.......

Apparently, air gunning is just not as popular in my area as other parts of the country.

I grew up with powder burners, but once I picked up a Bow, I was hooked! Which led to a life long passion.
if someone told be the amount of money I would spend over the years, I would of laughed at them. But, the truth is the truth.

You might find some help in the Airgun forum. It's under "Armory"

Thank You.
I had previously read your Info post. I learned quite a lot.
( one of your posts, may of changed my mind about quitting the springers).
I May just upgrade from my Gamo rifles. ( as I said, I know they are cheap, bought to play with, let kids try).
they do take some getting used to. Definitely fun to bring to hunting camp and have friendly competitions, loser has to do the dishes. I have watched many "so called expert shooters/snipers" start cussing because they can't hit something with a pellet rifle.

I figured I would post it here, to get any input from guys using for hunting.

i will fall into the first group of your info post. - backyard pinker, pest shooter.

Springers aren't for everybody. They're definitely a bit harder to shoot well, and consistently. For a lot of folks, the pre-charged pneumatics make more sense. They're certainly less hold-sensitive and a lot easier on scopes than the springers.

FWIW, I've owned a couple of Benjamin Marauders. Both I sold fairly soon after getting them. Part of my problem was that I never had a really good way to charge them. The first time, I borrowed a SCUBA tank, but it was only a 2,800 psi tank. There simply wasn't enough capacity to that tank to get many good fills on the Marauder. The second time I tried the hand pump. What a royal pain in the ass. I never wanted to shoot the gun because I knew I was going to have to pump the damn thing back up.

The other thing I didn't like about the Marauder was that it simply didn't have the same level of quality as the German guns I was used to. Once you've shot a Weihrauch Rekord trigger, or an FWB match gun, it's pretty hard to settle for the squishy trigger on the Marauder. I can handle a so-so trigger on a firearm but on an airgun, I expect perfection. I also found the magazines to be a bit fiddly.

If I were ever going to try a PCP again, it would be a European gun with a fine trigger. Also, I'd want a good high pressure tank. Problem is, there isn't any place in my town to have a tank filled above about 3,000 psi. Maybe a fire station would fill a 3,500-4,000 psi tank, but the local dive shops can't do it. They can only handle SCUBA tanks.

Bottom line for me is that I no longer shoot airguns often enough to mess with all the crap that goes along with the PCP guns*. It's so much easier to grab a springer and shoot. If you've read my primer, you know I'm a fan of low-powered guns. Most of my airgun shooting is indoors 10-meter paper punching. If you're shooting outdoors at longer distances or taking game, the big PCP guns have a lot to offer.

(* I do have an old Co2 match pistol and I fill that from a 15-pound fire extinguisher tank. That bottle of gas will last me forever with that match pistol. I can get about 150 shots every time I gas up the gun.)

PCP guns are what you seek, but they are expensive to get into........you will need a 4500psi air source of some type.  I am fortunate to have several available locally, including a friend that actually bought a compressor that we fill our carbon fiber tanks with.  I have an FX Wildcat in .25, it gets lots of exercise this time of year on squirrels.  Hunted with it just yesterday afternoon.  Before that, it was a .22 EdGun single shot.  Went to .25cal in order to deal with heavier early season vegetation that easily deflects .22 pellets.  Hunting with "just a pellet gun" opens up a lot of local hunting opportunities, landowners just don't want to deal with the liability of shotguns or .22 rimfires.  That's why I don't just go with a suppressed .22 rimfire.  The shrouded (suppressed) air guns also don't booger up the woods with noise, letting us get in more shooting at unspooked game.  I tend to shoot my airgun much more than any of my powder burners because of the greater range of hunting opportunities I have with it.

Yup. Make the plunge into the PCP world! It’s worth it. Once your set up that is. Lol.

I bought a talon ss in .22 for shooting gophers in our (at the time) over populated front yard. Which faces the hwy.  figured be safer than .22lr towards the road.

My old man said I was stupid for spending the money. He was with at the store.

Got home started shooting. After 20 or so shots from me-him, and the wife. He stood up and drove back to the store and bought his own!

Then I got a .177 for the wife.

Tried hand pump literally 1 time. Nope!

Got scuba tank filled at local pellet gun place where the old lady never bothered with pressure check dot crap and didn’t care that I didn’t have a scuba license(scuba places here require it?)

Years later the old lady is gone and new people want to recertification my tanks which is $50? Each and gone for two weeks?

So on a whim I bought a China compressor. $300 and surprisingly works amazing!!!!  So now I’m shooting the thing everyday not worrying about air lol.

Anyway talon ss or condor ss etc. are great USA pcp guns. Texas or Arizona made.

Down side is they are single shot. Other than that they are great!

Sooooo quiet! You can shoot at a chipmunk slightly miss and he won’t runaway because he didn’t hear anything!

Roughly 1” groups at 50yds if good pellets and dialed in.

I’ve taken rabbits with head shots at 50yds already.

My old man (79) sits on the porch shooting black birds all day.

I do drool over the higher end ones though.

Sorry so long, I love talking about pcp with new air gunners.