I'm going to take care of the neighborhood starling problem. I need to know about powerful air rifles, and pellets, and tips and tricks your collective wisdom may offer.

I second the notion, i just moved to the country, but still have a couple neighbors, so daily blasting in my yard probally isn't a great idea, but i have been toying wiht the idea of a bird feeder and sniper action from the second story with my BB gun. only problem is my Crossman isn't too accurate, squirrels at 25yds yes, birds at 50, probally not.  I don't want to spend more than $200 for a setup, and don't really want a pumper, i'm thinking compressed CO2. Any suggestions?

What part of VA are you in? I'm actually going to spend most of the summer in Goshen, right next to the GW national forest. The bird feeder idea is precisley what I had in mind.  

Im near Smithfield, about an hour south of richmond.

You don't need a super powerful airgun for starlings, they are easy to kill. I think this is where a .177 really shines. Any airgun, like the Beeman R9 or BSA SuperSport, will flatten those pesky birds. Choose any pellet that shoots accurately. A good place to start would be Crossman Premiers (7.9gr). They are match grade,and hit like lightning on small critters.

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For a budget gun the Tech Force 38GD-w/ grooved receiver. That site has the best selection I've found. Check out the Airforce Talon.

Buy some good pellets-Beeman. Try some different types to see what the gun likes.

I would recommend a .22- just my personal preference.

I have found my Gamo hunter 440 with Beeman Crow Magnums work really well in .177. The Gamo Hunter advertises 1000 fps and is pretty darn accurate. Beeman pellets are very accurate too and the Crow Magnum pellets are hollow points. This combination has taken alot of birds in my area and one squarel.Check out [url]http://www.airgunsusa.com/[/url] for a good supply of pellets. Airguns are alot of fun.

Check out Benjamin pellet rifles or Sheridan pellet rifles.  The Benjamin comes in .177 and .22 while the Sheridan comes in .20.  I have had a Benjamin .22 for about 16 years now and it is still shoots as well as it did the day I got it.  If you get a Benjamin/Sheridan get the pump model.

I just picked up a BSA Supersport for rabbits and blackbirds.  $200 from Sharpshooter.com  I highly recommend it.

Tom

I have always been partial to the RWS rifles.  They're kinda pricey, but they're accurate.

For the last couple of years I ran a food grade warehouse.  This warehouse had to be kept free of birds or you would flunk an inspection.

I used a $99 Airgun that was made by Crossman.  It only used .177cal pellets, and fired them at about 650 fps.  It only required one cock of the barrel to "charge" and each pellet was single loaded into the breech.

It shot very well.  I could get 1" groups easily at about 60'.  (60' was about the maximum range, because it is hard to see a brown sparrow in a dark warehouse).
I took down numerous sparrows, a few starlings and a wayward dove.

600 fps is plenty fast enough for small birds.  I used hunting points for awhile, but the things would zip right through the sparrow, and he would fly away only to fall dead after about 3 seconds of flying.  I started using the heavier round points, and they did better.

Other warehouses in our business use a smoothbore .22 with bird shot.  I used one one time, but it was too easy, and decided on a rifle.

I agree.  They also have a lifetime warranty that covers every moving part.  An RWS is what I am using currently to rid of a few starlings in my neighborhood.  

My Daisy Powerline 880 spits out pellets at 665fps and it is plenty accurate at 15yds or so.  Why shoot at 50 yards when you can get a lot closer?  I've dispatched numerous squirrels with an 880.  I even nailed a small bat in my house last week (wings folded up, it would fit crosswise in the palm of my hand).  I use regular wadcutters, since the pointed ones go straight through.