I'm looking to move into a better class of airgun, but don't want to break the bank so to speak. My girls (twins) are a lefty and a righty and I need to up thier practice behind a scope and trigger.Our backyard is the perfect place to practice in.  

First hurdle is 177 cal or 22 cal.

Two Air-rifle choices I have been researching are..
#1 is the Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk .177 Caliber Air Rifle (available in 22cal also) I'm leaning towrds this rifle. Here are the specs
#2 is the Beeman Grizzly X2  comes with 2 barrels a 177 cal and a 22 cal. Specs here

Thoughts or suggestions?

I am employed by Crosman.. Know that up front>

If you are only target shooting, go with .177.  If you are planning on shooting any critters, go with .22.  .177 will be cheaper to shoot.

on Beeman 2 barrel set, novelty might wear off after a bit.  not sure you'll retain 0 from barrel swap.

I would consider crosman or benjamin with the Nitro piston or even Gamo with IGT.
Benjamin Titan is a lot of gun for the money as well..

I have the Beeman with the .177, and.22 barrels.

I prefer .22 cal myself, because I also use my air rifles for hunting. I've got a Benjamin 392 (22 cal) with a Crosman 64 peep sight and it is a very accurate gun. I've also got a Crosman 1377 (.177) with a stock and scope mount, that's a fun little gun.

22 gives you more versatility.  I would look at the RWS 34 in that caliber.   Beeman just relabels and resells other brands.

1) go .177 and don't look back. Much cheaper pellets and higher velocity/flatter trajectory with the same power plant. .177 is better for targets and is fine for killing starlings, crows, and similar pests.  

2) Only cry once. Either save up longer and get a Beeman R-7 or try to find a used R-7 that is in your budget. You won't be sorry. Its the best light break barrel springer on the planet.

3) Regardless of caliber, spring piston guns work better with light for caliber pellets. Select 8gr+/- instead of 10gr+/- in .177

4) Domed pellets are the best general purpose choice. The good ones are as accurate as the match wadcutters and they hold their velocity better.

5) Did you consider CO2? They are louder, but are easier to learn to shoot (no reverse recoil to deal with) and minimal cocking effort compared to a springer. The Chinese made QB-78 is a close copy of the classic Crosman Model 167 that hasn't been made in decades. Quality can be variable, but if you get it from an airgun tuner instead of a discount place you will eliminate the variable quality issue. These things are less $$ than the guns you are considering, but if I couldn't afford an R-7, I'd rather have a QB-78 from a reliable source than an inexpensive springer.

Thanks Tubby,

I'm pretty much sold on 22cal.  and ill read up on the RWS.  I'm going to purchase whatever I go with next week.

Great avatar!

Hi Brazos',
Thanks for the knowledge. That Beeman is much more than I'm willing to lay out for. But you never know I might get bitten by the bug and become OCD with air rifles
I live rural so the availability of a local rechargable source for co2 canisters is un-available. So the rifle could be renderd inoperable for periods of time until I make it into the big city.

The high end CO2 guns, like the Benjamin Marauder, are bulk fill only. But more pedestrian CO2 guns like the QB-78 use a pair of ordinary disposable 12 gram CO2 powerlets. These are sold at any place that sells BB's, pellets, or airsoft ammo. Place like Academy Sports and Walmart in boxes of 5, 15, 25, or 40 powerlets. The 40 powerlet box is about $20. The price for the QB-78 start about $90. You should get about 50-60 shots from a pair of powerlets. Pellet selection for CO2 guns is the opposite of springers. CO2 guns generally work a little better with heavier pellets like the Crosman Premier Heavy .177 Cal, 10.5 Grains, domed pellets

like most things firearms related, you get what you pay for. I'll second saving up for a beeman R-7. I have a beeman R-9 (a little larger, heavier, more powerful than R-7) and it's a sweet shooter. there are also plenty of people who will "tune" your spring piston rifle to make it ever better (more powerful, less powerful, noisier, quieter etc...). of course it just costs more money...

And if it hasn't been mentioned to you before, if you're going to scope a spring-piston air rifle, make sure you get one rated for springers. The recoil from these rifles will eat up a regular scope quickly. No joke.

have fun!

That's a PCP, not CO2.

I had a .177 Gamo CF-X a few years back. Really bad trigger feel but the rifle was accurate enough for me (dime @ 50 feet every time). I shot the hell out of it until the spring guide blew apart in the cylinder.

Now I have a RWS 52 in .22. The rifle is heavy, and the cocking effort seems significantly more (I think manufacturers publish data for this), but the rifle has a much better trigger and finish. Just as, if not more accurate. The 52 is relatively expensive, though there is a more basic model (without checkering, etc.) called the 48 that is less expensive.

Im leaning towards the Nitro Gas System power plant.

Both Benjamin's Marauder and their Discovery are "Dual Fuel" and are designed to run on either CO2 or compressed air.

Interesting.

RWS 34 in 22

/thread..

Went with the venom..Very happy with it This is a beast! well built . I'm in the process of breaking it in...Thanks for all the input

Congrats. Enjoy

forget about all this other junk!  Daystate Mk4 Panther FTW! Only 2700.00.  You know you want to shoot some pellets if you buy that damn thing.

<http://www.precisionairgunsandsupplies.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=daystatepanther>