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Decoyz · New Member

New to the forum and look forward to learning more. I grew up shooting Daisy and Crosman bb guns and see there are new names in the marketplace I'm not familiar with.

I'm having some problems with squirrels in my backyard that I need to take care of. Most shots would be no more than 30 feet but I want to make sure I get something accurate and powerful enough to get it done with one shot and not "surprise" the neighbors. What is an good entry level gun recommended for around $150?

Thank you in advance!

oddtodd · Silver Status Member

I would recommend one of the crosman break barrels. You can buy them at walmart for around 120-150. They all use basically the same powerplant with different dressings. The storm and quests are pretty much the same rifle with different scopes. The quest 1000xt has a nice scope and the stormxt has a cheaper but still nice scope. I have the storm myself.

The nitro venom dusk is also a pretty decent one too. Ask Jr. Squirreler about that one. He is the sponsored hunter on the forum. The Beeman RS2 is also a good rifle. Don't buy the dual barrel setup at walmart though. Nobody I've talked to about that one has liked it.

There is a bunch of crosmans in this price range and you can't go wrong with any of them. At least I don't think so, and most of the people on here like them. My personal opinion is to stay away from gamo. THey lie about velocities, they make totally irresponsible advertising, and they didn't back up the warranty work on the one I owned. Most guys on here will tell you that they are okay, but I personally think they are junk because of the one I owned.

Just stick with a break barrel crosman or Beeman RS2 and you will be fine. Thumb Up! v2

Let us know what you end up with and lots of pics too!

EDIT: Whatever you do, don't call them BB guns around here. They are air rifles. lol BBs are pretty much out for any of the good rifles and mostly only pistols and Red Ryders are using them now. If you ran a BB down any of the new rifled break barrels you would ruin it in short order if not jam them up completely.

Jr. Squirreler · Veteran Member

Thanks for the Intro Todd Wink

Yes. For about $150, you may want to look at the either the Crosman Quest 100x, or the Crosman Phantom 1000x. (Quest is Wood, Phantom is synthetic) They are just about the same in Velocity, however I favor the Phantom in Accuracy.

If you do want to stretch to about $200, you could look at the Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk. It is an excellent Air Rifle for Plinking, Hunting, and just all around fun. I actually wrote a Blog entry for Crosman about the Nitro Venom if you would like to check it out! http://www.crosman.com/croswords/?p=1901

If you do have any questions on any Crosman Air Rifles, you could PM me. Since I am sponsored by them, I will most likely know the answer. If not, I could actually ask a representative and have the answer in a matter of a day.

If you do choose to purchase a Crosman Air Rifle, take %10 off your purchase on Crosman.com using this Coupon Code! JRSQLR

Jr. Squirreler · Veteran Member

ZanderPommo · Member

Haha hopefully you mean you hate GAMO?

oddtodd · Silver Status Member

Jr, you can get the venom dusk for 149.99 at walmart.com. I found that out when I was looking up prices. I know it's supposed be more, but that's what it's listed at.

http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=venom+dusk&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0

Jr. Squirreler · Veteran Member

Jr. Squirreler · Veteran Member

Decoyz · New Member

Thanks for the input everyone. If I decided to invest a little more and look at the Nitro Venom, I noticed the .22 cal and .177 cal are the same price. Any major difference in shooting characteristics? Would the .22 cal be quieter?

Also, I noticed Wal-Mart has a Crosman Phantom for $78. Is this the same gun referenced earlier?

Thanks again!

Jr. Squirreler · Veteran Member

one shot · Member

My Powerline 880S consistently does the job at 27yds but most of my shots are around 15yds. I got it refurbished for $30 at a local store. You need to use good pellets or you won't get good accuracy past 10yds. I had much improvement with RWS Superdomes over the Crosman Destroyers.

6 pumps will kill birds(close/medium range) and 10 pumps will kill squirrels, sometimes with less pumps too. You don't have to worry about loud noise with it and it gets the job done since it's not hard to shoot like springers. So much in fact that I don't even use my springer anymore!

BBgunNoob · Veteran Member

if you go with the crosman 100 dollar riffle i highly suggest a gr3 trigger mod

oddtodd · Silver Status Member

It does make a really big difference.

one shot · Member

There are huge differences between identical models. Some will have a trigger pull that has a sticky click where you have to pull hard, and others like the one I currently have where it's smooth and trigger pull is much lighter. It's not as smooth as my Air Hawk which is under 3lbs trigger pull but when you pull slow and steady it's accurate. When you get in a hurry and pull fast is when you're going to miss. Just check the one you get and make sure the trigger is to your liking, and make sure the pump handle stays in place after you cock it since some of them don't stay in place sometimes. Some of them are quiet when you pump them and some are loud when the handle shuts against the rifle.

If you get one with any of those problems just return it for a better one. I've had 3 over the years and only 1 of them had those problems.

viper2788 · Member

i, too, can vouch for the crosman venom. i got the hardwood version in .22 and its perfect for hunting anything within the 50yd range(not that it couldnt accomplish farther). $160 shipped from pyramid air... and frankly i think its good enough as is out of the box. i will be upgrading to the grt3 trigger eventually, but the stock trigger really isnt as bad as some say. been using crosman premier hollow points and polymag predators.. switching off didnt matter at 50 yds.

honestly, i think this is a great buy. i usually stay away from fresh, new products... but this is a different case. crosman used the same nitro piston from their more expensive($250-300) air guns, and im assuming its got the same break barrel technology as well. im sure this thing will hold up just fine compared to the remington npss or benjamin trail... just $100 cheaper. well good luck on you choice!