I don't notice any significant difference between fixed and break barrel accuracy, because the biggest difference by far is how consistent I hold the darn things. Both designs seem very accurate, but if I put a little more pressure on the pistol grip than the previous shot, I get a flyer. I hate how hard I have to work to be accurate with my springers. They are all "hold sensitive". I think debating the difference in accuracy between fixed and break barrel springers is ignoring the elephant in the room. It's worrying about maybe a 5 percent accuracy difference, while the hold sensitivity issue is maybe a 50 percent difference. Doesn't really make sense to worry about the 5 percent difference unless you are into serious competition target shooting and already dealt with the 50 percent problem.
I have a fairly large air gun collection, around 100 or so, PCP's, break barrels, fixed barrels, spring and piston rifles. Some of my rifles are expensive and some are not. All of my rifles are scoped, with the exception of perhaps 10 or 12 of em. Most of my shooting is 40 yards and under and I primarily use my air guns for small game hunting. I agree with you that fixed barrel rifles do have a slight edge in accuracy, but I find my break barrels (spring and piston) are basically just as accurate in my shooting. As for the "artillery hold"..... perhaps it's just my personal style of shooting but I've never been a big fan of it. Instead I prefer to the same "traditional" hold that I use on my PB's. My guns will consistently give me ragged hole groups, or darn close to it, as long as I do my part and that works out well for my small game hunting. I have some guns that will shoot a large variety of pellets exceptionally well and then I have guns that will only shoot well with perhaps 1 or 2 kinds of pellets, but once I do my testing and find the right combination my break barrel rifles will hold their own alongside my fixed barrels and PCP's for my hunting needs. Jeff
If I had a hundred, I could never decide which one to shoot.On another note....I like the ease of use factor and generally lighter weight of break barrels. But I do think the side and underlever rifles look nice.