Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm researching all of them.The HW95/R9 was looking promising but it requires tuning and maintenance that is outside of what is stated in the manual. That can be daunting since I've never taken an airgun apart (ie, "detail stripping"). I'm not an gunsmith. The same case for the Diana since they come dry and have to be detailed stripped and lubed. Maybe that grade of airgun is too much for my needs and skillset? I can admit that. Where does the Walther Terrus stand? Does it require extra maintaince or tuning to get it going? I was hoping for something mid-tier in the $200-$500 range, but it seems rifles in the mid-to-high tier range require a certain commitment and skill that I don't have yet. So maybe the lower tier of the <$200 is my best bet?
Quote from: Singh on December 29, 2018, 11:59:20 AMThanks all for the suggestions. I'm researching all of them.The HW95/R9 was looking promising but it requires tuning and maintenance that is outside of what is stated in the manual. That can be daunting since I've never taken an airgun apart (ie, "detail stripping"). I'm not an gunsmith. The same case for the Diana since they come dry and have to be detailed stripped and lubed. Maybe that grade of airgun is too much for my needs and skillset? I can admit that. Where does the Walther Terrus stand? Does it require extra maintaince or tuning to get it going? I was hoping for something mid-tier in the $200-$500 range, but it seems rifles in the mid-to-high tier range require a certain commitment and skill that I don't have yet. So maybe the lower tier of the <$200 is my best bet?I have both and no, they most certainly DO NOT "require" tuning. Tuning is something you do or have done because YOU choose to, NOT because it has to be. My 95 is straight out of the box, nothing done to it except a set of screw cups for the front stock screws and it's done nothing but get better the more I've shot it, WITHOUT EVER BEING TUNED. Will that spring break someday? Very likely at which point I'll look into having something done about it. My R9 is the same way although bought from a fellow forum member who did nothing to the gun but shoot a couple tins of pellets through it before he sold it to me and that rifle shoots just fine also, WITHOUT EVER BEING TUNED.Not going to apologize for the rant, just tired of seeing people say you can't possibly have a great shooting rifle without having it tuned before a single pellet is ever shot from it.
Good to hear. The R9 is back on the list. So my list so far, from least$ to most $:Crosman Summit Ranger NP2 with scope from Cabelas: $130Hatsan 95 with scope , $150Benjamin Summit NP2 Air Rifle with scope: $200.Benjamin Jim Shockey Steel Eagle NP Elite with scope $200XS-25 with full tune, Flying Dragon , total price $230 plus $100 for scope: $330Walther Terrus with scope, $330 RW95/R9 with scope $490Crosman: Dang, those are inexpensive. Assembled in the US like Benjamin, but cost less. How is that? Opinions?Hatsan: Pros: the Turks have a good rep for inexpensive, roughly finished, but good firearms (I'm not sure about airguns). Cons: QC is spotty.Benjamin: imported parts but assembled in the USA, so QC might be better than something from China or Turkey. Really decent prices. Opinions? Cons?XS-25: Pros: tuned, lubed, and inspected by a respected professional. Really inexpensive. Cons: it's still Chinese. Walther: Starter level german airgun. Wood stock looks pretty chintzy. Opinions?HW95/R9: Yeah, I'm leaning towards this one. Built like a tank. It seems to be simpler to maintain compared to Diana (and unlike Diana, they come lubed from the factory). Spare parts readily available. Lastly: how do all these compare to each other with regards to noise?
Which of these scopes, if any, are "combo" scopes?Some of you will know where I'm going with this.
The HW95/R9 is looking really good, but let's narrow down the list on the less expensive rifles. Steel Eagle dropped because it's a .22.Hatsan is dropped because Crosman/Benji can offer s similar rifle for around the same $ but without worries regarding roughness and QC issues.Revised list below by price category. Let's see if we can eliminate one each from the $200 and $300 categories. @$200 (Benjamin has the sound baffler, so is it that much quieter than the Crosman?)Crosman Summit Ranger NP2 with scope from Cabelas: $130Benjamin Summit NP2 Air Rifle with scope: $200.$300 (fully tuned Chinese rifle vs entry level German air rifle)XS-25 with full tune, Flying Dragon , total price $230 plus $100 for scope: $330Walther Terrus with scope, $330$400+ RW95/R9 with scope $490