I give up! A rant from a ticked off noob.

[RedFeather]

Me, I would avoid the cheaper pumpers.  I doubt that they have very good triggers and cannot be upgraded or improved like the current Benjamins.  There is nothing worse than fighting a truly bad trigger.  If you are just into short range shooting, you might look for a good used Diana 24 with the adjustable trigger.  (Got to ask the seller if the trigger has any screws in it since Diana used trigger guards with an an access hole for direct sear triggers, too.)  Even the direct sear guns are pretty decent once you get used to them.  I have two and they are extremely easy to cock and shoot.  You can literally go all day.  Ditto for some of the earlier Norica models like the 73 (also seems to have been sold as the Beeman Falcon [not the PCP Falcon gun]) or the 80G.  Both have very good triggers and take little effort to cock.  I think these are all in the 600 fps range in .177.  The 80G was an entry level target rifle and is very accurate, too.

Just got to wondering, what, exactly do you want to do with your gun?  If it is solely short distance target shooting and birds, then a 500 - 600 fps gun in .177 will serve you well enough.  Most birds can be easily taken out to thirty yards or so with the guns I recommended.  I really wouldn't do squirrels with them.  If you want more punch, like anticipating doing a bit of larger game hunting or longer range, you will need something in the neighborhood of what you already have.  Regarding the cocking, there's no free lunch with those.  Consider that something like a Kodiak, what I call an ultra-magnum, is well over fifty pounds.

[Will403536]

I probably wouldn't shoot further than 40yd, and probably nothing larger than a bird/squirrel, but I definitely want the power of a Nitro Venom.

I think I will just bite the bullet and learn the way of the break-barrel...

[RedFeather]

You'll be glad you did.  Make you a better shot all around.  And that's "Bite the pellet", my man. 

[farrlarr]

I think I will just bite the bullet and learn the way of the break-barrel...

You'll be glad you did.  Make you a better shot all around.  And that's "Bite the pellet", my man. 

No matter what you are biting, the Zen of the break-barrel will ultimately reveal itself to you!  Be patient and diligent, grasshopper.

[Will403536]

Got a Phantom this time. Half the price of a Nitro Venom, and is a proven and well-reputed product.

I've been doing much better with it, and the ironsights, but sometimes I do wish I could see the target a little more clearly with 3x or 4x mag. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap scope and mounts from WalMart some day.

Observations:
-I can put 3 pellets through 1 ragged hole at 10yd, but my accuracy drops off dramatically at 20yd. Possibly due to my own vision, and not achieving the exact same sight picture each time.
-I shoot better withOUT artillery hold--I think it's due to more grip on the rifle allowing for cleaner follow-through when I'm not using the artillery hold.
-The spring loudness is about the same as an NP, maybe 10% "louder" to my ears, at most. Definitely not the 70% number Crosman's marketing team computed with their third-party science lab.
-NP does cock and shoot smoother, but I only hear the difference, not feel it.
-The cheap plastic open sights work fine, but I don't like them. If i push on them, they do indeed have a little wiggle/flex.

Hope this helps out some other noobies.