Clod Weather Hunting Springer or gas ram under $300? Which is best?

[Skunkarue62]

Really trying to find a good springer under the $300 price point, not including a scope or mounts, for a cold winter hunting gun. Many of the guns I am considering are the diana 34p, diana 340 n tech, gamo swarm and, the gun I am leaning toward, the hatsan 95 qe vortex. These are just a few of the options that seemed to have good ratings out of all of the guns I looked at. Basically what Im looking for is a gun that has great consistent accuracy at 30-40 yards, has preferably a synthetic stock, weighs around 7 lbs,no barrel droop, in .22 cal, and will preform well in the cold. (20 degrees F minimum) Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. If any of you own the exact gun mentioned, especialy the .22 hatsan 95 vortex qe please tell me how it groups and preforms in the cold.

[BenjiHunter]

I would go with the Diana 34p. It's reliable, accurate and not that heavy.

[Big Rick]

I have a 95QE in .25 and have never noticed a loss of power in cold weather. I live in the northern lower peninsula (tip of the mitt) of Michigan.

[Roadworthy]

Your best value will be the Diana.  Mine is a .177 and it will put ten shots inside a dime at twenty yards.  It has ventilated a ground squirrel's head at forty.  It's not a current production model.  It's seventeen years old and the original spring and seal are fine.

[joek]

Something from Diana, HW or Walther at that price point

[Nomadic Pirate]

Benjamin NP2

[Skunkarue62]

I would go with the Diana 34p. It's reliable, accurate and not that heavy.

I would love to get a Diana but I am not sure how it will preform in the extreme cold and I don't like the fact that it has barrel droop. I know this can be compensated for by a mount but many of these cost $30. Id rather just use the mounts from my last gun.

[Skunkarue62]

Benjamin NP2

Not looking for a benjuman or Grossman want better quality.

[SteveP-52]

Whether it's the "best" or not boils down to personal opinion and if you've been reading on here long enough, you'll find they vary and greatly and that's a very good thing because with a forum with 14,000+ members and counting, you'll get real world opinions from real world shooters, not just whatever reviews a particular air gun retail site chooses to post hoping to boost sales.

That being said, I have one of the rifles in your original post, the Hatsan Mod 95 QE Vortex QE .22. The days I originally had it out for chrony testing and sighting in the scope were only mid 30's, not the 20ish degree weather you asked about, but the rifle performed very well at least in my opinion and you can read the thread I started on the rifle here: https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=134411.20
The scopes they come with leave a lot to be desired and most fail inside the first 500 shots or so, but it already sounds like you're planning for something better than it comes with and if it's the rifle you finally settle on getting, MidwayUSA still has a few on sale currently for $159.99 which if you can get one will save you quite a bit towards that better scope. The only box it doesn't check on your list of wants is a synthetic stock. Here's the link if you want to look and if they still do it, they give first time buyers setting up a new account an extra 10% off their first order, so you might be able to save a little more: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/354631/hatsan-model-95-vortex-qe-break-barrel-air-rifle-pellet-walnut-stock-with-scope-3-9x-32mm-matte

If a synthetic stock is something you you really want, you might consider taking a look at the Hatsan Model 87QE Vortex.
Same basic rifle as the 95 only with a synthetic stock that has the bonus of an adjustable cheek riser and the safety is a different style than the 95, but I own 2 of them, one in .177 and now a .25 caliber that just got delivered this week that has yet to be fully tested other than the 20 or so shots I took when it got here to make sure everything was working.
Hope the above helps at least a little and you're more than welcome to send me a private message if you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer any you might have.

[DanD]

In my experience Dianas are higher quality and generally more accurate than Hatsans, and easy to work on.

[Skunkarue62]

Whether it's the "best" or not boils down to personal opinion and if you've been reading on here long enough, you'll find they vary and greatly and that's a very good thing because with a forum with 14,000+ members and counting, you'll get real world opinions from real world shooters, not just whatever reviews a particular air gun retail site chooses to post hoping to boost sales.

That being said, I have one of the rifles in your original post, the Hatsan Mod 95 QE Vortex QE .22. The days I originally had it out for chrony testing and sighting in the scope were only mid 30's, not the 20ish degree weather you asked about, but the rifle performed very well at least in my opinion and you can read the thread I started on the rifle here: https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=134411.20
The scopes they come with leave a lot to be desired and most fail inside the first 500 shots or so, but it already sounds like you're planning for something better than it comes with and if it's the rifle you finally settle on getting, MidwayUSA still has a few on sale currently for $159.99 which if you can get one will save you quite a bit towards that better scope. The only box it doesn't check on your list of wants is a synthetic stock. Here's the link if you want to look and if they still do it, they give first time buyers setting up a new account an extra 10% off their first order, so you might be able to save a little more: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/354631/hatsan-model-95-vortex-qe-break-barrel-air-rifle-pellet-walnut-stock-with-scope-3-9x-32mm-matte

If a synthetic stock is something you you really want, you might consider taking a look at the Hatsan Model 87QE Vortex.
Same basic rifle as the 95 only with a synthetic stock that has the bonus of an adjustable cheek riser and the safety is a different style than the 95, but I own 2 of them, one in .177 and now a .25 caliber that just got delivered this week that has yet to be fully tested other than the 20 or so shots I took when it got here to make sure everything was working.
Hope the above helps at least a little and you're more than welcome to send me a private message if you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer any you might have.

How accurate is your hatsan 95?

[Skunkarue62]

In my experience Dianas are higher quality and generally more accurate than Hatsans, and easy to work on.

If it wasn't for the barrel droop on the Diana's I would buy one but I don't want to deal with that and don't know how it performs In the colder temps

[SteveP-52]

Whether it's the "best" or not boils down to personal opinion and if you've been reading on here long enough, you'll find they vary and greatly and that's a very good thing because with a forum with 14,000+ members and counting, you'll get real world opinions from real world shooters, not just whatever reviews a particular air gun retail site chooses to post hoping to boost sales.

That being said, I have one of the rifles in your original post, the Hatsan Mod 95 QE Vortex QE .22. The days I originally had it out for chrony testing and sighting in the scope were only mid 30's, not the 20ish degree weather you asked about, but the rifle performed very well at least in my opinion and you can read the thread I started on the rifle here: https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=134411.20
The scopes they come with leave a lot to be desired and most fail inside the first 500 shots or so, but it already sounds like you're planning for something better than it comes with and if it's the rifle you finally settle on getting, MidwayUSA still has a few on sale currently for $159.99 which if you can get one will save you quite a bit towards that better scope. The only box it doesn't check on your list of wants is a synthetic stock. Here's the link if you want to look and if they still do it, they give first time buyers setting up a new account an extra 10% off their first order, so you might be able to save a little more: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/354631/hatsan-model-95-vortex-qe-break-barrel-air-rifle-pellet-walnut-stock-with-scope-3-9x-32mm-matte

If a synthetic stock is something you you really want, you might consider taking a look at the Hatsan Model 87QE Vortex.
Same basic rifle as the 95 only with a synthetic stock that has the bonus of an adjustable cheek riser and the safety is a different style than the 95, but I own 2 of them, one in .177 and now a .25 caliber that just got delivered this week that has yet to be fully tested other than the 20 or so shots I took when it got here to make sure everything was working.
Hope the above helps at least a little and you're more than welcome to send me a private message if you have any questions, I'll try my best to answer any you might have.

How accurate is your hatsan 95?

The target in my thread on the rifle was at 25 yards and I was getting about 1 inch groups at that yardage. A better scope than it comes with, finding the pellet it likes best and some practice and I'd like to think you could easily shoot inch or less groups all day long at the yardages you mentioned.

[gendoc]

Benjamin NP2

Not looking for a benjuman or Grossman want better quality.

just as good quality with a much better product support.
the np2 mostly will out shoot other break barrels in .22 hands down
(at least the ones i've seen against the rws & hw's)
and will produce more power than the others.

you just have to feed it what it wants, scope it accordingly
and practice your ability

and i even have a hatsan refurb edge in .177 that is working towards one of the most accurate .177's i have owned.

[Barkis]

I bought a .177 Xisico XS-25 from MM at Flying Dragon Air Rifles, a Diana 34 clone, in May of this year. It is my first springer and my first air rifle in 40 years. I live in Michigan. I have shot the gun frequently in below freezing temps. More than a dozen squirrels have fallen to this rifle in that time, and I cannot tell the difference in its behavior from shooting in the warmer months. It cocks smoothly. It does not feel as if it is cocking any harder due to the cold, and it shoots accurately. My only trouble is that if I am not paying attention, I breathe on the optics while taking a sight and fog things up! Now the gun's behavior  might change when the temps hit zero, but you won't find me in the woods or sniping HOSPS from my garage window in those temps. I'll be next to the wood stove drinking cocoa and thanking God I don't have to be out in that brutal weather.

[DanD]

In my experience Dianas are higher quality and generally more accurate than Hatsans, and easy to work on.

If it wasn't for the barrel droop on the Diana's I would buy one but I don't want to deal with that and don't know how it performs In the colder temps

I understand your hesitancy to bend a  brand new barrel. I paid a gunsmith to straighten my first droopy barrel. After that,  I started bending them myself as needed.
Never had a problem with any piston gun in any weather.  Just check zero and hunt.  I think it's a problem invented by marketing departments.

[Skunkarue62]

In my experience Dianas are higher quality and generally more accurate than Hatsans, and easy to work on.

If it wasn't for the barrel droop on the Diana's I would buy one but I don't want to deal with that and don't know how it performs In the colder temps

I understand your hesitancy to bend a  brand new barrel. I paid a gunsmith to straighten my first droopy barrel. After that,  I started bending them myself as needed.
Never had a problem with any piston gun in any weather.  Just check zero and hunt.  I think it's a problem invented by marketing departments.

Ya I just don't really want to spend the extra $30+ on a gun thats already close to 300 especialy when I still have a new scope and one piece mount from my last gun.

[Skunkarue62]

I still have a couple questions. Excluding the rws guns would the hatsan be to best choice in my price range? Does anyone have any results of shooting a 34p .22 in the cold? Finally does anyone know where I could go to get a spring on a .177 Grossman G1 Extreme repaired?

[gendoc]

does anyone know where I could go to get a spring on a .177 Grossman G1 Extreme repaired?

try Baker airguns, a vendor on this site.
Dennis has done excellent work for me in the past.
good luck 

[Barkis]

Cold Weather Report on the XS-25 (Diana 34 clone): I've been using the XS-25 as my garage gun, storing it there for the past three weeks for HOSP sniping. Today was very cold -- 4 deg over night and no more than 10 deg today. I'd not shot the gun for over a week. I'm happy to say that when two opportunities presented themselves to take out HOSPS, the gun performed well even with it being so cold. 2 HOSPS, 2 shots. Nice. Gotta 3rd one with the Benji 397P. It was a good day even though I missed 2 HOSPS earlier with the 397. I might have to scope the Benji -- those little birds have good camouflage. 
 That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.