Image by Derrek Sigler

When you think of an air rifle, for many of us, that means the BB or pellet guns we grew up with. How many of you had a Daisy Red Ryder? I’m betting quite a few of you did. Air rifles have taken a giant leap in terms of what they are and what they can do. We’re here to help you find the best air rifle for your specific needs. We rounded up some of the top-rated air rifles available today and compared them based on our own experience with many of these rifles, including a lot of time behind the trigger. We also looked at customer feedback and buying trends. Are there rifles that didn’t make this list due to availability issues or other factors? Sure. We’ll update this list as we go along, too, as new air rifles are always coming out.

The Best Air Rifles

1. Gamo Magnum Air Rifle
2. Gamo Whisper Silent Cat Air Rifle
3. Ruger Air Hawk Combo Rifle
4. Crosman CF7SXS Fire .177 Break Barrel Air Rifle
5. Umarex Ruger Air Rifle
6. Raptor Whisper Air Rifle
7. Daisy 880 Pump Air Rifle
8. Sig Sauer MCX CO2 Air Rifle

#1 Editor’s Choice – Gamo Magnum Air Rifle

Gamo is a well-known name for air rifles and they deliver with the Magnum. This rifle is available in either .177 or .22 caliber, so you can pick whichever meets your specific needs best. It’s engineered to deliver high velocity with a quiet discharge and low vibration. In .177 cal you’ll be sending Gamo’s PBA pellets down range at an impressive 1,650 fps, which is nearly as good as many low caliber powder rimfire firearms. Regular lead pellet speed is reduced quite a bit to  1,350fps, as the weight is higher.The .22 caliber option is quite a bit slower still, but

I personally love that the two-stage trigger is easily adjustable – I love a featherlight trigger pull for hunting. It stands to reason that the superior velocity of the Gamo Magnum gives it the most stopping power, and therefore makes it the best hunting air rifle. More and more small game hunting is done with air rifles, and the Gamo Magnum is a perfect option for squirrel and rabbit hunting.

#2 Runner Up – Gamo Whisper Silent Cat Air Rifle

Like the Gamo Magnum, this one features a black polymer thumb hole stock and a mounted scope. There are included iron sight lifters on the scope and mounted iron sights. I can tell you from years of squirrel hunting, these are helpful when targets pop up unexpectedly close. With a slightly lower fps of just 1,200 on the .177 rounds (no .22 rounds) the rifle is meant to be a bit more silent. The large muzzle break on the air rifle adds to the whispery nature of this break action .177 cal air rifle.

In the reviews, some users had complained about the included scope. This is an upgradeable component, so don’t discount the Gamo quality for its add-on scope. The Gamo Whisper Silent Cat is a great air rifle like the Gamo Magnum, and it’s best for those who’d like an air gun with a quiet shot.

Cabela’s.com

#3 Best Combination Rifle – Ruger Air Hawk Combo Rifle

At a price that can’t be argued with, the Ruger Air Hawk earns a spot on our list. I like that they included fiber optic glow iron sights for those late evening hunts when it’s just about to get dark. While the included scope may leave something to be desired, it should please most users.

Make sure you zero in the scope on your rifle before you take to the field. It’s a small factor, but amateur hunters may overlook this step. The Ruger Air Hawk makes a great combo air rifle for use as a small game hunting gun, or a target shooting air rifle.

#4 Best Value – Crosman CF7SXS Fire .177 Break Barrel Air Rifle

Among break action rifles, there remains a wide variety of features and quality. Crosman brings us this rifle at a great price. Most would agree that Crossman has always made a quality air rifle. Plus, unlike other budget minded air rifles, it’s reliable and accurate.

The black polymer stock is a thumbhole style with a .45 grip. Standard affair on this rifle is the adjustable two stage trigger, a feature I don’t see on budget air rifles very often. The included scope gets high marks from users and should get the job done with ease. This is a great rifle if you want high quality at a reasonable price.

#5 Umarex Ruger Air Rifle

You’ll get what you pay for with this top end air rifle from Gamo. The ability to choose from .177 (1,300 fps) or .22 (975 fps) caliber variants with this break action rifle is nice. Inside is an inert gas piston which several other high-end air rifles share on our list. It allows the rifle to achieve higher velocities, lower vibration, reduced noise and a longer life span.

I wish that Gamo would have put more into the scope on this air rifle, but it’s a minor setback. In the oversized barrel, you’ll find the Whisper technology that helps some Gamo rifles reduce noise emissions. While it doesn’t have the raw power of the Magnum, it’s a good contender. Best for users looking for the latest technology in air rifle development in a quiet package.

#7 Daisy 880 Air Rifle

This inexpensive Daisy air rifle puts out an impressive shot velocity for its value. You’ll be slinging 0.177 cal pellets or BBs at up to 800 fps with multiple pumps of the under-barrel lever. I love the classic look and feel of the rifle. While the included scope could use a major overhaul, the iron sights are easily accessible for backup. Unlike many of the break action rifles we reviewed above, this one features a more traditional Monte Carlo stock instead of the newer thumbhole stock. The Daisy 880 is one of the best pump air rifles, especially considering its price. It does have the ability to hold up to 50 rounds of ammo, which is another great feature.

#8 Sig Sauer MCX Air Rifle

Sig Sauer created a line of semi-automatic air rifles and pistols with a specific purpose in mind. While they are accurate air-powered arms, they have the distinction of also matching the weight and basic trigger functions of the Sig firearms these air-powered arms recreate, making them outstanding for training purposes. This rifle is equipped with a Sig red-dot sight and full picatinny rails for adding in accessories. While you may not need to add infrared illuminators, bipods or other accessories you might find on a true firearm, the option is there, again for the training purposes. This rifle comes equipped foldable iron sights if you should opt to remove the red dot, and again, this is a good practice tool, as you never know when your optic might fail.

The rifle operates from large, 90-gram CO2 cartridges that load through the buttstock of the rifle. These cartridges tend to be harder to find and are going to be more expensive than a standard CO2 cartridge you may be used to. It has an included 30 round magazine and a rifled barrel. Among PCP air rifles, the Sig Sauer MCX has decent power, and the magazine has higher capacity than most other PCP rifles. Power output can be as high as 700FPS, but that goes down as the cartridge  dwindles.

Users rate it pretty high and you should expect that anything Sig Sauer adds their name to will be a high-quality product. We’ve actually had one of these rifles for a few years and have found it to be fun to shoot and a good way to get in some trigger time without spending a lot of money. Accuracy is quite good, but this is definitely not a rifle you would use in a hunting situation. Plinking at targets in your backyard or range is where the MCX is most at home.

Both CO2 cartridges and pellets are sold separately.

Air Rifle Comparison Table

How to Choose the Best Air Rifle – Buyers Guide

Break-Barrel Air Rifles

Also known as a “spring piston” type, this gun hinges in half near the front of the rifle’s forestock. When the gun is cocked, it compresses then secures a powerful spring into place. When the trigger is pulled, the spring recoils, pushes a plunger through an air cylinder and creates the air pressure needed to propel the projectile. This is an efficient use of energy combining steel spring and compressed air. The gun only needs to be cocked once to be ready for firing.

Pump Air Rifles

For many of us, the classic pump was the air rifle we graduated to after our Red Ryders. With this design, the compressed air is created through actually pumping the chamber before the trigger can be pulled. Notice the pump rod and valve assembly in the diagram below. The user pumps the hinged forearm multiple times (usually 10-15 times or as recommended by the gun’s maker) and creates all of the compressed air power. The compressed air is held in the piston cylinder until it’s discharged by the trigger pull.

PCP Air Rifles

Pre-charged pneumatic, or PCP air rifles use pre-charged pneumatic cartridges of carbon dioxide, or refillable compressed air tanks as the source of air compression. These cartridges have a limited usage and depending on the gun, you can get somewhere between 20 and 75 shots. The advantage of PCP is that there’s practically no time required to reload ammo. But the purchase, transport and eventual cartridge changes may outweigh the initial advantages. If you have dreamy of hunting big game with an air rifle, this is the way to go.

Air Rifle Scopes

If you’re picking up a high caliber, high velocity or high accuracy air rifle, consider a scope.  The most beneficial air rifle scope is one that helps with accuracy and isn’t just a fancy ornament that gets in the way. Target shooting takes on a whole new dimension when a properly-sighted air rifle scope is used.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky – You HAVE to use an air-rifle rated scope for any air rifle. A scope intended for a standard firearm will not work on an air rifle no matter how much you spend on it. The reason is recoil. And again, this can be a little hard to swallow, considering that scopes can be designed to handle the recoil of some pretty massive rifles (think elephant guns). A standard rifle produces recoil in one direction – backwards. This is what you feel at your shoulder when you pull the trigger. Air rifles are tricky in that they produce recoil both forwards and backwards as the air-driving piston pushes the air charge down the barrel.  Even the most expensive riflescope made will eventually be destroyed by even a low-powered air rifle. Luckily there are some really outstanding air rifle scopes available, with some of the best coming from Hawke Optics.

You might save some cash by purchasing a quality air rifle with scope dovetail mounts and putting your own scope on it. Often you can find great quality scopes on sale for a good price if you look around. If you’re buying an air gun for shooting small game or rats, then using a scope can definitely improve your kill ratio. If your air rifle comes pre-loaded with a mounted scope, be sure it’s of good quality. Most pre-mounted scopes are less than top-quality, but may be adequate for the gun with which they’re paired.

Air Rifle Calibers

Rifle caliber is measured in 100ths of an inch in diameter. A .177 caliber pellet is about 11/64ths of an inch across. A .22 caliber projectile is nearly a quarter inch in diameter. In air rifle pellets, these are the two most common air rifle caliber sizes:

.177 Caliber

Smaller projectiles tend to have a lower mass, which means they can be more affected by wind or more easily deflected by grass or twigs in flight. With an air rifle, any interruption of the projectile in flight is likely to result in a total loss of the shot. .177 caliber air rifles tend to have higher velocities because it takes less effort for the rifle to propel the bullet. This has the advantage of landing on a target quicker than a sluggish .22 caliber, which travels slower. If target shooting is your main reason for buying an air gun, consider the .177 caliber first.

.22 Caliber

As stated above, the larger .22 caliber nearly always has more stopping, and therefore killing power. For this reason, the .22 caliber is generally the better choice for hunting small game. This holds true in the age-old discussion of 9mm vs. .40 and .45 caliber handguns. For all of their efficiency, accuracy and lighter ammo weight, the 9mm can’t measure up to the bigger calibers for outright immobilization of their targets.

Regarding their flagship Magnum air rifle on their website, the way Gamo describes it is that .177 is best for target accuracy and small pest control, but the .22 caliber is the best for field hunting.

Bigger Calibers

There are multiple PCP rifles available with hunting in mind, and we don’t just mean squirrels. You can find PCP rifles that shoot .30, .40, .45 and even .50 caliber bullets, and with enough force to take down game like hogs and deer species. I’m not going to lie – these are expensive rifles and charging them usually requires a specific air pump and air tank designed to hold extremely high pressures.

FAQs

Should I choose a .177 caliber or .22 caliber pellet air gun?

If you’re a targets-only shooter, then the .177 will generally serve your purposes best. If you’re a hunting shooter, the .22 will be your ideal choice. A .177 caliber air gun of sufficient power will be more accurate for skill-based target shooting than a .22 caliber. There’s less projectile wobble and friction to move the trajectory of the .177 caliber pellet. Therefore, the target practice and skill-building effectiveness is better. Also, any given paper and metal targets will last longer when impacted with .177 caliber air gun pellets.

Should I invest in a scope for air gun target shooting and/or hunting?

This will depend on several factors, and it may even be possible that a particular air gun is used with its scope at times, and at other times without. For close range target shooting, a scope can actually be less effective than physical sites. At what shooting range the scope becomes helpful is up to the individual shooter, and can be determined with some close-range target shooting. Once a scope begins to help with target sighting accuracy, the same factors that rifle and bow hunters face with regard to range and projectile drop come into play.

What state regulations exist for air rifle hunting?

Most states allow for air rifle hunting in general. There are exceptions noted on the map below, and you should always consult with your state’s game and fish regulatory commission if any special cases or exceptions exist. The states marked in may have special rules for airguns which are listed, but are subject to change and updates by state. New Hampshire does not currently allow airgun hunting of any kind, while states in allow big game hunting with big bore air rifles.

• Hawaii: Can only hunt with airguns on private property with permission from the owner.
• Illinois: Can only hunt with airguns on private property with permission from the owner.
• Kansas: Cannot use airguns to hunt bullfrogs or turtles.
• New Jersey: Must use an airgun that is at least .177 but no larger than .22. Velocity must be at least 600 FPS.
• New York: Must use an airgun that is .177 or larger. Velocity must be at least 600 FPS.
• North Carolina: According to the North Carolina Wildlife website, air rifles fall in the rifle category. All restrictions that apply to rifles apply to air rifles.
• Pennsylvania: Small game and furbearers .177 but no larger than .22, for woodchucks at least .22 caliber
• Rhode Island: Must use an airgun that is at least .177 but no larger than .22. Velocity of at least 750 FPS and pellets 7.5 grains or larger.
• South Dakota: Must use an airgun with a velocity of at least 1,000 FPS. Only hunting pellets are permitted. Read page 41 of the SD Hunting Handbook for legal game.
• Texas: Must use an airgun that is at least .177 with a velocity of at least 600 FPS when hunting squirrels. New legislation is being considered that would allow for whitetail deer beginning 2018.