Thanks for all the feedback in my crossbow thread. The idea of air rifles was brought up, and I figured it may deserve a thread of its own.

What do you think is a good hunting air rifle? Of course a big factor in my decision making is power. I want to be able to kill a rabbit without it just taking a hit and running away. But of no lesser concern is durability. It has to still be functional after prolonged use in rough conditions. I don't want something that's going to stop working when I need it the most.

And another issue I have is that I live in a rural area, dominated by the local Walmart. If I can't get it at Walmart, I have to shop online. Are there any laws that would interfere with me having an air rifle shipped to me? I live in Oklahoma.

I own a sheridan blue streak, it's over twenty years old now and needing a rebuild kit thats less than $20 but still able to kill rabbits and tree rats. I have taken larger game with it in the past up to and including coyotes. The one I have is .20 caliber, but I think Benjermin makes it in .177 and .22 caliber now. I would suggest one of those insead of .20 because I sometimes have trouble finding ammo for it.

You might start here. get the highest power for the buck. the cal. will not matter, but you can carry a lot of 177 pellets in a small space. The spring rifles seem to be the least troublesome and have fewer moving parts.(single cock or break barrel)

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/search/search.asp?r=Page%3A+%2FDefault.asp+KW+Box&s=SEARCH&a=search&k=air+rifle

I might add try to get one that looks like an Air Rifle and not so tactictal.

My questions of air rifles are:

1) Are you really saving that much weight?

2) What kind of survival situation are you looking at the would require gobs and gobs of ammo? Is it a power outage/natural disaster or are is there a concern about Zombies and the end of the world.? I hope we don't go down the Zombie road.

3) Since I do not own an air rifle can someone elaborate on the effects of cold on the spring/piston mechanism?

The 5mm Sheriden Blue or Silver Streak rifles are the best I have ever had. I sorely miss it!!!! Yes, it would take down a coyote or a fox!!!!

I presently have a Crosman .177 cal air rifle. It's alright but nothing like the Sheriden.

I will probably get 1 of the German made spring rifles next. Thet have impressed me!!

How about backpacking deep into the wilderness?

You can hunt turkeys in CA with 20 cal or larger.

I have a crossman too; gets up to about 800fps (advertised). Sportsman's Guide has some Gamo rifles that supposedly get 1000fps, and with the "special" gamo ammo, could potentially get 1200fps, essentially a .22. For that speed, and cost, why not just buy a .22 or .17HMR rifle?

For the most versatility, use a piston model. Its been too many years but IIRC cold wasn't a large factor unless it was cold enough the lubricants get too thick. Lubrication is a couple of drops on a piece of felt that swabs the cylinder as its pumped. The Crosman 2100 looks like a remake of the one I had in the 80's. You can vary the power by the number of times you pump it. BB up to 755 fps Pellet: up to 725.

Because of the way Law Enforcement looks at an air/spring rifle vs. a black powder (primitive) weapon vs. a modern firearm.

The ammo is extremely light weight and one can carry a couple of thousand rounds (BB's or pellets) before the weight becomes noticable.

Air and spring rifles are fairly small and easily concealable and when viewed by another, looks much less threatening than most firearms.

That's My Honest Opinion, take it for what you think it's worth!

Because until you hit somewhere in the neighborhood of 1100 fps they are almost silent.

Crosman 2100 or Airmaster 77 should be available at Walmart. Local regulations could be a factor. The closest city to me has an ordinance for no air rifles. The other five cities around us sell them.

I have the Gamo Shadow 1000 Gamo Shadow 1000. It will easily kill squirrels and rabbits, shoots pretty accurately too. If I were to buy one today I would look hard at the new Gamo Whisper air rifle. Less noise means more meat on the table. I've heard it is pretty good at reducing the noise.

smitty

Airguns are very much an option for hunting. I have a Beeman R9 I use at my ranch for pest control. It'll definitely do the job on rabbits and squirrels out to 50-60 yards with one shot.

Spring piston is the way to go in this situation. The Sheridan/Benjamin Silver/Blue Streaks were good guns in their day (I have a real early Silver Streak). But they require many, many pumps to get up to hunting strength. Precharged pneumatics charge off SCUBA or special PCP tanks at 3000 to 4500 psi. They come in calibers up to .50, and can drop a bull elk at 100 yards. But they require a lot of peripheral gear and maintenance. A springer uses one stroke to cock a spring (sometimes an air piston) that can propel a pellet at around 1000 fps. Mine's .177, which is easier to find ammo for in wide varieties. For heavier hunting you can go to .20, .22, or even .25. But you tend to lose distance and speed with larger, heavier pellets.

Good quality pellets make a huge difference, too. I use hollow points or wadcutters when hunting. Every gun has it's own preference on pellets. They all shoot differently.

Shooting a springer is different from shooting a firearm, too. It recoils in both directions. Something to bear in mind when buying a scope. A springer will destroy a firearm scope very quickly. You have to use a scope designed for airguns. You also have to hold the gun differently. Don't try to prevent it from recoiling. Hold it lightly and let it spring back and forth naturally. Also, you have to practice. A body shot with an airgun is usually a bad thing. A wound that may or may not be fatal after a long period of suffering. If you can't do a head shot with reasonable confidence, don't take the shot. Basically you should be able to hit a nickel at 50 yards or you shouldn't be hunting with it.

Expect to spend real money on a real gun. The stuff they sell at WalMart, K-Mart, etc. is crap. It's OK for kids punching paper with BB's if they don't care about accuracy, but they're not real hunting weapons. Don't believe the hype about muzzle velocity, either. If it's not complete BS, it's measured with the lightest possible pellets that will travel in some random direction. FPE (foot pounds energy) is the only real way to compare relative power of the guns.

These guys have a good selection of "adult airguns." I've had some minor dealings with them and had good luck:

Straightshooters

Kevin B.

a couple links ....
Whiscombe air rifles springs

Barnes Pneumatic air pump needed


Yes, I know .... these are not cheap air guns ...

A jaunt into the deep wilderness still is based on certain plans of time and distance. I guess the question is how long are you trying to plan for? Granted, a gzillion rounds of air gun ammo is not that weight intensive. I just keep coming back to the anticipated length of time out in the wilds. I figure if you think you'll be out there for two weeeks, go ahead and plan for three or four.

I have a Daisy .22 cal pump-action. It will easily kill jackrabbits at 100 feet....easily. So extrapolate that to other animals and I think it would do just fine.

There was a thread here awhile back about airguns and the Sheridans were so highly touted I had to look them up. They aren;t much more expensive than a Daisy or Crossman (IF they're even AS expensive), so I might look into one someday.

You can get the Daisy's and Crossman's at Walmart. Don;t discount them, they're deadly. Especially the models like mine that allow you to pump up the weapon to increasing levels (up to 10 pumps I think). They don;t injure rabbits, they kill them dead, even with body shots (well, within reason). Get one that's pellet-capable, wether .177 or .22. I've had both and I like the .22 spear-point pellets.

Well I wouldn't recommend one for home defense, but they sure are deadly accurate. I watched a guy with one, I have forgotten the brand, but it held like a couple thousand pounds of presure in the tank. He had a special 3 stage pump to pump it up. He was shooting pretty much all through the same hole with a scope.

I have seen the same done with a .22, but with a lot of hop up parts.

Dave

The thing that makes a pellet rifle so great is the ammo is tiny and cheap, basically the same thing that makes a .22LR rifle great. Except, it's even smaller and cheaper. In the space of 50 .22LR rounds you could probably carry three to four times as much in pellets, if not more, for 1/3 of the price as well.

If you're planning on doing a three week backpacking trek, and packing space is limited, a good pellet rifle might be preferable to a .22LR if it can do the same function while taking up less space. Then if you're back packing trip some how turns into a test of your survival skills (where you don't know how long until you'll get back), you'll be glad to have all that extra ammo on hand.



That's my opinion anyway and I don't claim to expert. In my experience firearm selection is a very personal thing (just like knives), if something works for you and your comfortable using it, it's probably best to stick with it. Be it a cross-bow, air rifle, .22LR, or .30-06.

That's exactly my thinking. Always plan for the worst, and the worst means no one is coming to save you.

How does RWS compare to Beeman? Looking at the Diana RWS 350
TIA

But if the pellet gun and .22LR weight about the same, why even consider the pellet gun? All that energy spent pumping and cocking is contained in a tiny .22 round. Am I missing something?

The rifle itself may weigh the same. But the pellet ammo is much more compact, cheaper, and if worst comes to worst you can make it yourself with a mold and some lead (or maybe even zinc or copper).

Like I said, the thing that really makes .22LR so great is the ammo is small, cheap, and easy to find. .117 pellets are smaller, cheaper, just as easy to find, and easy to make. Therefore, in some situations the pellet rifle may be advantageous.

Again, that's only my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Both are high quality airguns made in Germany. Diana is made by Mayer & Grammelspacher. Beeman sporting rifles are rebranded Weirauch's. Their match and 10-meter rifles are Feinwerkbaus. Most of the better quality production adult airguns are made in Germany or England, though there are some really good high end custom/semicustom guns made in the US.

I've never owned a Diana, but they have a good reputation. I bought my Beeman R9 because it had the reputation of being one of the best bang/buck (excuse the pun) airguns around. But I know a lot a guys who swear by their Dianas.

Kevin B.

I found a Beeman Model 1100 at Walmart for $130.

Unfortunately, Beeman was bought by a Chinese company. Beeman never did manufacture their own guns. They imported and distributed guns from other companies. The newer, lower end Beemans are, yes, made in China. This particular model is really the Chinese made SS1000 with a Chinese made scope. It gets very mixed reviews. The trigger allegedly has a HUGE pull, allegedly in the 10 pound range, which I find unbelievable. Sad, if true. The Weirauch Beemans were known for having some of the finest triggers made.

Here are a few reviews:

Beeman 1100 Reviews

As far as I know the Beeman R-series guns are still made by Weirauch. Caveat Emptor, your mileage may vary. Do your research. If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. There's nothing wrong with buying a cheap airgun at WalMart for plinking and punching paper. They can be a lot of fun. But I wouldn't trust one for hunting/survival.

Kevin B.

Another factor is the incredible longevity and easy of care. A rifle is 'shot out' after 1 to 200,000 rounds even give excellent treatment. A decent quality spring gun is only considered 'broken in' at 100K.

Cleaning a firearm is also much more vital and involved. A pellet rifle can get by by firing a couple of solvent soaked wood pellets every few hundred shots. A bit of cloth or the end of a Q-tip will work.

Other than the most primitive lead balls I can't see making my own ammunition for a pellet rifle. But why would I want to? Five bucks gets you 500 pellets so anyone can afford to lay in a lifetime supply.

A decent working average for weight is that a .22 LR round weighs three grams while a .177 pellet comes in at about half a gram. Fifteen hundred rounds of .22 comes in at ten pounds. Fifteen hundred rounds in pellets comes in at a little more than a pound and a half. And you could carry all of them in a single pocket. Cost about $15.

If your goal is long term self-sufficiency and includes some need or desire to bag light game, practice or teach basic marksmanship, or control pests, and do it all inexpensively, a pellet rifle is a very cost effective solution.

That, and they are fun. On a rainy afternoon, or any time you can spare a couple of minutes, you can shoot on an indoor 33' range. With a simple backstop and common sense there is little danger. A favorite activity is firing ten shots and seeing who can produce the smallest group. Discount store aspirin ($8 per 1000), M&Ms and Nico wafers also make good interactive targets. The wafers are a bit too easy at 33'.

I would avoid a Wallyworld special- I've never seen anything in their inventory that was worth beans for ANY kind of air gun. RWS, Gamo, there are a lot of good ones out there. Even Daisy and Beeman have some decent ones, but make sure that is a hunting air gun. Or you can spend a lot on something like a Hammerli. EAA is even bringing in some Russian air guns that are pretty impressive. This is go to the gun shop type stuff most of the time.

I would say, nothing smaller than a .20 caliber, so .20, .22 and .25, but .22 is probably the most common by a lot. Despite what I use, I would put a premium on velocity- I don't know what the recommended threshold is, but I'm going to take a guess at nothing under 700fps or so, just based on what I've exerperinced using subsonic .22LR. But probably the most important factor will be accuracy. If you can get a competition grade air gun that has a high velocity and doesn't use CO2, that might be your best bet. Yes, it will probably be a little more delicate, but the ability to make head shots consistently is worth the expense. They down side is, a good air rifle can start to approach $200 without trying hard- you can spend as much on these as you can a good rimfire rifle or pistol.

And if you have a good air gun, don't feed it junk pellets. The good stuff is a little more expensive, but the weakest part of the system is the part that can make you miss.

EDIT:
As for particular models, looking at what is out there, the Crossman Quest 800 in .22 looks pretty good, at least on paper. Spring powered, light, pretty inexpensive. As does the EAA MP513- one of the Russian imports I was talking about, and they know a lot about air rifle. But I haven't had a chance to get hands on with either.

for the price of a EAA MP513 air rifle you can get alot better. Look at Cabelas there are a number that range from $150 to $300. Most have muzzle velocities of 1000+ in .177 and .22. There are special one that I have seen taking down a wild pig, it was a head shot, but just a demo of what an airrifle can do.
cheers

I saw it on VS out door channel it was a Gammo the show was as much about the ammo as it was about the gun, still watching them take a hog with an air gun was impressive.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, buy a German engineered and manufactured Beeman R7 spring/piston airgun!! It only drives a .177 cal pellet at about 700 fps (up to about 600 fps for .20 cal), will only shoot nickel-sized groups or less at 20-25 yards, requires very little cocking force, weighs almost nothing, is short (as in compact), uses old-fashioned real machined steel parts, has real cut checkering on the stock instead of the really nice smooth stylish pressed checkering, comes with just a boring precision finger-adjustable (for windage and elevation) click rear sight, has one of those complex German timepiece Rekord adjustable target triggers that doesn't have any creep and breaks at a pound or so like glass crystal, has that expensive firearm-type polished blue finish that you can see yourself in when you rub it up with an oily cloth, and lasts indefinitely so you don't have any excuse to buy one of those cool realistic pot-metal Beretta or Sigg airsoft-type replica pistols.

Instead, go buy one of those nice new $150 Chinese or Spanish-made 1000 fps Beemans that come with a sexy third-world made scope and combination barrel weight/extender.

This will give me more time to save up enough scratch so that I can order a .177 cal R7 to go with my .20 cal model that I can shoot almost silently in my backyard for hours on end without giving myself tendonitis cocking one of those nice new Chinese or Spanish 1000 fps Beemer screamers.

Tongue firmly in cheek.

So, if I decide to go against your advice and buy one of those dreaded R7's, what is it gonna cost me? (I am too sleepy to do a google on one)...

Do not look it up. You will end up spending a little extra money over the newer sexier models and have no excuse to go out and buy an even sexier newer model in a couple years or so after the first model fails. Don't say I didn't give you fair warning. ;-)

OK, I will stick with my Crossman 1377 with shoulder stock. It is bought and paid for...

Oh, and don't go visit Airguns Arizona in Gilbert, AZ either(southeastern Phoenix). All they have there are crappy older guns like the Beeman R7, or even worse, the German made R9 and R11. You'll be the laughing stock of young teens everywhere.;-)

I'd like to report an interesting story regarding survival hunting with an airgun. Several years ago, I had occasion to hear a friend recount the details of a test that he conducted against the day when he felt that he might have to resort to relatively extreme measures to secure a meal. He lived on the west coast near the ocean where there were many seagulls and crows and had frequently wondered about the feasibility of airgun hunting seagulls (and possibly crows) as potential potmeat. Setting aside for the moment the question of the edibility of seagulls and crows, he wondered how effective a modest but quality .20 caliber spring/airgun might be at acquiring these birds under survival conditions. He reported that his test involved taking a seagull at about 25 yards sitting atop a power pole. He said the bird dropped immediately, uttering a cry on the way down. He was astonished, he reported, that seemingly out of nowhere dozens of other seagulls arrived on the scene within a few seconds, swooping and swirling and squawking over their fallen brethern, and even perching atop the power pole that he had just vacated. Even more interesting, many crows also were attracted to the commotion where no crows had been seen a few moments before. Several of the crows occupied the power lines immediately adjacent to the pole. After this one-time test, he felt somewhat reassured that this means of acquiring food might be a practical option under desparate circumstances.

IMO an air rifle would be an EXTREMELY poor choice for hunting anything except maybe very small birds or mice . Wether it was a rabbit or squirrel , it would have to be a close range head shot . If you did hit a rabbit with an air rifle , it might kill it but it would probably be a slow death . The rabbit would more than likely get away and hide only to die a slow death . With the money it would cost to buy a air rifle that was powerful enough to do the job , you could buy a dozen 22 cal. rifles .

Lucky for him a fishcop didn't follow the crows in, last I heard, killing gulls is super illegal, at least in CA...

Yes, with the old Daisy BB gun. But not so with today's (or yesterday's, for that matter) pump-up air rifles. I've shot jackrabbits at out to 40 yards and killed them dead with body shots.... many times. I say again - many times. My relatively cheap little airgun is a Daisy pump - you pump it several times, up to 10, depending on the velocity and distance you want. It's a .22 caliber pellet gun and it does a fine job. I think it cost about $100 or so 3 or 4 years ago.

"...I've shot jackrabbits at out to 40 yards and killed them dead with body shots..."

That is pretty good. I have shot a jillion jacks with a .22lr (solids, not HP) and had them run off with body hits...

You're really not familiar at all with modern adult airguns, are you? I've killed scores of rabbits, squirrels and pigeons instantly with single shots out to 60 yards with a spring piston .177 Beeman R9. And that's considered a "medium power" airgun. I do try to take head shots, because these guns can do it easily and it's for sure. But body shots to the heart/lung area are equally effective. "Magnum" springers in .22 and .25 are often used to hunt wild turkey, coyote, raccoon, etc. Large bore pre-charged pneumatics (up to .75 caliber) are used to take elk and boar at 100+ yards. I don't care what propels it, a chunk of lead moving at close to or above the speed of sound will definitely bring home dinner. These aren't your grandpa's BB guns.

Kevin B.

That's way too many to keep trying for, OBG. You need to step-up to an airgun. ((( )))

Those R7's are known as tack drivers. I was sorely tempted, but thought I needed a bit more power for pest control at the ranch, so I got the R9. It's like everything else, I guess. Gotta have one of each.

Kevin B.

I was going by my expriences as a kid [ a very long time ago ] . Me and my buddy would hunt squirrels with our bb /pellet guns . He had one of those Crossman pump guns that you could pump up to 10 times . It would often take 2 or 3 or sometimes more shots for us to knock the squirrels out of the tree . Not a very humane or effective way to bring down game . Even if there has been a big improvement in air rifles , I'd still rather have a 22 .

Well, imagine a thread about .22 caliber rifles and which one to buy...... and everyone coming in saying they'd rather have a .270. Or a thread about .270 rifles and everyone saying how they'd much rather have a 30.06 or .308. (NOT that this doesn;t happen, mind you )

These air rifles today, using hunting pellets, WILL kill small animals, even with a body shot (though let's leave the hindquarters out of this "body shot" equation) hehe

Shot placement has a role too and the some of the modern air guns are extremely accurate. BTW, my vote goes to the Beeman R1 in .22 cal.

At the same time, I find weight of a bow and a few arrows is in the same range, if not lighter, as the weight of an airgun with scope. Yes, you cannot take as many arrows as pellets, but how many do you really need? However, a bow is very powerful and you can install a scope for more accurate shooting.

If you wanted a small light rifle for hunting small game - squirells , rabbits . Why would an air rifle be better than a 22 ? Really , I don't get it .

To me an air rifle seems ideal: cheaper ammo, lighter ammo, lasts longer, quieter, and does the job (that is it can kill small animals). Unfortunately, it's another one of those things I am not allowed to legally own in NYC. When I have a place outside of NYC to keep more guns, I hope to add at least one air gun. YMMV.

What Dan said. Pellets cost 1 to 2 cents a round, and I can carry a couple of thousand rounds in my pants pockets. Spring piston air rifles last virtually forever with virtually no maintenance. They rarely even require cleaning because there's no powder to foul the barrel. And they're about as loud as a staple gun, so you don't scare all the little critters off nor invite unwelcome attention. I can shoot pests at the ranch without the horses even noticing.

I'm not saying an air rifle will do everything a .22 can, but they do have their advantages.

Kevin B.

What KevinB said.

Also while you can spend many hundreds, or thousands if you wish, of dollars buying a high end pellet rifle there are perfectly serviceable rifles out there for $120 to $150. Add $20 in pellets, 1000 to 2000 rounds, and your set for a long time.

The best value for money IMO is in the 'single-shot break-barrel spring guns'. Your using the barrel as a lever, no worries the barrel is plenty strong enough not to be damaged, to compress a large and very powerful spring. When released the spring drives a piston that compresses the air behind the pellet and pushes it to a consistent muzzle velocity. The advantage of this system is that it is robust, durability measured in the hundreds of thousands of shots, and very consistent.

IMO it is far better to buy a package that comes with a scope. First, your usually getting a decent scope for cheap and it will be one that is engineered for the abusive forces a spring gun puts on scopes. A spring gun recoils back as the spring and piston race forward when released. But then the gun jolts forward as the piston comes to a stop. This can destroy even an expensive rifle scope if it is not specifically designed to take these forces. DO NOT mount your prized $3000 scope on a spring gun. Unless you want it converted into a scope-shaped paper weight. Most scope manufacturers make a specific line that is built for these rifles.

A couple of suggestions:
http://www.airgunsbbguns.com/Daisy_Winchester_1000SB_p/day1000sb.htm

This is a simple workhorse pellet rifle with a nothing-special plastic stock. Funny thing is that squirrels, birds and bunnies don't seem to feel insulted about being shot by such a down market weapon. Might have something to do with being skinned, cleaned, cubed and surrounded by a rich gravy in the stew pot when asked.

For traditionalists there is the:
http://www.airgunsbbguns.com/Daisy_Winchester_1000SX_p/day1000sx.htm

Same gun but with a wood stock. I must say the stock has a better feel. The warmth and heft of the wood are IMHO well worth the extra $5.

Note: I have no financial interest in or connection to the manufacturer or retailer cited. I am familiar with this particular rifle and in comparison consider it to be head and shoulders above many more expensive makes and models as a practical weapon for small game hunting, training, practice and plinking.

I identified the retailer simply by inserting the make and model into a search engine and selecting the cheapest price it produced. This wasn't meant as an endorsement of the company. You may find either rifle for less elsewhere.

Seems to me that with a bow you could spend a lot of time searching for arrows that missed or completly penetrated the critter. And getting one back that is stuck in a tree 30 ft up could be real interesting. But those are just guesses, Robin Hood I am not...

Many air rifles will definitely do the job of humanely dispatching small game and birds and perhaps medium game (under near perfect conditions). However, depending on just an air rifle for a survival situation would be as short-sighted as planning and preparing only one means of starting a fire.

The supplies needed to set traps and snares for small game, birds and even large game are less expensive, lighter in weight, store more compactly and are much more productive than alternatives (firearms and bows) in almost any survival situation lasting more than a few days unless you are forced to stay on the move.

Air rifles are a viable addition to add depth to a survival battery and for inexpensive practice, pest eradication and recreation but their limitations eliminate them as a viable choice for a primary survival hunting weapon IMO.

Dagnabit... now you all have me wanting a pellet rifle and I don't even need one!!!

With a couple of nice .22s and a mess of .22 ammunition on hand a pellet rifle would be >90% toy for my $$$.

That R9 with the Beeman scope does look pretty nice.

What do you think of the Beeman RS2 SS1000-H Dual-Caliber Air Rifle Combo?
It lists 1000fps with its .177 barrel and 850 fps with the .22
That at <$200 seems like a good deal.

Hi 7point82

Here is a nice review for the Webley Patriot .25 air rifle.

http://www.americanairgunhunter.com/patriot.html

They go for around $400.

I had one of those when I was a kid. There was a stray cat that would come around and fight our cats and I would shoot the stray with it. Popped it between the eyes once.

Go back and get one, they are a ball to shoot. I can not count the number of "sparrows" and other deadly game that fell to mine long long ago. Not to mention the beer cans (steel then), and other targets of opportunity I "killed"...

It's a Chinese-made copy of a Spanish-made airgun imported by Beeman which was bought out by S/R Industries back in the mid-90's. It gets fairly decent reviews for its price. Figure 800-900 fps in .177 and 600-700 fps in .22. Apparently the trigger and the supplied scope are less than great. Here is a five part review that goes into great detail.

SS1000 Review

I'm spoiled since I have the German Weirauch-made R9 with the Rekord trigger. I probably wouldn't like the SS1000. OTOH, this one wouldn't deflate your wallet nearly as much as the R9 did mine. Definitely worth a try if you just want to smack some soda cans and get a feel for airguns.

Kevin B.

That looks like a really nice rifle too!

I hadn't thought about what these things weigh though; >9 lbs! Wow! My air gun experience has been limited to my old Daisy BB and pellet guns from when I was very young. I had no idea the nice pellet rifles got that heavy. They make my Ruger 10/22s look like featherweights.