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'.