Canadian Airgun Forum

Had an air rifle YEARS ago. Have moved to the country after taking early retirement...and am on a mission to reduce the population of squirrels, magpies, and other nuisance critters on the property. Now am looking at a new, better-quality rifle to meet those ends. Wrote my PAL and am waiting for it to come in the mail (6 weeks now and counting). I went to a local gunshop and traded in one of my Dad’s rifles and got a nice store credit...and with my cash in hand, can afford about 600 bucks or so.
Have narrowed it down to the following .22 calibre rifles -
A Diana - either a Model 34, or maybe a 48 side lever - the K98 Mauser looks interesting, too.
Beeman R9 or HW95
Walther Terrus
Hatsan 95 Vortex

Are there any red flags on any of these...or anybody with a comment or recommendations on these?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm loving my knock off ( QB 88 ) Diana 48 side lever. I'd get a Diana 48, or a HW97. If you could afford it. Probably lean towards the HW97 more. Due to ease of holding the lever to load.

I personally own a Mauser Rifle ( Powder Burner ) and I don't find them comfy to shoot. So I cannot say I would enjoy the Masuer Air rifle.

34, to6 trigger, easy to tune. Light weight compared to the others on your list

Hope you've shouldered them first to see how they fit and balance on you.

No experience with Hatsan. Some models you mentioned don't have stippling on their grip points (which would be a deal breaker for me) so definitely shoulder first. Lighter break barrels if you're going to be carrying it in the field all day. The 48 has the advantage of having a bit flatter trajectory being more powerful (needs a rock solid scope) but it's ratchet mechanism may give you away while loading. So maybe the 48 if you're bench shooting off your back porch? Or you could use lighter alloy pellets on the less powerful ones to keep it flat. Optional but whatever you choose, you may want to take it apart for a deburr, polish and relube. They'll all be overgreased from the factory as the manufacturers don't know how long the guns will be on the shelf. If you will, the 48 will need a spring compressor rig.

Based on your list, definitely the 95. That's definitely the highest quality one. Lot's of aftermarket tuning options too if you want to get rid of the twang (they all twang to a degree, even these supposedly tuned guns out-of-the-box like an LGV or TX200). The rekord trigger breaks glass crisp after you take it apart and polish the contact points of the sears with some autosol and proper lubrication (so does the T06 on the 34/48).

PS: If you're open to 177, there's a 97KT on sale in the forum right now.. They all drop with a headshot, 177 or 22.

I’ve just started my search - and usually I research the heck out of something first. The gun shop owner apparently has a great selection of stuff in stock, and has no problem ordering some items in.
I shouldered the .48 and a Hatsan Torpedo 100x...both have substantial heft to them, no? While I want something of quality, hence the HW95 or the Diana - I’d hate to OVERBUY, either. This will be a squirrel/pest eradicator - not an Olympic competition piece. If there’s something that’s “just as good” out there, I’d be willing to listen. Just waiting for my PAL to arrive in the mail. How long does it take
to come in, dammit?

New applications can be like a month or two, or a year. Did you call them and ask or check online? Did they say one in the mail ?

If one has been issued, that number should be valid. I know people that bought guns without the physical card.

One of my favorite guns 34 D 22 cal cheap took a lot of rabbits with one but there is so many air gun now that fill the bill for pest removal .........

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VE7SHM//VE7ZJ

Moderator

Hard to beat a German springer . I’d stay away from the Hatsan . I had a 135 in .22 and it was just too heavy to carry . Good bench gun but for off hand shooting just a bit much .
Between the rifles you listed I’d go with the HW95 .

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I like air guns , and they like me

I had the Hatsan 95 .Bought it on-line,worst mistake ever.Heavy,very hard to load[spring loading,meant for the Hulk].Noisy.I picked up a 1322 pistol,then got a shoulder stock sub 500 no lic.req.Cabelas frequently sells them for $120.00 ,check amazon,ebay.15 YD SHOT LIMITS,for clean kills.

I've had my Beeman R9 .177 cal for a little over a year now and could not be happier with it. I found it to be very "twangy" at the beginning, but after 2-3 tins of pellets it has quieted down a lot. You will need to regularly tighten stock screws at the start. I have a Hawke AirMax 4 X 12 scope mounted on it and find this combo suits my needs perfectly. Puts out about 14 ft.pds of muzzle energy.

Here is a review from Hard Air Magazine - https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/air ... w-177-cal/

As springers, go, Weihrauch rifles are hard to beat.

https://dlairgun.com/collections/weihrauch-rifles

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Best Wishes
Daryl