If you’re looking for a decent PCP air rifle you should expect to pay about $1500.
For this kind of money, you can find a weapon good enough to take down something as large as a deer.
When it comes to air rifles, PCP is the most powerful of five types: Spring piston, Gas piston, PCP, CO2, and Variable pump.
(For more on the 5 types of air rifles you need to know before buying, see this post.)
While it’s quite hard to master a real gun’s recoil and get used to the noise, an air gun is much easier to shoot and much quieter.
The PCP air rifle is the easiest and quietest of the lot.
It’s suitable for all kinds of hunters, from newbies to masters.
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What do you need to know about PCP rifles?
The key things are that the PCP air rifle has just a little recoil and the projectiles come out of the barrel immediately when pulling the trigger.
While the springer recoils as much as a real gun and it takes time for the pellet to come out.
When you shoot a spring-powered air rifle, therefore, you need to hold it consistently or the pellet will fly off in the wrong direction.
But when you fire the PCP air rifle, you just need to pull the trigger and that’s all.
PCP is also the most powerful air rifle type as in comparison to other types of power sources, compressed air is held at a much higher pressure than the CO2 and the Springer.
Pressurized air is also not affected by temperature changes like CO2 is.
These rifles are powerful, consistent, and accurate.
However, a PCP air rifle tends to be more expensive than a CO2 air rifle and a spring-powered air rifle.
Also, the cost of charging a PCP air rifle is higher than the CO2 air rifle.
There are a lot of choices when it comes to choosing the best PCP air rifle for under $500:
- A wide range of pellet: .177, .22, .25, .30, and .357 caliber,
- Hardwood/synthetic stock with classic or modern design, high-quality and accurate barrel.
(For more on how to choose the right air gun caliber for your game, see this post.)
N.B. Besides the cost of purchasing an air rifle, there is also the cost of pellets and the cost of recharging compressed air, dry nitrogen, or CO2 gas.
If you purchase a Springer, you won’t need to worry about the recharging cost.
You can also find some nice PCP air rifles under $300 — Low price doesn’t always come with low quality.
Here are our top 5 best PCP air rifles under 500 dollars:
Gamo Coyote SE PCP Air Rifle
Gamo is a Spanish brand with over 60 years of market experience.
They specialize in rifles, bullets, and BB guns.
Airguns and pellets need to be precise in every detail, so they develop and manufacture them in the local facilities in Spain for the best quality control.
Gamo Coyote has innovative products at an affordable price, which is the reason why they are available in over 90 countries.
Gamo Coyote SE PCP Air Rifle is the best PCP air rifle 2018 at $500.
It has an ambidextrous design.
The beech stock material makes it look classic and like a real gun.
(For more on the in-depth comparison between synthetic and wood stock, see this post.)
The gun has a compact size and is lightweight at only 7 pounds without the scope.
The barrel length is 24.5″, and the total length is 42.9″.
There is a rubber pad on the butt plate to absorb the recoil, and two raised cheekpieces on both sides.
The Gamo Coyote SE PCP Air Rifle uses compressed air as its power source.
The gun is also available in multiple calibers: .177,.22, & .25, so you can choose the best type of caliber for your shooting needs.
The cylinder is capable of being filled up to 232 bar (3,365 psi) – you can expect 30 good shots (optimal velocity) when it’s full.
If you only fill about 2900 psi, you’ll have about 20 good shots with higher deviation.
The Gamo Coyote SE PCP Air Rifle is equipped with a multi-shot mechanism that allows you to have 10 shots per load with the max velocity is 1000 fps.
The performance of the gun is really good: easy to shoot, really accurate up to 50 yards.
The only drawback is the noise when shooting.
However, I guess it’s not an issue when you’re hunting.
The gun costs $500. This is the best PCP air rifle for under 500 dollars.
Umarex Gauntlet PCP Air Rifle
Umarex Sportwaffen GmbH & Co. KG is an airgun manufacturer founded in Germany, in 1972.
It has a branch in the US, which is located in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
They produce air pistols, air rifles, tear-gas, signal pistols, etc. from break-barrel to fully-auto.
They also supply high-powered air rifles made by Browning, Hammerli, Ruger, and other big brands.
They are one of the leading manufacturers in their field with more than 50 years of experience.
The thing that makes Umarex special is their philosophy – “Franz Kafka”, which means the courage to move ahead.
Nowadays, there are millions of active gunners around the world shooting guns manufactured or supplied by the company.
This is the best PCP air rifle for hunting in the $300 range.
This is also the best-regulated PCP air rifle at $300 thanks to its built-in 1,150 psi regulator, which delivers minimal FPS variation between every shot.
This helps the shots be really accurate.
The Umarex Gauntlet PCP Air Rifle is also consistent and powerful.
The rifle can discharge .25 caliber pellets at 1000 fps, .22 caliber pellets at 1000 fps, and .177 caliber pellets at 1200 fps.
It is suitable for small-to-medium games, fun plinking, and competition.
The Umarex Gauntlet PCP Air Rifle is bolt-action and can shoot 10 rounds per load, while there’s also a single shot tray for a single shot option.
When full, the 3,000 psi, 13 cu. in. the removable tank can give you 60 to 70 consistent shots.
The gun doesn’t create much noise.
The rifle looks cool in all-black synthetic stock.
The cheekpiece is adjustable in height.
The scope rail is 11mm Dovetail.
The weight is 8.5 lbs.
The overall length is 46″. The barrel length is 23.5″.
Gamo Urban PCP air rifle
Another PCP air rifle from Gamo.
This may be not the best PCP air rifle, but it’s definitely a good one for $300.
The Gamo 600054 Urban PCP .22 has a nice finish in black with a full synthetic stock that gives you a really nice grip feel.
The cheekpiece raises on two sides, for ambidextrous shooters.
The trigger is two-stage adjustable.
The gun has an 11-millimeter dovetail rail but no open sight.
There is a rubber butt pad on the back, however, it’s not like you’ll get a lot of recoil with this rifle.
Its overall length is 42 inches and it weighs 6.7 pounds. It’s a comfortable gun that fits into your shoulder nicely.
The Gamo 600054 Urban PCP .22 can shoot 10 rounds per load.
The 10-round repeater magazine has a little white dot on the back so that you can know when you’re out of rounds.
The cylinder size is 105 cc and can be filled up to 232 bars (3,300 psi).
When full, the gun can fire off 30 good shots.
It’s quite accurate at 25 yards, but not so great at 45.
There is a silencer on the top of the gun so it is relatively quiet while functioning.
It’s fairly consistent and easy to use.
For a $300 PCP air rifle, this beast will get the job done (rabbit included):
Beeman QB Chief PCP air rifle
The Beeman QB Chief PCP air rifle has a really affordable price for a PCP air rifle, retailing at around $180.
For me, this is the best budget PCP air rifle.
Beeman is a brand name of Weihrauch & Weihrauch GmbH & Co. KG, a German manufacturer of sporting air rifles, air pistols, cartridge rifles, and pistols.
The company has more than 100 years of experience.
In fact, they were the first mass-produced German .22 rimfire rifle. Nowadays, they produce innovative PCP.
Their rifles are made of proven special materials.
Every component is carefully monitored by experienced specialists to be accurate in dimension and hardness.
The Beeman QB Chief PCP air rifle has an ambidextrous design with a hardwood stock.
The gun has a compact size and easy weight: less than 7 pounds and 39 inches long.
The barrel length is 21.5 inches.
This is a bolt-action PCP air rifle with a single-shot capacity.
There is just a little recoil when shooting, and the rubber pad in the butt plate helps to absorb a lot of this.
The sound is a little loud but nothing too bad.
It’s got a 136cc cylinder that can hold up to 2,000 psi of compressed air.
You can shoot 50 shots per fill in .177, and 35 shots in .22 caliber. The shots are accurate enough at 50 yards.
The velocity is up to 1000 fps in .177 caliber.
Overall, at $180, this is the best value-for-money PCP air rifle that you can find.
Diana Stormrider
The Diana Stormrider PCP, from Diana Mayer & Grammelspacher, is another great value-for-money air rifle.
Diana Mayer & Grammelspacher is a German air gun manufacturer, headquartered in Rastatt, Germany.
The company was founded in 1890, and named after Diana, the goddess of the hunt.
They produce air rifles, air pistols, and other accessories like scopes, pellets, and silencers.
Among them, their air rifles are their most famous products.
Their philosophy is to develop the extraordinary down to the smallest detail.
The Diana Stormrider PCP air rifle has a straightforward, sturdy stock.
Despite being a budget PCP air rifle, the stock is made of beautiful beech.
The gun is right-handed (still usable for left-handed shooters) and classically styled.
The rifle is compact with a weight of 5.0 pounds, and an overall length of 40.5 inches.
The barrel length is 19.0 inches.
The Diana Stormrider PCP air rifle has a 9-shot magazine in .177 and a 7-shot magazine in .22.
In terms of its scope, it features an 11mm dovetail tray.
Diana Stormrider is bolt-action and not so powerful (20 ft/lbs).
Its velocity is up to 900 fps in .22 caliber and up to 1050 fps in .177 caliber (lead pellet).
There’s some sound while shooting.
And most importantly, this rifle is really easy to handle, making it the best entry-level PCP air rifle.
There’s a 100 cc cylinder that can be filled up to 200 bar (2900 psi).
When filled, it can fire up to 40 shots.
The gun’s price is about $150, which is a mind-blowingly affordable price for such a fantastic rifle.
