Purchase advice - QB or Springer

[Gene_SC]

Just remember that the Co2 air guns are dead in the water when it gets cold out. They are always good for indoors. Springers you can shoot anywhere, anytime and cold weather does not slow them down.

[lillysdad621]

I am glad i was able to help. As per the cold spells, well at 50 degrees you will notice a drop so yes, Gene_SC is right, but you got the avanti for that. wait... my qb78 shot 480 fps with a .22 and 35 degrees outside. If you need the extra 10 fps you can shoot the pumper... But with 30 feet available, any rifle will do. So go ahead, get all of them and join the party! call me next time you get time to come out here... we can take your kids to the range and I got some toys that you and your kids might want to try... But i am not responsible when your next christmas list starts to look like a page from Cobra Airguns inventory, pal... LOL

[PcpDave]

Again for backyard plinking you can not beat the Daisy 953 Target Pro or any of the Avanti models using the same power plant.

It is a single pump pneumatic, shoots around 500 fps, is ultra quiet and super accurate. No workout to cock the thing, no expense of CO2 to buy and it likes most any pellet. Very inexpensive and not much to not like about it!

If you want CO2 quiet you need to go with a Talon SS with CO2 tank or the Benjamin Marauder. Both are pricey but will give you CO2 quiet with an attitude!

[Gene_SC]

Springer is best for all season shooting. Co2 for outside shooting is only good in the warmer months.

[PcpDave]

Actually it is my understanding that HPA is also not affected by temperature so it would seem HPA is the best for year round hunting. Easier to shoot accurately and more powerful.

But he is looking for a short range quiet plinking gun. While many springers would fill that bill, the gun I reach for in that situation is the Daisy 953.

Plinking is by definition for fun. To me it is not real fun to have to concentrate intently on my hold for each shot to make sure I hit. Also I am not concerned with the power when plinking, but just having fun and that Daisy is a ton of fun. Not enough challenge you say? Hang grapes or paintballs on a fishing line with a hook and back off 10 or 15 meters!

Enjoy.

[Gopher]

Thanks Again everybody,

I picked up a used Avanti 853 and took it on an extended vacation this month. I'm spoiled!!!
I never imagined something so accurate! At 10yds, it was one hole all day. I couldn't ask for anything quieter.
I challenged my sons to a 10 meter competion and it was a draw...20 X's to their 20 X's. Granted we were resting on the rail.
We had to spice it up after a while because it was so accurate that we tied cherries to a string and gave them a swing...that was really father son fun!

I am still going to get the QB 79 in .177... sorry Mike M for not being in touch. We have a no TV/Internet policy on vacation.
It forces us all to remember what it all supposed to be about, and I didn't have your number handy. I'll be in touch.
And Mike the B-26-2 and B-25 put a big dent in the critter population thanks...

So, it turned out not to be a QB or springer that fit the quiet bill. Now I need a diopter sight for it so I can actually see what I hit!

[PcpDave]

Congratulations! The Daisy Avanti 853 is even a better gun than the Daisy 953. Though at 2.5 X - 3 X the price. Both seem to be build on the same power plant, but the 853 seems to be built with more durable materials. I know the stock is wood. Is the receiver and the cocking lever metal? What about the front sights? They are plastic with metal inserts on my 953. Also the cocking lever is plastic and flexes on cocking.  It seems cheap, but is a one hole tack driver and has held up to a lot of shooting to date.

I owned a QB78 and several variations of it and sold all of them. I was very under impressed with that gun design and power plant. Seals kept failing on all of them. I was quite impressed with the accuracy of the model 79 target version, but again seals kept failing.

[lillysdad621]

I also have a 953, and yes, is a great rifle. But it cannot compare with the qb family. Yes, seals go, but also on a pumper, and i rather replace them on the qb than trying to get them from Daisy. I also took my 79 apart to see if i could better it. the seals needed some smoothing and boring. I cleaned the inside completely and put new barrel seals (all this seals came from Lowe's). I now have a rifle that averages 670 fps (.177) with crow mags (8.8 gr) and can stack 10 pellets in a hole no bigger than a penny at 20 yards. My 953 gets to 20 yards... with rws hobbies (7 gr.). At 10 yards it can pretty much decapitate a lego action figure. My point is that they are very different rifles, and they both introduce you to a great hobby. There aren't better or worse rifles... is all in how much time you want to devote to them...