LINKOHTOGEL

Mark Tade

Best All-Around		Remington 870 Fieldmaster	SEE IT
Best Turkey Gun		Mossberg 835 Holosun Package	SEE IT
Best All-Weather Waterfowl Gun		Benelli Nova	SEE IT

Pump shotguns work when semiautos fail. Cold, wet, gritty, icy conditions don’t matter to a pump gun. They’re durable, reliable, and of great value. They are not fussy about ammunition. You can pick a pump as an entry-level gun or buy one as the only shotgun you’ll ever need. Practice with the right, slick pump gun, and you can shoot it as fast and as easily as a semiauto.

The first pump patent was actually taken out by an Englishman, but the first working, marketable pump was made by Americans. Christopher Spencer, already known for the Spencer repeating carbine of the Civil War, and inventor Sylvester Roper collaborated on a pump gun in 1882. It was a strange-looking gun, with what appeared to be a second trigger that was actually a recocking lever in case you had a misfire and needed to try the shell again.

Inventor-genius John Browning made the first great pump gun. His Model 1893 had an exposed hammer and, like the Spencer, parts that stuck out in all directions when you worked the slide. The Model 1897 was the same gun but made for smokeless powder, and it was good enough that it was still produced long after an exposed-hammer gun should have been obsolete.

Winchester and John Browning’s long relationship soured, leaving Winchester to go in-house for the Model 97’s hammerless successor. The Model 1912 (later Model 12) is arguably the greatest pump ever, a gun that pointed and handled beautifully and worked smoothly. It was made in all gauges (the .410 version was different enough to be called the Model 42), and it served target shooters, upland hunters, and waterfowlers equally well over its long production life.

The modern era of pump guns began in 1950 with the Remington 870. Using mass-production techniques learned during WWII, Remington made a gun that functioned extremely well yet required very little hand-fitting. It could be made and sold for much less money than previous pumps like the Model 12, and it changed the market forever.

Pumps today have lost some of their popularity to semiautos, which have become more reliable, more versatile, and less expensive, but you can still find a slide action for any purpose. Here are the best pump shotguns you can buy.

• Best All-Around: 870 Fieldmaster Synthetic
• Best Turkey Gun: Mossberg 835 Holosun Package
• Best-Shucking Pump: Winchester SXP
• Best All-Weather Waterfowl Gun: Benelli Nova
• Best Youth Pump: Mossberg Bantam

How We Made Our Picks

Pump shotguns are hard-working tools, and we kept that in mind as we made our choices. We are very familiar with all of the selections on this list and have broken down our picks into categories. Besides having a best all-around, we also focused on turkey hunting, waterfowl hunting, and youth options. We also based our picks for the best pump shotguns on the following criteria:

• Reliability: What’s the point of a pump if it doesn’t work? Does the gun shoot without drama?
• Quality of construction: Is the gun well-built? Inexpensive doesn’t have to mean cheap.
• Weight and balance:  A gun’s weight and balance dictate what it will be used for. Guns that will be carried a long way should be light. Guns that won’t benefit from extra weight.
• Ergonomics: A shotgun has to fit and feel good in the hand. Its controls should also be easy to use, and a pump’s stroke should be slick.
• Price/Value: Pump guns, with a few exceptions, are about value. We looked at these guns to be sure you’re getting a good return for your money, no matter how much or how little you’re spending.

Best Pump Shotguns: Reviews & Recommendations

Best All-Around: 870 Fieldmaster Synthetic

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Specs 

• Gauges: 3 ½-inch and 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
• Weight: 7.5 pounds (3-inch 12-gauge)
• Length: 48 inches with 28-inch barrel
• Barrel: 26- or 28-inch, vent rib, screw-in chokes, white front bead; also 21-inch and 18 ½-inch barrels for Compact and Micro Compact 20-gauges
• Stock: Black synthetic or walnut
• Receiver: Matte blue
• Price: $600

Pros

• Reliable
• Soft butt- and cheek pads

Cons

• Unattractive walnut stock

The 870 is back. America’s pump gun fell on hard times in the earlier part of this century, as cost-cutting measures turned a gun once synonymous with reliability into junk. New owners have committed to making the gun right, even if that means they can no longer compete with their rival Mossberg 500 in price.

For a little more money, you get not only a great recoil pad (Remington’s SuperCell), but also a soft cheek pad. Together, combined with the weight of the gun, they help tame pump gun recoil. The old Express Remingtons shipped with one choke. This one gives you three, and a drilled and tapped receiver. Also, the new finish is more rust-resistant than the old one. It’s still a good value despite a higher price.

The trigger of my test gun was, by shotgun standards, good, at five pounds. Is it perfect? No. The walnut stock is unattractive enough I actually would choose the synthetic, which is rare for me.

Best Turkey Gun: Mossberg 835 Holosun Package

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Specs

• Gauges: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge
• Weight: 7 pounds with 20-inch barrel (24-inch gun optic-ready gun without sight also available)
• Length: 40.75 inches with a 20-inch barrel
• Barrel: 20- or 24-inch vent rib, fiber-optic sight with turkey choke
• Stock: Synthetic
• Receiver: Mossy Oak Greenleaf
• Price: $895

Pros

• Optic cut lets you maintain cheek weld with the red dot
• Overbored barrel for better patterns
• 20-inch barrel saves weight, makes gun compact

Cons

• Plastic safety
• Flimsy fiber-optic

The first gun chambered for the then-new 3 ½-inch 12 gauge back in 1989, the 835 makes a great turkey gun with any length 12-gauge shell. I shoot an older one and love it. This new model features a cut-out in the receiver for low-mounting of a micro red dot, and it comes with said red dot—a Holosun 407, already installed.

Although basically a super-sized Model 500, the 835 has a standard magazine cap, which I much prefer to the nut on the Model 500. While the 20-inch barrel can be a bit finicky to get to pattern right, once you do, it’s lights out, and the short barrel makes the gun compact and easy to manage. I would recommend replacing the plastic safety with an aftermarket tactical safety. And, the fiber-optic bead, which you won’t be using anyway since you have the red dot, is flimsy. Otherwise, this gun is ready for the woods and, in my 12-gauge-loving view, pretty close to turkey-gun perfection.

Best-Shucking Pump: Winchester SXP

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Specs 

• Gauges: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
• Weight: 6 pounds, 14 ounces (3-inch 12-gauge field gun, 28-inch barrel)
• Length: 48.5 inches with 28-inch barrel
• Barrel: Vent rib, three chokes (field model)
• Stock: Hardwood
• Receiver: Matte black
• Price: Starting at $409

Pros

• Great value
• Lightweight
• Very smooth action

Cons

• Safety can be hard to reach with small hands

Winchester changed the name of this gun a few times: the SXP was originally the 1300, and briefly, the “Speed Pump.” Of the three names, “Speed Pump” was the most fitting. The gun has a rotary bolt that makes the action extremely slick. It seems to pump itself. During its Speed Pump phase, Winchester billed it as “the pump that thinks it’s an autoloader.”

In addition to being very smooth, the SXP is very affordable. The Turkish-made gun incorporates several engineering improvements, and it starts at just $400. It comes in a version for almost everything, from compact guns to 3 ½-inch waterfowl guns, turkey guns, deer guns, and a trap model. Following Winchester tradition, it has a safety button at the front of the trigger guard, which some people don’t like.

Best All-Weather Waterfowl gun: Benelli Nova

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Specs

• Gauges: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
• Weight: 8 pounds (3 1/2-inch 12-gauge field gun, 28-inch barrel)
• Length: 48.5 inches with 28-inch barrel
• Barrel: Vent rib, three chokes
• Stock: Synthetic
• Receiver: Synthetic, camo versions available.
• Price: $499

Pros

• Polymer-covered receiver is tough
• 8-pound weight absorbs recoil
• Long forend
• Smooth stroke

Cons

• Heavy trigger
• Small safety button ahead of trigger guard

The Nova’s unique one-piece stock and receiver is built around a steel cage that adds strength where it’s needed. It also makes the gun impervious to all kinds of abuse. The Nova has other strengths. It’s heavy, for one, as a waterfowl gun should be, and few are anymore. Its 8-pound weight smooths your swing and soaks up recoil. The forend extends all the way back to the receiver, so those of us who like to take a short hold on a shotgun can cycle it comfortably.

The Nova I used to own had an extremely heavy trigger pull, and while mine was an outlier, Nova triggers can still use a visit to a gunsmith in order to make lighter. Also, the safety button is tiny and located ahead of the trigger guard. I never actually had a problem finding mine in a hurry, but I always worried that I would.

Best Youth Pump: Mossberg Bantam

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Specs 

• Gauges: 20-gauge, .410 bore
• Weight: 6.5 pounds (20-gauge with 22-inch barrel)
• Length: 40.75 inches with 22-inch barrel
• Barrel: Vent rib, three chokes
• Stock: Hardwood
• Receiver: Blue
• Price: $518

Pros

• EZ-grip forend, tight-radius pistol grip and short LOP for smaller shooters
• Reliable Model 500 action
• Full-size stocks and barrels are available

Cons

• Poor recoil pad

No one offers more compact/youth shotguns than Mossberg. Countless kids take their first shots with a Bantam, and you can add full-size stocks and longer barrels so the gun can grow with the shooter. A scaled-down version of the popular Model 500, the Bantam comes with a 13-inch length of pull and a 22-inch barrel to make it easy for smaller shooters to handle. The pistol grip has a tighter radius, and the EZ-Reach forend on some models is easy to reach. Don’t think there won’t be recoil just because this is a 20-gauge. The gun could use a softer pad to keep new shooters from learning a flinch.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Pump Shotgun

A pump gun can last two or three generations. Stretch your budget and get the one you want. Even so, no pump will cost as much compared to a decent semiauto or break-action gun. Be sure the gun’s controls and ergonomics work for you. Some pumps have forends located such that you have to take a long hold on the gun, which not everyone (me included) prefers.

Think about what you will use this gun for. In general, a heavy gun is a better choice for any kind of shooting in which the gun won’t be carried far. If it’s for a special purpose, look for features like drilled and tapped receivers or sling swivel studs that you will need. And you can always buy extra barrels to make a gun more versatile.

As far as accessories go, you’ll find far more aftermarket parts and accessories for the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500/835 than for any other guns, many of which require no gunsmithing. That’s something to consider if you like customizing your shotguns.

Short-shucking

One of the few ways to make a pump gun malfunction is to not fully pull the slide back when you’re ejecting a shell. If you don’t, you “short shuck” the gun. When you do, the empty shell won’t travel far enough back for the ejector to kick it out of the gun. Meanwhile, the shell lifter picks up and elevates the next shell out of the magazine, but there’s no place for it to go with the empty in the way, and you’re stuck.

It’s easy enough to clear this malfunction. You just pry them empty hull out, but it does put the gun out of commission when you probably need it to fire again. The remedy is to teach yourself to pull back hard on the slide and to slam it shut. Pumps are made to be cycled roughly.

FAQs

Best Pump Shotguns: Final Thoughts

The pump shotgun has a long history in the United States, and it remains a functional, viable action type for many kinds of shooting. It’s still the preferred gun for home defense, law and enforcement and most military applications because it is so reliable and not finicky about ammunition. Pick the right pump, and it will give you a lifetime of faithful service. Even if you later move on to semiautos and break actions, a pump makes a great backup and bad weather gun.

The post Best Pump Shotguns for Hunting and Target Shooting appeared first on Field & Stream.

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This year, Browning announced the sad news that their BPS shotgun has been discontinued. A staple in the Browning lineup for over 40 years, the BPS first appeared in 1977.  It was a well-made, well-fit-and-finished pump gun. It looked like a Browning, with deep, rich blue and glossy walnut. Its all-steel receiver gave it a solid heft. And it had a Browning pedigree. Inspired by the John Browning-designed Remington 17 and Ithaca 37, it was a bottom-ejecting pump. You loaded it through the port in the bottom, and the shells ejected out the bottom, too, not into the face of the person sitting to your right in the duck blind. It also had a top safety, making it a genuinely ambidextrous gun.

The BPS came in all the gauges, from the massive 10 to the .410. Sixteens were made occasionally as special runs. There were field guns, a trap gun, slug models, and a short-barreled, straight-stocked upland gun. As a left-handed shooter, I had to have one as soon as I realized they existed. A 20-gauge BPS with a 26-inch barrel and Modified choke was one of the first guns I ever bought. To this day, it remains my favorite BPS, although I have bought and sold several over the years. I shot ducks, pheasants, and woodcock with that gun. I loaned it to my friend Jay when I took him hunting, then, to my almost immediate regret, I allowed him to talk me out of it for all of $250. I still miss it.

I shot my first 25-straight at skeet with a 28-gauge BPS I had on loan from Browning. For a few days, I was afraid I would have to get rid of all my other guns and shoot it exclusively. The 28- and .410 BPS models were built on the 20-gauge frame, which made them a bit heavy for the uplands but especially shootable for clays and doves. Sweet as that 28 was, it wasn’t magic. At the next outing to the gun club with it, my scores fell heavily back to earth. That was a relief, honestly, as I liked my other guns, too.

Related: The 50 Best Guns of All Time

My next BPS was a 12, made during the BPS’s unfortunate engraved phase. It is true that the BPS receiver, with no ejection port to get in the way of engraving patterns, begged for decoration. What it needed was a sparse design like the one on the Auto 5, not a full coverage of scroll and game scenes so faintly executed that it disappeared if viewed at more than arm’s length. I covered the engraving with camo tape in the springtime, and mounted iron sights on the rib. I shot turkeys at home with it for a few years, and took it Missouri and Mississippi and shot turkeys there, too.

I eventually got rid of the engraved gun and found a used post-engraving BPS. I took it on duck hunting trips. Once, on my way to Arkansas, the guy at the airline check-in counter in Memphis told me what a nice gun I had when I took it out of the hard case to show him it was unloaded. That was the BPS in a nutshell: It was a pump gun that owners were proud of and others admired.

And, the BPS worked. I once tripped on a steep bank and accidentally flung my BPS into a muddy creek. It went in barrel first and stuck, standing out of the water for an instant then listing like the Titanic to slide under the murky water. I fished it out—I hadn’t loaded it yet—and rinsed all the gritty mud out of it as best I could. It sounded like a coffee grinder when I shucked a slug into the chamber, but I killed a buck with it half an hour later.

My last BPS was a 10-gauge. At 10-plus pounds, it pointed surely. All that weight soaked up recoil, too, making it surprisingly pleasant so shoot. It was a great goose gun, although the forend of a bottom-eject pump has to be set well forward, especially with a 3 ½-inch action. I never got completely comfortable cycling that gun. It made me feel as if my arms were short. When the chance came to trade it for a Gold 10, I did.

So, what happened to the BPS? Times changed. Semiautos were still called jam-a-matics in 1977, and many hunters back then preferred to shoot pumps even if they could afford a semiauto. As semiautos got better, the reliability gap between pumps and autoloaders shrank. Costs rose. The real advantage between pump and semiauto shotguns became price. The pump market adjusted. Remington responded with the Express in the 1990s, a cheaper version of the Wingmaster. Benelli introduced the very affordable Nova around 2000. Mossberg kept cranking out the same humble, durable Model 500 it has always made.

Related: The Best Cheap Pump Shotguns

The BPS wasn’t intended to be a cheap pump, and Browning stuck by its gun for a long time. While it’s too bad the BPS was discontinued, honestly, it stayed around a little too long. In the last years of the BPS, it was readily apparent that costs had to be cut to keep the price down, and the gun no longer looked like the glossy 20-gauge that I bought so many years ago. But that can hardly be counted against it in the big picture. For nearly 50 years, the BPS was a refined and reliable pump gun that any hunter could be proud to uncase. It may no longer be in production, but Browning made a lot of BPSs in 47 years. If you want one, both as a great hunting gun and as a relic of time that has just recently passed, you can find one used with plenty of shooting left in it.

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The secret to shooting a revolver accurately is the just the same as it is for shooting a pistol. It’s the simultaneous execution of proper sight alignment combined with a good trigger press. Knowing how to hold a revolver is part of that formula, and there are some similarities to holding and shooting a revolver and a pistol. But there are also some important differences—so important that you can wind up injuring yourself if you don’t know them. So, let’s get to it. Here’s how to hold a revolver correctly and safely—plus how to shoot the gun and hit what you’re aiming at.

How to Hold a Revolver: The Shooting Hand

Pistols have a distinct arch in the grip where the web of your hand goes. That arch is minimal on most double-action revolvers and nonexistent on most single-action revolvers. With both it’s possible to place the web of your hand too high on the grip. For most shooters with normal-size hands, the best way to establish the proper grip is to first place your trigger finger along the bottom edge of the cylinder, parallel to the barrel, and then wrap your fingers around the grip. Your middle finger should rest in the arch of the grip frame behind the trigger guard.

Now that you’ve got grip elevation correct, you need to finalize the windage, so to speak. To find your natural point of aim and ensure that you’re pulling the trigger straight to the rear, the revolver should also be in line with your forearm. In other words, there should be a straight line from the revolver’s front sight all the way back to your elbow. If not, you’ll struggle to get your hits.

Related: Q&A With Legendary Revolver Shooters Jerry and Kay Miculek

How to Hold a Revolver: The Support Hand

You can shoot a revolver with one hand, cowboy-style, if you have the proper grip tension, and we’ll discuss that shortly. But just as with a pistol, you can shoot a revolver better with two hands. However—and this is important—you hold the latter differently. The most common way to shoot a pistol with two hands is with both thumbs relaxed and pointing forward. It can be unsafe to shoot a revolver this way.

This is because when you fire a revolver, hot gases escape from between the cylinder and forcing cone, and they blast outward at 90 degrees. If you’re shooting a rimfire revolver and your thumb is in this area, it will feel uncomfortable; you might even receive a slight burn. If you’re shooting a centerfire revolver, like a 44 Magnum, this blast can permanently damage or possibly remove the tip of your thumb. So, consider this an iron-clad safety rule: When shooting a revolver, never allow your fingers, thumb, or any body part, to extend past the forward edge of the cylinder.

So, what do you do with the thumb of your support hand? There are two practical options. Right-handed shooters can place the tip of the thumb of their shooting hand just behind and even slightly against the cylinder shroud on the left side of the revolver. Then they can place their support thumb just below it. This method works with light-recoiling revolvers, but hard kickers can pound the thumb. Also, some revolvers have the cylinder release positioned on the cylinder shroud on the left side of the revolver, which makes this uncomfortable.

As a general rule, the most effective way to hold and shoot a revolver with both hands is to rest the thumb of your shooting hand on top of your middle finger, where it wraps around the grip. Then, place your support hand over your shooting hand, and apply slight downward pressure on the shooting hand thumb with your support-hand thumb, as in the photo below.

How Much Grip Force to Use

Once you position your hands correctly, you need to apply suitable force to control the revolver. With rimfire and light revolvers, the same grip force you would apply during a firm handshake will suffice. But unlike most pistols, some revolvers can be like a hand cannon, and just a firm handshake might not be enough.

For example, a firm handshake grip is sufficient for a 30-ounce, 38 Special revolver. It will generate 4 to 5 foot-pounds of kinetic recoil energy. A 44 Magnum revolver—even one as heavy as 48 ounces—with full-power loads can generate 24 foot-pounds of kinetic recoil energy. That’s nearly five times more, and a firm handshake grip might not be enough. Powerful revolvers require a stiff grip and the firm extension of your arms to keep the revolver in hand, and to keep it from smacking you in the forehead.

The Right Way to Press the Trigger

You should place your trigger finger on the trigger, centering the pad of your finger on the trigger. A right-handed shooter with too much finger on the trigger—that is, with the trigger near the last joint of the finger—will likely pull shots to the right. If there’s not enough finger on the trigger—with the trigger near the tip of the finger—will likely result is misses to the left.

Revolver Hammer Operation

One difference with shooting a revolver and a pistol is the hammer. With a single-action revolver, you must cock the hammer prior to each shot. This is also an option with most double-action revolvers. If you’re shooting one-handed and need or want to cock the revolver, use the thumb of your shooting hand. If you’re shooting with two hands, it’s easier and faster to cock the hammer with the thumb of your support hand. If you’re shooting a revolver in the double-action mode, when you pull the trigger it cocks and releases the hammer, and there’s no need to get your thumbs involved.

How to Hold a Revolver: Putting It All Together

If you follow the instructions above, you will have a safe and proper hold on your revolver. But to have a good hold depends on your hands and the size and shape of the revolver and its grip. The only way to asses this is to shoot it and see. You need to discover if you can effectively control the recoil, if your hand is the right size to allow your trigger finger to be positioned properly, and to see if you can maintain the correct grip while firing multiple shots.

If you can’t do these things, you may need to adjust your grip, and if that doesn’t work, you might need to adjust your revolver by installing different grips. In some cases, you might need to trade for a revolver that better fits you. Once you’re correctly holding a revolver that fits you, if you align the sights properly and press the trigger straight to the rear without disturbing that sight picture, you’ll get your hits.

Read Next: The 25 Best Handgun of All Time

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When Air Venturi released its Avenger pre-charged pneumatic air rifle several years ago, the gun immediately drew fans for offering excellent performance at a modest price point. The wooden stock version has the same power and accuracy as the synthetic stock original in a form that will appeal to more traditional gun enthusiasts. Even though the wooden stock Avenger can be had for just a touch over $400, it comes with an adjustable regulator and hammer spring for nearly infinite tuning possibilities. I spent the last few weeks at the range testing the .22 caliber budget-friendly airgun. Here are the results.

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Specs

• Type: PCP
• Action: Repeater
• Caliber: .22 (tested); .25
• Projectile type: Pellets, slugs
• Feet per second: 930 fps (.22); 900 fps (.25)
• Energy at muzzle: 34 foot-pounds (.22); 45 foot-pounds (.25)
• Sights: No sights; 11 mm dovetail/Weaver combo for mounting a scope
• Length: 43.75 inches
• Weight: 7.3 pounds
• Required accessories: Air source (tank, compressor or pump)

Pros

• Accurate
• Easily tuned
• Affordability
• Smooth trigger for the price
• Traditional looks

Cons

• Strange pressure gauge alignment
• Adding a suppressor requires an adapter

Air Venturi Avenger .22 Overview

As pre-charged pneumatic airguns began catching on in the U.S. a little more than a decade ago, companies started offering entry-level performance rifles and pistols at reasonable prices. With a rifle like the Benjamin Discovery, a new PCP shooter could get into the game for well under $500, including a hand pump for filling the gun. But to get a rifle that offered the tuning possibilities—such as an adjustable regulator and hammer spring—that shooters who crave accuracy at ranges out to 100 yards and beyond wanted, the price of admission was more significant.

The Air Venturi Avenger is one of the rifles helping change that. Tunable, accurate, and retailing for less than $400, the synthetic stock Avenger was an immediate hit. The wood stock version followed, offering a bit more heft and more traditional styling for about $430. There are now a bunch more Avengers in the line, including a bullpup and the modular Avenge-X platform. The stock on this version isn’t fancy, but it’s still nice, with checkering on the grip and forestock.

The wood stock Avenger features a 180 cc air cylinder, which is filled using a male Foster fitting. The max fill pressure is 300 BAR (4,351 psi), which will be good for 45 to 90 shots, depending on the tune. Strangely, both the regulator and tank fill pressure gauges were aligned at odd angles on the tested rifle. That had absolutely no impact on performance, of course. It was just weird.

The .22 features a 10-shot rotary magazine, while the .25 mag holds eight pellets or slugs. The Avenger’s 22.75-inch barrel is fully shrouded, but not baffled. In higher power settings, the gun produces a pronounced “snap”, but it is still backyard friendly. The barrel requires an adapter for a suppressor and features a Picatinny rail on the underside of the stock, which is handy for installing accessories such as a bipod.

At the Range

After mounting an Element Helix 4X-16X FFP scope and doing a quick sight-in at my 25-yard backyard range, I headed out to my gun club to see what the Avenger could do at longer distances with a variety of ammo and tuning.

The rifle arrived with the regulator set to 150 BAR (about 2200 psi). The regulator is easily adjustable using a flathead screwdriver. Decreasing the pressure requires fully degassing the gun (simply accomplished with a hex wrench). Because I always have a topped-off fill tank on hand and don’t have to worry about conserving air, I never lowered the pressure. The initial groups were good enough that I didn’t even bother bumping the regulator up, though it’s something I’ll try down the line.

I experimented with the hammer spring, adjusting it up and down to see how the rifle performed at different power levels. Adjustments are done with a hex bolt located at the rear of the rifle breech. With the hammer spring cranked nearly to its max, I was able to get a shot string that ranged from 935 to 953 feet per second with 18.1-grain FX domed pellets. The same setting pushed 22-grain FX Hybrid slugs downrange in the 750 fps range.

Accuracy at that level was good but not great, so I backed the hammer setting off two full turns. That resulted in an average velocity of right at 900 fps with the FX pellets. Accuracy with those pellets was excellent, with the best 50-yard group measuring .25 inch center-to-center. That’s the kind of group I’m happy to shoot with a $2,000 PCP, so it’s thrilling to do it with a gun costing less than $500.

Despite a decent breeze, I managed 2-inch c-t-c groups with both the FX pellets and slugs at 100 yards. For the first time shooting at that distance and with minimal tuning, I was happy with that, too.

I tried slightly heavier (21.14 grain) H&N Barracudas at 50 yards, but they didn’t perform as well as the FX pellets. However, the FX Hybrid slugs were reasonably accurate. I also tried some 23-grain, .218-diameter Patriot Javelins that shoot well through a slug-optimized FX barrel liner, but they performed poorly in the Avenger.

The Avenger’s trigger is a big contributor to its accuracy, which is outstanding for a gun in this price range. Take-up is smooth, and the wall is solid. With the factory setting, it broke cleanly at 1.5 pounds. It’s fully adjustable, and if I were to really try to tune the rifle for benchrest shooting, I’d probably back the breakdown to a pound or so.

The side lever action is smooth, though it did take a bit more forward pressure to load slugs compared to pellets. The safety is convenient and crisp, located on the right side of the stock above the trigger.

Final Thoughts

It’s hard to find fault with the wood stock version of the Air Venturi Avenger. It’s a good-looking rifle. But, more importantly, it’s a great-performing rifle, especially for the price. It’s cheap enough to make for a good knock-around hunting airgun, but accurate enough to get someone started in competitive long-range shooting.

Frankly, the most expensive part of an Avenger kit should probably be the scope because this rifle deserves a good optic (like the $469 Element Helix I used in testing). After spending some time with this rifle it’s easy to understand why it has earned a reputation as one of the best, if not the best, entry-level PCPs available.

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If you own a firearm—whether for hunting or shooting—you know how important it is to keep your gun clean. It keeps it functioning properly and safely, extends its lifespan, and prevents jams and other failures. To make the process easier, you can snag the Gloryfire Universal Gun Cleaning Kit, which is currently on sale for 25 percent off at Amazon. Right now, it’s marked down to just $37.

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Whether you have a shotgun, rifle, or pistol (or all of the above), the Gloryfire universal gun cleaning kit has all the tools you need. The brass rods and durable nylon tips and jags are sturdy and long-lasting, while the dense bristle brushes are effective at removing debris. You’ll also get bottles for storing cleaning oil and solvent along with adapters to make the tools work for almost any caliber gun. The case itself keeps everything neat and organized.

This is a limited time only deal, so don’t hesitate to grab one of the kits at its discounted price.

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