I have a crow problem, and I live in the city limits so I bought an RWS 34.  It shot some stellar groups of 5" at 25 yards, so I returned it.  The salesman at the place I bought it talked me into the composite stock version of the same gun, but I forget what it's called.  The groups are much tighter, but it can't be adjusted to get POI and POA within 9".  It shoots low with both the supplied adjustable iron sights and with a 4X scope I had lying around.  

I'm about at the end of my patience for this air rifle thing and am almost to the point of just buying some Colibri ammo for my 10-22.  

Anyone out there have an RWS that actually shoots?

Model 34, it shoots where it's aimed.

I have a 34 that I've had for more than 12 years. It is extremely accurate. I've gone throught three sets of springs and seals. Every time I get a new spring in, I have to go through a hundred or so shots before the spring compresses a bit. Then the groups tighten up quite a bit. I could shoot the head of a nail all day at 40-50 yds.

 Also, I found out that certain rifle scopes don't like the backwards recoil of a pellet gun. It knocks the stuff loose inside the scope.

I considered the RWS but ended up with a Beeman (German model) at a higher price.

At 25 yds. I'm busting whichever 1" tile I'm aiming at.  3-9x scope.

A neighbor has a cheaper Beeman and it shoots very well too.

Do you know anything about correct spring airgun technique?  Not the same as firearms.

Technique

Your gun should group under 1" at 25 yds.

I have 2 RWS airguns, they both shoot well.

I have an RWS/Mendoza 2003 that has a rep for being crap for accuracy, but with some tweaking and practice, I can regularly hit pennies from 40 feet away. It came down to technique more than anything else...

I had an RWS 45 that shot dime-size groups at 25yds. Sold it, like an ass.  That rifle taught me how to shoot offhand.  Killed a lot of pest birds, also.  I only wish more crows had come within range while I had it.

ed2: Just shim your scope to get it bore sighted properly.  Use carpet tape so the scope won't move.  Set the scope to it's 'optical center' before mounting, and use the dials for fine adjustments.  Or just set it at the middle of the adjustment range.

edit:

The problem may be the 4x scope.  You can't use a regular scope @ 25yds and expect good results because the parallax is adjusted for greater distance.  You CAN bring the parallax in by moving the objective lens to the rear, but it takes trial and error.  Better to get a scope with a P. adjustment for the ranges we're talking about.  

Check parallax by slotting the edges of a cardboard box to improvise a rifle holder, then insert the rifle and watch the point of aim as you move your head/eye left and right.  The point should not move, but should remain stationary at the reticle.

Also be very thorough when mounting the scope.  Spring piston guns will put mounts to the test.

Two suggestions.....

First.... Scope parallax will cause you problems with an airgun--rifle scopes are usually set to 100 yards and airguns are shot at around 30 yards or less, so you either need an airgun scope, or a 22 scope that has an adjustable objective and is rated for airgun use....

Second.... What you can do if the point of aim is too low.... is to bend the barrel upwards a bit. The barrel will need quite a bit more force to bend and stay bent than it does to cock the gun.
~

Quoted: I had an RWS 45 that shot dime-size groups at 25yds. Sold it, like an ass.  That rifle taught me how to shoot offhand.  Killed a lot of pest birds, also.  I only wish more crows had come within range while I had it. ed2: Just shim your scope to get it bore sighted properly.  Use carpet tape so the scope won't move.  Set the scope to it's 'optical center' before mounting, and use the dials for fine adjustments.  Or just set it at the middle of the adjustment range. edit: The problem may be the 4x scope.  You can't use a regular scope @ 25yds and expect good results because the parallax is adjusted for greater distance.  You CAN bring the parallax in by moving the objective lens to the rear, but it takes trial and error.  Better to get a scope with a P. adjustment for the ranges we're talking about.   Check parallax by slotting the edges of a cardboard box to improvise a rifle holder, then insert the rifle and watch the point of aim as you move your head/eye left and right.  The point should not move, but should remain stationary at the reticle. Also be very thorough when mounting the scope.  Spring piston guns will put mounts to the test.

Quoted: Two suggestions..... First.... Scope parallax will cause you problems with an airgun--rifle scopes are usually set to 100 yards and airguns are shot at around 30 yards or less, so you either need an airgun scope, or a 22 scope that has an adjustable objective and is rated for airgun use.... Second.... What you can do if the point of aim is too low.... is to bend the barrel upwards a bit. The barrel will need quite a bit more force to bend and stay bent than it does to cock the gun. ~

HUGE +1 to all of the above. 'Cept the barrel bending part.

Get a scope that has parallax adjustments that go down to the air gun range.

Said scope MUST be rated for spring piston air guns. These guns have very unique recoil and it can be hell on scopes that are not made to withstand it.

Instead of bending a barrel (yikes!!), you can get a scope mount that is adjustable. RWS just so happens to make one. How convenient! Then you center the adjustments on your scope and use the scope mounts to adjust POI until it is reasonably close. Only then do you use the adjustments on your scope.

Basically, Its not the guns fault. If you get the right scope and scope mounts, your RWS will be an incredible gun.

I shot several RWS airguns in competition years ago. They all shot sub MOA groups with Dynamit Nobel pellets.

There is a break-in period with new airguns as the seals and springs are really tight at first. Given some time and practice you will get better groups.

As mentioned before, make sure you are using an airgun scope for your airgun. Airguns will destroy the internals of a regular scope.

MPD165

I have a Model 48 that is very accurate as long as I use heavy pellets that stay subsonic.

It is louder than hell though and did break the Burris air rifle scope that was on it. The spring air guns recoil really hard and they eat scopes.

Quoted: Anyone have recommendations for a reasonably priced airgun that isn't as loud as a .22 but still has enough power to take down these damn grackels?

My friend and I used to go hunting frequently when we were kids.  Since my mom was anti-gun, I didn't have a pellet rifle.  My best friend, however, had several.

To the bats, birds, squirrels, chipmunks and frogs around his barn, I was a terror with a Crosman RepeatAir 1077.  For all intents and purposes, that rifle was mine; that is until my friend's younger brother left it outside for several days in the rain and it went to shit.

It accepts 12-round clips of .177 pellets, and is powered by a 12-gram CO2.  I probably got around 30-40 shots out of a 12-g before the power dropped off significantly and the CO2 canister didn't have enough pressure left to operate the rifle.  The one I used was pretty damn accurate and it packed a punch; it's pretty cheap, too, about $70.  

ETA: It makes a cracking or popping sound when it's fired, so I'd say it's pretty quiet.

Compasseco has the new Contender rifles. They shoot like European guns and run under $200. Tom Gaylord, the airgun writer said they are very accurate and powerful. I think the .22 is 900+fps. If I remember correctly it's listed at $189

Dude take it back and order a Drozd you will be much happier!

I just use a Polish M48 training rifle and CCI CB caps. The loudest sound is the cocking piece going "thunk".

Here is my RWS 54 .22cal airgun.  It is a sub MOA shooter with the right pellets.  Got a Bushnell Elite 3200 7-21x40 scope on it.

I've had a .25 cal. RWS Diana model 48 with an RWS scope for several years. It's accurate and hits remarkably hard. I like it a lot, but I don't use it much since I got a couple suppressed .22's.

I cant stand spring pellet guns. I much prefer a pump. I know that the new spring setups are much stronger, but id rather have a 25yr old Benjiman/Sheridan anyday.

THis is my 22yr old Silver Streak chambered in the ass-kicking .20Cal Pellet. I sent it to a old place down south that still works on the old ones and had them put new seals in it for me. I bought this gun when I was 9yrs old and at the time, couldnt believe that I paid almost $100 for a pellet gun.
I have laid out literally hundreds of squirrls and crows with it, and with 8 pumps it will blow completely through a full size Fox Squirrl.

Quoted: I cant stand spring pellet guns. I much prefer a pump. I know that the new spring setups are much stronger, but id rather have a 25yr old Benjiman/Sheridan anyday. THis is my 22yr old Silver Streak chambered in the ass-kicking .20Cal Pellet. I sent it to a old place down south that still works on the old ones and had them put new seals in it for me. I bought this gun when I was 9yrs old and at the time, couldnt believe that I paid almost $100 for a pellet gun. I have laid out literally hundreds of squirrls and crows with it, and with 8 pumps it will blow completely through a full size Fox Squirrl. i148.photobucket.com/albums/s24/nofbdybs/Silverstreak.jpg

Ditto every friggin thing you just said...right down to the year I bought it, 'cept I was in Illinois at the time.  Scary...

Still have it.  Killed lots of neighborhood critters over the years.

Springers are quieter.  And more efficient.

The only issue with springers is recoil.

Quoted: Quoted: I cant stand spring pellet guns. I much prefer a pump. I know that the new spring setups are much stronger, but id rather have a 25yr old Benjiman/Sheridan anyday. THis is my 22yr old Silver Streak chambered in the ass-kicking .20Cal Pellet. I sent it to a old place down south that still works on the old ones and had them put new seals in it for me. I bought this gun when I was 9yrs old and at the time, couldnt believe that I paid almost $100 for a pellet gun. I have laid out literally hundreds of squirrls and crows with it, and with 8 pumps it will blow completely through a full size Fox Squirrl. i148.photobucket.com/albums/s24/nofbdybs/Silverstreak.jpg Ditto every friggin thing you just said...right down to the year I bought it, 'cept I was in Illinois at the time.  Scary... Still have it.  Killed lots of neighborhood critters over the years.

I couldnt get a Daisy or Crossman to last me more than a few years. My dad told me I needed to save up and get a Benjiman, I thought he was crazy for wanting me to pay that much for a pellet gun. But I listened to him, and im glad I did.
I originally had intentions of buying a Benjiman .177, but the guy at the sports store seemed to know air rifles, and he was pushing the "new" .20cal pretty hard. I went with it and glad I did. The Sheridan .20cal pellets weigh 2x as much as a .177, and the same as a .22cal pellet. I dont remember the actual advertised FPS, but I think they rated it at something like 100fps per pump, max being 10. Still, not to shabby.

Quoted: Here is my RWS 54 .22cal airgun.  It is a sub MOA shooter with the right pellets.  Got a Bushnell Elite 3200 7-21x40 scope on it. i184.photobucket.com/albums/x166/CnAPhot/Airgun/RWS54a.jpg i184.photobucket.com/albums/x166/CnAPhot/Airgun/RWS54b.jpg

Cool
It seems like a side cocking model would be better for a spring job.
That fucker does look heavy though.

Jeese...I was just looking around...I didn't realize it but airgun pellets cost as much as rimfire ammunition...

I did not know that...

Although I suppose a good .22 air rifle is no different than a .22 rimfire rifle(dispatching zombie hoards not withstanding)...

I have a GAMO Shadow 1000 and it is accurate.  I can shoot a dime easily at 30' and whack chipmunks at 20 yards.  Only downside is the rear sight is cheap.  I would like to put something more reliable and repeatable on the rear, any ideas guys?

Sounds like either the rifle or scope is a lemon, or the scope isn't holding zero, possibly due to the recoil issue (this is why it's important to use an airgun scope).

Spring-piston airguns recoil in two directions, requiring the scope to be designed to handle that kind of recoil, as opposed to the single-direction recoil with a firearm.  

You may have bought a demo gun from that salesman - I bet it was a bit cheaper than the usual MSRP.  

Have you checked the bore for damaged rifling, particularly near the muzzle crown ?  Have you cleaned the barrel ?  

Airguns are capable of fouling up the same way as a firearm, particularly with lead pellets.  

ETA:  It's also possible that your scope is shifting under recoil, which is a real possibility with a spring-piston airgun.  There is a product called a recoil stop block that should prevent this.  

Quoted: I have a GAMO Shadow 1000 and it is accurate.  I can shoot a dime easily at 30' and whack chipmunks at 20 yards.  Only downside is the rear sight is cheap.  I would like to put something more reliable and repeatable on the rear, any ideas guys?

Does it have a 3/8th dovetail mount ?  If so, you can mount one of many varieties of peep sight to the receiver, such as this one.  

Quoted: Quoted: Here is my RWS 54 .22cal airgun.  It is a sub MOA shooter with the right pellets.  Got a Bushnell Elite 3200 7-21x40 scope on it. i184.photobucket.com/albums/x166/CnAPhot/Airgun/RWS54a.jpg i184.photobucket.com/albums/x166/CnAPhot/Airgun/RWS54b.jpg Cool It seems like a side cocking model would be better for a spring job. That fucker does look heavy though.

They ARE heavy for a reason!  Magnum springers have magnum recoil.

Quoted: My RWS 48 will do sub MOA up to 50 yards.  The only problem is POI shifting due to climate...this is common because barrel time depends on the humidity and atmospheric pressure. It has a 12x air rifle scope and the RWS scope mount.  Right now, it is being used for katydid eradication...got a bumper crop of these nasty bugs.  At night, you need to wear hearing protection, otherwise your ears ring from their calls.  Yes, an air rifle is overkill.

I've had a 48 since I was in high school, had the springs and seals replaced once.  Mine is old enough to say West Germany on it.

NEVER had an accuracy issue

Quoted: ....HUGE +1 to all of the above. 'Cept the barrel bending part. ....

Amazing but true.
Taken from  www.mac1airgun.com/droopers.html --

...Americans and Brits more often desire to fit a scope, so they run into the problem of how to cope with this misalignment. I often simply bend the barrel up to eliminate the barrel droop so the scope won't run out of vertical adjustment. I have found no adverse effects from doing it. Bent barrels can still be accurate....

Mac1 knows a few things about airgun tuning. Most of the "adjustable" mounts will rattle loose; using plain rings and bending the barrel up is more preferrable overall. -Unless of course, you have custom-mounts made, which is one thing that Mac1 does.  

Quoted: My RWS 48 will do sub MOA up to 50 yards. The only problem is POI shifting due to climate...this is common because barrel time depends on the humidity and atmospheric pressure. ...

I have not heard atmospheric changes to matter much to any easily detectable amount, except for big changes in humidity, when a airgun has a wood stock.

------------
Edited--below added

I have a old Beeman RX; I ordered it plain but later wanted to put a scope on it, so I sent it back for the "barrel scope angle" adjustment. This was an extra service you had to pay for, unless the gun's description said that it included it. I originally bought the gun with the regular open sights on it, and noticed that not even a cheap scope would work--the gun simply shot way too low.

After I git it back, the barrel still appears straight from the breech block all the way to the muzzle, and the breech seal appeared the same as well. So I dunno how they did it.... but I do know that when I sent it in, the barrel was not straight with the receiver--the muzzle drooped about a quarter-inch. And when I got it back, the muzzle was about an eighth-inch high.

After this, the scope worked perfectly, but now the open sights would no longer work...you couldn't get your eye low enough to line up the rear and front sights.

Since the breech seal is a fairly-easily damaged part, I'd bet the adjustment wasn't to that, and the breech block locks up into its detents just the same, so they didn't change that. So I would BET that they used some kind of machine to bend the barrel up somehow. .....This was on an air rifle that cost (I think) $460 at the time, back in 1992 IIRC....
~

Quoted: I have a crow problem, and I live in the city limits so I bought an RWS 34.  It shot some stellar groups of 5" at 25 yards, so I returned it.  The salesman at the place I bought it talked me into the composite stock version of the same gun, but I forget what it's called.  The groups are much tighter, but it can't be adjusted to get POI and POA within 9".  It shoots low with both the supplied adjustable iron sights and with a 4X scope I had lying around.   I'm about at the end of my patience for this air rifle thing and am almost to the point of just buying some Colibri ammo for my 10-22.   Anyone out there have an RWS that actually shoots?

Chances are, the problem is not the gun. Two possibilities:

1.) You've already trashed your scope. You can't use regular rifle scopes on a spring airgun. The vibration from the spring will destroy a scope in no time.

2.) You haven't figured out how to shoot the gun yet. Shooting a springer is not like shooting a firearm. They're very hold sensative. Try a LIGHTER grip and concentrate on follow-through.

3.) If your groups are good but low then you've got barrel droop and need special scope mounts to compensate. Get a set of B-square adjustable mounts.

I need to get my Benjamin's rebuilt.

I have a .22 pistol and rifle. Both of em need seals, they leak so bad they won't even create a seal to pump up anymore.

Where is the best place to get them rebuilt?

I'd do the sighting in at 10 yds.  Easier to see the marks and this is a competition range for these guns.  The bull is only slightly larger than the pellet on the target.