Finding the best air rifles under $500 comes down to real-world performance, build quality, and how they actually feel to shoot—not just specs on a box. Whether you’re plinking in the backyard, controlling pests, or sharpening your marksmanship, these top-rated air rifles deliver power, accuracy, and reliability that American shooters trust without breaking the bank.
1. Benjamin Trail NP XL
Highlight: CHECKERED HARDWOOD STOCK AND RIFLED STEEL BARREL – Produces 70% less noise.
Constructive Feedback: “Magnum power with a nice wood stock. I got lucky and received a good rifle that shot straight (no barrel droop). Accuracy was great right out of the box with dime-size groupings (if I did my part).
The trigger is like most say here, pretty terrible…but with a little practice, you can overcome the long pull or just upgrade it. The rifle does favor the artillery hold, so that will factor in your groupings.
The scope is actually not that bad and has held zero well so far (be sure and keep it centered with as few adjustments as possible when zeroing…this will keep its strength up in handling the magnum power of this beast). The XL is a heavy beast and hard to cock…if you do not work out regularly.
A MUST DO when first getting this rifle is to inspect it thoroughly! Check for any cants, tighten the bolts, and CLEAN the barrel well! Then go and shoot the rifle and see if it has any kind of droop (left, right, or low, high shots).
If you cleaned it well and held it right it should have at least quarter-sized groups at 15 yards. If your rifle shoots significantly high/low/left/right from your point of aim…then take advantage of Amazon’s wonderful and speedy return policy to get yourself another rifle until you receive a good one!” – Shanon Ovalle
Trending Review: It takes a little time to get used to shooting a break barrel, but after some practice no problem. This is a powerful rifle. It can easily kill some small or medium-sized animals so parents need to make sure their kid can handle that type of responsibility.
This feels and acts like a real rifle. It is very heavy so I usually use a shooting stick when I shoot it. I shoot this in my backyard and it is not that loud. It probably takes about 500 to 1000 pellets to get the barrel seasoned. It averages around 900 fps.
Yes, the trigger is bad like everyone says, but again once you get used to it no problem. I will probably get a replacement trigger, but for now, it’s ok. If you don’t want to get a PCP Marauder for hunting, then get this and you will be happy. The nitro piston will hold the power in cold weather. -Nealio
Reassuring Review: I’m very pleased with this purchase, this is a good buy, thanks for a great product, I highly recommend it. -David
2. Gamo Swarm Magnum Pro Gen3i
Highlight: The GAMO Swarm Magnum 10X GEN3i .22 Exclusive Kit is ideal for hunting and pest control.
Constructive Feedback: This gun is a beast and doesn’t take hostages once the scope is locked in on it, good power, easy to use, The Scope is OK but think it needs an improved model due to the cost of the gun, the scope was easy to zero in 10 shots at 35 yds. would purchase it again. -Fulton
Trending Review: Loving my new air rifle. Great balance; awesome design; looks great and shoots incredibly well. My 12-year-old son and I can both shoot a 1-inch cluster dead center at 30 yards even with the inexpensive scope that comes with the rifle.
The breaking action is hard, too hard for my Son, but I view that as a safety positive and a natural consequence of its impressive range. We would recommend this product.
Reassuring Review: We recently purchased the Gamo Swarm Magnum Pro Gen3i Multi-Shot Air Rifle, and my husband is thrilled with it!
The rifle performs exceptionally well and lives up to its promises. It’s powerful and accurate, and the multi-shot feature is a game changer.
Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a top-notch air rifle!
3. Gamo Swarm Fusion 10X GEN3i Inertia
Highlight: Whisper Fusion noise-dampening technology. The quietest Gamo noise reduction technology.
Constructive Feedback: I have been shooting high-end pellet guns for many years. This one, although I didn’t figure it to be a high-end gun when I purchased it, is outstanding.
It is as good, if not better than the many other pellet guns I have in my collection. Dollar for dollar, I feel it is way better than many of them.
It is easy to arm, easy to load, and allows multiple shots with the 10-shot magazine. Very accurate and very light. -Timothy W.
Trending Review: The only gripe I have with it is that I was unable to use my laser bore scope on it, due to the flair and noise reducer at the end of the barrel.
I had to zero it the old-fashioned way. Once I did though, my shot groups were nice and tight, and it held accuracy through many many shots. It is pretty quiet, using my sound meter the highest I saw was 94db…which is not bad considering how powerful it is.
The 10 pellet autoloader is a nice feature and works great. -Jeffrey C. Johnson
Reassuring Review: The Gamo Swarm Fusion 10X Gen 3i rifle is fantastic. It takes 30 pounds of force to cock it but is very manageable. I am 71 and in good shape but glad I chose this gun instead of the big brother Magnum version that requires 30% more power to cock it. This 22 caliber rifle blew pellets right through a 3/8” OSB backstop.
Switched to a backstop of 3/4” 5-ply plywood, the rifle fully embedded the pellets but they didn’t penetrate all the way through. Plenty of power for squirrels and any other rodents you may wish to dispatch. The targets above are from my second session with the rifle, the first after sighting in the scope. No bench or bench rest, just sitting on the ground using my knees for support.
Gamo pellets, the Hunter impact 15.43 gr at 75 feet were decent. The Red Fire 15.4 gr was more accurate, although it could partially be attributed to my getting used to the trigger pull. ( Before yesterday, it’s been a few years since I shot a rifle.) The 30-foot target is the range I estimate for my bird feeder, where the squirrels have been harassing my feathered friends.
The 3-9x scope that comes with the Fusion is very good. The only con I have is that I have to break open the barrel to remove the scope covers or put them back on. The front cover will just about but not quite slip by the breech platform.
Small thing and I would rather break it open than loosen the rings and reposition the scope. (The base of the scope is anchored by a recoil pin and the barrel mount can’t be moved any further back when mounting the scope to the gun (but the screws on the rings can be loosened and the scope moved further to the rear. )).
A 5-star product and I am very pleased with it. The gun is also quiet. Makes about as much noise as an air nailer. The pellets make more noise hitting the backstop than the gun does spitting them out. -bill vasaly
4. Gamo Swarm Magnum 10X GEN3i
Highlight: Multi-shot magnum break barrel.
Constructive Review: This rifle is made extremely well has a good weight, is super powerful, and has a natural feel when getting on target. It is a little loud but works great. Would buy it again. -JB
Trending Review: This rifle is NOT A TOY!! Super powerful and accurate to 70 yards so far, I’ve only sighted it in at 50Y and moved the target back to 70Y and so far so good. unbelievable power for a .177 pellet rifle. much louder than I expected but should quiet down some after 50-100 rounds.
The break barrel is tight, I mean tight. I’m a big guy and it surprised me the pressure it takes to compress it and load a round. I like the 10th-grade magazine, easy to load. I definitely think it’s worth the money. Very satisfied. -WILLIAM MINTER
Reassuring Review: This pellet gun is perfect for my acreage. I can keep problem rodents and birds at bay with the help of this powerful pellet gun.
Boy have pellet guns gotten powerful! This is not the pellet gun of the 80s that I grew up with. On top of that, it came sighted in and is very accurate. 4 shots at 35 yards and 2 pests down.
I don’t have any experience with other brands but I know one thing, I could never buy another brand of pellet gun now. Gamo is incredible. -Nick in Portland
5. Gamo Swarm Magnum 10X GEN3i Inertia
Highlight: Shot technology enables you to shoot up to ten pellets without reloading. Single cocking system.
Constructive Review: Ordered with great trepidation, the Gamo Swarm Magnum, at $160 as a customer return, a super discount. Expected it to arrive with all the small parts missing, but somehow, in just its manufacturer’s box with a torn end and no outer packaging it arrived with everything intact.
Even the little bag with Allen wrenches floating around inside the box made it here to me, it’s a quandary. Sighted in the rifle, it’s everything the other comments make of it, works fine, and the scope is cheap but you get what you pay for.
The gun seems like super quality, the magazine is simple enough to figure out and handle effectively. Hits hard, my attic squirrels are in for a surprise. -cornwallav8r
Trending Review: Bought this Gamo rifle on Amazon from JBTools because they had the best price I could find.
The reason I bought the rifle is because I got my two sons gamo rifles a couple of years back and they are having so much fun competing in target shooting that I figured I would join in on the fun.
I haven’t used it yet and will probably wait for better weather in the summer. Can’t wait to have some father and son time with my sons who are competitive and they are grown men of 31 and 33 so old dad is going to have to show them how it’s done. -Rich
Reassuring Review: Love my Magnum! Very powerful, and very accurate. It is a bit stout to cock but the power this thing has is well worth it. I have found that mine likes the Gamo Red Fire and Gamo Rockets. 1″ groups at 35 yards.
The scope is nice but after around 250-300 shots, the crosshairs started to rotate inside the scope. Called customer service and told them and they sent a replacement out the same day. Very good customer service!
It is a Magnum and you will find out that these high-power springers are very hard on scopes, I’ve researched and found a Zero Recoil scope mount that will save your scope, and you can use any scope with it, not just an airgun scope.
Hope this helps if you are deciding to get one, and I highly recommend this gun. It’s a blast to shoot! -menfi
6. Gamo Swarm Whisper Multi-Shot Air Rifle
Highlight: Lightning-fast multi-shot action with whisper-quiet power, so you can focus on precision without breaking the calm.
Constructive Feedback: Excellent quality pellet gun that packs a punch. I live in a residential neighborhood and had a problem with a particular species of animal that was both annoying and causing property damage. And these animals don’t die easy. Most of the neighborhood was all for removing these animals, but others were against it so discretion was paramount.
After receiving the rifle I dry fired it in my garage and was shocked at how loud it was. I ordered a 3rd party scope and took the rifle to the range to dial it in. I ran about 50 rounds through it and it actually seemed significantly more quiet.
Firing the gun in a residential neighborhood is tricky, but with patience and precision shooting this gun delivers, you can get the job done without having your neighbors hate you. -Matt
Well worth the price
Trending Review: Wow I just received the Gamo 611006875554 Swarm Whisper Air Rifle.22 Caliber, Black a few days ago. And as a natural born skeptic I usually put more weight to the negative reviews. So I was on the lookout for shoddy packaging at first. No such thing this gun was packaged professionally.
Next, I figured the scope would be a piece of junk as many opined throughout the reviews. Honestly, I am not anything near a professional regarding scopes. But I will say my 1st shot at a squirrel which had caused $1,454 in damage to my Ford Raptor was 1 shot 1 kill. The scope came out of the box up to the task of a 50 yard shot.
The Gamo .22 pellets worked so well it killed the little piece of crap immediately. The gun has hefty weight and is of course louder than an average pelllet gun. But it was quiet when compared with my friends .22 crossman. I don’t know…but right off the rip this rifle impressed the hell out of me! -Rick
Reassuring Review: I now own two of these. I bought the first in 2020, and it’s still holding up strong. The second arrived today. I couldn’t resist the price. These are so easy to use, and as long as you keep them clean, they shoot extremely accurately.
Loading is a piece of cake. For those who find cocking difficult, I advise against purchasing a Magnum, which can start making your arm tired after a while. As for the Swarm, I have eleven pellet magazines and can plink all day. Yes, some pellets load into the magazines more easily than others. If you’re having trouble pushing seating them with your fingers, use the end of a match, a stick, a nail, whatever to push them in.
Don’t get frustrated. Pretty soon you’ll be a deadshot. And, yeah, the scopes aren’t great, but they work. (Understand your eye relief.) Anyway, I saw some complaints, and they had me mystified. For $150, these are a steal and so much fun. -PSmiddy
Final Words On The Best Air Rifles Under $500
Finding the best air rifles under $500 comes down to real-world performance, build quality, and long-term reliability, not just specs on paper. Whether you’re target shooting, hunting small game, or practicing in your backyard, these affordable air rifles deliver the accuracy, power, and value American shooters trust without overspending.