I got one of these from BEST Air a couple of years ago, and continue to be impressed with the performance for the money. Biggest drawback is the mushy trigger. But using JSB .177 wadcutters I'm making head shots on ground squirrels at 30-35 yards.Haven't chronographed it, but probably should. It came with the Xisico 4X scope, which also seems to be holding up well.

all of the BAM air rifles are chinese clones of various other well know air rifles( Air Arms,RWS, Daystate, Weihruch,Anschutz, etc.). which clone is this? please understand i am not demeaning your rifle in any way- it's just what they do, and quite often they do a damn good job. i assume it is a break-barrel gun as this is what BAM is known for. there are a number of after market drop in trigger replacements for various Benjamins that work in the BAM series. check out the GatewaytoAirguns website for more help. all things considered, the BAM series of rifles are good value for their cost- cheap labor can work wonders in keeping the price of something low.

JD: I'm not sure which one this springer is a clone of, but yes, the Chinese do copy the good stuff from Europe. I've had several Chinese guns over the years and those from Xisico seem to be the best finished by far.
That said, my next will probably be one of the workhorse Diana 34s from RWS with the improved T06 trigger. I'll go with .22.

i recently sold my Diana 36 that i have had for 20 years and yes, it was a really good springer. their adjustable 2 stage triggers are excellent and the TO6 is even better than the older model that came in mine. i have just gotten spoiled by PCP's and finally sold all my springers. at least now i don't have to worry about biphasic recoil destroying a good scope!!

JD: I'd love a PCP, but they're so much more expensive once you add in the pumps, etc. It would be nice, though, to be freed of the back/forth recoil issue and the hold sensitivity of the springers.
In one of the great ironies for hunters and gun lovers, you live in a state that allows air-gunning for small game and game birds. I'd love to hunt quail and chukars with a pellet rifle.

i really enjoy shooting quail and doves, not to mention the ground squirrels and rabbits around the ranch. PCP's are are much easier to afford if there is a dive shop in your area and you stick to rifles that need 2700psi fills or less. a used scuba tanks can be found for $125 or less and a partial fill is less than $5. once you are over the initial cost of a PCP gun( under $150), shooting is cheap- unless you get hooked like i did and buy 2 scba firemen's bottles, a shoebox compressor, fill apparatus, and 4 Daystate rifles!!!!!!! the upside is I sold 4 powderburners and scopes( none of which had been shot in 10 years), so the out of pocket cost was less than zero!( i actually put money in my pocket and got rid of dust collectors). the air guns are all shot on a regular basis.

Is hunting dove with an air rifle legal in California? If so which species? Most dove, being migratory are federally controlled. That's the reason for the 3 shot limit on shotguns. Here in San Angelo Tx when I came here in early 80's, we had 2 type dove, mourning dove and a small dove which I think is an Inca dove commonly called a Mexican dove. Then in the early 90's white winged dove and another dove about the size of a white wing dove with a black ring on it's neck showed up. Now the white wing are very thick and outnumber the other type. Seldom see the smaller Inca dove now. The ring neck is not considered indigeous and is therefore not protected. They would be the only type you could shoot with an air rifle and not be at risk of a very heavy fine. Funny thing about that 3 shot limit on a shotgun, I don't recall ever taking 3 shots and know I never wanted a 4th shot. I saw two guys get fined $500 each for not having a plug in their pump shotgun.

Carpetman, we now have a growing population of European collared doves in Oregon, and they may be hunted during the Sept. 1-30 dove season, but not with airguns. They're just a bit larger than the mourning dove and have that partial black collar at the neck.

JD: I'm looking hard at the Benjamin Marauder in .22 for a possible first PCP, and possibly the English Hill hand pump.

the Marauder is probably the best PCP available for the money and the Hill is the ONLY hand pump worth buying. several others are cheaper but a quick check of airgun forums shows the junk that they are- and the Benjamin pump is the worst. 1 thing to consider- the shoebox compressor costs about $150 more than the Hill pump but will save you untold amounts of time/labor. if you buy the Hill pump, be sure and buy the dessicant/filter system. i am assuming that you live in a high humidity part of Oregon. as far as dove/quail hunting, i am not really sure about the regs here- i only hunt on my own ranch and usually chase jack rabbits/ ground sguirrels with doves/quail being targets of opportunity during their respective seasons.our dove season ended a week ago and quail season doesn't come in for a month or more.frankly if i were you and have a dive shop within 20-30 miles, i would buy a used( or even new) aluminum 80cf dive tank for $100 used or about $185 new. these tanks are rated for 3000psi and most dive shops will give you a 10% overfill. with 3300psi in it, you will get at least 10-15 Marauder fills( probably quite a bit more)- that's AT LEAST 400-500 shots(AGAIN PROBABLY MORE) before you pay $5-8 to fill it again. BEATS THE HELL OUT OF 15-30 MINUTES OF PUMPING WITH A HAND PUMP! less than a minute to hook it to the tank and fill it. a quality fill hose with pressure/bleed valve and micro bore hose is about $150-175. all total, you spend about $325 for (new) tank and fill hose versus $$400 plus for a Hill pump, dessicant, and fill hose setup. unless of course you feel the need for aerobic exercise during shooting sessions.