A hunting airgun for under $100? Yes – and it’s accurate!

By B.B. Pelletier

Many airgun hunters think airguns costing under $100 are too cheap to be powerful and accurate for hunting. They’re wrong, and I’m going to prove it with the Daisy 22SG!

Technology is the reason the 22SG costs so little
Airgun makers can’t make guns the way they did 50 years ago, and you wouldn’t want them to. Those guns had so much in material costs and so much machine time that they would cost many times more than today’s bargain airguns. By using the most modern manufacturing methods, smart manufacturers turn out a superlative product for a surprisingly small amount of money. Daisy is just such a company, and they manufacture airguns as powerful and accurate as the pneumatics of the 1950s – but affordably!

Dissecting the 22SG, piece-by-piece

The barrel is a button-rifled steel tube nestled inside a polymer-reinforced tube that’s inside another sheet-steel outer tube. Sounds like a lot just to make a barrel, but it results in accurate, high-speed rifling of materials that are very strong. This method avoids drilling deep, straight holes, which are the bane of gunmakers everywhere! You get an accurate barrel that doesn’t cost a fortune to make.

The pump on the 22SG doesn’t need Hercules to work it! Daisy did this by using proven polymer pump technology coupled with an O-ring pump piston seal. They refined the design with guns like the legendary Avanti 853 single-stroke target rifle. This gave them credible hunting power from similar components. The 853 is made for youthful shooters, so the lessons learned for its design naturally makes the 22SG easier for adults.

The receiver is perhaps the most telling part on the gun, because the outer shell is made of cast aluminum. It doesn’t have to be, but Daisy made it that way to convey a sense of value to the customer. For years, a very similar receiver made of polymer worked just fine, but Daisy knew their customers wanted wood and steel – so they redesigned the parts with the highest profile. Inside the receiver are many steel parts that give this gun a feeling of robust value when coupled with its hardwood furniture.

What do you get for under $100?
You get a true multi-pump pneumatic capable of hunting small game, which is what the SG stands for. You also get a 4x scope with duplex reticle and the mounts to put it on the gun! That’s a lot for the price you pay. In fact, I dare you to find a quality pneumatic rifle made of wood and steel that shoots accurately and reliably – and comes with a scope and mounts – for less than $100.

If you’re on a tight budget but still want to hunt small game with an air rifle, you can’t go wrong with the 22SG!