Airguns

Modern air rifles have moved a long way past plinking. Pre-charged pneumatics in .22 and .25 are genuinely capable pest and small-game tools, quiet enough for suburban properties where a rimfire is not an option, and accurate enough that the pellet is usually the limiting factor rather than the rifle.

The mechanism decides the experience. Spring-piston rifles are self-contained and need no support equipment, but recoil in two directions and destroy scopes not built for them. PCP rifles are recoilless and far easier to shoot well, at the cost of needing a hand pump or tank to fill. Choose the support equipment first — it is the part people regret.