I looked at buying an Air rifle to get Sparrows out of my Bluebird houses. There is a neighbor about 600yds so safety was a concern. I researched this and went and held some air rifles. I have a Crossman 2200 so pumping was out,PPS to expensive and, springers tear them selfs and scopes apart. So I bought a Marlin 981T to shoot CCI CB Longs. 10yd groups look promising. When it stops raining I will sight it in for 25yds. At 710fps these longs should be safe to shoot around the yard. The 981T will be a fine rifle for the porch and cycles longs like a champ.

I agree, it makes more sense monetarily to go with the CB's. Some rifles shoot them pretty well. The Aguila Super Colobri is another option for sparrows. It's wimpy compared to the longs but they are extremely quiet.

It depends where you live, if you live in an area where there is no discharge of firearms you are in violation with the cb's and could get in trouble. On the other hand air guns are not considered firearms although some towns have bans on airguns too. Just my .02 AL

I personally would go with a .22cal springer, or a .177 if all you're popping is sparrows. My .22cal RWS doesn't tear itself, or the scope apart. I've got a 4x32 RWS scope on a RWS one piece mount. It works just fine and doesn't shift from the recoil. Out to 50 yards it's all you need and is neighbor/law friendly in most areas.

I think Shakey's giving you a good suggestion. Any problems with the airgun, they take your airgun. With the CB, they might take you.

You'll want flattest trajectory and lowest noise. A good .177 springer would be my choice unless I had the that Marauder in .22 (why oh why did they have to send me that ad for it?).

Those neighbors 600 yards away will not hear the CB's. I'd bet the Colobris are quieter than most air rifles. I shoot them out of a single six in the back yard and have not had a complaint. Of course it could be the neighbors are afraid to I'm not suggesting breaking the law, the legality just wasn't mentioned in the original post.