Oops, I need to remove that listing as well, that gun was sold a wee while back.  They are bloody heavy so probably wouldn't have suited anyway.

Please don't assume I'm an expert on this subject matter, I'm just a retired guy relatively new to the sport who is prepared to express an opinion and keen to add dialogue to this forum which does tend go a bit quiet at times.

That said, the 340 is a gas-ram type and the 34 a standard springer.  Both have the T06 two-stage trigger which I would rate as equal to the Weihrauch Rekord trigger, but a little more tricky to set up.  Once done, it's brilliant.

I'd suggest the 34 with synthetic stock over the other for what you've said you want to do.  I know Kruza has a Diana AR8 which he seems to like, perhaps he'll chip in with his thoughts.

Ahh poop. 

So knowing what I am hoping to do with my air rifle (should I manage to get my hands on one), do you think your friend's TX200 is the sort of thing I should look at?

And in the Diana range 340NP vs 34EMS for a similar price. What's so different about them to bother having the seemingly similar two, at around the same price-point? I guess I mean to ask, which would be more suitable for me?

The HW50 was sold last week.

I have several Dianas, the smallest made in 1977 by Milbro in the UK.  Purchased from Collector Weapons, it's an absolute gem and highly accurate.

An Outlaw PCP, made in China, also a very accurate gun but had a few manufacturing issues when received. I was able to sort them myself and it's used by my niece for target shooting each week with good results.

Also, I recently purchased new a 340 N Tech followed by a Two Forty, both in .177,  The former is made in Germany, the latter in China.  The Two Forty is definitely not as well finished as a Weihrauch (to be expected at half the price) but it is equally as accurate as my HW30.  Not a high powered gun though.

The 340 N-Tec is a full sized gun that is equally as well finished as a Weihrauch and retails for around $750 new.

What I'm getting to is that regardless of where it's made, a Diana is going to be a much better and more accurate purchase than any Gamo/Norica/Benjamin et al. currently on the market.

IMHO

KiwiTR6, I completely agree, but at this stage I am still trying to determine where the line of diminishing returns really kicks in.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Benjamin Trail though, much appreciated.

I had a Benjamin Trail for a sort period (along with with several others budget models) but it was hopelessly inaccurate.  

Eventually (I'm a slow learner) I realised that the level of accuracy can be plotted on a simple graph with Dollars Spent along the X axis at the bottom and Gun Accuracy on the Y axis.