hi purplemick.
I am new to this site but i thought you might like a little addition advice as i am a game keeper. If i was hunting with an air rifle i would always pick a .22 over .177. There is several reasons for this but the two main reason's are:-
1, a .177 pellet can sometimes be so narrow and also much faster than a .22 that the pellet will travel straight through the intended prey without killing it. Hence just wound it and quite possibly die a slow death days later through bleeding.
2, when a .22 pellet hits it creates a much bigger entrance wound and cause far more damage to the prey than a slimmer .177 pellet hence has far more chance of killing plus it is less likely to pass right through the intended prey.
As for a choice of rifle you have a large range of rifles with your price range, however with your price range you can eliminate recoil by buying either CO2 or pre charge. Both have very little re-coil however CO2 rifles do not give a constant power and it can vary alot. hence if i was you i would buy a pre charge. with pre charge rifles you basically have a gas canister and fill your rifle up via the canister. these canister's vary in size from a 2ltr bottle to 13ltr. the bottles are basically similar to the bottles used in deep sea diving.
Most people that have pre charge rifles keeps a small gas tank in the car and a larger tank at home. The reason of this is because if you are on a long shoot your rifle may not have enough power to take more than 60 shots. Hence a small bottle in the boot of your car is very helpful.
I hope you have found this information useful and if you have anything you would like to ask me i would be happy to try to help you.
Richard