Daisy air rifles

[Mustangal]

I keep hearing Daisy has discontinued the 953 and 853 series of rifles and will only offer the 753.
Is that true?
These are good affordable rifles that work well in youth shooting programs.
Are they being replaced by new models?

[SPPcoach]

It was made public this month that Daisy was purchased by the Gamo conglomerate. This may be the reason, but that is just speculation.

[irwebb]

I've been searching for the past year myself to assist our county's 4-H Air Rifle/Pistol superintendents. I have yet to find anything in the price range with the same quality. I saw a couple of Beemans online, but they may be out of production too as Beeman didn't have any in stock. And they were about $50 more than the 953 was.

My advice to the 4-H families has been if you know someone selling a 953, buy it. Even if it needs to be repaired, call Daisy and get it repaired, they're worth it at this point.

[SPPcoach]

The Daisy 845 has been discontinued as well. That is too bad. This is the best gun for Cub Scouts IMO. It has the low velocity required by the BSA Shooting Sports Manual, easy cocking effort, and very good sights for the price of $89. What a shame. There is nothing close to it on the market.

The closest alternative is the muzzle loading Daisy 499. A great shooter but the muzzle loading feature is not ideal for beginners trying to learn the fundamentals of safety and it does not have the ability to shoot pellets like the Daisy 845 could (Webelos can shoot pellet rifles).