whats best for vermin .177 or .22

[chrisjpainter]

.20 the perfect solution.

The best of both worlds? or each cal.'s negatives combined?

[Catweazle]

If you know your limits with the rifle then calibre makes no difference, be humane, enjoy your sport.

 

Having said that, I personally favour 0.177 and won't go back to .22 unless I go FAC, which is unlikely.

[NIGHT SEARCHER]

I use .177 Cal for long range Pigeons and Crows.

" " .22 Cal for most jobs like Rabbits and my Night Vision is on one of my .22 Rifles.

" " .25 Cal on close Range Rats & Pigeons in barns and pig pens.

Has a guide i suppose i have 10 Rifles 3 x .177cal. 6 x .22cal. 1 x .25cal. Don`t tell her indoors.

But has Chris says there is no answer. I find each Calibre has it`s own uses.

.177== Faster to the target. Flatter Trajectory. Less pellet drop. More Accurate.

.22 == Pellet choice vast. Good all rounder. Accurate and hard hitting. Most popular Calibre.

.25 == Great for close range up to 35 yds. Hits like a sledgehammer. Instant Clean Kills.

Great for inside Barns or shooting pigeons without shooting holes in the roof.

Hardy Rats get spun around and there Skulls Shattered with the 27 grain pellets.

 

HAPPY

Edited January 17, 2014 by NIGHT SEARCHER

[srspower]

It's a bit of a misleading question, what grain .177 and .22? Have you/can you adjust your air rifles power for that particular grain projectile?

[Agent Orange]

As already said by others there is no closed argument over which is the best calibre. I'm currently using .177 HW100 with a Hawke sidewinder 4-16x50 for nearly everything with JSB exacts. That said when shooting rats lately I tend to be using a bipod from a fixed position with a NS 200. It is literally almost impossible to miss a head shot up to 40m and very little skill is required for a good clean head shot. A head shot from .177 or .22 pellet is going to kill them equally the same.

 

Now if I'm torching and free handing I prefer .22. I'm not so accurate a shot as I am from the bipod but I'm generally in closer to the target and the Umphh of the .22 has better knock down without doubt.

 

Which would I keep if I could only have one calibre? Probably the .177 would get me more kills as it's easier to shoot varying ranges with, IMO.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Agent Orange

[Theskyfox]

 

Seconded !

 

Go .177.

 

Both calibres will do but this is what I would recomend and this is how I spent my money !

 

ATB

 

Matt

 

I couldn't agree more. I personally prefer .177. The higher velocity is more appealing due to the fact you get a less pronounced curve in the pellet parabola arc and it gets to the target quicker.

 

What you really need is to get down to a 50 yard shooting range. With your .22 you will notice it takes an extra second or so to hit the back of the range compared to a .177 counterpart, and the holdover is much higher on .22 as well.

 

In terms of hunting effectiveness the difference is negligible under 12ftlbs.

 

This is a horrible topic though, and will always result in internet arguments.

 

-Andrew

Edited January 21, 2014 by Theskyfox

[Lohbrügge]

On 19/12/2013 at 08:02, secretagentmole said:

What is best for my Ford Mondeo 2.0i Esso or BP?

 

Makes about as much sense. Both calibres are capable of clean kills, it is the shooter that is the major variant!

🤣 👍 👌 I fully agree.. I'm using Beeman Plastic Stock co2 Air Rifle in .177 for close range heavy pellets are very effective.. I'm also using Crosman 2240 5.5 mm .22 Pistol and it certainly got it's own charm.. Then I also use Sig Sauer .177 20 shot M17 blow back pistol equipped with Mitsubishi Laser Light. This gun 🔫 is for shooting in rapid succession at close range.. But Single Shot Co2 Rifle with 9 round magazine Beeman .177 and Crosman .22 Single shot Pistol 🔫 is for Hunting.. 🤣 Though I never Hunt for Fun and in Germany 🇩🇪 one require a Hunting license to shoot Rat 🐀 or be it a Rabbit 🐰 😂 Yes that's true.. Even penalty and fine for unauthorised Fishing 🎣 is over 7,000 euro 💶...

.22 or .177 isn't the criteria at all.. It's all in the eye  👁‍🗨 of a beholder, Experience, Weight of Pellet, Distance and the impact zone of a critter one wants to prey upon.. Bigger Better Burger 🍔 King 👑 isn't the Logic behind using .22 or less than that as .177 😂 Nevermind! 

[Ultrastu]

Welcome to the forum lohbrugge

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, rabbits/squirrel 177/ rats 22

[Mr.C]

Just wondered what the oldest thread in Airgunners was, you'll never guess? 😁

[Robertt]

Use both prefer .22 as it makes a bigger wound channel.

Use both out to my max, which is 55y , both equally accurate.

.177 is flatter but if your a half decent shot it's easy to work out the different tradjectory. 

A plus to the .177 is it's easier to sell and I think thats the only advantage.

 

[chrisjpainter]

8 hours ago, Mr.C said:

Just wondered what the oldest thread in Airgunners was, you'll never guess? 😁

mmhmmm! Lohbrügge must be a a proper grave robber to get this one up!

Am I allowed to bet that we'll never see him again?

Edited April 19, 2020 by chrisjpainter

[Farmboy91]

I pulled out a tin of Bisley practice in .22 yesterday to re-zero the springer. I forgot the satisfying smack they make at 30 yards. 

I do like a .22 but I would say I've definitely shot more with a .177 

[Mr.C]

Do 22's take more or less wind than 177's for the same shot. As I've mentioned before I only shoot targets and a 177's much flatter trajectory is the go to caliber. 22 has it's own class in competitions. 

[Ultrastu]

In my experience its speed that beats wind not mass or size  

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, yes 177 is the go to pellet size on target shooting competions

[manthing]

Neither. 

. 20 is the future. 😁😁

[Mr.C]

1 hour ago, Ultrastu said:

In my experience its speed that beats wind not mass or size  

So assuming that we're shooting sub 12 air rifles with diabolo fields. 

The 22 weighing 16gr @ 565fps and the 177 weighing 8.4 @ 780fps both making 11.35ftlb. The 177 will take significantly less of the equal strength same direction side wind? Just curious. 

 

[enfieldspares]

For sub 12 ft/lbs the old adage holds true of .177 for feather and .22 for fur. By choice for example I'd always shoot rats with a .22 and take shoulder shots. 

[Ultrastu]

1 hour ago, Mr.C said:

So assuming that we're shooting sub 12 air rifles with diabolo fields. 

The 22 weighing 16gr @ 565fps and the 177 weighing 8.4 @ 780fps both making 11.35ftlb. The 177 will take significantly less of the equal strength same direction side wind? Just curious. 

 

To be fair ive not done a exactly at the same time test of sub 12  .177 v .22

But my mate and i did do a direct side by side comparison of .22 v.25 

Both fac  from fx wildcats .my .25 shooting 25 grn kings at 880 fpe (45 fpe ) 

And my mates .22 shooting 16 grn jumbos at 930 fps (31 fpe ) .

We were doing  a wind  test across an open field with a 90 degree  constant wind r-l  .the idea was to validate chairguns wind predictions at  range .

We had targets at 50 70 and 90 yds ..

Now you would expect the .25 cal kings with more mass ,energy and higher bc .to hold better in the wind than the lesser .22 jumbos .

That was not the case .the extra 50 fps of the .22 allowed them to drift less laterally on the target .

Now if we take this as a trend applicable to .177 v.22 at 12 fpe .then the .177 should drift way less than the .22 going around 200 fps faster and having equal muzzle energy .

[Ultrastu]

1 hour ago, enfieldspares said:

For sub 12 ft/lbs the old adage holds true of .177 for feather and .22 for fur. By choice for example I'd always shoot rats with a .22 and take shoulder shots. 

I have to disagree with that .by 100 % 

I find that .177 is better for fur (rabbits rats .squirrels ) 

And .22 is better for feather (pigeons crows etc ) 

Your  ancient quote above comes from a time when springers made 9 fpe in .22 and 6 -7fpe in .177 .and using open sights shots taken at 15 /20 yds max were aimed at the body .so a .22 would just about have enough penetration to knobble a rabbit with a heart/lung shot .

Not so much the .177 .the tiny naff bc. Flat head /wasp wouldnt penetrate  the body and you would get a runner .

The feather for the .177, refered to the then common practice of shooting sparrows and starlings  off roof tops etc .where they would be more suited to cause less damage to guttering etc .Modern airguns turn the old saying on its head  

[enfieldspares]

That's interesting. Maybe as you say it was more sound when shots on live quarry were body (effectively shoulder shots) shots rather that headshots. I certainly found that .22 would never really penetrate through the breast of a pigeon into its vitals even from a front on shot. It's good to have these discussions. 

[Mr.C]

Be interesting to work out how much further and also/therefore how much longer the 22 spends in the air, more susceptible to wind, over 45yds, whilst travelling slower. 

(no I'm not taking the pee) 

Dunno if I have the maths for this calculation. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by Mr.C

[Stonepark]

Chairgun (now discontined?) used to do it for you.

[Mr.C]

OK well if I'm reading chair gun pro right, and it's by no means certain I am, a 177 takes 0.198 sec and 22 takes 0.263.

I must say it seems longer waiting for a plate to drop at 45 with a 177. Must have time to roll a fag with one of those 22 mortars.