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177 v 22 rabbits ?


Ferret664
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just interested to see what people prefer when it comes to rabbit shooting with a sub 12ft/lb air rifle . I recently brought a air arms s410 in .22 but seems most people seem to prefer a 177 for rabbits ? I want mine for a general all rounder rabbits , squirrels , pigeon , crows ect and went for the more knockdown power of the 22 . I know 177 is flatter shooting.  Is there really much in it ?.

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I also prefer .177 as an all rounder gun .

Main quarrys being .

Rabbit. Squirrel .rat . Pigeons .crows .magpies. 

The advantages of a .177 over .22 imo.

Are the flatter trajectory  .allows for a more forgiving shot when estimating range over flat ground (rabbits ) and through  trees (squirrel,magpies .pigeons .crows ) 

The lower bc and lower penetration is beneficial  when hitting quarry in the head (rabbits .squirrel , and on the body of rats)

Accuracy .I find that a .177 is generally more accurate around the 35 / 45 yd  Mark than a .22 (it shouldn't be . But in real life it usually is) 

Advantages of .22 over .177 imo.

The greater mass makes the pellets penetrate quarry more .so better for body shots on big birds like crows and pigeons (there is little denying a good .22 puts a pigeon down harder than a .177 ) 

Thats it  .

So for me the .177 has more aces up its sleeves  than a sub 12 .22  .but if i were to be solely decoying pigeons at say 20 _ 30 yds on the deck where a quick body shot was required it would have to be the  22 .

thing is you can make your new .22 gun work for you .get a decent range  finder and practice  .the reality is there isn't a massive difference between the 2  and understanding your equipment and how to shoot it  will be the best tool you have .

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1 hour ago, Ferret664 said:

just interested to see what people prefer when it comes to rabbit shooting with a sub 12ft/lb air rifle . I recently brought a air arms s410 in .22 but seems most people seem to prefer a 177 for rabbits ? I want mine for a general all rounder rabbits , squirrels , pigeon , crows ect and went for the more knockdown power of the 22 . I know 177 is flatter shooting.  Is there really much in it ?.

.20 Cal i have 2 Rapids in .20 one sub the other fac running @ 27ft

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If you hit any quarry in the head both calibers will do the job.

I've had both over the years, I now only have .22 because that's what was available at the time of purchase. I could swap the caliber easy but I'm enjoying .22.  Ultrastu has already said it, body shots the .22 hits harder, if you can hit a pigeon or crow through its spine it drops on the spot, lights out instantly with no flapping about. The .22 then travels on and through the heart and lungs.  I've done the same with .177 but .22 is a little better.  You can use fast and light .22 pellets to flatten the trajectory. 

Also .22 is a bit better in the wind.

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21 minutes ago, Ultrastu said:

You know what figgy.its been a long time since I did some  direct .22 v.177 sub 12 comparison experiments .think I will do some wind drift testing .with a few comparable pellets and report back .

I might do some penetration tests also .

Look forward to seeing that, it might and probably is in my head but .22 always seems to hit with a statisfing smack. 

 

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7 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

just out of interest which pellet do you use in the fac? 

I also have a rapid in fac , it's.22 though and I use bisley mags , @34ft/lb they're awesome.

5 minutes ago, rapid .25 said:

I also have a rapid in fac , it's.22 though and I use bisley mags , @34ft/lb they're awesome.

When I did use .20 fac it was jsb diabolo 13.7grn. 5.10mm.

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10 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

You know what figgy.its been a long time since I did some  direct .22 v.177 sub 12 comparison experiments .think I will do some wind drift testing .with a few comparable pellets and report back .

I might do some penetration tests also .

I look forward to your results.  I know when I watched some long distance retained energy testing there wasn't much in it between the calibers. It was a lady shooter doing the testing with two HW100 rifles. Iirc the .22 just had a little more power but not enough to make a real difference.

My .22 impact bucks the wind better than any other gun I've used. 

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11 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

You know what figgy.its been a long time since I did some  direct .22 v.177 sub 12 comparison experiments .think I will do some wind drift testing .with a few comparable pellets and report back .

I might do some penetration tests also .

Hello, look forward to your results 👍

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The drift I seen was with a different gun and barrel. A Daystate Huntsman .177, comparing it to my .22 impact it was noticable at 90 yards. Usually the graphs in ballistic apps are good. 

Just checked Strelock Pro my .22 impact with 3ms wind at 90 degrees at 65 meters the hold for drift is 1.53 mrad, the exact same distance wind etc for the .177 huntsman is 3.24 mrad.  The difference between them is what I noticed on the range not the exact mrads but enough that it was a lot more. My Nephew has my Daystate now and was sitting next to me asking what hold I'm giving for wind, I was spotting for him after shooting I had shot a string at target. 

Difference in drop from 30m zero is 5.44 mrad for .22 impact and 4.4 mrad for the .177 huntsman.  I would have to check that at range as I didn't notice the drop so much as the extra drift.

Pellets are both JSB Exact the .22 is 15.9 gr the .177 8.4gr

The huntsman .177 is running in the low to middle tens foot pounds as it's most consistent at that. The impact low to mid eleven fpe. 

Screenshot_20200922-111002.jpg

Screenshot_20200922-111244.jpg

Edited by figgy
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My go to garden gun (35 yards or less) is my 25cal sub 12  BSA Lightning which does a number on squirrels and rabbits, head and chest shots being equally as effective.

Pellets (H&N FTT) whilst need to be watched for trajectory at range as zeroed at 25 yds, 3\4 inch drop at 30 yards and 2 inch drop at 35 yards still retain over 70% muzzle energy at 35 yards.

 

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I think we should go further and discuss the, so far, unmentioned ROS (rate of spin) or RPM to simplify - surly a higher RPM in .22 would negate any advantage over the diminutive .177 due to the Gyroscopic effect? The twist rate of your barrel, I'm guessing, is a conversation you have yet to have with your local RFD when buying  a Puffgun. Only kidding - but I wouldn't mind a squid for every time this debate has been aired. The correct answer IMHO is either calibre but not both - use one gun and learn to shoot it.

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