.22 or .17?

[craigheff 12]

getting an air rifle soon for shooting rats, rabbit, pigeon and some crows..

was wondering what yous think would be more suited to that type of shooting

 

cheers craig

[Buster321c 1,010]

.177

[craigheff 12]

would you mind explaining why are they more powerful?..more accurate?..or whats better about them

[Phantom 631]

Each as good as the other, the only two things that a .177 has over a .22 is price of pellets and a flatter trajectory

 

If you can put the pellet where its needed then either cal will kill what you hit in your list.

 

Tony

[Phantom 631]

Craig

 

No not you Craig, the other one

[Buster321c 1,010]

[secretagentmole 1,701]

Have a .2, flatter trajectory than a .22 and heavier hitting than a .177....

[zini 1,939]

Hi mate,

 

It comes down to a few things really on your part mate due to the list you have written being 2 potential night time quarry and 2 day time species.

 

I would ask myself the following questions:

 

Do you intend to go shooting rabbits at night? Rabbits are quite hard to shoot at night and not as easy as people first think.

 

Range estimation to the target at night is awful and a lot of shots go either over the top or under the rabbits chin.

 

To help over come this I now use a .177 with its flatter trajectory to help when I mess the range estimation up. (be aware though windage still needs to be applied in any calibre, .177 more).

 

If you’re just shooting day time any of the species you have listed both .177 and .22 will do the job easy, especially if you use a laser as well to estimate range for you or you are static hunting over a paced target zone where you know the distances to all your potential shooting locations.

 

I myself would pick a .22 for this kind of shooting especially on the rabbits and rats.

 

1 because I was brought up shooting a .22 and I like them and their stopping power and 2 because a rat is pretty hard and sometimes will run 2 to 5 metres once shot unless the shot is perfect in the kill zone (which we always try for) and the .22 just helps with a less than perfect shot as the rat will go over when hit just about any where by mistake giving you a second chance for a quick follow up shot to humanely kill it. With a .177 the rat as sometimes managed to run off wounded out of site to die.

 

Another question you may want to think about is, will you be attending HFT at all in the future or intending doing any target shooting? Here a .177 would be something to look at yet again due to its flatter trajectory.

 

In summary mate both calibres are as good as each other if used correctly and the shooter does his / her home work on the combos own hold over and under points. A .177 is a lot easier I would say to get better results with than a .22, saying this though a well calibrated .22 will still put pellet on top of pellet easily.

 

The general thing Im starting to see now is that lads are starting to move over to a .177 and are happy with it. For me I will always have my .22 rifle and if used in conjunction with my laser (without it and not knowing the range to the target I do struggle) will still get me brilliant results out to pretty long ranges.

 

So .177 for easier results, cheaper pellets but with more windage to worry about and the less stopping power on less than perfect shots or a .22 for harder hitting stopping power, self enjoyment in making a good shot, less windage to worry about but with the slower M.V and more expensive priced pellets.

 

Hope this gives you something to think about pal.

 

Si

[Countryplinker 4]

Top advice from Zini as usual , he's the man to listen to , atb.

[craigheff 12]

thanks alot zini..great read and very helpful not really sure what i want yet!..would you get a decent gun for 200 or 300 or would you be better off spending a little more for a better quality gun?..or dose it matter?

 

thanks alot

 

craig

[robwelsh 354]

depends if you want a precharge or springer? i got a springer, diana 280 carbine in 177 for just under 300 notes and that was with 3-9x40's ample sights but i sold them and put money towards 50 ir's,and thats claimed a more than good amount of rabbits, squirrels pigeons and crows,another thing you need to think about is the pellets, bisley superfield i use, accurate and they do fold over once hitting something giving the pellet a larger diameter,theres always articles about calibre choices in airgun world etc, and the conclusion always says , personal preferance. but if your looking for a precharge youd only get a good second hand precharge for that mate, iv never owned one but shot a few and theyre more versatile in the field, most being bolt action and magazines with 8,10,or 12 shot, meaning you dont have to break the barrel etc which can be a pain when your hidden away lol

[robwelsh 354]

..another thing once getting a gun is the right pellet choice..bloody nightmare lol

[shepp 2,285]

I would go for .177 with a PCP but I love my .20 HW95.

So .20 in a springer would be my favouritest :-)

[zini 1,939]

Hi Craig,

 

Thanks buddy.

 

I would personally look at the possiblilty of re charging a PCP first.

 

A cylinder or pump will probably set you back around £100 unless you can get one second hand.

 

If you already have a diving cylinder or a mate of yours has one and you can use it at free will then thats even better.

 

Rifle wise i would buy a single shot BSA Ultra or a Air Arms S200. They are both quite cheap but very good quality and have the accuracy caperbility to out shoot anyone i know.

 

Si

[J Darcy 5,871]

Some 24 years ago i had a .22. Then one day i met a lad in my local quarry and he had a .177 HW77. A rabbit was sat on the rocks well out of my range and this lad just whacked it, open-sights, straight through the head. That was enough for me and i have never had a .22 since. I've shot everything there is to shoot with a .177 and i don't see a single negative factor for them. The only thing some lads have said to me is "Well they don't have the stopping power for rabbits, rats and squirrels".

Well, you hit any of those three rodents in the head then if will be calling for their P45, cos the games over.

Cost aside, the .177 is a fast flying, flat flying lethal round and theres a damn sight less hold-over than with the banana trajectory of a .22. The rifles doesn't need to be souped-up, just straight-out-of-the-box 11.7f/lb and it will kill what you want it to kill.

Yes, maybe i'm getting stubborn in me old age, but best believe what your eyes tell you, then you won't go far wrong.

Today i'm nowhere near as keen as i once was, but having tried both calibres in practically every hunting scenario, on all quarry, both by day and by night, i know what comes out tops.....