.177 or .22

[beemer]

I am thinking about getting an air rifle for plinking and pest control, mostly just another toy. I have a question about caliber, is there any advantage or disadvantage of a .22 over .177. such as cost , performance and availability.

Dave

[HARRYMPOPE]

The .177 is cheaper to shoot but past 25 doesn't smack vermin as hard as a 22.a good .177 spring gun will shoot under 1" at 50 yards.I shoot my .177's more often than my .22 but choose the .22 more often on trail walks by the house.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have both, and I shoot both frequently. The .22's are more expensive to shoot. Typically a tin of good quality .22 cal. pellets will only have 200 in it whereas a tin of .177's will have 500. And for the same price.

If you are going to just shoot targets or plink with the gun or hunt small game at short ranges 25yds and below then the .177 is probably a better choice. I had a .177 for 20 years before I got my first .22Cal. gun. A good gun can help to make you a much better shooter, and spending $4-500 on a good quality German Spring Piston gun that is made as well as most Firearms you see, is money well spent as the gun will outlast you if you just take care of it.

If you plan on mostly hunting with the gun then .22 cal. or even .25 cal. is the way to go.

PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic)guns require extra support equipment like Scuba Tanks to shoot in volume, or you can pump them up with auxiliary hand pumps like Lewis and Clark did. 1000 to 1500 strokes should be enough. The up side of PCP guns is the power and there are guns out there that are just plain **** Kickers. .38, .45 and .50 cal. are available as well as .22's and .25's. None of the big PCP guns are cheap.

Pump up style airguns take too much effort to pump up for each shot. Most are pretty inexpensive but there are good ones out there. Sheridan guns have been the mainstay of airguning here in the USA form decades. They are accurate and fairly powerful. They just take a lot of effort to shoot.

I personally would go for a .177 cal. German made Spring Piston gun such as made for Beeman, or RWS/Dianna, or Weihrauch.

A Weihrauch HW50 is a really good mid priced gun, Beeman R7 is a little more expensive, or the Dianna RWS 34 are all good choices that will last a life time and can be passed down.

Go to Pyramid Air and look at all the guns they offer. They are kind of the one stop shop for all things Air gun. If you see one you, like read the reviews, and then call and ask about the gun. When I said "German Made" I was speaking about "lifetime quality" of the guns. There are certainly other countries that make quality Air Guns.

The Chinese are not among them.

These are my opinions on Air Guns. Others will have different opinions. Do your research and decide what to buy for yourself.

Randy

[Bullshop Junior]

I prefer the 22. Has a lot more smack when you shoot critters with it.

[HARRYMPOPE]

I know they are Chinese junk to equipment snobs but my ruger airhawk(rws 34 clone) .177 was $70 new on sale and shoots well enough to hit shot shells offhand at 25 meters regularly.on paper it shoots under 1" at that range.German and English guns shoot better but paying over $500 for a tube with a spring in it is crazy.I do it but there is no way my tx 200 is a $600 gun no matter how well it shoots.

[bruce drake]

Are there molds for these pellets readily available? Or is this a swaged pellet only option? Can a .25 or .22 caliber boolit mold be adapted/sized to fit?

If I can cast pellets or use sized boolits for these air rifles than I might consider one in .22 or .25 caliber.

Bruce

[Lead Fred]

I had been using a Crosman 2289, 22 cal pistol/ with shoulder stock. Shoots real true.

A bud gave me his Dad's 1973 20 cal Sheridan Silver Streak.

It so out shoots the Crosman. Ill be selling off the fully modded 2289, and keeping the Sheridan

The OPs question, The 177 is too weenie, the 25 cal is too bulky.

I prefer the 20 cal over the 22 cal, but both are good calibers for an air gun

[MT Chambers]

Bruce: It takes a lot of work to get a reg. airgun to shoot cast well, first is the oddball dia. of approx. .252" for .25 cal. and .300" for the .30s including the Wolverine .303, and pellets are so darn accurate and fit is perfect because of the skirt. It's worth a try esp. if you want to shoot past 100yds, but buying the right pellets is so darn easy and relatively inexpensive.
I think that swaging bullets/pellets may be the best path forward, but folks have made such equipment very expensive. Another factor is the idea that you prolly won't be able to use the magazine(my .25 is 10 shot) with cast bullets.

[GaryN]

I have a RWS .177. I have had it for about twenty years. It is very accurate. It also shoots faster than the 22 caliber. But it has always been found wanting in the knockdown department. Penetration is great. It will shoot through a lot more than you think. But even birds run away after being shot sometimes. They can't fly because of the hit but I wish I had a 22 caliber.

[Buzzard II]

.22 cal. for the back yard safari.