Thread: .177 or .22 for Air Rifle

Hello, New Here Member here from Auckland

Appreciate if anyone has recommendations on a .177 Air Rifle, or is .22 the best starting Calibre, Mainly Fun target shooting and Pests (Eyeing the Gamo swarm magnums Gen 2s but stuck on calibre choice)

many thanks

CB

assuming you are talking springers, 22 is bad for about 5 reasons.

Get 177.

See I'd pick a .22 over .177 every day. Better energy retention and impacted less by the wind.

But there isn't a chance I'd be picking a Gamo. Poor materials, design, QC and over inflated price for thier performance. For the same price a Cometa Fusion will by far outperform it and last about 4 times as long, the fact it is single shot really isn't a big deal.

Agree, the 10 shot mag is an overrated feature. I much prefer using my mates old higher quality single shot

If your in Auckland go and see Ron at Young's Airguns. As Mintie says check out the Cometa Fusions. Talk to Ron and get his advice. What ever you decide .177 or .22 get alot of different pellets and test each untill you get the right pellet for your rifle.

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

assuming you are talking springers, 22 is bad for about 5 reasons.

Get 177.

1. Ive had two different high quality springer 22 and had trouble with wandering zero in both. Its not just my inadequate technique with a spring gun because groups are often good but they move and screws come loose.

Originally Posted by Corn Beeph

Hello, New Here Member here from Auckland

Appreciate if anyone has recommendations on a .177 Air Rifle, or is .22 the best starting Calibre, Mainly Fun target shooting and Pests (Eyeing the Gamo swarm magnums Gen 2s but stuck on calibre choice)

many thanks

CB

Spring airguns seem to shoot accurately enough for fun target shooting at 10-15m .
For hunting like rabbits and birds, typical ranges are more 25-40m and normal people can only shoot precharged pneumatics well enough out there.
Ron young once indicated he considered 100m at 50 to be “very accurate” which is fine for fun shooting at baked beans tins. He does have the best range of guns and knows them well so Id recommend a visit and buy one from him. There are a couple of good online shops in NZ but you really need to know exactly what you want.

Yep another vote for go and see Ron. He knows his shit, Ive dealt with him for years..

.177 for feather and .22 for fur

If I am starting, I ll look at HW97, TX200 in .177 or HW80, Diana48/52 in .22

All these are heavy guns and a chore to lug around but in my experience heavy springers are more accurate/easy to shoot than a lighter ones.

Please don’t buy the Gamo. They are not good guns. Average quality, overpowered, harsh to shoot, 10 shot mechanisms are unreliable at best.

The right air rifle depends on a few things - intended use and budget.
Best value these days have a look at Cometa fusion. I had one of these in .177 that would group pellets in the same hole at 25yards.
Good build quality, adjustable trigger, accurate.
If you have the budget have a look at a Weihrauch - HW97 for targets, HW95 for rabbits, HW80 for possums.

In terms of caliber, .177 for targets, birds, rabbits. If you want to go after possums then go for .22…

Don’t buy the Gamo please.

Originally Posted by Mintie

See I'd pick a .22 over .177 every day. Better energy retention and impacted less by the wind.

We are talking springers here. These advantages are minimal.

For the same energy, say 20 joules, with 3m/s cross wind, at 50 metres, 22 cal has 12.6j and 9.3cm drift, compare to 177 cal's 11.3j and 9.6 cm drift. But 22 cal suffers 18cm drop, compare to 177 cal's 10.3cm drop. Also 177 cal goes from -1cm at 10m to +1cm at 30m. you essentially can ignore bullet drop over this range. 22 cal drops to 2.5cm at 30m, requiring you to start dialing earlier.

These advantages to 177 cal are even more pronounced at lower powered guns.

177

22

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

We are talking springers here. These advantages are minimal.

For the same energy, say 20 joules, with 3m/s cross wind, at 50 metres, 22 cal has 12.6j and 9.3cm drift, compare to 177 cal's 11.3j and 9.6 cm drift. But 22 cal suffers 18cm drop, compare to 177 cal's 10.3cm drop. Also 177 cal goes from -1cm at 10m to +1cm at 30m. you essentially can ignore bullet drop over this range. 22 cal drops to 2.5cm at 30m, requiring you to start dialing earlier.

These advantages to 177 cal are even more pronounced at lower powered guns.

177Attachment 238823

22Attachment 238824

Yes, but for hunting / pest control usually.22 will disperse more energy on impact - .22 will give a good thump where .177 will drill holes. It’s that dump of energy that aids an efficient kill and less pass through of the pellet.

So if it’s mainly targets go for .177, mainly pest control go .22

For the possum, don't shoot them in the head. My .22 @950fps bounced off a possum's skull at 5m range. Under the chin would have been better

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

.177 from a good gun will be adequate. The old man has a Gamo bone collector that does the business for what he wants.

The pellet choice should be considered when shooting game. There is so much variation in pellets and thereby variation in performance.

Originally Posted by J-S

Yes, but for hunting / pest control usually.22 will disperse more energy on impact - .22 will give a good thump where .177 will drill holes. It’s that dump of energy that aids an efficient kill and less pass through of the pellet.

So if it’s mainly targets go for .177, mainly pest control go .22

Firstly, I question if 22 really gives you meaningful additional energy dump. Theory is one thing, reality is another, see my earlier post about the supposed 22 cal advantage in energy and wind drift.

Secondly, given that springer 22cal is very range limited in the first place, i.e. you really cannot shoot more than 30 metres unless you range accurately and adjust drop accordingly. See my table in the earlier post, from 40m to 50m there is 10cm of drop. It is the difference between headshot and complete miss. I shoot a lot of possums, very small portion of my shots are within 30 metres. Rabbits are even harder to get close. Therefore I doubt you can use a 22 springer efficiently for fur pests.

If you shoot feather pests, 177 will be effective as long as it is a hit, but has longer usable range.

I admit that I dont do much pest control with air guns, I shoot pigeons and mynas in my yard and that is it. For any pest shoot trip I always use 22LR.