Thread: .177 or .22 for Air Rifle

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.