22 cal vs 177

[Striderman]

Hey everyone I pretty new here and been just hanging in the back round sucking up the infomation you guy provide.  My question is for general use target shooting and pest control.. rats, squirrels birds what cal is better.

Thanks

[victorcharlie]

That's pretty much Ford versus Chevy........the advantages of a .177:

Many different pellets available.
Higher velocity and flatter shooting up to around 20 yards.

The advantages of a .22

More momentum maintained at longer ranges.
Larger frontal area.

A .177 is what most air rifle matches are shot with.  For indoor shooting I'd pick the .177.

For serious small game hunting then the .22 would be my pick.......

But, then there is the new gamo .177 at over 1600 fps.......wow!

[jbtazgrabber]

speed is the answer.....if hunting anyways...those cheaper priced chinese pellet guns are ok...the 177 will not kill a tree rat.....the 22 cals will......bought a new 177 pump crosman pellet pistol,the tree rats laughed at it....bought a 1000 fps mendoza with both 22 and 177 barrels it will kill with either cal......also got a crossman <MENDOZA> 177 rifle it will take out tree rats well also.......my crone broke so i dont know the speedof any of these but i know the 177 must be pretty high<850>fps to kill relly well on tree rats...22 cal dont have to go that fast....i know most airguns speed rating are way slower than what they say........if hunting is involved ill go 22 cal. everytime//////////////////jb........just my 2 cents ......

[jamaldog87]

for what you said a 1000fps .177 is allright. if you are useing a non-pcp gun then the 177 is what to get. If you have a pcp gun .22 is whats good because it can shoot a 14.5gr pellet at 1000fps and give about 38ft pounds of power. But look at it this way if you shoots are 20-40 yards and 40 yards being the longest then a .22 will kill anything but for paper or birds out to 75 yards then the .177 which is going faster will do the job. The biggest then with the .22 is that if it's not going 900fps then it will fall 2-6 inchs at 50 yards and the light .177 will only fall 1/2-1 inch at the same range.

[jamaldog87]

i did some testing with my 766 and 2200. the 766 is .177 and go at 700fps and the 2200 is .22 and goes 600fps. i used cosman pellets and filled bead cans with water and put them at 15-50 yards. the faster 177 could not pass though the cans at 30 yards but did push the over. the .22 pass though all cans even at 50 yards. the thing that diffent is that the .177 shoots flat out to 45 yards and the .22 is flat out to 30 yards. If i had to have one it would be the .22 because it can kick the wind easyer but has a short range. If you can if need something just for shooting rats and birds a .177 is the best but for coons and rabbits the .22 is best because you can get closer to the big and you don't have to be the best shot to kill them with one shot.

[prairiedog555]

But dosen't this new .177 Gamo hunting pellet add a whole new demention to the game.  I saw a show on outdoor channell where they killed a wild pig with one. 
I want to start air gun hunting and when I go to the net to search, experts say .22 or .25 or even some are .50. 
Has anyone used that new Gamo pelley?

[jamaldog87]

which one??? Pro Magnum which are very good, Raptor / PBA  which are the worst pellets to use for shooting anything don't get them, Rocket Pellets  which has lots of stopping power, Tomahawk (PHP)  which will kill most coons and pdogs.  that pig was a pet and was tired to a tree and there was a man behind the shooter with a 300 win mag. Just because you see a something on the net does not make it real. If you hunt game like pigs or deer take it from someone who used to use a 45 or bigger but for small game use a .177 if you can make really good shot or a .22 if you are a all right shooter and you want more power at a shorter range.

[SR71]

Not knowing what rifle you are looking at makes it difficult for me to give a really good recommendation.  Some rifles are much better in one caliber than they are in another.  Speed is not the most important criteria in an air rife, regardless of if you are punching paper or fur.  Accuracy is what counts.

IMHO, windage is the biggest hurdle in hunting with a pellet rifle.  If you are used to firearms, take a look at the BC's of typical domed pellets (don't even bother with anything but domed if you are shooting past 30 yards).   I can range find much better than I can read wind.  Therefore, I typically go with .22, but under calm, really calm conditions, I still use a .177 at times.