which .177 for hunting?

[ARRAN 22]

i am looking at changing to a .177 air rifle for hunting as the rabbits around here are easily spooked and wondered if anybody would recomend it for longer shots? also which rifles are good in .177 with a high shot count, cheers arran

[ryan666 64]

i changed over to .177 not long back and in the end i settled on the bsa r10 more than anothe shots per outting and very accurate too.

[19powell90 89]

how close can you normally get?

 

i dont think that changing to .177 is going to allow to shoot further.

 

i shoot a .177 AA s410 which i shoot out to 50m - it will obviously shoot further but i dont need to.

 

my normal rabbit shooting range is 30-40m (stalking not hiding)

 

in terms of rifle it depends on your budget.

 

hope this helps

 

scott

[pianoman 3,587]

Sounds more like your fieldcraft needs an overhaul . If the rabbits are spooked, it's because they are at least aware of your presence, even if your cammo is concealing your actual position. You may see .177 as giving you a longer reach but, that's not the real answer.

 

If you want an absolutely reliable, powerful and utterly accurate .177 rifle I'd go for Weihrauch HW97, HW77 or Air Arms TX200/TX200HC underlevers. Weihrauch HW80, HW90 gas ram, HW95 break-barrel OR Diana 52 sidelever.

 

I cannot recommend any pcp. They all need further developement and improvement in the robust construction ands reliability department.

 

Simon

[ARRAN 22]

hmmmmm im not realy sure if i want to do it yet or not but i do want to try the .177 anyway as iv never used one. do you find them to be more accurate and able to shoot longer distance better?

[BEARINATOR 2,871]

As long as your gun likes the pellets you are firing then all calibres are accurate, I've shot .22 and .177 and never really noticed .177 flying longer. I prefer .22 but others prefer .177, so it's just down to personal choice really

[pianoman 3,587]

Same answer with me really. I have a .177 TX200HC that is truly accurate at all ranges. I thought that was as accurate as it gets... But, I recently bought a Weihrauch HW77 in .22 and it will hit ten rounds through a 5p size hole at 60 yards -as witnessed by AndyFR1968 here!

 

As BEARINATOR says it, it's a personal choice thing but either calibre is well up to mark for hunting with superb accuracy.

 

Simon

[ARRAN 22]

cheers lads i was thinking of getting the air arms s410 in .177 not sure yet, just want to try the caliber hope it works for me

[rossy08 33]

they would be a good choice pal. i have a s410 .22 carbine and a s400 .177 i use both to hunt with, i wouldent really go over 50 meters with either,as this is my max comfort range for live quarry.

 

yes the .177 s400 will do longer targets,but this is the flight path of the pellet more than anything, ill try and exsplane,

 

on a 65 meter target the .22 uses all four mills of hold over, there arnt any more mill dots on the scope so makes it very difficult to shoot further,altho the gun is more than capiable.

 

on the same 65 meter target the s400 will be 2.5 mills of hold over,thus giving the impression it will shoot further. its just a flatter flight path of the pellet.

 

the hold over figures are just to give an idea, and iv simplified them a little,will be different on different gun and scope combos, but it allows me to make my point.

 

happy hunting pal

 

Andy

[Rake aboot 4,936]

Sounds more like your fieldcraft needs an overhaul . If the rabbits are spooked, it's because they are at least aware of your presence, even if your cammo is concealing your actual position. You may see .177 as giving you a longer reach but, that's not the real answer.

 

If you want an absolutely reliable, powerful and utterly accurate .177 rifle I'd go for Weihrauch HW97, HW77 or Air Arms TX200/TX200HC underlevers. Weihrauch HW80, HW90 gas ram, HW95 break-barrel OR Diana 52 sidelever.

 

I cannot recommend any pcp. They all need further developement and improvement in the robust construction ands reliability department.

Simon

 

HA ha Simon..10 / 10 for consistency anyway.

ATB

[beddylurcher 70]

i used 22 for years then got my first 177 and i wont go back to 22 now, i would like to try 2.0 tho . its a s410 177 and i can get good groupes at yeards in doors 5 shots in about a £2 coin. but i have never shot a rabbit thourgher then 60 yeards with it as i havent needed to, but im sure it would kill them at 90 yeards.

[ARRAN 22]

i get what you mean rossy cheers my mates looking at buying a 2.0 rapid 7 mk1 i hope he does so i can have a shoot cheers everyone

[rossy08 33]

no worries pal.

 

.20 ay, often regarded as the best of both worlds, looking to add a .20 air arms to my collection one day,

 

Andy

[zini 1,939]

Some long ranges mentioned there .

 

Regarding the “The .177 is more accurate than a .22†that you sometimes hear banding about is just a myth.

 

I would say better forgiving for range estimation errors but defo not more accurate.

 

As long as I know the range to a target with my .22 r10 I know that I can hit any target that a .177 will hit at the same range unless it’s a smaller diameter than the 5.5mm pellet.

 

Most of my all time best shots have been with a .22 pellet.

 

Si

[Squirrel Shooter 5]

Some long ranges mentioned there .

 

Regarding the “The .177 is more accurate than a .22†that you sometimes hear banding about is just a myth.

 

I would say better forgiving for range estimation errors but defo not more accurate.

 

As long as I know the range to a target with my .22 r10 I know that I can hit any target that a .177 will hit at the same range unless it’s a smaller diameter than the 5.5mm pellet.

 

Most of my all time best shots have been with a .22 pellet.

 

Si

Yes, they will both share the same consistency. But the inherently flatter trajectory of the .177 will, in practice, typically translate to a greater degree of accuracy, as less emphasis is put on the shooter's ability. After all we're talking about hunting here. Not traditional target shooting where you're shooting at a static target of consistent size at an identical distance every time.