What's Better .177 Or .22

[pickles123 1]

I'm wounding about whether to get a. 177 or. 22 for hunting birds rabbit and rats what's better?

[neil82 1,066]

use the search function and prepare to read hundreds of pages, there is no answer, it boils down to whatever suits you best for what you do, we all have personal preferences based on experience with both calibres and its up to you to find out, same with pellets, barrels have different preferences so don`t ask that one next, up to you to try as much as you can

[barrywhite 282]

I use both 177 and 22 ,at 12 ft lbs 177 is what I prefer . lots of people seem to migrate to 177 once they have tried them .the pellets are cheaper also in 177 .

[secretagentmole 1,701]

Depends on the pellets, some .177 pellets are more expensive than other brands in .22 (though still good quality pellets) , for instance my Defiant Ogives are more expensive per pellet than my Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum .22s!

[The one 8,457]

Personal choice the 177 is a faster pellet where the 22 has more stopping power but if your shooting straight they will both kill and your prey will be just as dead

[Tartan_Terrier 0]

I'm wounding about whether to get a. 177 or. 22 for hunting birds rabbit and rats what's better?

 

I'd say .177 if you're sticking to non-FAC air rifles. If you're going for higher powered air rifles, I'd consider .22, or maybe even .25 (though pellets may be more difficult to source locally).

[twymanc 135]

this question is so debatable by every air rifle owner in the world lol, maybe we should just say one or the other and see the tallys at the end

 

 

im 2.2

[bigmac 97kt 13,776]

:snack:

[JakeTennant98 2]

Its really a matter of personal opinion as they both can be used for target and hunting just some people prefer different cals. I'm personally .177 and I always will be, just try different cals and find which best suits you.

[Wildling 520]

[Mike Ketteringham 1]

.177

[mark williams 7,550]

Firstly welcome Pickles.

My 45 yrs airgunning experience says .22 to 35 yds and .177 no further than 50 yds "period". "ALL" headshots unless you are a seasoned airgunner to include heart/lung shots out to 50 yds tops.

Both calibres do the job easily but .177 is far more forgiving with accuracy and trajectory but not as hard hitting as .22 - .177 is all about accuracy. I use .177 and I am disappointed in myself if I miss .My bags have increased a lot since using a HW 100 kt .177.

 

Just my humble opinion - atb.

Edited February 16, 2014 by mark williams

[evenbad 8]

My opinion for rats I have just bought a bobcat in .177 , its a learning curve for me as previously shot with a W100KT .22 . Went out shooting rats last night as it was a dry clear night, hit a few rats at approx. 20-25 yards and one shot and belly up, then shot rats at a closer range 10-15 yards and they were jumpers requiring a follow up shot!! WTF going on here I thought!! On closer inspection of dead rats shot at closer range found the pellet had gone right through the body so dropped power to 2nd level on rifle and hey presto back in business. So think .22 has more smack down but got to say pleased with rifle and .177 so far.Ps I mostly go for head shots before someone says body shots are different or heart and lungs just below neck. never take a shot unless I can kill it humanely.

[jocky 198]

I use 177 for rabbits, and 22 for rats and pigeons. find the 22 kills cleaner with rats and pigeon. but 177 cleaner kills with rabbits

[LiamHiggs 14]

Started with 22 tried 177 and as Barry said sticking with 177