177 vrs 25 the better one?

[newfound wolf 2]

guys what cal would you pic 177 or 25 in sub 12.       would you rather hunt with a 177) 8.4 grain at 800 fps                 or. 25 cal with a 26 grain at 460 fps...……...both of these are bang on 12 foot pounds. where I live I can do that.

for rabbit hunting and general small game.. what would you choose and why.... remember that 25 cal drifts less in the wind and holds on to its power longer at distance.....something to think about?

I know scopes have mil dots so distance isisnt a problem with ither…..thing is what cal is more effective at takeing game?

[eastcoast 4,120]

The type of hunting you are talking about basically depends on confidently  and consistently putting a pellet through a rabbit’s head. At realistic sub 12ft/lb hunting ranges a .177 has more than enough power to do that and killing instantly. Consistently placing a .25 pellet is asking a lot of the person squeezing the trigger. The kinetic energy it retains being an irrelevance.

Edited February 24, 2020 by eastcoast
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[si brown 8,486]

the .25 will do it but id be buying the .177 if it was me.. the .25 will drop off loads 

[Meece 1,957]

1 hour ago, newfound wolf said:

guys what cal would you pic 177 or 25 in sub 12.       would you rather hunt with a 177) 8.4 grain at 800 fps                 or. 25 cal with a 26 grain at 460 fps...……...both of these are bang on 12 foot pounds. where I live I can do that.

for rabbit hunting and general small game.. what would you choose and why.... remember that 25 cal drifts less in the wind and holds on to its power longer at distance.....something to think about?

I know scopes have mil dots so distance isisnt a problem with ither…..thing is what cal is more effective at takeing game?

If you get a sensible answer to this question then you are doing pretty well.  There are the same old questions like which shotgun choke,  which shot size, what barrel length.   They've all been asked loads of times before with the same inconsistent results.  Just pick one and go shoot.

[eastcoast 4,120]

13 minutes ago, Meece said:

If you get a sensible answer to this question then you are doing pretty well.  There are the same old questions like which shotgun choke,  which shot size, what barrel length.   They've all been asked loads of times before with the same inconsistent results.  Just pick one and go shoot.

If the question asked was to choose between a .177 or .22 sub 12ft/lb hunting air rifle I would agree with your comment. Both equally capable. But .25? Making life difficult I would say but hunting with an air rifle is all about field craft and knowing the rifle’s and your own limits. 

[villaman 9,983]

.25 will drift less in wind if it’s running @ 850 FPS not sub 12 It won’t 

[mark williams 7,551]

The trajectory of .25 caliber at sub 12 ft/lbs level always reminds me of throwing a brick underarm but still consistent when calibrated.

              For me the lovely flat trajectory of the.177 caliber by a country mile at sub 12 ft/lbs level.

[pianoman 3,587]

If you are asking a question like this, it gives me the impression that your are something of an inexperienced newcomer to air rifle hunting . I would well advise you to go for .177 or  22 and gain all the experience you can with these calibres. They are absolutely time proven by effective results over lifetimes of air rifle shooting. A sub 12 ft/lbs. 177 or .22 does the business all day long. But it is down to you to gain proficiency with shooting them.

.25 rifle at  FAC 30 ft/lbs or even more FPE would be pretty effective I'm sure. But at sub 12, it is going to produce a very looped flight trajectory. That will frustrate the hell out of a chap who has no real understanding of how pellets fly through the line of sight in a scope. 

Real knock-down power lies in your personal accuracy-capability  with your rifle and scope. Not with a whopping big slug you might find hard to predict without careful calibration and a lot of practice first. 

Go for .177 is my advice and gain a ton of experience with that. 

[philpot 4,985]

I shoot .25 at 47fpe which is superb but whilst I have never owned a sub 12 version, I would not go that route because of the drop off in elevation over range. Without doubt a .177 is a well proven sub 12 rifle and at that power level would be my choice as it was some years ago.

I wish you well with your choice.

Phil

[salop sniper 32]

Sub 12ftlb for anything my personal preference is .177 with any weight ammo followed by .22 with a light pellet. Heavy .22 and .25 + Cal I would leave from for FAC power levels. 

ATB 

Matt

[villaman 9,983]

177 , .20 , 22 .25 will do the same job out to 40 yards , just Need to know your set up , gun  , scope , pellet and most important, what your capable of 

for any further distance .177  would be may choice in sub 12 with AA express 7.9 gr pellet 

[Dervburner 2,549]

On 23/02/2020 at 18:30, Meece said:

If you get a sensible answer to this question then you are doing pretty well.  There are the same old questions like which shotgun choke,  which shot size, what barrel length.   They've all been asked loads of times before with the same inconsistent results.  Just pick one and go shoot.

He can’t, he’s grounded

[Dervburner 2,549]

I have .177, .20, .22 and .25 in sub 12.  Out of all of them .177 is the easiest to shoot and .20 with lightweight pellets, not far behind as far as drop is concerned.  When you’ve been using the smaller calibres for a while, then get a .22 or .25 out, you soon notice the difference. If you go for .25, you’ll need to be very good at range estimation or you’ll find that you keep missing.

[Dervburner 2,549]

On 24/02/2020 at 23:09, philpot said:

I shoot .25 at 47fpe which is superb but whilst I have never owned a sub 12 version, I would not go that route because of the drop off in elevation over range. Without doubt a .177 is a well proven sub 12 rifle and at that power level would be my choice as it was some years ago.

I wish you well with your choice.

Phil

I used to use a .25 bsa Supersport for feral clearance in factories, for which it was ideal. I also used it for rabbits around some units at fairly short ranges though. Good out to twenty yards, but it gets more difficult beyond that for sure. Not really a good all round calibre at those relatively low velocities in my opinion either.

[Meece 1,957]

I'm not an air rifle shooter but  Years ago I had a Sheridan blue streak in 20.  We highly modified it by gas flowing the internal valve unit. Originally They were designed for 8 pumps  but we set it up for 10 which it dumped in one go. It was supremely accurate and would drop rabbits out to about 60 paces.  The only problems were the pumping of the thing and the internal seals didn't last very long with the pressures. The muzzle report was loud and I  made a silencer for it.  Overall It was very accurate and effective but it was nowhere as useful and effective as a 22lr using subs. No pumping, no constant repairing the internals and no packing in when out using it and about 20+ paces further range. We moded it for an engineering experiment to see if it could be done, how it would work, how accurate it would be and how long it would last for. I tried loads of different pellets  that were available and found that the ordinary Diablo waisted sort worked out best.  For many years I have used a highly modified old BSA ?22lr. Its old unfashionable, worthless but light, easy for a summers evening walkround and has a very accurate barrel and will easily account for Charlie if encountered. I could easily go out a buy a brand new fashionable rifle but what would I gain..?