Air Rifle Calibre Advice

[Devonian]

OK, I'm looking at getting a new Air Rifle and I've decided which rifle I'm getting, but this rifle is available in not only .177 and .22, but also in the mystical .20 calibre!!

So the question is, is this worth going for, everything I read says it has be best of both the .177 and the .22

But obviously pellets are more limited, but I can get them now without any problem.....

So should I go for it?

[Binnie]

Yes you can get them now, but what about after tshtf?

I went for .22 purely for availability, there must be tens of millions of .22 pellets sitting in tins in sheds up and down the country!

[Devonian]

Yes that is an issue, but I've yet to convince myself its a problem, its very easy and cheap to stock up on several 1000's or even 10,000's pellets to give yourself a good supply.

If however you do run out and are scavenging and then do happen to stumble across some .177 or .22 pellets, then what is chance that you will also find a rifle or 2 as well??

I fully accept that the chances of finding/scavenging .20 pellets will be impossible........and yes it does still concern me a bit, but I can't make up my mind if it is show stopper.

[Scythe13]

One simple question I have, what are your current calibres? Do you really want to buy 2 or 3 different kinds of pellets and risk trying to put a .22 pellet into a .177 or a .20 rifle? Realise you've picked up the wrong pellets, and thus not get a shot on a rabbit?

It's so much easier to just have 1 size of air rifle and 1 size of pellet. That way, regardless of what tin of pellets you pick up, you know you have the right pellets for the gun.

That's the logic I work with. I standardize all my gear so that if I have to grab pellets and a rifle in a hurry, then I know it's the right pellets for the rifle.

I'm probably going to be selling my .177 or just having is in a seperate area that I just have my pre-SHTF hunting gear in.

[bigpaul]

I'm with Scythe on this one, all my air rifles are .22 cos that's what I prefer, I see no point in having to stock up on both .177 and .22 pellets, go for either one or the other.

[Devonian]

Not had an air rifle for the last few years, so compatibility is not an issue, I'm starting again with a clean slate but yes the standardisation issue is a good point for looking forward.......

Previously always had .22 rifles and have never owned a .177 (or a .20 for that matter), when I have used a .177, I always find them fiddly to load, so is the consensus to stick with the .22??

[Lightspeed]

Dev,

When you read "getting the best of both .177 and .22" you could also interpret it as the opposite, ie getting the worse of both???

Even among .177 and .22 pellets there is huge variance in performance, and a pellet that is accurate with one rifle often is less accurate in another.

Sticking to .177 and .22 will give you greatest choice of pellet brand and type, from which to find the optimum one for your rifle.

Hopefully forum member Steve will spot this post and will give you better advice. His advice helped me enormously when I was trying to get my rifles set up.

[bigpaul]

try "Defiant" pellets, I use these and they do 3 sizes in the .22 calibre, try a trial pack of each size and see which one works best, they cost a bit more than other makes but you get what you pay for.

[Devonian]

(14 May 2014, 17:35)Lightspeed Wrote: Dev,

When you read "getting the best of both .177 and .22" you could also interpret it as the opposite, ie getting the worse of both???

Ok, I'm no expert, but from my research the .20 has a flatter trajectory than the .22 which is much closer to that of the .177 which in turn makes it more accurate and there is less need for correction/adjustment of sights over varying distances - more a case of aim and fire. But being a bit bigger than the .177 the .20 carries more impact and hitting power, similar to the .22 (when compared against the .177)

Or that is how I understand it.......

I've not looked into the worst of each......that could be interesting!

Yes I agree about the quality of the pellet and that is a big factor for all calibres.

So I'm slowly being convinced to stay with what I know..........

[Lightspeed]

I reckon your reasoning is correct Dev.

A .2 will be slower and will have a more steeply curved trajectory than a .177 but it'll have greater hitting power.

Against a .22 a .2 will have greater velocity, flatter trajectory, but less hitting power.

So, nothing wrong with the .2, other than the number of different types to choose from.