Canadian Airgun Forum

So I have decided. FX streamline. I will get one. I'll put money down and hope a shipment arrives at the end of October. Dilemma. What caliber or order/reserve? I shoot often in my basement and do have interest in ft so 177 seems the correct choice but most of my time will be at the range. 22 or 25? I have no plans to hunt. Ever. Punch paper and known down targets. No interest in swapping barrels. Get two right?

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I have some airguns.

I think 22 Cal would be best because:
The 22 cal version of the streamline is smaller and lighter
22 cal pellets are cheaper
There is more variety and availability of 22 cal pellets
The shot count per fill is higher in 22 cal
there are more rounds in the 22 cal magazine
The report from the 22 cal version of the gun is likely less (not 100% on this last point, but probably)


The pros of 25 cal:
More mass and energy is more likely to result in clean kills - which isn't something you'd care about
some25 cal pellets would have a slightly higher ballistic coefficient - which is only important if your main goal is to make really long shots

PS. I heard the second batch of streamlines coming in October will have a barrel shroud. Which I think looks better.

My thoughts - The 25 calibre has the potential to give you better accuracy at the longer ranges. What your intended use & range is, should dictate you what calibre to get.

Note, .25's, although giving you added accuracy, probably, they use more air and .25 pellets are more expensive than any of the smaller sizes.

So far, my tests show the .25 calibre bullets from my NOE mould, should turn out to be the most accurate. Nice thing about the bullets, is the lack of pellet stability problems in the transonic zone.

I have not proven that to myself yet, but expect this will be the case, that my Air Force .25 Condor should shoot accurately at full power. Full power will be helpful in hitting the 200 to 500 meter plates at my range, something I intend on doing at some time, in the future.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

Right, I'm not against however I will not partake in hunting activities. I wouldn't mind eating said game though.

My main objective is trying ft and from what I understand 177 is the way to go. I'd love to bring an ar to the range and try to out shoot the 22lr guys but 22 seems to be the odd one out even though it's the most versatile. I do want to reach out a bit further. 100+ yards. Maybe one day try extreme bench rest. Besides will the 22lr group actually care that I am shooting 25 over their 22?

A pellet that can transcend the sound barrier and maintain it's flight path will be big. 500 meters with a pellet gun sounds fun to me. Would certainly gather attention at my range.

I appreciate the input.

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I have some airguns.

177 at 100 yards will be very susceptible to wind. You'll probably have to get a 25 if you plan on shooting past 100 yards and buy some bullets instead of pellets. I doubt you'll get past the speed of sound though without major modification and air use. Seems the consensus is keeping under the speed of sound allows better accuracy in air rifles anyway. Sounds like you need two rifles!

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

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Website: https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/

I should have qualified that statement about stability through the transonic speed Zones. A regular bullet shape that is stable at those speeds, will be less susceptible to transonic speed zones problems, then a waisted pellet.

We know that in target shooting, if starting our bullets at speeds in excess of the sound, we attempt to have the bullet stay super sonic until it hits the target. ANY bullet losses some stability when passing through the transonic zones, above and below the speed of sound, just as jets do to some extent. This is why the 155gr. Match King bullet was developed by Sierra, for use in Palma 12" twist rifles for 1,000yard shooting. The standard accuracy bullet of the time was the 168gr. Sierra Matchking, however it actually fell below the speed of sound at approximately 850 to 950yards, even from the 27" bl. Palma Rifle (.308).

With some ctgs. we cannot achieve this, such as in target competition with rounds like the buffalo ctgs., the .40's with 2 1/2" or longer cases along with the .45/70's, .45 2.4" of today. Some chaps had thus started these bullets as speeds just below the speed of sound, so they would not have to travel through the disruptive speed zones. The accuracy results obtained did not show an advantage to doing this in the .40 through .45 calibres, thus these people went back to standard loads, rather than having to work with 'low-power' loads and their attendant troubles concerning handling case capacity change. Today, the .45 2.4" is one of the most popular for long range silhouette shooting, as it can give the 500 to 600gr. bullets, an initial speed of about 1,350fps, while giving better overall accuracy than the longer 2 7/8" or 3 1/2" cases, which became quite brutal shooting from the sitting or prone position.

I know my 11 pound .50 lever gun is about all I care to shoot (power/recoil wise) off cross-sticks sitting and it only uses 85gr. Swiss 1-1/2F and a 368gr. bullet. Any more recoil would wear on you as turkeys, pigs and rams (15 shots) are all generally shot prone or sitting with cross sticks. The chickens are shot offhand at 200yards, no big deal, but recoil effects are accumulative.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

If you want it for FT, then stick with .177. The fpe limits of the sport make anything bigger problematic. Plus it's a lot harder to get a .22+ pellet through a quarter inch target aperture (smallest size they use for prone shooting at close range).

I have the Streamline in .22, and use it for FT. As previously mentioned, .25 would be a poor choice for FT due to the FPE limits. I wouldn't change a thing with mine, as the mid power adjustment is just under the 20 FPE maximum of HFT. Simply switching down to mid power doesn't seem to affect the horizontal POI at all, only a change of a mil dot for vertical.

Also, we were discussing why the .22 seems to be getting better accuracy reviews than the other calibre. It seems that they may have designed the rifle to be in .22 cal, and simply made adjustments to also suit the neighboring calibers. Shooting in windy conditions at 66 yards produced this 10 shot group:



I couldn't even see where I was hitting the target, other than knowing that I had struck it due to the sound. These were 10 quick shots. I am extremely happy with it.

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Mike

FX Streamline .22 - Optisan Mamba Lite 4-16X44
Hammerli Pneuma Elite 10 .22 - Bushnell Elite 4200 4-12X40
Custom Crosman 2240 w/ LW barrel - Vortex Strikefire
Remington AirMaster 77 PAL rated - CenterPoint 3-9X40

I appreciate you sharing your experience with the streamline. I'm am struggling to decide but it seems my only real option is to buy multiple ags for the multiple tasks I want them to do. FT is high on my list as it's exactly the kind of shooting I like doing. Steep learning curve as I have never formally shot in the community before. Should be fun.

22 does seem viable while I learn and is a lot easier to get in Canada. Once again thanks.

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I have some airguns.

Good shooting, Barfman. In the mid tens FPE - my HW97 .177 is slightly more accurate than the .22 HW98, but - I do prefer to shoot the .22.

If I ever get around to putting my Votec kit into the 98, I'm pretty sure the 97 will rarely get shot.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

You never mentioned which FT class you are interested in. If it's the World FT class you are limited to 12fpe so .22 would not be a good choice.
In the Open class you're allowed 20fpe making the .22 a viable competitor and they are becoming more popular from what I've read. Also with the more powerful .22 35fpe Streamline (set to high power) and with heavier pellets you can shoot to 100yds quite accurately and they will deliver more energy for a more humane kill if you decide to take a rabbit or two.

Other than the knock down targets in my basement range I have not tried ft. Being new I would want to start in the most friendly class for new shooters. Would that be hft? At this stage I've come to an understanding that the gun is not so important. Plenty of very accurate options out there. I've put more of my focus into understanding the scope, range estimating, and improving my own skill.

So as far as equipment choices goes I'm starting to lean towards the tx200 if hft is the way to go. In the end I'll have both. I have no idea which scope at this point.

My biggest goal is to get out and give it a try. We'll see where it goes from there.

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I have some airguns.