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 Post subject: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 1:09 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:56 pm
Posts: 489
Location: SW Ontario
The usually lighter .177 pellets will have a higher velocity and so a flatter trajectory. But is this the blessing some people think it is? I don't see much of an advantage there since the flight path will always curve downward and adjustments will still have to be made for different distances.
I've read that some people think the heavier .22 pellets will be better in windy conditions. Not true since it's the weight in relation to the pellets' surface area that's important. A 14g .177 pellet will buck the wind better than a 14g .22 of similar shape.
We tend to obsess over equipment details rather than practice more but it's the latter that will produce better scores.


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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 1:28 pm 
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Joined: Mon Mar 27, 2017 7:06 pm
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Location: Meaford, Ont.
Do not all sanctioned pellet shoots require you to shoot .177? Thought I read that somewhere. CHEERS!


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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 2:11 pm 
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Location: Toronto, ON
.22 is allowed, and in an ideal world the only detriment with 22 is trying to put a bigger pellet through the same sized circle. In the real world, there are a few more benefits to using 177

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 2:56 pm 
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Thank you pirellip for the clarification. CHEERS!


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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Tue Apr 11, 2017 7:54 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:56 pm
Posts: 489
Location: SW Ontario
pirellip wrote:
In the real world, there are a few more benefits to using 177

I'd like to hear more about the other benefits that you refer to for using 177.


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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 10:26 am 
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Location: Montreal, Quebec
Aged wrote:
pirellip wrote:
In the real world, there are a few more benefits to using 177

I'd like to hear more about the other benefits that you refer to for using 177.


I too would like to hear his opinion, but I'll offer these thoughts: Greater selection of pellets to choose from in .177, as well as different head diameters and lower prices.

(I shoot both .177 and .22, and with some brands/types of pellet, it's impossible to find anything other than 5.50mm head size for .22, while for .177 depending on the gun, I can get 4.48, 4.49, 4.50, 4.51 and 4.52, really choosing what works best in a particular gun. But for simple pest control I favor .22 as it gives a better wallop, assuming of course that the gun is powerful enough.)

But I can't imagine doing field target competitions with .22. In one of the shoots last year a close target (which we thought would be easy) turned out to have a target kill zone just BARELY larger than the .177 pellet we were shooting! Would have been even harder with .22.

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Wed Apr 12, 2017 1:06 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:35 pm
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Location: P.G. B.C.
Agreed - must be easier to put a .177" pellet through a 1/4" hole.

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 11:25 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:42 am
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Location: Windsor, Ont
Aged wrote:
The usually lighter .177 pellets will have a higher velocity and so a flatter trajectory. But is this the blessing some people think it is? I don't see much of an advantage there since the flight path will always curve downward and adjustments will still have to be made for different distances.
They will still have to be made, but better trajectory will mean there are less clicks between ranges; which means you have less affect on your POI if you are out on your rangefinding by a yard or two and one could argue it is less stress on the mechanics of your scope over time
I've read that some people think the heavier .22 pellets will be better in windy conditions. Not true since it's the weight in relation to the pellets' surface area that's important. A 14g .177 pellet will buck the wind better than a 14g .22 of similar shape.
There is definitely more than one school of thought here; I prefer a lighter, smaller pellet (JSB RS) if limited by power it has less surface area exposed to the wind for less time, but that is a deep rabbit hole debate lol
We tend to obsess over equipment details rather than practice more but it's the latter that will produce better scores.


You can get better BC's with larger caliber pellets, but due to the power restrictions of FT, your velocity would be a rainbow with a .25cal pellet, even with a much higher BC.

I would say .177cal is the clear winner; given that we must operate at <12FPE or <20FPE. In my opinion the only other choice from .177cal would be .20cal, but one could easily argue that the very limited pellet selection in .20cal almost instantly rules them out, among other things.

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Mon May 22, 2017 11:28 pm 
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Location: Windsor, Ont
Daryl wrote:
Agreed - must be easier to put a .177" pellet through a 1/4" hole.


Yeah a .177cal thru a .25"KZ leaves 0.0365" per side, as a machinist; that is like a mile... :lol:

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 9:16 am 
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Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:35 pm
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Location: P.G. B.C.
Both of my HW's are the same FPE within 1fpe with the pellets I use, .22 and .177. The .177 is definitely easier to hit gophers past 25 yards & out to 55yards, than is the .22. With the .177 running 875fps av. and the .22 running 650fps av. there is no contest, really. The .22 hits harder as the heavier pellet has more momentum even though less speed, thus penetration and 'killing power' advantages the .22, however even at those longer ranges, the .177 Predators were still exiting the heads, necks and chests of the Columbia Ground Squirrels. Thus, is more penetration needed? The answer to that is a firm no, hitting them is important. With larger targets or larger kill zones or creatures like tree squirrels, the .22 would be better due to having more momentum, thus penetration.

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 10:09 am 
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Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:42 am
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Location: Windsor, Ont
Daryl wrote:
Both of my HW's are the same FPE within 1fpe with the pellets I use, .22 and .177. The .177 is definitely easier to hit gophers past 25 yards & out to 55yards, than is the .22. With the .177 running 875fps av. and the .22 running 650fps av. there is no contest, really. The .22 hits harder as the heavier pellet has more momentum even though less speed, thus penetration and 'killing power' advantages the .22, however even at those longer ranges, the .177 Predators were still exiting the heads, necks and chests of the Columbia Ground Squirrels. Thus, is more penetration needed? The answer to that is a firm no, hitting them is important. With larger targets or larger kill zones or creatures like tree squirrels, the .22 would be better due to having more momentum, thus penetration.


Yeah for hunting I would go straight to .22cal or .25cal, the extra penetration of the .177cal is over shadowed by its size and lack of "stopping power" IMO

I also don't believe momentum always does or should translate into penetration, in fact, I would not want it to when hunting. I want the momentum to cause pellet expansion and hydrostatic shock, if the pellet goes clean thru the animal, so does the energy. But for the type/size of game taken with an airgun, it will be dead either way in all reality...

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 Post subject: Re: .177 or .22 caliber?
PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 3:21 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:35 pm
Posts: 11296
Location: P.G. B.C.
I prefer complete penetration of anything I shoot.

Even for me, the choice depends on the situation, though. I will admit that when packing my own revolver when in uniform, I reloaded and carried ammunition that was supposed to stop inside a perp - I had extra speed loaders with high penetration loads for car and truck engine blocks. Then I found the 180gr. Jacketed Hollow Cavity Sierras did that better than the 250gr. hard cast SWC's, so those are were I carried after those tests.

For animals, I prefer a blood venting hole that collapses the lungs and the internal cavity through venting that internal pressure, just like the bleed valve on a scuba tank. Pshewwwww - or thereabouts.

Staying inside or exiting - an argument that has been going on for decades. Some for, some against.

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