AusVarmint

I note on another thread that Whitey has bought himself a replacement HW80K barrel in .25 calibre. This is a calibre about which I have been wondering on practical use.

When I subscribed to the principal English air rifle mags, there seemed to be a long standing dispute about the relative merits of the .177 and the .22, but all seemed to regard the .25 as a quite a dog on the basis of a velocity which they seem to regard as incrementally faster than comatose. There are a few posts on Youtube which seem to have some good things to say about it.

Has anybody any practical experience with the calibre and its benefits? Is it a poor performer only in springers or can it get good velocities in them as well, ie >650 - 700 fps. How does it go in PCPs.

The advertised pellet weights do not seem to me to be significantly heavier than those in .22 which would lower their BCs quite a lot.

Remember that Brits are restricted to 12fpe, we can go higher. At 12fpe, the 25 cal is lucky to go at 500fps, making a very rainbow shaped trajectory. At 700fps, the arc is flattened, and the fpe is markedly increased.

With the 25 cal, the area which you need to hit, and make a incapacitating hit is increased, and the delivery of that kinetic energy is also much larger. Downside is the lack of popularity as 177 and 22 have a traditional following, yet 20 cal beats the pants off of them, but is stymied by the 'traditionalists'. The other downside is the COST of pellets.

A HW80 doing 19ft/lbs can drive a 20gr .25 pellet at about 650fps, which is a tad faster than a .22 14gr at 12ft/lbs or about 620fps.

Does it offer any advantage over a heavier .22 pellet, say the 22gr Kodiak, which will be more efficient thanks to the smaller diameter? Who knows? It will punch a bigger hole, but then again airgun game is just as easily killed with a .177 that hits the same vital spot.

I think that the .25 makes more sense in a high powered PCP as opposed to a spring gun. Or in one of the big gas ram guns. Then again, there are some pretty heavy .22 pellets out there for which will have a higher BC than the similar weight .25's.

As far as getting .25 pellets, I know my local shop sells about one type - a bit like their stock of .20 ammo. Of course, they sell at least a dozen .22 pellets. (half of which are rubbish...)

The .25 does not have much of a following @12ftlb over hear except for ratting gun. However step up to around 40ftlb with a pcp and you have something which is gaining popularity over in the uk. There are several rapid users running this setup on the uk bbs, and none of them have a bad word to say, once they have sorted their rifle. Though if you can't source either jsb or barracuda pellets for this type of project you will be in trouble as they seem to be the only ones to suit at that power.

neil

Dennis La Varenne wrote:I note on another thread that Whitey has bought himself a replacement HW80K barrel in .25 calibre. This is a calibre about which I have been wondering on practical use.

When I subscribed to the principal English air rifle mags, there seemed to be a long standing dispute about the relative merits of the .177 and the .22, but all seemed to regard the .25 as a quite a dog on the basis of a velocity which they seem to regard as incrementally faster than comatose. There are a few posts on Youtube which seem to have some good things to say about it.

Has anybody any practical experience with the calibre and its benefits? Is it a poor performer only in springers or can it get good velocities in them as well, ie >650 - 700 fps. How does it go in PCPs.

The advertised pellet weights do not seem to me to be significantly heavier than those in .22 which would lower their BCs quite a lot.

BC of the JSB .25 Kings, H&N Baracudas and Benjamin .25 pellets are all higher than any .22, .20 or .177 pellets being marketed.
Dennis I have made a summary of some of my research with my .25 cal rifle to post above as it may be of interest to others. It only relates to a relatively high powered PCP.
Kind regards, Harry.

Thank you all and thank you Harry.

Harry,

Just thinking out loud, but is it possible to get a .25 barrel for my Tarantula (aka Excalibre) do you think?

Dennis La Varenne wrote:Harry,

Just thinking out loud, but is it possible to get a .25 barrel for my Tarantula (aka Excalibre) do you think?

It would be possible to do it but there would presently be nothing you could buy to just drop in.

A .25 LW air rifle barrel could be cut to length, preserving the choke, machined to fit the receiver and with a transfer port hole also machined.
Not sure if anyone imports LW air rifle barrels or how much their bores differ from centre fire rifle bores in .25 cal. ... As you know the .22 air rifle barrels have smaller bores than rimfires have and they are smaller than .22 centre fires. ... .22 pellets do not shoot at all well from rifmire barrels.

Kind regards, Harry.

Yrrah wrote:............. As you know the .22 air rifle barrels have smaller bores than rimfires have and they are smaller than .22 centre fires. ... .22 pellets do not shoot at all well from rifmire barrels...........

Dennis might know this, but I didn't.....once again I observe that every day is a schoolday. Keep sharing Harry, and I'll keep learning!

Thanks for the education

regards, curan

Harry,

It would be possible to do it but there would presently be nothing you could buy to just drop in.

I sort of thought as much. The alternative you describe is quite a bit past me and any gunsmith I know in Australia. Those few who are technically competent to do the job are not interested in 'slug guns' unhappily. It would be a very interesting experiment though. It would be nice if FX would do .25 calibre air rifles.

Presently, I am having the devil of a load of trouble with transferring my firearms license from Victoria to NSW which has some of the most ridiculous compliance hoops I have ever come across. As I live only minutes from the Victorian border, I am being required to join additional clubs, some of which are 2+ hours away when there are Victorian clubs less than an hour away in order to fulfil the hunting and target shooting requirements of NSW law. I will be doing all my target shooting and other shooting in Vic anyway where I have all the local legal permissions to hunt and target shoot. I already belong to SSAA, but their most local range is in Shepparton and the next closest is in Wodonga, both on the Vic side of the border. The NSW Registry wants me to join another two clubs on the NSW side in order to fulfil the 'genuine need' test for a NSW licence.

So, I am not in a position where I can start doing any experimenting with my air rifles. I may be in gaol soon for lack of a genuine reason to have them.

Have you talked to SSAA NSW or the Shooters Fishers Party. They might be able to help.
Good luck

Daisy,

Yes, I have. I have been talking to everybody I can. SSAA, Shooters' Party people, all the NSW Nationals party people in both houses, etc. etc. Just waiting for replies now. I have been a SSAA member since 1974. I have a 4 digit membership number.

Dennis La Varenne wrote:Daisy,

Yes, I have. I have been talking to everybody I can. SSAA, Shooters' Party people, all the NSW Nationals party people in both houses, etc. etc. Just waiting for replies now. I have been a SSAA member since 1974. I have a 4 digit membership number.

Try little Johnny Howard who still claims "Uniform Australian Gun Laws" as his greatest achievement ........... Being a cricket tragic should be able to "go into bat" for you
KR, Harry.

Harry,

I can only wish that man the longest slowest most painful and miserable death known to mankind. I despise him utterly for personally blaming me and my people for Port Arthur.