Which Calibre

[Bidgee]

Hi

Can somebody give me the drum on .177 v .22 please? I was in a gun shop in Canberra the other day and the bloke gave me the .177 1000fps spin, but frankly I'm a newbie with AR so I could use some help with the pros and cons.

All I'm looking for an AR that I can plink with and sort out a few starlings and mynas. Maybe it will see some rabbit action but maybe not.

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

Scott

[native hunter]

You have come to the right place.
For a newbie an R9 in .20cal will have you covered.
Dont be taken in by all the velocity task as its just hype.!!
A smooth shooting accurate airgun will win out over speed every time.
I can sense lewis's ears burning.
Regards

[Bidgee]

You have come to the right place.
For a newbie an R9 in .20cal will have you covered.
Dont be taken in by all the velocity task as its just hype.!!
A smooth shooting accurate airgun will win out over speed every time.
I can sense lewis's ears burning.
Regards

NH

Thanks. I should have mentioned I've already had a cruise through the AG forum and been in touch with Lewis. He has a couple of options for me but I didnt want to load him up with all the newbie questions.

Budget wont extend to an R9. Most of my shooting is CF so I'm not going to invest too much in an AR at the moment.

Scott

[native hunter]

Whats your budget.??
Regards

[Renno]

Scott,
I did the same thing as you, but at least you found this forum first... I didn't and ended up believing the the rubbish the local gun shop told me. I walked out with a Hatsun 125 .177. This rifle was really loud, long and inaccurate. I sold it back to them 2 days later and wore the loss. I then bought a Gamo Shadow 640 again in .177. To be honest this is just a toy and I have kept it for my son, he is 4 and would be able to shoot it now!!!

I found this forum and after speaking and visiting Lewis in person I settled on the R9 20 cal. I love it, it is really solid and very accurate. My only problem is the Minahs have worked out it's no longer a safe place to hang around and have moved down the street.

If you can't afford a new one now, either get a second hand one from Lewis ( I would buy one from him without even looking at it I trust him that much) or save some more money, you will regret it if you don't. Trust me.

I'm in Western Sydney and would be more than happy to let you have a look.

Shaun

[Bidgee]

NH - circa $250. Yeah I know. Save up and buy an R9. Not yet. I'll wear the pain later if I catch the bug.

Renno - appreciate the offer. I get to sydney a bit so I'll look you up. I'll PM you for details. Why did you settle on 20 cal?

Scott

[native hunter]

HMMM-$250,thats really handicapping you.
If I were you I would let it ride for 6months or so and get around the 400-500 mark and look for a qlty pre-owned from lewis.
There's no doubt you will get the bug if you buy qlty but if you buy shit from the start you are not giving yourself a real look into the world of airgunnung.
Regards.

[Lewis Reinhold]

HMMM-$250,thats really handicapping you.
If I were you I would let it ride for 6months or so and get around the 400-500 mark and look for a qlty pre-owned from lewis.
There's no doubt you will get the bug if you buy qlty but if you buy shit from the start you are not giving yourself a real look into the world of airgunnung.
Regards.

Thanks Damien,
I can offer a few different airguns for $250 to help you out.All preowned but freshly rebuilt by me and guaranteed.
Webley Vulcan .22 Very nice original condition. 650FPS Silver Bears
Webley Omega .22 Excellent 675FPS Silver Bears
Diana 36 .177 Excellent 900FPS Silver Bears
Weihrauch HW80 .177 Ugly metal,wood OK 980FPS Silver Bears.
All will do what you want.
Lewis

[Bidgee]

Thanks Damien,
I can offer a few different airguns for $250 to help you out.All preowned but freshly rebuilt by me and guaranteed.
Webley Vulcan .22 Very nice original condition. 650FPS Silver Bears
Webley Omega .22 Excellent 675FPS Silver Bears
Diana 36 .177 Excellent 900FPS Silver Bears
Weihrauch HW80 .177 Ugly metal,wood OK 980FPS Silver Bears.
All will do what you want.
Lewis

Lewis

Can you explain the difference (ballistically) between .177 and .22? What would make you suggest one calbre over the other?

Thanks

Scott

[Lewis Reinhold]

Thanks Damien,
I can offer a few different airguns for $250 to help you out.All preowned but freshly rebuilt by me and guaranteed.
Webley Vulcan .22 Very nice original condition. 650FPS Silver Bears
Webley Omega .22 Excellent 675FPS Silver Bears
Diana 36 .177 Excellent 900FPS Silver Bears
Weihrauch HW80 .177 Ugly metal,wood OK 980FPS Silver Bears.
All will do what you want.
Lewis

Lewis

Can you explain the difference (ballistically) between .177 and .22? What would make you suggest one calbre over the other?

Thanks

Scott

OK.
.177 is the smaller of the two.It's 4.5mm and generally weights vary from 6.5gns to 11.5 in the Beeman range at least.
.22 is 5.5mm and weights range from 12.65 gns to 21.1 in the Beeman range.
Fired from the same airgun mechanism,the .177 will shoot abour 25% faster at the muzzle than its .22 counterpart.It will also shoot flatter than .22.
However,its apparent advantage is shortlived.The little .177 pellet sheds energy quicker and can be out of puff downrange where it counts.The .22 appears to be slower at the muzzle but being a lot heavier,starts with more kinetic energy FP and hangs onto it.
For birds etc,the .177 will do the job but for rabbits,cats etc,the .22 is a better choice.
Obviously,it depends on the airgun.Some are too little and don't generate enough airflow to drive the .22 hard enough.
Likewise,a big mechanism that produces big airflow ,will be choked in .177.
Hope this helps>

[fenring]

I'll stick my neck out and say .22 - as Lewis said it is heavier and has more frontal area and many adult airguns now will easily drive a .22 pellet at 600 fps or better, and that's enough to knock the stuffing out of mynahs and starlings with well placed shots.

A high velocity .177 can tend to "icepick" pest birds, whereby the pellet punches right on through and the bird flies off, only to drop dead some distance later. The impact of a .22 pellet on the other hand is audible - a juicy THWOCK signals a solid chest shot, and is often accompanied by a cloud of feathers and down goes your bird.

The .22 shoots slower than .177 in an equivalent gun and thus doesn't shoot as "flat" - I've never found it to be much of an issue at normal ranges (ie under 50 metres) once you are used to it, and with the rifle sighted in right.

[Lewis Reinhold]

I'll stick my neck out and say .22 - as Lewis said it is heavier and has more frontal area and many adult airguns now will easily drive a .22 pellet at 600 fps or better, and that's enough to knock the stuffing out of mynahs and starlings with well placed shots.

A high velocity .177 can tend to "icepick" pest birds, whereby the pellet punches right on through and the bird flies off, only to drop dead some distance later. The impact of a .22 pellet on the other hand is audible - a juicy THWOCK signals a solid chest shot, and is often accompanied by a cloud of feathers and down goes your bird.

The .22 shoots slower than .177 in an equivalent gun and thus doesn't shoot as "flat" - I've never found it to be much of an issue at normal ranges (ie under 50 metres) once you are used to it, and with the rifle sighted in right.

Fenring is correct.

[ogre6br]

and then there is the .20 cal which is a split between the 177 and the 22

faster than the 22 with a heavier pellet than a 177-
flys almost as flat as a 177 and hits almost as hard as a .22
seems to be made for general shooting and pest plinking does the .20 cal


or to throw another one n the mix- just for eductaion purposes
my favorite- the .25- heavier slug than a 22 at almost the speed ( or with a high $$ PCP faster) than a 22 and much more energy on target

Not many- if any- .25 cals in you budget range and for your likely use it's not the choice I would suggest you make

I like heavy and fast in my air rifles- they hit harder- but are much much louder and the pellets are more expensive. This loudness means its harder to get more of the mob of pest birds before all the others scarper
Also means you have to be sure of where you are shooting- as my .25 cal slugs have about 1/2 the grunt of a standard 22 lr so they fly a ways and still hit hard when they get there
no shooting into a cardboard box with some paper scrunched up in it in the tin shed with a .25 cal.- you could quite easily go through the tin wall behind- I know I have done it.

If I was you I'd choose a .20 or a 22 cal for a hunting AG.
more emphatic on target

later
P

[fritz]

Get a mid powered .177, you don't need the power of a .22 for birds. You also don't need much fps, any more than (advertised) 1000 is overkill. I don't think you want a Beeman AR because they are expensive and you don't know if you will stay in the sport for long. But if you are going to and want to make the investment definetly get a Beeman or a Benjamin (if you're into pcp/msp).

I reccomend a springer for your first AR, DO NOT BUY A GAMO. RWS, Beeman, Benjamin Sheridan, Crosman (not sure on them, I don't like thier pellets, but I have a 1377 msp). Webley, Walther, Winchester, Remmington, Beretta(pistols).

Any of those brands are good. Also any big name in firearms is proably good.

[ozzyrooshooter]

hey fritzy,can you explain why not to get a gamo, i was thinkin of getting a cfx or hunter in 22cal cause i havent heard any thing bad about them yet,until now