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.25 + Small Game + 10 - 15 yards = Overkill???

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K

kmd1984

Member
Feb 20, 2016
997
14
Utah, United States
I am about to order a Benjamin Marauder. At first I was going to get the .22. However, I happened to come across this video from Ted...


I can see why one would want to get a .25 for hunting. However, I am "hunting" small game in the backyard, usually around 10 - 15 yards away. Would a .25 be overkill? I am not planning on making the animal explode, you know. 

thanks,

Kmd
 
Jonathan, thanks for the input. You made good points...

- Availability is not an issue. I don't need to buy at Wal-Mart. Ordering is fine.
- The price for the ammo also does not matter, or I should say, bother me. I guess, ha ha. I got a Springer for Christmas and I just finished a can of 500 rounds. However, I can see myself shooting way more with a PCP gun, compared to a Springer, so who knows how much ammo I will actually use.

500 rounds of .22 = $17
300 rounds of .25 = $17

To make the math more realistic,

1500 x .22 = $51
1500 x .25 = $85

That's ok to me. Still, something to consider.

- Not sure what you mean by "safer"? My background?

One aspect I forgot to mention is, that I am probably not always going to hunt at such short distances. At what distance does a .25 make more "sense"?

Thanks,

Kmd
 
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For small game within the distances you mentioned a 177 will easily do what you need with precise shot placement. I would also say that at those ranges you mentioned a 22 would be a little to much unless you had a good back stop. I do animal control work and both of my 22 PCP's are a little to much for in town pest removal. My go to small game rifle is a crosman vantage in .177. This rifle has lots of energy and will anchor pretty much any small game I use it on. Of course this is if I do my part and put the pellet where it needs to be. I am always aware of what is behind my target and always make sure there is a substantial back stop on the other side of my intended target. I would use a 25 on ground hogs on up to fox and coyotes.
 
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Thanks for the input Wormbobskey...

The Springer I mentioned is a GAMO Whisper Fusion Pro. So far the gun did exactly what I needed it to do. The accuracy is fantastic and every shot went where it had to go. (I know, no big deal considering the distance at hand, ha ha). Anyhow. The reason I would like to get a PCP gun is that I am tired of having to crank the GAMO, single shot, ton of recoil and "loudness".

Maybe I should have asked a different question:

"I am planning on getting a PCP gun. As of right now, I am only shooting small game in the backyard, not more than 20m away. That said, will a .25 be overkill? Can a .25 be considered "impractical" for backyard pest control at distances mentioned above? I mean, really impractical? Would it be like shooting ducks with a Phalanx gun, or will it be fine?"

I guess that makes more sense now?!

Thanks,

Kmd
 
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10 to 15 yards go with a 177,
I shoot a ton of sparrows at 38 and 48 yards with my 22 Cricket, My 22 Mutant,
and my 25 Cricket, I rotate the guns each week, Is it an over kill , I do not think so, Is it fun , Hell yea.
My 350 tin of JSBs 25 gr is 350 dead sparrows , and the 500 tin of JSBs 18 gr is 500 dead sparrows.
My 22 mutant likes polymags that I am tickled to death over 16 gr and 200 in a tin and 200 dead sparrows
The polymags make a POP when they hit , There is nothing wrong with killing fast, (sick)
Now clean up is the big mess, A leg here, a head there, a beak over there, blood splatter, guts hanging from the feeder,
I killed four sparrows in a row with my Mutant shooting 22 poylmags,, The forth one looked like it swallowed a fire cracker, Gross,
Oh if your going from springer's to PCP guns its going to knock your socks off at what the PCPs can do,,,,
Trust me on this one, I have been there. 
Mike 
 
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I've always been of the opinion there's no such thing as " Too Dead" I say lay em out with whatever stops them cold ..I'd much rather rain fur and feathers , than not have enough gun and watch an animal be crippled .. Plus the Pop of a solid hit from a fast hard hitting PCP is a kick :) I say let em have it with a fast 22/or 25 and whatever pellet blows em apart . Just one ol country boys opinion
 
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I've got about the same problem as KMD. At 10 to 15yds my .22 and .25 marauders are overkill in the extreme. So I think the solution once I get the funds is to get a .177 Marauder. Pretty sure a .177 should work for KMD as well. Another option but in .22 would be a Marauder Pistol.

Also the big question is what are you going to use to fill this PCP?
 
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I agree with iride and Joe, killing fast is never a bad thing.

I am planning on filling it using a hand pump. I was actually just reading about the whole process. Some say it is hard, others say you get used to it. Some say it is a waste of time, others say its not too bad... I have no clue who to "believe" as I never ever used a hand pump.

Again. A .177 might be the "best" option for now, but like I said, I am not sure how much longer I will keep my hunting exclusively to the backyard?! I am looking at Hunting Sites as we speak... I live in the mountains so there must be some local places I can go hunt...

Thanks,

Kmd
 
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kmd1984 There are a few air rifles out there with adjustable power wheels or adjusters. That would allow you to dial down the power while shooting in the backyard and up when out in the field shooting at longer distances. The thing you really need to do when selecting an air rifle is identify the whats, hows and where you will be shooting. That will allow you to pick the rifle with the right weight, length, power, magazine capacity and other aspects. It is hard to make one rifle do it all without compromises. Like some mentioned maybe get one less expensive pcp for the backyard in .177 or .22 for small pest control. I prefer .22 caliber over the .177 caliber. Then spend your real money on a powerful .25 cal. for field use. Here are two rifles with adjustable power. One in .22 cal with traditional looks and the other in .25 cal. with unconventional looks but great features. Bill
PS If you can tell us what critters you intend to hunt at what distances, how many shots would be needed during a typical trip and whether you would be doing a lot of walking requiring a lighter rifle or just sitting in place where a heavier rifle would be tolerated. Here are a couple of FX rifles with power adjustability. Bill









 
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I have not killed to many squirrels with a .25 and those that I did, was with a Crow Magnum barrel break back in the 80s. But in the last 7 or 8 years I have taken several hundred tree squirrels, grays & big fox squirrels 30-80 yards. Most of them with my .22 FX 400 adjusted to 1000 fps with 18 grain jsbs, approximately 98% are dead before they hit the ground. I did recently purchase a .25 for long range tree squirrels, but hope it is not over kill. The squirrels we kill are used for food, I really don't want tremendous damage. I am anxious to see how it does. I mostly take head & neck shots, but sometime do mess up and hit the body. However if you are not eating them, the bigger the better.
 
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"plinker"I vote .25 marauder plus a good backstop to catch bullet pass through. Overkill?! Who wants to under kill! Err on the side of DEAD. 
However, the noise level vote goes to a .22 as balance of ft/lb and silence.
Click to expand...
My neighbors do not seem to care about me shooting my GAMO Whisper Fusion Pro, so I doubt they would mind, or even notice, a .25 PCP gun. 
 
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Bill,

Thanks for the input. I will take a look at the videos later.

I totally like the idea of having a power adjustable gun. That is why I keep a close eye on the FX Impact, FX Indy or Huben K1 (Too bad that it takes forever to get an Impact). Even though the Indy is not as power adjustable as the Impact, it is still super cool due to the build in pump. I really like that. 

Speaking of Indy... Does anyone have some Data on fpe and fps at different power levels!? I googled but could not find anything.

That said, I wish I could answer all your questions in regards to what exactly I will be doing. I have no idea. LOL. Probably what I do with my other "Hobbies". I buy a ton of equipment and never really use it, ha ha. Seriously though, I am shooting Prairie Dogs right now. They are between 10 and 20 meters away. However, I am planning on finding "the right spot" near by and do some more prairie dog and squirrel hunting...

Thanks,

Kmd
 
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"Nutcracker"I have not killed to many squirrels with a .25 and those that I did, was with a Crow Magnum barrel break back in the 80s. But in the last 7 or 8 years I have taken several hundred tree squirrels, grays & big fox squirrels 30-80 yards. Most of them with my .22 FX 400 adjusted to 1000 fps with 18 grain jsbs, approximately 98% are dead before they hit the ground. I did recently purchase a .25 for long range tree squirrels, but hope it is not over kill. The squirrels we kill are used for food, I really don't want tremendous damage. I am anxious to see how it does. I mostly take head & neck shots, but sometime do mess up and hit the body. However if you are not eating them, the bigger the better.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input... Pleas keep me posted on how the .25 turns out!

I am not planning on eating squirrels. However, I can see myself eating a rabbit thought. Fact is, I know ZERO about hunting, and I am actually not that into killing something "for pleasure". I do it in the BY because my wife wills like the prairie dogs might be harmful to the kids. I guess that is "excuse" enough for me to shoot something...

Thanks,

Kmd
 
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OK FOLKS, I JUST PULLED THE TRIGGER! (NO PUN INTENDED).

I went ahead and ordered the .25 + the Benjamin pump from Walmart. They offer a 90 days return policy on air rifles as well. If for some reason the .25 will not work out (guts spilling all over the place that is), I can always return it. Right.

That said, what ammo should I get? I read that a lot of people are happy with JSB pellets??? Should I get different ones and see what works best, or can I trust other having done the research already? I say this because I don't know if every gun (literally, every gun) reacts different to each ammo?

Thanks,

Kmd
 
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For long range shooting at prairie dogs I would go with medium to heavy weight dome pellets to buck the wind and maintain down range energy. JSB 25's & 33's and Air Arms 25's Benjamin Domes and H&N Baracuda 31 grain. Now in my FX Wildcat all these pellets shot good to excellent groups at 50 yards but only the Air Arms 25 grain pellets would hold 1 to 2" groups at 100 yards. So the pellet you choose should be the one that holds accuracy at the furthest distance you plan to shoot. If you can't hit it you can't kill it. Now for your close range shooting at your house you might want to try some hollow points for the expansion and pop factor for close up varmint shooting. The hollow points in generally don't hold up accuracy wise at over 50 yards. H&N has some nice high quality hollow point pellets to try. Bill
 
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That .25 Marauder IS power adjustable. Just not with a convenient wheel on the side of the gun. You can control the power with a couple of internal hammer adjustments accessible through a port at the rear without disassembling anything and by the amount of pressure you use for filling the gun. Instructions will be in the manual and on several forums. That said it is best to use a chronograph to "tune" with.

Thurmond
 
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