What would you prefer between a .25 and a .30 cal

[hasenpfeffer]

If I ever wanted to shoot anything bigger than a jackrabbit, I'd go with the .30. Where I live, I could not legally take hogs with a .30. I could've sworn that .30 used to be the minimum required for big game in Arizona, but the current regs say .35+.

 

[guod123]

My vote goes to the .25 also. It still comes down to shot placement on a large creature. A bad shot with a 44 or 50 grain pellet is not going to help you. I'd venture to say a Sumatra shooting the 43 grain 25's at 80 fpe probably better penetration than the 44 grain 30 cal JSB.at slightly higher power. The cost and variety of 25 ammo is also a big plus.

 

[FearnLoading]

"guod123"My vote goes to the .25 also. It still comes down to shot placement on a large creature. A bad shot with a 44 or 50 grain pellet is not going to help you. I'd venture to say a Sumatra shooting the 43 grain 25's at 80 fpe probably better penetration than the 44 grain 30 cal JSB.at slightly higher power. The cost and variety of 25 ammo is also a big plus.

Agree with you on this one. The cost is an important factor. The BC also helps the 25 stay more stable over longer distances. 

 

[30cal]

"Michael"

"30cal"Michael I plan to try that very thing with my hm1000x .25 soon. It should easily do that.

Looking forward to the review. I believe the difference in weight will cause the pellet to fly about 100 FPS less than the 25.3 grain pellets. Can you increase the velocity of your HM1000x that much?

Michael I plan to try. The 1000x is a powerful gun and from talking to some that have them it should easily do it. Martin tunes them for maximum accuracy with the 25 gr so should be just a matter of a little more hammer spring tension.

 

[Nomadic Pirate]

.25 of course,

The fact alone that in .30 you only have 2 pellets avaiable makes the .25 much more appealing with a pretty darn extensive choice of pellets and even cast bullets.

 

[LEE-IN-VA.]

Nomadic Pirate.25 of course,

The fact alone that in .30 you only have 2 pellets avaiable makes the .25 much more appealing with a pretty darn extensive choice of pellets and even cast bullets.

Same thing I was thinking scrolling through.

 

[Prouzy]

"Dave"I just purchased my first high end gun, which was a Bobcat .30
I would personally go with the .30 and here is why. Assuming use of pellets over cast bullets.

1.Larger heavier pellets with higher BC gives higher energy at longer ranges.
2. The 25.4 grain vs 44.75 grain at same velocity 893 fps per chairgun the lower weight .25 cal pellet drifts 44" in a 5 mph 90 degree wind and the .30 only drifts 36" this is at 250 yards.
3. The .30 is a larger hole in the animal to aid in rapid blood loss.
4. If using pellets over cast bullets you don't want to be in transonic or supersonic range do to instability of any caliber of pellet.
5. I can't think of any .25 cal non-cast bullet guns capable of around 100 fpe and being stable with good long range accuracy. Look at review Ted did on the 80 fpe Daystate air ranger.

Anyway that is why I personally would choose .30 over .25 but if hogs are my intended target I might lean toward the .357 like the new Rapid air weapon in this post.

http://airgunnation.dev/topic/rapid-air-weapons-357-mini-novice-review-pictures/

Hope this helps.

Im with Dave on all his points, especially things being equal, such as fps. I shoot my .30 and .25 in the 900s and have very good accuracy, had not heard the .30 diabolo to be unstable at those velocities. The JSB 44.75 is reported in forum discussions to have a slightly higher BC than JSB 25gr (.40 vs .35-.36). If both velocities in the low to mid 900s, fpe of the .30 will be approximately 2x of the corresponding .25. Now there would be some exceptions in .25 shooting increased mass such as Eun Jin, but that is also the case for some of the new .30s coming out. I was also concerned with the options in .30, but fortunately mine shoots the JSB 44.75gr exceptionally. However, the 50gr are dismal. In my inquiry to H&N, they are also working on some options, as well as some custom molds for your casting pleasures by AAO in the upper 50sgr.

Certainly nothing replaces a well place shot, but on small game and at distance, Ive found the larger cal to be a bit more forgiving. Seems there are also more options in a smaller stature rifle in .25 vs the .30, but again some of the new platforms in big bore are not bulky and in fact if the Sam Yang came put in .30, that would be a pretty light and powerful .30. 

Most of this leans towards the .30 but for the majority of what Ive been doing with airgun is accomplished quite well with a .25 so if I had to make choice, it would be .25. As I continue to work with my .30 in the 75+yd range, I cant argue with the accuracy and power retention at that distance over my .25.............ask me again in another few months, after say a small to medium game hunt.

Chris 

 

[Robonline]

"FearnLoading"Lets assume for a moment that the only choices that one had was to pick either a .25 or a 30 cal. The general use of the gun would be small to medium game hunting (up to a hog) and target shooting at 150-250 yards. Which caliber would you pick? 

My own preference is towards the .25 cal for the following reasons. 

1. Lesser bullet drop enabling larger distance shots. 
2. More stability while flying as compared to the .30. Most 30 cal Airguns top off at 100 fpe. I think this is done for a reason because the 30 cals aren't stable at higher power. I could be wrong here but that's my guess. 
3. Descent enough dropping power even at 150-200 yards. 
4. IMO the wind also impacts the 30 much more than it does to the .25. Bigger bullet, greater wind impact. This is of course for longer distances. Within 100 yards the 30 would be less impacted but beyond 100 the 25 would be more stable is what I feel. 

So what would your pick be and why ?

Some of your assumptions are not correct.
1) Caliber has nothing to do with drop. Although there are minor other variables, but projectile velocity is primarily what determines so called drop. In fact all things drop at the same rate, the faster the projectile goes the sooner it arrives on target and the less time spent falling.
2,3&4) No proof of this that I've seen.
I wouldn't consider a 30 caliber anyway. .25 or .9mm would be a better choice.
Rob

 

[pepegraves]

"Gundog"I just made this decision for me it was shot count and price of ammo. I plan to target shoot way more than hunt. If I were going to hunt larger game deer and hogs and that was my primary purpose I would get a .357 or larger. Eventually I would like to get a big bore hunter.

Mike

I'm with ya there...I went they myself with the Recluse 357 and felt like that was'nt big enough so, now I'm getting the Texan...cause I like big bullets that go boom