22 vs 25.... 25 obsolete?

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S97

Member
Feb 28, 2019
175
7
Oregon, United States
I don't know if this topic has been covered before, but thought it would be a good thing to have some discussion about.

It seems like improved pellet technology & manufacturing processes & now with the advent of slugs it has really changed what air rifles are capable of.

Given what one can do with the 22 caliber now, does it make the 25 cal obsolete? 

&

Is one better off to Jump from 22 cal to 30 cal and skip 25?




 
We are beginning to see in the air gun world, exactly what has happened in the cartridge rifle market over many years. It is becoming a matter of makers building products they can sell, albeit at occasional "created" advantages of the new product; i.e., it's not a matter of what we need, it's what we can be sold. There are literally hundreds of centerfire cartridges available through manufacturers and, by reloading, to the wildcat market, which is virtually without limits. In this country, if one takes an honest look at the needs of centerfire rifles, from small varmints up to elk and bear, 2 or 3 could easily cover the need, but we have a huge number of choices, so we end up with gun safes packed with rifles not needed. 
 
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If you look through JSB's bc chart shot in their own tunnel, the highest bc for PELLET they have is for the 25 King Heavy, by a good margin. Second and third are very close to each other with the King Heavy Mk2 and 22 MRD. 30 is not even close. That's why we are having so much success with the 22 MRD.... as well as being able to run it at near 1000 fps for good accuracy. The King Heavy likes slooww in my testing and it's been mixed some for the Mk2's.

Couple that with more knockdown from the 25 and I don't see it going away. I still favor the 22, myself. A little less expensive and with my RW.... MUCH more versatile .

Bob
 
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I have airguns from every caliber from .177 to .357 and everything in between, including pellets and slug shooters.

The .25 is the most versatile amongst all of them, with a great BC and shoots great for short range to longer ranges.

The .25 cal is not going anywhere, just like how .308 and 300 Win Mag is not going anywhere just because there's a new 6.5CM or 300NM round....


 
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Well .177 slugs aren't being developed at as fast a pace as the 25 or 30 cal slugs you would think that if you have an air gun that shoots pellets well @ 25 to 50 yards but is affected by the wind or by BC at longer distance as is the case with the 177 and 22 that manufacturers would concentrate on making 177 slugs first and foremost which doesn't seem to be the case thats confusing to me it seems like the 177 slug that can beat the wind and hold its energy at longer distance due to high BC would defeat the need for higher reg pressures double regulators 80cc plenums 700mm barrels Hammer spring weights silencers and shrouds to quite the beast down and last but not least the stress an strain that lead to early wear and tear on the internals of our PCP'S . So I propose this bring a 177 airgun w a 22gr slug that shoots great at 980 to 1020 fps @200 yards in semi auto and you will sell tons of slugs and tons of airguns . PS please make it a bullpup with solenoid vlv's and electronic trigger I almost described the delta wolf 
 
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I'm one of those that doesn't favor .25. I'm a big fan of .22 and really that's the only caliber airgun that I own. I find them extremely versatile for my needs and pellets are cheaper, guns are more air efficient, and just easier to shoot and quieter also. Also a huge fan of .30 even though I no longer own one. If I want bigger than .22 I go straight to .30. I find them to be more accurate and consistent than any .25s I've owned. Except for one of the first .25 Taipan Veteran Standards in the states that I got. That thing was unreal accurate and never should have sold it. Do I see it as obsolete though? Absolutely not as many others love it. I'm just not one of them.
 
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Even if it did go away slightly or a lot I am still big fan of it. Crunch numbers all day long but the proof is in the knockdown power.

Pretty sure my .22 BSA R10 doesn't do this...



https://youtu.be/Vz2HboQ-tU8

Click to expand...

That was... a dramatic... way to go out. kinda like getting hit with a howitzer. I like!



BTW, I just picked up an Avenger 25 on ebay so I guess I'll be finding out!!!!
 
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I think .25 is making a comeback. It seems to have fallen off the radar first in favor of .30, and recently in favor of .22 RD Monsters.

After Ted won EBR 2016 with .25, it seems everyone was shooting .25 Heavy. Then many shooters started on .30 to the point where most shot .30 at RMAC PAC and EBR in 2019. Just this past year or so the .22 RD Monster has become popular, especially with the Daystate guys.

I think a reason .25 declined is because it was so hard to find a gun/barrel that was competition grade accurate at 100 yards. You had to shoot slow, like about 830 FPS and anything faster resulted in inexplicable fliers.
But with the advent of the Slug A and Superior liners from FX, shooting .25 Heavy at decent speeds (900+ FPS) accurately has become an option. The .25 King Heavy has the highest BC of any commercially available pellet by a significant margin as @arzrover stated above. Also, Ted recently publicly stated that his .25 Impact Slug A liner shooting King Heavy at 900 FPS has exceeded the accuracy of the .30 he’s competed with for the past two years.

I set up my long range Hunter .25 Impact X Slug A to shoot heavy slugs on Max power, but on power level 3 it shoots King Heavies at 905 FPS and will give my Bleu Wolf a run for its money at 100 yards. The wind drift shooting side by side is noticeably less with the .25 King Heavy than the .22 RD Monster.

Bleu still has the top spot in my stable, but more than likely only because it is much easier to shoot on the bench, plus the trigger is much better than the Impact. If I had a Daystate Red Wolf that shot .25 King Heavy (not Mk2) as accurately as Bleu I’d switch in a heartbeat... This is why my first Delta Wolf will be .25 caliber.
 
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I’m completely sold on .25 cal. I think it’s only getting more popular. Lots great slug development going on for .25 right now.

I can run .25 34gr JSB at 70 ft/lbs in my Crown. Your going to have to really push a .22 to reach that power. 
Another consideration is the price of ammo. 16-18gr in .22 offer a nice savings over .25 but if you want to put some serious power down with a .22 and shoot 25-34 gr pellets they are as expensive and in some case more expensive to shoot than .25

One other thing I really like about .25 is my fat fingers find it much easier to sort/weigh and load mags.
 
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I’m completely sold on .25 cal. I think it’s only getting more popular. Lots great slug development going on for .25 right now.

I can run .25 34gr JSB at 70 ft/lbs in my Crown. Your going to have to really push a .22 to reach that power. 
Another consideration is the price of ammo. 16-18gr in .22 offer a nice savings over .25 but if you want to put some serious power down with a .22 and shoot 25-34 gr pellets they are as expensive and in some case more expensive to shoot than .25

One other thing I really like about .25 is my fat fingers find it much easier to sort/weigh and load mags.
Click to expand...

Me too, once I witnessed the smack down power. I still shoot .177 and .22 but for hunting mostly just .25
 
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I’ve shot both calibers a lot with slugs. If your looking at trying to get a high bc in either caliber of around.1 and want velocities in the mid 900fps you need a slug close to 40g. 
It’s easier to achieve that in .25. I’m using a 600mm slug A liner a 38g slug at 920fps and it’s the most accurate combination I’ve ever had. Very happy with it. 
I’m a .25 cal convert. 😊

 
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