30 to 25 as 22 to 25?

[yeagger]

I'm investigating getting a 30 cal impact. Does it stand true that the 30 is that much more accurate than the 25 like the 22 to the 25? Does anybody own a 22 or and 25 and a 30 cal? With a 22 the effective range for paper is 75 yards. Where 25 can be 125 and still getting decent groups. So does that stand and the 30 go out to 200 yards which groups under 5 inches? What is your experience with 25 vs 30 is it worth it or should I wait for the slug barrel in 32 come out?

 

[alex2865]

this is my take on a 25 and a 30.i want a 30.more impact.but not a lot of pellet selection. how far r u shooting.plus u only get150 per tin.i shoot my 25 quitea bit.i get 300 per tin.those r the jsbs heavies..alex

 

[GriffyGriff]

Mmmm not sure the .22 is more accurate than .25, as it isn’t for me. My .25 Bobcat MKII is more accurate than my .22 Wildcat both at 20m and especially beyond 75m up to 120m.
However.. at low power my .25 bobcat is more back-yard friendly @ 25m, but has a slight loopy trajectory. Whereas at full power @25m it EATS THROUGH paving slab back-stops. .25 pellets are currently more readily available than .30’s and have more shots per fill. I personally see .25 as being superior to .22 medium to longer ranges, but boy do I want to get my hands on a .30 to see how far i can accurately shoot

 

[myway]

Although others may have differing views or experience with individual rifles I don't think any particular airgun pellet calibre is more inherently accurate than another. A good pellet and rifle combination can be accurate regardless of calibre and a poor combination of those won't (and not every rifle and pellet is manufactured exactly the same so variance is normal). The main difference between pellet sizes is power and retention of power as range increases (if your not limited by law). Generally the larger the calibre the more kinetic energy of the pellet and its resistance to wind (on average). Download an app like chairgun and play around with the calibre and velocities to see how various pellets and calibres vary at the distance you want to shoot. 

 

[Cliff_Allen]

Caliber is not necessarily what you want to look at to find the greatest accuracy. You want to find a projectile with the greatest ballistic coefficient. Download a program called "Chairgun" from Hawke, they supply a ton of ballistic info on all kinds of different pellets. 

Generally speaking the larger the projectile the better the BC, but that isn't true for each specific example. Ted and Matt have done a lot of research and Ted said he participated in extreme bench rest with a .25 because it gave him a better BC than the equivalent .30 pellets. (he won the competition that year)

Beyond pellets, cast slugs will then generally start to have higher BC's. This is also why FX has barrels in testing to be made specifically for slugs. 

These video's should help a bit, good luck!
Cliff

 

[Keyman62421]

10 cents a shot. Now you'e into powder expense w/$2000 gun. If cost is absolutely no concern, why not! Otherwise , are you hunting something that needs 30? 

 

[Hynzie]

i love my .30 cal RAW HM1000X LRT it kicks ass love this CALIBER JSB VORTEX H@N and maybe a couple others currently make 30 cal pellets,,HARD AIR MAGAZINE has the BC listing page if you care for it ,,i got a ,25 cal WILD CAT i get better long range acurasy with the .30 cal than all other ...GOOD LUCK

 

[addertooth]

Larger caliber does not always mean better accuracy. As others have said, pellet (or slug) choice and the airgun itself dominates the outcome. The distance does factor in (and of course, the uncompensated wind speed). On a day with light wind (at 50 yards), my modified .25 caliber Marauder (using JSB Exact King 25.39 grain pellets) outshoots my .35 caliber Bulldog (using JSB Exact King 80.2 grain pellets). On very windy days (greater than 20 MPH swirling winds), the performance skews towards the .35 caliber Bulldog. On very windy days, the advantage goes to the 145 Grain .35 caliber Nosler Extreme slugs. I don't use the slugs much for target work, as they cost roughly $20 for 25 rounds (without any applied discounts).
​Another consideration is use. I have a .22 caliber Maximus with a TKO, which is perfect for 25 meter backyard shooting; it is quieter than a hand stapler when fired. I wouldn't dream of trying to stretch it out to 100 yards. The Marauder would probably be a good hunter to about 75 yards, as the size of my group at that distance equals the size of the vital organ shots on most small critters. The Bulldog is a deer gun (legal in Arizona for hunting deer), as it's groups at 100 yards smaller than the size of a deer heart. Any airgun is only useful at a distance where it's group size is small enough to bring down the intended prey with a single shot.
​The final consideration for hunters is your state's regulations. In Arizona, airguns .30 caliber or larger require you to walk up and gain land owner permission to shoot within a quarter mile of any structure. A .25 caliber air rifle is not bound by this rule. Also .25 caliber is legal for hunting predators (coyote, bobcat) and small game as well. Most states which allow air rifles to hunt large game have a minimum caliber. You must be at least .35 caliber to hunt Deer, Mountain Lion, Bear, Javelina in Arizona. Elk cannot be hunted with any air rifle here. Turkey specifically requires either bow or shotgun. In this state, airbows are considered air rifles. I always temper my choices of caliber based upon what they are allowed to hunt, and where they are allowed to be used. Accurate guns can be found in all calibers.

 

[shotcount]

For what I've seen on YouTube the .30 cal has some power...an accurate. 30 would be best !!! Only downfall is cost of pellets and lots of air ???

 

[GriffyGriff]

On the surface it seems that this is a simple question, but in reality it is much more complex (especially if taken down to the performance levels of differing guns at differing calibres). If we stay at the high level of pellet choice for an FX Impact, then you need to also account for the minimum and maximum ranges you will shoot at and whether it’s Hunting or Target or both. Whilst both calibres may be accurate, the other important considerations of safety come into play. For example my .25 often ricochets from a hard backstop, back to me at a distance of 25m. Also when Shooting birds, the pellet travels right through and has the capacity to remain dangerous for up to 100m beyond. 

 

[toku58]

Your question is unquantifiable.
All calibers have different +/-
All calibers can be extremely accurate!
But the main difference as you move up in calibers is hitting power, and forgiveness.
Also shot count, trajectory, fps, etc.......
There is no "One to Rule above all Others"
It just depends on the conditions that you shoot and what you're shooting. Also your skill level.

Good Luck!

 

[Saltlake58]

When I bought a few years ago, I chose .22 for a couple reasons, and accuracy was one. Is it more accurate than a .25? Way too many elements figure into accuracy to say .25 is better then .22. Now days, .22 has pellet choices with the same weight as a .25 if you want to go there.

​All I can say is that if you buy a .22, pellet variety is almost endless, even JSB offers 15, 18, 25, and 34 grain choices with as good or better BC's than a .25 (more weight in a smaller package.) In the end, caliber really doesn't make that much difference in the accuracy department. It's all the configuration of the gun and the shooter.

Having said that, I chose .22 because:
​1. I am CHEAP. While I wanted more energy than a .177, the .25's were just too expensive for me. .22 was an excellent compromise.
​2. Accuracy. At the time, many top shooters were using .22. The .25's were just coming in full steam. I wanted a gun that had proven tech, and such.
​3. Ease of access to pellets. Everyone had .22 at the time. .25 was harder to find. If I really go desperate, Walmart always had something in .22. No such luck in .25.

​I liked .22 from a cheap skate and practical standpoint, and it was / is accurate. You've got to make your own decision on what you want, so I wish you good luck. Maybe, if you buy an Impact or Crown, just get the other barrel kit and let us know!

 

[Yrrah]

Long range accuracy with .25 and .22 cal below.
I don't have a .30 cal:
But I don't see 200 yard .30 cal groups posted much better that these 7 groups shot in succession at 202 yards back in 2010 in one session not cherry picked from many. Pellets were .25 cal 25.4 gr JSB Kings.
The average was under 3 inches ctc. The aiming circle was penned around the bottom of a small JSB pellet tin and measures 2.6 inches.
Some sight changes/clicks were made to keep some groups apart. (There are a lot of potential golf ball hits there if that was to objective lol).

The last two targets shown were shot at 155 yards with a .22 BSA hornet shooting 15.9 gr JSBs at 1010 fps, in a slight following breeze from memory.
The first shot is shown in the first pic, then that shot and the next 5 shots in the last pic. The 5 shot group measures 0.95 inches at 155 yards so was probably less than 3/4 inches as the pellets passed the 100 yards mark.

I guess my point is that the "smaller" calibres often get sold short. The drag coefficient and bc of the .30 pellets currently available does not appear to be any better or as good as the current .25 heavy 33.9 gr JSBs; or the latest 25.4 gr .22 cal JSB revised Monsters I have been playing with (bc > 0.50). Thus there is no wind advantage there.

As someone else implied above, the .30 pellets do have higher potential POI momentum and therefore absolute hitting force and force per unit frontal area therefore greater "impact" for some uses. That is why I may sometime get a .30 barrel setup for the Crown - not for any useful accuracy advantage.

My responses often appear long because I hope to accurately convey my thoughts and real world data. I hope you see it that way. .... Best regards, Harry in OZ.

Please expand the targets for clarity.
Range 202 yards:

 

[Bullfrog]

I started with the .25 and moved to the .30 platform, but I still have my .25s. One low powered .25 in my regulated Mrod and one high powered .25 Condor. 

I prefer .30 more for the bigger hole it makes with pellets in larger game. I don't necessarily find it any more or less accurate than a good .25. I do believe its easier to 1 hole groups at 50 yards just because the pellets are so much bigger and maybe buck the wind better.