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Always controversial .177 vs .22

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J

joaoglez

Member
Nov 3, 2016
43
11
JALISCO, Mexico
Hi Folks I know this topic has been a long time discussion and many times Its just a personal prefference. Being new to springers amd having shot PCP for a while I can tell as long as PCP regards .177 is not a common choice or at least not so wanted, but regarding springers .177 is at least in my oppinion what most shooters go for

Do you guys really think .177 is way better than .22 for springers?

Best wishes and happy holidays
 
Agreed, not too many down sides to using a 22 going the same speed as a 177. As soon as your in that 15 to 20 fpe area the 177 becomes much flatter shooting than the 22 and more accurate than a magnum springer. Guys in the UK use 177 for hunting purposes all the time for that very reason. Accuracy and flatter trajectory over brute force knock down power. 
 
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I was considering an HW35e in .22 and my main doubt was if it is powerfull enough to hold great accurscy as compared to the .177 version
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Good thinking. Available power (or lack of) seems to be what makes the .177 better in some applications while the .22 can surpass it for some uses and at some power level. I shoot lots of .177 pellets and if the energy is available to propel them to good velocities then they shoot better than .22 at "normal" pellet ranges IMO. .22 adds energy on target that can be helpful but more power is generally needed to propel it fast enough to prevent an excessively loopy trajectory. I was shooting a 1" square metal hanging target with the LGU .177 at 45 yards today using 7.33 AA Falcons and hitting it consistently in very light wind. Speed can overcome a bit of wind. A little more wind means a bit of hold off becomes necessary quickly and holdover becomes necessary quickly once that distance is passed for my setup but it is "squirrel head accurate" to that range reliably unless the wind is easily visible on the surroundings. Learn your target size, trajectory, and wind drift and .177 can work very well. That .177 LGU shoots "flat" (no holdover necessary) with that pellet out to that 45 yard distance and beyond that I don't think the energy is sufficient for small game use reliably. 8.44 JSB's also shoot well but they shoot a bit less "flat" than the 7.33 for me at that range. .22 can extend that usable range a noticeable amount IF the velocity is available. All JMO of course.
 
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I usually dont shoot more than 40yds with my springers as Im new and still learning the proper technique. Most of my springers are .177 amd I love the way they perform but I really dont know if this particular model ( HW35 ) has enough power to send the .22 at good velocity without affecting the accuracy and not making it to loopy. I would like to try it but it is way far from me

Thabks in advance for your oppinions
 
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I've been culling a lot of problem squirrels this fall and winter. I've found that the .177 is reliable for me to about 40 yards with body shots. Reliable meaning I'll recover the animal. Beyond about 40 yards it became much less certain that they would be found. A week ago I shot 3 over 2 days beyond 45 yards. Clean hits and they fell cleanly from the tree and I had good reference to where they fell. Did not find any of the 3. I try to limit my squirrel culling to 40 yards for this reason.
 
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No knowledge of the .177 but the HW95L in .22 is a fine accurate rifle for my wife & I shooting out to 25 yards and we are both 80+. Our groups are improving and we use the Caldwell sand filled bags from a picnic table. I have taken several tree rats with the rifle which seems to have plenty of power. We are using the H&N FTT 14.66 gr pellets that produce the best groups for us. This is one of her groups.

IMG_4203_2.1609284289.JPG

 
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I use my rifles in the field, only using paper for brush up practice and testing. So my primary interest is hunting and pests. Because of this the only caliber I shoot is .177 and the reason is speed. At the far reaches of mine and my equipment's capabilities an animal can hear the shot and move before it actually arrives so it's important that the shot gets to the target as quickly as possible. Obviously, no matter how much energy a pellet is packing when it arrives, it does no good if the target isn't where it was when the flight started. 

R1 and R9, here. Tuned nicely. 

There is no pest bird around that will withstand the .177 and I've used .177 on garden eating rabbits and ferel cats to good affect. Long ago I decided if I need the energy of a .22 I'm switching to rimfire. Life has been good.
 
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I’m personally a huge fan of .177 Springers, specially in 12fpe. Have taken many squirrels at about 30 yards. Depending on the gun, they can be very accurate and effective in taking down your quarry. Most shooters in the UK use similar platforms and they shoot out to over 60 yards taking down doves, rabbit, & squirrels no problem. These guns are easier to shoot more accurately than magnum guns. I only have one Springer in .22, it’s extremely accurate, but I have lost more squirrels to it than to my .177s. Just mu personal experience. 
 
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I’m personally a huge fan of .177 Springers, specially in 12fpe. Have taken many squirrels at about 30 yards. Depending on the gun, they can be very accurate and effective in taking down your quarry. Most shooters in the UK use similar platforms and they shoot out to over 60 yards taking down doves, rabbit, & squirrels no problem. These guns are easier to shoot more accurately than magnum guns. I only have one Springer in .22, it’s extremely accurate, but I have lost more squirrels to it than to my .177s. Just mu personal experience.
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Same here but I have no .22 springers. I do have a couple of .22 in PCP and MPP. As stated above, just my preference. Like you. I've harvested many squirrels and rabbits over the years with .177 at the range you note. I've recently been taking longer shots on squirrels with .177 and I've had some I couldn't find once 45 yards was passed so a practical limit for me seems to be something in the 40-45 yard range. All that is predicated on use of 7.33 and 8.4 grain pellets due to a few neighbors in reach of anything heavier. I'm thinking that the newer 13 grain and heavier .177's could appreciably extend that range if safety allows.
 
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