Is .22 vs .25 and .30 accuracy settled?

[Liontracks]

Wouldnt "expertise" and "experience" of the shooter play a part in choosing the caliber? 

3 out of 4 top spots shooting .22, dont you think there is a reason behind it? 

Dont you think the trajectory difference between pellets makes a difference?

We are talking about paper here, not hunting. Every mm counts. 

Anyone knows how many .25 and .30 were competing in 100 yards?

I think the short answer is no, I see no technical "reason behind it". Individual shooters, different rifles, personal preferences. Why would trajectory make a significant difference? When shooting at a known range, trajectory correction is simple. I think we sometimes look for a complex answer to a fundamentally simple question. These folks shot a .22 because they like it, and their rifles shoot well. The most compelling variable with any caliber is the shooter.

Wouldnt "expertise" and "experience" of the shooter play a part in choosing the caliber? 

3 out of 4 top spots shooting .22, dont you think there is a reason behind it? 

Dont you think the trajectory difference between pellets makes a difference?

We are talking about paper here, not hunting. Every mm counts. 

Anyone knows how many .25 and .30 were competing in 100 yards?

No I don't think there is a reason behind it other than the shooter on the day. If we were talking about 3-4 years of EBR all being dominated by .22 then yes there may be something there, but we are not.

You may think there is no reason behind it, but weeks before the match I had a little conversation with Nik who I believe was the second place, 

"I shoot .22 because my opinion is that JSB Monster Redesigned are the less affected by the wind pellets in the world. The weight is not only factor to affect the wind drift of the pellet. From my experience .25 34gr King Heavy is affected by the wind in quite the same way as .22 18gr Jumbo Heavy. I'm not ready to tell anything about .30cal, but my colleagues in sports says that they are very affected by the wind."

 

[Centercut]

Interesting. Only one mans opinion of course. I think the pellets are all close enough in performance that the overriding factor is the shooter. What I mean by that is any pellet can win. Look at RMAC, which was dominated by .30 caliber pellets shooting three rounds at 100 yards, not just one. IMHO at 75 yards the .22 RDMs appear to have an advantage. But at 100 yards it looks like a toss up. 
PS; he had the 4th best score in the finals; two Sportsman finished ahead of him. 

 

[RB-AOA]

The last 3 EBR have been won by a gun shooting 22 cal redesign jsb. In testing with AZ rover the 22 at high velocity is less affected by light to moderate wind than the other calibers out of the same platform at 75 to 125 yards. Bob can surely speak with authority on this issue. My experience with specific equipment. 


Rob 

 

[Franklink]

From shooting in and compiling the info for the Xtreme FT events last winter......LOTS of .22 MRDs being shot in that game. 

The. 22 MRD won more monthly matches than any other pellet or slug last winter. Let me emphasize, OR SLUG. 

The 2 or 3 times times that a .22 MRD didn't win a monthly match, there was at least one and often two of the top 3 highest scores that were obtained with........22 MRDs. 

In my personal comparison testing, the lighter .22 slugs have been no better than the. 22 MRDs, and the 20.2 and 17.5gr slugs often require more hold off at 100+ yards than the MRDs. 

 

[Centercut]

I like the RDMs very much and shot them this year in competition from my Daystate Red Wolf HP. When properly weighed, sorted, and shot from a squeaky clean high quality barrel they can be reliable. But c’mon, let’s be honest. Who shoots RDMs that doesn’t get the occasional unexplained flyer? Especially if your shoot them right from the tin.

The topic of the thread though is accuracy, not reliability, and I do think they are the most accurate pellet currently produced, especially when you get a good tin.

Speaking of Extreme FT at Phoenix Rod and Gun the last season, let’s not forget that the course record is held by a .30 cal. pellet.

 

[Franklink]

Speaking of Extreme FT at Phoenix Rod and Gun the last season, let’s not forget that the course record is held by a .30 cal. pellet.

Yep, Peykan shot a 35/40 that month with a .30. 

That month(October) the next 8 highest scores (2nd through 9th) were .22 MRDs. With 2nd and 3rd both being 33/40 (tie broken by longest streak without a miss). 

 

[Centercut]

Must have been a calm day. I wasn’t at that one. Let’s also not forget that the majority of competitors shot .22 MRDs. I like their accuracy. Not their questionable reliability. 

 

[Raider03]

Wouldnt "expertise" and "experience" of the shooter play a part in choosing the caliber? 

3 out of 4 top spots shooting .22, dont you think there is a reason behind it? 

Dont you think the trajectory difference between pellets makes a difference?

We are talking about paper here, not hunting. Every mm counts. 

Anyone knows how many .25 and .30 were competing in 100 yards?

I think the short answer is no, I see no technical "reason behind it". Individual shooters, different rifles, personal preferences. Why would trajectory make a significant difference? When shooting at a known range, trajectory correction is simple. I think we sometimes look for a complex answer to a fundamentally simple question. These folks shot a .22 because they like it, and their rifles shoot well. The most compelling variable with any caliber is the shooter.

Wouldnt "expertise" and "experience" of the shooter play a part in choosing the caliber? 

3 out of 4 top spots shooting .22, dont you think there is a reason behind it? 

Dont you think the trajectory difference between pellets makes a difference?

We are talking about paper here, not hunting. Every mm counts. 

Anyone knows how many .25 and .30 were competing in 100 yards?

No I don't think there is a reason behind it other than the shooter on the day. If we were talking about 3-4 years of EBR all being dominated by .22 then yes there may be something there, but we are not.

You may think there is no reason behind it, but weeks before the match I had a little conversation with Nik who I believe was the second place, 

"I shoot .22 because my opinion is that JSB Monster Redesigned are the less affected by the wind pellets in the world. The weight is not only factor to affect the wind drift of the pellet. From my experience .25 34gr King Heavy is affected by the wind in quite the same way as .22 18gr Jumbo Heavy. I'm not ready to tell anything about .30cal, but my colleagues in sports says that they are very affected by the wind."

True, so all it would take (possibly) is a 25 RDM from JSB to remove that advantage. 

 

[nomojo65]

Is their a record of equipment “Brands” and calibers used in the RMAC and EBR for this year’s Comp’s? 
I would like to see and compare this information, for EBR I saw only winners and scores, for RMAC only winners and brands? It would be interesting to see and compare these stats. Especially if you had a daily record of Temperature and wind conditions, Especially shooting lane conditions ( wind, swirl, mirage etc. ) from one side of the bench assignments to the other between relays and finals!

This would be very helpful in determining a distinct advantage of one caliber over another.

Other factors include custom barrels, Dealer tuned vs. users tune, And the “BIG ONE” barrel tuner vs. no barrel tuner…

 

[Pmanuk]

As above I have no issues with the Redesigns, I have over 100 tins of them! for my rifles, I just don't think they are the definitive best / most accurate pellet / calibre. My .30 and my .25 can be just as accurate 

 

[douger]

next year a 177 will win 

 

[AirNGasman]

"The topic of the thread though is accuracy".

Which is all I was talking about in my post by presenting average accuracy (over 6 consecutive five-shot groups), Mike. Not scores on a scorecard, shooter skill, or wind-bucking; just accuracy.

I know all that other stuff. But having become a lazy keyboarder, chose not to go down that hole. I knew there would be plenty others to take up that slack. 

 

[Newtopcp]

I like .22 - they are accurate, easy to find (especially Crossman hollowpoints at Walmart) and cheap. At 1 to 3 cents per shot, cost doesn't even enter the equation on a 1,000 shots per month.

 

[Centercut]

next year a 177 will win

Ha! Good one... ROFLMAO. As a few shooters have found out at 100 yards with .177 pellets, its best not to bring a knife to a gun fight...

 

[Hearkens]

Fascinating topic. I finished second in Sportsmans at EBR with a 30. Better shooters than I got lower scores in that particular match. My guess is that the greatest contributing factor to score was the unique turbulence at their place in line. 


I’m fascinated by the .22 redesigns for next year but not sure I want to sign up for a pellet so finicky and famous for flyers… even if it’s spectacularly accurate at times. 

 

[Nofilters]

 

Centercut!!!!

did you mean me and VERN ?

I did finish 3rd in sniper class XFT 2018.

We also won state FT in 2021 in not-so-good weather.

 

[Therealld]

all three calibers are accurate. The guns are accurate. It's all down to the shooter. I have .22 and .25 and both are extremely accurate in dead wind conditions. I wind, the .25 (.25 caliber - 34 grain heavies vs 18 grain .22's) don't get blown around as much. Simple weight more than anything else.

Doubt I'll ever buy a .30 as I shoot as economically as I can. 500 shots in .22 vs 300 shots in .25 vs 150 shots per tin in .30, .22 is a whole lot more economical.

It's all down to the shooter

Something not touched on that seems to limit larger calibers a bit is magazine depth and bolt design stroke limits. I feel the longer a pellet can be made for its diamer, the better the BC thats possible, and most popular airguns used at the long range BR events are designed as repeaters. For a purpose-built benchrest airgun, use a singleshot that easily accepts over an inch long projectile.

As a frame of reference, really high BC bullets are typically 5.5 to over 6 times the bore diameter, so a .30 cal projectile might be up to 1.8” long for comparable wind-bucking.

Personally, I much prefer .22 cal, since there ARE longish (for bore dia) pellets made for them, and they seem about as accurate as larger cals for my shooting, BUT a recent long range event I shot at changed my mind some by adding a factor I had not previously encountered …. That of not being able to see the holes on the target! See, with the bad color selection of scoring rings on the EBR target as used at the Ashland Oregon 100 yard event, I lost too many points solely because I couldn't make out the holes, even to the point of shooting a bull twice and failing to shoot another one for lack of decent visibility, even with a great scope (Sightron III 10-50).

So if its a poor target with almost tan background and orange or green scoring rings, coupled with a bit of mirage …. Use something that makes bigger holes!