Agree that mid power .177 is plenty for most small game hunting. IMHO accuracy is key, while power is typically over-valued for hunting. I am comfortable hunting with a .177 10fpe springer out to 35 yards for squirrel, rabbits and quail.
I try not to be the grammar police. But, I don't know if it was intentional, but it was definitely painful to read.
That is a large load of BS ! I take rabbits with a .177, 7.2 wadcutter pellet @ 460 FPS out to apx. 20 yards FWB 600 target rifle head shot only they flip over and kick a few seconds It is ALL about shot placement .
Been hunting with airguns all your life, right? I think a 12 ga with slugs is "just right" for squirrels, although with the reds you might need to go up to 10 ga. 3 and a half inch magnum loads in a 30 inch barrel...
It's not ALL about shot placement, although that is definitely a key. If you can hit the rabbit with a Nerf gun at that distance you still won't kill it, because you don't have enough energy. Energy isn't ALL that matters either, if you can't hit the target it doesn't matter what energy the projectile has. It's a balance between accuracy and energy. Both need to meet a minimum or you won't have game down. You can trade accuracy for energy up to a certain point and still put game down. (See slugs from a shotgun). You can trade energy for accuracy up to a point and still put game down (see any light fast tack driving anything). The key is having enough accuracy AND enough energy. It's a multi keyed lock.
I suggest you review the paper by the same organization that raided mar la go recently. If my 45 doesn't have stopping power how can my 25 caliber PCP? If we hit the brain or spine we immediately disrupt the brains ability to control the animal. If we do not do that, then we have to cause enough blood loss that the brain looses it's ability to function. That can take a few seconds. With a poor hit, it can take minutes or even longer. The other confounding factor is the will to live is greater in some specimens than others. A good double lung hit may drop one squirrel immediately and another take at least a few steps.This is almost like religion. Some believe there is no such thing as stopping power in airguns, but physics says otherwise. If your game took a hit to the vitals, it will eventually bleed out. But, your prey can have a good to the vitals, and still run far away before all its juice runs out!
If you had a projectile that did not exit, but did damage organs and the circulatory system in the process, the remaining energy left after penetration has to be transferred to the game.
This energy transfer, will probably not permanently damage your prey over what occurred with the initial penetration. But, the nervous/respiratory system can be temporarily disrupted, to incapacitate the game while it succumbs to primary organ damage and blood loss.
I stated this example before, that prey getting hit by a 950 fps projectile is the same as prey getting hit at 647 mph. Clearly, that is fast enough to cause a squirrel to loose consciousness.
I get that, but you can't say no more power is needed, as you don't know the balance needed for the kill being taken. Some people will trade precision for better penetration on less than idea shots, will take significantly longer shots, will want more power for faster kills on larger animals, will want more power and forgiveness for bad shots. It's all a preference thing. Yes a lower powered projectile can kill if the shot is placed in exactly the right spot. A more powerful projectile will almost always kill more effectively assuming the accuracy is there. It will also do more damage and kill faster if the shot is bad. This holds true across every killing situation I can think of. The only down side to more power/energy I've ever encountered is damage to meat if it's intended for consumption. Again there is a balance to be struck, but that balance will be different in each hunting situation and for each hunters preferences and skills.
