Need advice from 177 hunters.

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Raden1942

Raden1942

Member
Feb 15, 2018
1,757
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California, United States
Hi guys I was wondering if any of you have used some of the heaviest 177 pellets out there with high power to achieve long distance hunting results. I have a 22 and a couple 25 cal rifles for bigger game and in all honesty I just like playing around with new concepts. I'm curious about what I can do to push the limits of 177 capabilities and where those capabilities stop. So I am thinking about trying to push a piledriver or something like that at 850 to 900 fps. I am thinking of a hatsan or an airforce condor power tuned to achieve the results I'm looking for. I'm hoping to ethically take rabbit or squirrel up to 70 yards. I can already use my marauder to kill squirrel at 50 yards and it's only making 20 fpe so I don't think it's impossible but with my skill it's hard to be accurate after that with wind and whatnot. So what are your thoughts? How would you go about this? What ammo, gun would you suggest? Thanks guys I've been having fun shooting my pcp's and I just want to try something else. 
 
.177 is arguably the most popular air rifle caliber globally for a myriad of reasons. Regardless of the reasons, legal energy restrictions, caliber restrictions..., the .177 has been used for many years as a hunting and pesting tool with tons of success. It is a small caliber and folks need to pay attention to wind. You do not need heavy pellets for rabbits at 70 yards and beyond. You need accuracy, precision and a shooter behind the trigger. 8 grains and up will do the trick but you have to do your part to score a good, ethical hit.

i got a .177 for barn and shorter range pesting work. I soon realized it is capable of respectable energy and am now shooting NSA 15.5 grn slugs. They are much more slippery in the air and wind. I shoot them at 925-930 and they are like little lasers. The downside is they are not on an automatic press and are quite expensive. I remain hopeful that this projectile or equivalent will become available at a more affordable price. Skoal can groups at 150 are doable in moderate conditions.

My preferred pellet is the JSB Beast. 16.2 grains at 945 penetrates a lot. For me these are best below 100 yards.
 
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.177 is arguably the most popular air rifle caliber globally for a myriad of reasons. Regardless of the reasons, legal energy restrictions, caliber restrictions..., the .177 has been used for many years as a hunting and pesting tool with tons of success. It is a small caliber and folks need to pay attention to wind. You do not need heavy pellets for rabbits at 70 yards and beyond. You need accuracy, precision and a shooter behind the trigger. 8 grains and up will do the trick but you have to do your part to score a good, ethical hit.

i got a .177 for barn and shorter range pesting work. I soon realized it is capable of respectable energy and am now shooting NSA 15.5 grn slugs. They are much more slippery in the air and wind. I shoot them at 925-930 and they are like little lasers. The downside is they are not on an automatic press and are quite expensive. I remain hopeful that this projectile or equivalent will become available at a more affordable price. Skoal can groups at 150 are doable in moderate conditions.

My preferred pellet is the JSB Beast. 16.2 grains at 945 penetrates a lot. For me these are best below 100 yards.
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Agree. I've had similar results with both the NSA and the Beast pellets as you note. Most of my airgun shooting is inside 50 yards and the Beast's perform excellently out to that distance, and seemingly by your post well beyond. The NSA's were purchased just to see how they work at longer ranges out of the Condor and they are impressive as well. The NSA cost is high but hopefully he will get them automated as well and bring it down. I'd certainly get more of them if he would drop the price but the Beast does all I need now.
 
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Well the yardage limits I was putting on myself were because I need more experience shooting in wind at longer distance. A heavier pellet moving faster could stretch the effective range for me. I couldn't imagine hunting anything at 150 yards with a 177 ever.i just don't think I could hit anything.
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I would never promote hunting or shooting at any living thing at 150 yards with a .177. I just wanted to share that you can achieve accuracy and precision required to do so with a .177. At those distances there are far better choices. Get closer being #1😉
 
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I have a raw bm500 with lrt stock.... its in 177 and with jsb 10.3 and low wind... and I mean very low wind.... 125 yards is complexly doable and it has the energy if you do headshots.

if I move up to jsb 16 grain.. I have enough energy to do bodyshots…..but you have to play the wind.... with high powered air guns in 177 you have to take the wind in to factor.

you don't need a very powerful air gun to take rabbits at 75 yards with a 177....all my groups with my raw a .7 of an inch or less at 75 yards..... its not even hard.
 
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 I have a hatsan at44-s10 in .177 and it shoots very well with jsb 10.3 gr. I’ve taken squirrels out to 50 yards with no problem. You just have to be very familiar with your gun and your abilities to make a humane kill shot. With that being said I myself shoot a lot. As they say practice practice makes perfect. Although I prefer my .25 for longer shots for better wind stability. But to each their own, I enjoy shooting them both daily.
 
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Well the yardage limits I was putting on myself were because I need more experience shooting in wind at longer distance. A heavier pellet moving faster could stretch the effective range for me. I couldn't imagine hunting anything at 150 yards with a 177 ever.i just don't think I could hit anything.
Click to expand...

I would never promote hunting or shooting at any living thing at 150 yards with a .177. I just wanted to share that you can achieve accuracy and precision required to do so with a .177. At those distances there are far better choices. Get closer being #1😉



if you can get slugs and piledrivers moving at 900 to 950 fps... and the shooter knows his gun and the gun and shooter are very accurate.... rabbits out to 150 is doable... but there has to be no wind....but its up to the shooter and even with a rimfire 150 yards is a long ways indeed.. even more so for an air gun.... both shooter gun and pellets will need to be top notch...so I agree 150 yards is way to far for mabe 98% of hunters out there with 177
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I really think the 177 makes the perfect slug gun out to 75 yards, and maybe 100 yards,

I have got a Vulcan #2 in 177 and have bought a few slugs for it , Just need the extra time to get out and see what the slugs will do,

I think you need to keep the 177 in the 900 FPS range , Made a huge difference in my gun when I bumped it up to 940 FPS , Now this is with Pellets so far as I have not tried the slugs yet,,, I been shooting the 8gr polymags the past few months just because I have about 10 tins of them, 

Mike
 
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Hmm I guess the heavier pellets stay stable at higher velocities? I heard 940 pushes that barrier. I shoot 10.5s in my marauder and they spiral after 910 or 920.
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I would imagine every gun / barrel is different. In mine the Beast won’t fly stable until above 890 and stays stable past 950. I have not done the math or extensive testing, but it seems there is no discernible advantage to shooting above 940. Seems like there is a plateau in trajectory.
 
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My marauder was set up a little while ago for the nsa 15.5 shooting at 830 FPS at the muzzle shot Moa or better at 100 yds, that’s as far as I shot them. It definitely changed the guns abilities from windy days being a no go for the 177 to no problem smacking beer cans at 100 in high winds, with only very slight wind drift. I since changed it for polymag shorts for close ranges and much less power for around the house shooting.
slugs make a gun too dangerous in my opinion for around the house. And I agree when the price ever drops on them it would be better for more shooting I was always careful not to use them too much just because of the cost
 
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