.25 lethal pellet recommendation

I always yield to accuracy over expansion and the .25s when pushed at velocities of 700 to 900 FPS have more than sufficient energy. As the JSB King Heavies are so much more accurate in my rifles than anything else, especially at 50 yards and beyond, they are my go to round. I have yet to lose a squirrel to one of them in.25.

if the current .22 Hades experiment works out and migrated to the .25, they could conceivably become an option. I can’t get Predator Polymags to produce enough accuracy for me beyond 30 to 40 yards.

as above.

simple answer.......the one your gun is most accurate with



my .25 bullboss prefers the 34gn jsb king heavy MKI over the MKII

my .22 skyhawk prefers air arms field heavy 18gr

All 25cal pellets are positively lethal to squirrels.

Since shot placement has a lot more to do with a quick humane kill then pellet choice, imo the better question is what pellet is accurate in your gun at the range you're hunting. As long as you can put the pellet exactly where you want, all pellets will work fine at current modern pcp air rifle fpe... The so called 'best pellet' that hits a front paw will only wound. Its not the pellet, its the hunters accuracy and good choice of shot placement that creates the lethal shot.

jmo

I have always had great luck with the jsb 25gr. For typical squirrel distances they have always performed well. The heavy jsb are also very good but i liked the flatter trajectory of the 25gr for pesting. Never had great luck with polymags in .25 but if your gun shoots them well, they would be a good choice. I use them in a .22 and they hammer squirrels and pest birds. I think accuracy is the most important and have never found that pellet design is critical to "killing" as expansion is minimal with airguns and have refered to how an airgun kills being similar to an arrow or an ice pick. 

In .25 cal. I would recommend trying the H&N Barracuda Hunters. (Not the Extreme Hunters.) At 900+ FPS they expand good, for a pellet.

I've shot a LOT of them accurately from a Cricket at pests. Out to a 100 yards good choice if they're accurate in your gun. 

Have to say I disagree with - ajshoots " as expansion is minimal with airguns and have referred to how an airgun kills being similar to an arrow or an ice pick. "

H&N Barracuda Hunters at 60 yards pass through Ground Squirrel cadavers. The ones on the ends were shot into the back stop for quantifiable results.

Slugs. Same 60 yards as the H&N above. 



My testing in .25 cal. just doesn't match that statement. 

I do feel expansion of airgun pellets tends to be minimal. And maybe what i compare to isnt a fair comparison? I have just never seen an advantage as far as how quick and efficient a pellet kills by using a different type of pellet other than a dome. I have always felt from my experience that domes were the most accurate and accuracy was the most important because expansion of specialty pellets didnt create an advantage in my opinion. While i do agree that other types of pellets do indeed have greater expansion, but at the low energy levels of an airgun, you still are solely relying on the single wound channel a pellet typically produces to kill the animal. There is no hydrostatic shock or extreme energy transfer that aids in dispatching an animal. Hence my "killing like an arrow or ice pick" comment. Just my experience right or wrong. I use alot of explosive powder burner cartridges that tend to give me an apples to oranges comparison when I look at pellet performance. 

I agree AJ. Dome pellets stretch the surface tissue of game to the point they tear it open. In comparison, pointed pellets tear the surface tissue much easier, and do less damage in my opinion. 

Your comment about pellets not deforming is true too. In fact, unless you're shooting a coyote and manage to hit a hip or shoulder bone, most hits go clean through. This shooting a .25 caliber Flex at about 43 fpe. 

I've seen it first hand waaaay to many times. HP pellets flat out work! Shoot apples or beer cans full of water if you can't test on critters. The difference in impact performance should be very noticeable. 

I came from .22LR and one of the things that impressed me the most was the fact that the HPs pellets actually worked and opened up on impact. Most .22LR do not.

I actually don't shoot the HPs most of the time because of the loud POP upon impact (energy being released into the target) startlingly the rest of the critters.

With my old .25 Wildcat shooting Baracuda Hunters small birds under 35 yards literally exploded into pieces and ground squirrels never made it back in the hole. I can't say that about domes.

When I hunt squirrels, I like to go for head shots. So the best pellet is the most accurate as the head gets hard to hit past 40 y. 

Mushrooming isn’t too applicable with head shots. 

With my Impact and Cricket, there’s nothing like the JSB MKII to make short work of squirrels. They smack em!

I'd say hitting a squirrel with a 25cal would be like hitting a human with a 50cal, hollow point or not he/she's a goner just a mater of how soon after the shot

I'd say hitting a squirrel with a 25cal would be like hitting a human with a 50cal, hollow point or not he/she's a goner just a mater of how soon after the shot

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Very true. But It's just so impressive when it sounds like someone hitting a heavy bag with a baseball bat and they fall over dead like they were shot with a laser beam. Lol.

accuracy first. then expansion. it dont matter how much damage you can do it you miss your target. 

accuracy first. then expansion. it dont matter how much damage you can do it you miss your target. 

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That's a good point. Too bad slugs are more accurate than pellets, and they have expansion.

Two days ago I got to see first hand how much difference there is in a .25 cal. slug at 100 yards on Squirrels. 

AAC9888 - I still recommend you try Barracuda Hunters in .25 cal. if your're going to shoot pellets. 

Personally I'm selling all my JSB .25 cal. pellets. The only pellets in .25 cal. I want are the Barracudas for Starlings.