How much power is enough?

Shoot into a paper backed book at those yards and see how deep the pellet goes. Further then you might think.

They say you only need 5-6 FPE to dispatch small game, but more power equates to a flatter trajectory and when precise distances are uncertain that is a maker and a breaker.

The other side of this I’ve been surprised how many times I’ve heard a real solid WACK sound on a pigeon and had it fly off seemingly unaffected 

Blubberboy where you using 22 in the 18fpe range? Break barrel? I to have experienced this in that fpe range. I swear the feathers act like a big cushion and absorbs it all and I guess the bird bounces off the pellet. Not the case with a 177 in the same fpe range. The 17 blazes right threw. It has to be the surface area of the 22?

Blubberboy where you using 22 in the 18fpe range? Break barrel? I to have experienced this in that fpe range. I swear the feathers act like a big cushion and absorbs it all and I guess the bird bounces off the pellet. Not the case with a 177 in the same fpe range. The 17 blazes right threw. It has to be the surface area of the 22?

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Thus the old adage, .177 for feather critters and .22/.25 for fur bearing critters. I'm a believer. I thumped a crow at about 25 yds with my .25 Marauder and JSB Kings (45FPE). Hit him hard in the left back area but it didn't put him down. My .177 works much better than that on crows. JMHO

Pigeons are not easy to drop with an air rifle. Just because they fly off doesn't mean they didn't die just out of sight. There's no way a good hit with a pellet of any significant power will deflect off of their feathers. It likely passes right on through leaving just a hole in them. Where I live there are very few trees, wide open terrain, and we usually watch a center-punched pigeon fall out of the sky within 5-10 seconds when their check engine light comes on.

After shooting hundreds of them with everything from a 10fpe co2 gun to a 17fpe Mendoza to my .22 Mrod at 30fpe, I've found shot placement is key to eliminating fly-offs. A center-mass shot, even at 30fpe, will pass through them and frequently result in a fly-off. Aiming for the top 1/3 of their chest or head/neck will drop them quickly. A top of the chest hit will break their sternum or collar bone and they aren't going anywhere.

Yes, I haven’t shot a whole lot at pigeons Still learning but back a few months ago I had a day, well it was one of those perfect days. Shooting my red wolf standard 22 (not a hp) and I was pretty zeroed in on the pigeons and there was a bunch of them on top of the silo and I was tagging them regularly at 62 yards and I was surprised how many of them flew off after I clearly heard a solid wack. 

It does make sense that a 177 at higher velocity would penetrate a little better at close range . I doubt a 177 would do much good at 60 plus yards 

And shot placement of course but at 62 yards it hard to (well for me anyways) to take shots just on the upper third.

So I had a pair of crosman NPs in 17 & 22. Shot the same ammo threw them. The RWS super domes 8.4 and I think 14.5 and the crosman domes 7.9 &14.3. Both guns shot their same ammo pretty close to the same at 25yards both favored the RWS but the 22 failed to drop a pigeon to many times. The 177 I was comfortable taking shots out to 50-55. I wouldn't count on the 22 past 30-35, but pigeons are smart. They don't let you get close for to long

All you need is just enough power to do the job. Everyone is power nuts, it seems. I go to the range and guys are shooting 300 Win Mags and the noise and vibration is very uncomfortable. Give me an airgun any day.

I know at 15 yards a .22 round nose JSB 18gr or 21gr H&N Barracuda (more of a point and harder lead) at 30fpe will go into a skull of a raccoon or possum. Both have thicker skulls than you would imagine for critters that size. I would guess a small bird getting hit with a .22 at 30ft lbs is probably like a .38 in human scale. And a .25 may be like a .357 magnum where as a .30cal is like a .44 magnum. It doesn't take much for foul, hollow bones and the like.

Now the two crow I got dropped instantly with a .22, if feathers are some kind of armor I would doubt it based on my limited experience. Those English use their sub 12fpe guns to great effect on all manner of animals. Use whatever ammo you know is accurate and aim for the noodle.