177 vs 22 cal

[BigAl52]

Is this personal preference or is there an advantage of one over the other. Ive always been partial to the 22 cal and was thinking about buying a pump 22cal.

[BrokenolMarine]

Are you hunting, plinking, target shooting?
There is a difference in cost in the ammo... and depending on you application... you might need the heavier pellet, or not.
Let me qualify my answer by saying this... it has been a while since I have been shooting air powered guns...
But I have owned several in both calibers, and the 177 guns were plenty accurate for plinking and general target shooting, and closer varminting.

[BigAl52]

Just plinking but I like and read good reports on Benjamin 392. Wouldnt mind picking off a back yard pedt or two either

[BigAl52]

I might add if any of you air gun people have any suggestions for a good 22 caliber pump Im open to your thoughts

[Henry88]

The only differences I'm aware of are the .22s cost more but are recommended for hunting.

I don't have any experience with pumps, though.

[North Country Gal]

177
The vast majority of our air guns are 177. This caliber is the standard around the world for ALL competition and target work, even in competition where distances go out as far as 50 yards, because the 177 has the flattest trajectory of any pellet caliber. Calculating pellet drop (and there is a lot of drop out there at 50 yards) is much easier when shooting 177. ALL high grade competition match air guns are 177.

Pellet selection and availability greatly favor the 177. It's the caliber that gets the most research and development because it's so universally used for target work. Any place that sells pellets will have them in 177. Not always the case with 22. For instance, if I want to buy 22 cal pellets, I sometimes have to buy online because I can't always find them, locally. Pellets cost also favors the 177. You will pay more per pellet for the same pellet in 22 cal.

There is a lot of online nonsense about the 177 not being suitable for hunting or being a poor choice for hunting. In Europe, a great deal of hunting is done with the 177 and even more revealing, a lot of that hunting is done with what we would consider pretty weak air guns in 177. In England, for instance, to own an airgun that is rated higher than shooting a pellet at only 12 fpe requires an FAC (firearms certificate). To avoid having an FAC, a lot of shooters use low power airguns, even for hunting and they do very well. Again, the most popular caliber in these low power airguns is the 177 by virtue of it better velocity. Even in this country where there are no such restrictions, some hunters prefer the 177 for its better trajectory. Out in the field, where distances will vary and will not be marked, this is a big deal. Remember, when using air guns for hunting, shot placement is critical for a humane kill.

22
There are some advantages. In a piston gun that develops a lot of recoil, shooting the heavier 22 helps to smooth some of that out. 22 cal pellets are also easier to manipulate by virtue of their larger size. This may not sound like a big deal, but try loading small 177 pellets when your hands are cold.

22 cal is great for hunting IF you can get velocity up for the sake of trajectory. If you really want to use 22 cal for hunting, a PCP gun handles this caliber the best. For instance, our Benjamin Discovery in 22 cal shoots 22 cal pellets right up there at 900 fps. Our most powerful spring piston guns can only get this velocity with lighter 177 pellets. I did my air gun hunting back in the days prior to PCP, but if I was serious about using an airgun for hunting, today, I'd go PCP and never look back. Even better, when properly shrouded and fitted with a moderator, these are by far the quietest shooting air guns. Our Discovery has an aftermarket moderator attached and is significantly quieter than any of our spring piston guns or even our pump ups. Maybe best of all, the Discovery with scope still weighs under 6 pounds. Any piston gun that comes close to this power level will be a monster and will have the recoil to match.

25
Yes, there is a 25 cal for those that want to develop even more energy in their air guns, but because these pellets are so heavy, the only practical platform for shooting them is PCP.

30 cal and up. Yes, there are such guns, but, again, this is strictly PCP country.

Hope this helps.

[North Country Gal]

Al, the 392 is a great classic. The best of the breed are the older late 80s and 90s vintage guns when they were still fitted with walnut stocks. (Current stocks are simply labeled hardwood.) Quality of construction was best on these guns. The current 397/392s do sometimes need a little tuning to shoot at their best, but are still an excellent choice if you want to go with a pump.

Here's our mid 90s 397 (same gun in 177) and a sample of what it can do when scoped.

[BigAl52]

Thanks NCG that does help been a long time since I played with any. But Im not throwing out the idea of the 177 cal. Are there any that would use CO2 that would be worth having?

[North Country Gal]

CO2 guns are worth exploring, yes, but you need to understand the limitations of that power source. The biggest issue is that CO2 is affected by temperature, so as temp changes, pressure changes and POI changes. They're at their best indoors, but do well outdoors until the temp drop much below 60 degrees.

One of the big advantages of CO2 (and PCP) is that it gives you repeater capability. A lot of the air gun clones of famous pistols and revolvers use CO2, for instance. Makes for fun shooting. Not much for power, but lots of fun for plinking.

[Hogstir]

If you want a pump airgun check out Mac1 airguns. He modifies the Benjamin/Sheridan pump guns to be more powerful and require less pumping to achieve the velocity you want.

https://www.mac1airgunshop.com