Air Arms Owners Club

OK so shameful to admit I have never owned anything in .177 and have always been a .22 fanboy.
So I decided to treat myself to an FX wildcat in .177.
So after not getting along with the sport hd I had mounted on it I swapped it out for a Nikko Stirling. So I zeroed scope in and spent yesterday feeding it a variety of different lead the jsb 4.53 were OK but I ended up settling with airarms field 4.52 which grouped very well. So with the cover of night I went for a quick 20 min walk and was very happy with the results.
There was a third but battery on phone got to low to use flash.

Welcome too the .177 club
Youve just found whats been missing in your life

You may well have been happy but the bunnies most defiantly wasnt

BBF

Thanks eboswan I was pleasantly surprised how much I didn't have to rely to much on range estimation. It felt almost too easy after all these years with .22
And BBF you are right they weren't happy at all but they went down just as effective as if I had shit them with my .22

BunnyBasher wrote:Thanks eboswan I was pleasantly surprised how much I didn't have to rely to much on range estimation. It felt almost too easy after all these years with .22
And BBF you are right they weren't happy at all but they went down just as effective as if I had shit them with my .22

Nice shitting !!!

No seriously, they look lik nice kills. Welcome to flatter trajectory

Nice shooting and a pretty looking gun. Of course, you would still have bagged them with a .22

I made the change a few years ago and have had no problems at all. Airgun world doing a calibre comparison series now
And very interesting. Apart from the flatter trajectory, 177 also causes a wider
Wound Chanel and has less penetration than .22. The opposite to what most people think.
The only draw backs are, more muzzle noise and fewer shots from z PCP.
The fact that it is easier to put a pellet in the brain is good enough reason for me to stick with .177.
Gun shops are reporting more people buying 177s now as magazine articles and youtube films are
Exploding the myths.

nice pair of bunnies there .

itmovedhonest wrote:Airgun world doing a calibre comparison series now And very interesting.

The airgun media is very untrustworthy and I'd advise caution on a great deal of what they write which is driven by commercial forces. I know people who used to write for them and no longer do because of these issues. Dont take what they say literally. I've not read an airgun mag in 20years since this became more and more apparent.

Apart from the flatter trajectory, 177 also causes a wider Wound Chanel and has less penetration than .22. The opposite to what most people think.

No. The .22 makes a larger wound-channel and delivers more knowck down power (you need to pay close attention to how the tests are being done). The .177 certainly has a flatter trajectory - but is more influenced by wind - something the magazines ignore. Ever shoot anything in a vacume? Some of the heavy / high BC .177 pellets make a comparable channel to the lighter / low BC .22s - but why compare the best of one, with the worst of the other? Also, testing the same pellet in both calibres is not a viable test either as they are never identical. Its far more complicated than 99% of the crap on the unregulated internet or airgun media would have you believe

The fact that it is easier to put a pellet in the brain is good enough reason for me to stick with .177

But it isnt mate and that's the problem. If you chat to really experienced people you will see that there are those who are just as good with a springer as others with a PCP and those just as effective with a .22 as others with a ,177. There is no objective evidence I'm aware of that one is 'easier' and none that one is 'more accurate'. If you can judge distance, its a level playing field and lets not forget the effects of wind!

Gun shops are reporting more people buying 177s now as magazine articles and youtube films are Exploding the myths.

No, they are generating and propagating the myths. These reasons above are all commercial reasons - not really to do with effective hunting, more to do with profit margins. Its cheaper to produce only one calibre and much of the money in airgunning is in competition shooting - hence the .177 fetish.

My view is simply - both are excellent hunting calibres. There is nothing wrong with the .177 as a hunting calibre, but the arguments some people use against the .22 are laughable.

Im sure that we've been down this road before.........