Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Air Guns .22 vs .177 for rabbits/squirrels

Is there an appreciable difference within 20-30 yards?

.22 is more effective although .177 will get the job done given enough velocity and good shot placement. Good shot placement is required with any pellet gun though. No .22 or .177 caliber pellet rifle has anywhere near the killing power of a .22 LR HP. For your specific need I suggest a multi pump pneumatic. Pump it just 2 or 3 times for routing the neighbors dogs. Otherwise you'll be burying pellets deep in their ass.

I hear you, I wouldn't do that to a dog. Now the owner....

I give up. What does killing rabbits and squirrels have to do with shooting dogs. Original poster never mentioned the neighbor’s dogs or a need to shoot them. Geez, guy, read a little more carefully....

He knows what I'm talking about. You don't need to.

I had to take out a couple marauding squirrels that used to terrorize my garden. Had a sweet setup out the downstairs window. Pump up Crossmon .177 had no issues head shooting squirrels at 25 yards.

Yes. Absolutely the 22 is a more effective killer. The 177 will do the trick but tends to over penetrate where the 22 cal leaves more of the energy in the target as well as a bigger hole. That has been my experience using both for the last 40 years of testing on a couple thousand of rock chucks and ground squirrels.

It was in a different thread, I was asking for recommendations for an air rifle, and I mentioned maybe shooting a neighborhood dog in the ass if It was sh*tting in my yard.

If I get a rifle that I can't power down like blackheart recommended, I'll just throw rocks at the dog. And shoot the owner in the ass.

If you shoot them in the head there is zero difference, have killed a ton of them with both. A air rifle is very effective if you can shoot and hit what your shooting at, chest shots even with .22 cal can result in them getting to a hole or hanging up in the tree.. best to take head shots always, just wait for a good shot, another good shot is underneath the chin thru the neck into spine.
If using .177 dont use hard cheap pellets like crosman as they expand very little better to get JSB Diablo pellets.
I agree on shooting owner in the Azz as the dog doesn't know they are in someones yard but usually the dumbazz neighbor does.

Rabbits are easy to kill can kill them with a daisy red ryder, fox squirrels are the water buffalo of small game they make a coyote look like a whimp when it comes to will to live if hit bad.

I agree completely with all of that.

LOL, I've got a bunch of those fat bastards around here. They're obnoxious, think they own the place. I better go for the .22.

I’ve found them both to work equally as well. If noise matters, the .22s tend to stay below supersonic.

Oh....and stay away from springers or learn to master the artillery hold. PITA.

Tim McMurray who owns MAC1 probably knows more about air rifles than most and he believes that the .177 is for precision target shooting and the .22 is for field use. He is an advocate of heavy pellets to maximize kinetic energy transfer on live targets.

If you shot 'em in the head either will do, but for body shots the .22 with heavy pellets is preferable.

www.mac1airgunshop.com

EDIT: I have a couple of old S&W 77As, a 55 year old Crosman 1400 series,an equally old Crosman 622 CO2 rifle that looks like it could be a Remington 760 understudy, and a 40-odd year old Sheridan that might be called a Blue Streak. The 77A are nice, man-sized, pellet guns that have been through a MAC1 rebuild. They are pretty accurate and kill opossums, rabbits, and squirrels without much noise.

177 at those ranges, easy peasy, with head shots, good roundnose pellet like Crosman Premiers, I'd use a light pellet in a low powered airgun to keep trajectory decent....and a heavy for more efficiency if using a stout gun.

ME, I have enjoyed the .20 cal, with 14.3 gr Premier domes.....dropped a tree squirrel about 70 yards.....they Whack stuff, so will a .22.

But again, to YOUR ranges, the .177 is fine, if you place your shots.

You can kill a rabbit with sarcasm. Squirrels are tough. .22 for certain, and the more power the better.

i use a 177 with solid pointed pellets gets better pen. in head shots on tree rats

pointed pellets are not needed and in most cases are less accurate then domed pellets. Any .177 shooting 12ft lbs will penetrate a squirrels head to at least 40 yds same for a .22 cal. Just do not use wad cutters on squirrels usually lousy penetration unless very close and head shots only..

The artillery hold is not needed with springers what is needed is to hold/shoot the same way every time, cheek weld, hand placement, grip etc.. been shooting/hunting with springers for 30 plus years and can kill just as efficiently with them as any PCP Ive owned. PCP are just a lot more convenient not any more accurate, my PCP guns usually stay at home when hunting.
Used to shoot hunter field target off hand with a springer with about 20 other guys who shot PCP and usually came in the top 5.

I ran across a couple of youtube videos by "orion the iguana hunter" and "airgun evolution" about hunting iguanas in south Florida with pellet rifles. It looked like it would be a ton of fun.

Long ago, had a BSA Meteor, clocked 675ish with RWS Superpoints, in THAT rifle, I seemed to have solid performance and it was quite accurate scoped, though normally like a standard weight dome / round nose. The latter seemed to have a bit of a 'whack' factor, but no doubt penetration was a sure thing using those SuperPoints. In high powered guns, heavy pellets are great. Flat or match pellets do great on close range birds especially sparrows.

i wrote that wrong i should have said non hollow point

I use superpoints in177 but have looked at the JSB Exact Monster Diabolo for my 177 next time I sight it in. It will be for squirrels. I have to wait for the season to start again here in Misery.

i have 17 and a 22 air piston spring rifles the 22 kills much better

Like to hear what pellets you use. Like firearms, bullet choice and shot placement are the big variables for success.

Read many users get success with mild springers like R7 and HW30 using shot placement to 30 yds, but sometimes up to 50 or 60 - longer shots typically birds. I never lost much fairly hit with my BSA using the pointed ones, and recovered a few from squirrels. Re: HPs above, yes they would be better served from a high powered model pushing 800-1000 or more mv. Domes are good in any speed range, pointed probably in mild to moderate powered guns. Harder pellets do penetrate better...thinking Crosman premier and the old Benjamin which fit my old BSA bore well, they are typically large, the British guns....had a BSA stutzen in 22, it doted on Eley Wasp made in England as I recall. VERY accurate 22 pellets, many were junk. The JSB and Crosman Premier are probably a great go to to start in any caliber, the latter may not be made anymore for 5mm/20.

i just have a old benjamin now 1000 fps and one my wife bought me for xmas .a beeman with a 177 and 22 cal barrel may be 1200 fps with 177 cal shoot crosman pellets in both

I have had non PCP air rifles in .177, .20, .22, and .25" and the only one I kept when I moved cross country is the .22.
The 177 are great but the .22 kills better.
I love the .20 but it's not well supported by the ammo people so ammo is limited..Thanks JSB for keeping it well fed!
The .25 delivers a big pellet but in a springer or nitro-piston rifle, trajectory is compromised and holdover is more critical.
I kept the TX200 in .22.
It's not the fastest or the biggest or even my favorite, it just works!
Take a look at JSB's Hades pellet for varmints, only available in .22 and .25. Coming soon in .177 and it'll help!