Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Air Guns .22 or .25 Spring airgun for Crows/doves?

If shooting Crows/doves within 20-30 yards 99.9% of the time.

With a Beeman R1 / Weihrauch HW80... what caliber would you choose? .22 or .25?
This would be body shots only, just to put them down fast, and not having pellets flying towards neighbors houses.

Does the slower .25 beat a faster .22 at these short distances?
Point and shoot...

Just in reading here in the center-fire forums, the larger frontal area cartridges seem to hit an animal harder than a smaller one. I haven't bought an air rifle in a long time and I've have been perfectly satisfied with my old Sheridan .20 caliber pump up. Just extrapolating from using that, I've watched a crow fly a long way away before going down when I shot them with the pointy standard Sheridan pellet. I switched to the rounded front Beeman Crow Magnum pellets and the one crow that I shot with that pellet fell right over. I suspect that the .22 caliber pellets will be more available, but at higher velocity I might worry more about over penetration. On doves, chipmunks, rabbits or pigeons I don't think that you would see any difference, but on crows you might. I think that a .25 would hit them harder.

Doves - anything including .177. Aim well, head shots if its safe as they are very good to eat.

Crows - I'm sure either .22 or .25 would be fine but for safety at 20-30 yards I would use a .22 wadcutters or maybe an RWS Superdome. The wadcutters really lose steam quickly, and the Superdomes aren't that much better. Meaning that they slow down enough to be safe a lot sooner than many hunting pellets. Crow Magnum pellets likely have the same low BC as the Superdomes.

Dont know what state your in but here its illegal to kill Doves with a airgun so you might look into that before you start shooting them..they are a federally protected bird except for the Eurasion Doves.
Myself I like .22 its plenty for Crows plus if you want you can extend your range over the .25 generally unless your into pcp airguns then I would use a .25.. Crow Mag pellets as said if accurate in your gun really smack critters hard.

I have both calibers in several rifles. I prefer .22 over 25s with springers. The HW 80 in 22 is ok but hands down I’d take a HW 95 in .22 over one.

The physics involved for springers to push anything over .22 limits their effectiveness. Kinda like being able to easily zip a spit wad out of a straw vs trying to do the same with something like a 1/2" diameter copper tube. Can't generate enough oomph with the fixed volume of your lungs to even come close to the external ballistics of the former.

HW 95 or 97 in a .22 would put a smile on your face but not the crow's.....

Have killed both with my Beeman R9 in .22 Cal. I don't have any 'want' for anything else.

.22 has all the power you need for that. Cheaper pellets, and likely a better selection. Just a hammer on birds, bunnies, and squirrels.

They are both fine, the .22 is more versatile if you choose to use the gun for other things. In your specifically defined scenario (crows with an R1 at 20-30yds), my experience is the 25 is more effective. Close range is where a springer in .25 really shines. That said, I have .25's from 13ftlbs to 45 ftlbs and really enjoy the caliber, so am a bit biased. Either will work.

22..........177 would also do fine.

.22 cal using JBS Hades Diabolo pellets.

Love those Hades

How do you guys like the Rws Diana 48 & 54 in 22.cal for crows and squirrels?

They would be fine if you're shooting them out your living room window but unless you're going to ride your ATV to your favorite hickory grove or have a gunbearer carry it for you the 10.5 lb.+ scoped weight is a no go as far as I'm concerned. If I'm going to carry something that heavy out hunting it's going to say .375 H&H on the barrel and the target will be something a whole lot bigger than squirrels.

48 is very bulky and heavy.

R9 is well suited.....R7 for 30 yds and under, nice and quiet, light, i'd go for headshots with a scope.

R8 or HW50 would be in the middle. Can't knock a R9 for a hunting sporter.....

Does the 54 come in a 25 cal? Be Well, RZ.

.22cal break barrels are very powerful. I have killed many doves with mine from 20-60 yards. I like the Crosman Premier hp. They will shoot 1 hole at 25 yards.

I've killed many birds and squirrels with my .22 Diana 34. I'm intrigued by the .25 calibers and may get one eventually, but for now the vastly superior pellet offering in .22 wins out for me.

I have a 54 with a SWFA 6x42 and it only gets carried as far as the deck.

LW308, what rifle you shooting?

Sold a 34 in .22 years ago, it was a killer, but enjoyed an R9 in .20 much more, just smoother, lighter, perhaps a bit easier to cock, great trigger, and more accurate. 14.3 Crosman Premiers killed everything I hit out to 60-70 yds like squirrels. More than needed at close range, but a solid rifle, not overly heavy or hard to cock.