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I know I’m the only one that can answer this but thought it would be worth hearing form others that have had the same question…

I have 3 (two springers and a pcp) in .177 caliber. I’ve been wanting a .25 caliber for a couple of years and have kind of settled on an FX Impact. But, been watching Matt Dubber, AirarmshuntingSA on Youtube and his hunting is all done with 22 caliber. He’s part owner of a company and they make air rifle slugs and he uses them to great effect. So, with that said, I’m torn between the 22 and 25 caliber now. No, I’m not considering 30 caliber, I don’t need an air rifle that big and it would be much more expensive to shoot.

I want something that will buck the wind better than the .177 pellets (which don’t buck any wind) and something I could hunt small game with if i wanted to. Matts pellets do this very well in 22 caliber. Overall, I could shoot the 22 cheaper for fun plinking and switch to the slugs if I wanted to hunt. Would I regret it though and wish I had the .25? Of course my shot count per fill would be somewhat higher in .22 caliber.

I live in a town but on the outskirts and I can shoot air guns but not rimfire. My target range will be about 35 yards and my bench will be under the cover of our enclosed porch so I could shoot if its raining. My backstop is my concrete walled shop although I’ll be shooting into a bullet trap so i’m not hitting the shop directly.

I need to go back and watch some of Ted’s Holdover videos because I know he used to shoot 22 pretty much exclusively, shot .25 for awhile but seems like he may be back to the 22 as his go to weapon.

So, looking for input, experience, just plain thoughts on what others have done, thought of doing, or just being the devils advocate. The FX Impact is very pricey, so no I won’t be buying 2!

Last edited by 450BM; 09/16/22.
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For slugs, make certain ya get the correct barrel from FX.

They make a different barrel for slugs.

Can't say how pellets would shoot from the slug barrel.

Usin slugs, both calibers will kill about the same.

.25 gives a wider range of slug weights, which may help with accuracy.

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Thanks, I didn’t realize the barrels were ammo specific. I was just watching a Ted’s Holdover video and learned something else. You can change the caliber by switching the barrel and the ‘bolt’. Sweet!! So… could have as slug barrel and pellet barrel AND multiple calibers.

Still trying to find out if the mag is in the way for left handed shooters (me). Read an article on GunMart and the author was shooting left handed. I asked on the page that question but haven’t received a response yet. I’ve also asked on Pyramydair but the tech wasn’t sure. I may have to call the USA FX site in Wilmington NC and see if I can talk to someone about it.

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What distances and what varmints are you likely to encounter?

I've been shooting squirrels and rabbits at 40 to 50 yards and getting passthroughs on both with a .22 18.3 gr JSB Match pellet at 1,000 fps. Stepping up to a .25 only burns more air and is louder. Not sure it kills any better than a .22.


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Distances would probably be under 100 yards. I don’t “need” this for hunting, I have a safe full of powder burning guns for that. Although I go get woodchucks in the yard once in awhile and the rabbits chew the crap out of everything we plant so they become yard targets. I really want something that’s quiet(er) and I can shoot outside at my house and could take it to the farm for pigeons. and starlings and be able to shoot in whatever wind there is. My 177’s are pretty much worthless in the wind…

Larger. caliber, shot count and noise are factors and I know it’s a little higher cost for larger caliber. I’m really thinking 22 is the way to go and then if I really want more i can always buy .25 cal barrel for it.

Started shooting JSB’s when I got my Marauder. Nothing else compares although the FX brand pellets look like they are made by JSB and they are cheaper. I may try a tin when I get started.

I haven’t ordered anything yet so still listening…. :-)

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Every caliber seems to be a deep rabbit hole for me so I fight the urge to get anything new. .177, .20 and .22 is my limit for now.


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I'd go 22 cal.

I have 22 and 25 on hand. After shooting them for a while now, I would have skipped the 25, and instead maybe picked up a 30 or 35 cal for something bigger than 22.

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Well, I decided to go with .25 Not a done deal yet but I did order some pellets from pyramidair. The FX Impact is a platform, pretty easy to swap calibers. So I could end up getting 22 and 30 in the future. Who knows…

I’ve really been wanting the .25 and was afraid the 22 would be disappointing to me shooting pellets and pellets is what I’m going to start with. I’ll probably stay away from slugs because like I said before, I have powder burning guns and lots of ammo for them if I want to reach farther.

Chief mentions rabbit holes… yeah, I’m a reloader (for 45 years) and shoot mostly powder coated cast bullets in all my pistols and a good number of rifles. Everyone of my centerfires turns into a rabbit hole! dies, molds, gas checks, bullet sizing dies, new powders to try, holy crap, where does it end! :-)

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Originally Posted by 450BM
Everyone of my centerfires turns into a rabbit hole! dies, molds, gas checks, bullet sizing dies, new powders to try, holy crap, where does it end! :-)

The same with airguns.

There's pellet sizing dies.

Regulators ta adjust air pressure released with each pull of the trigger.

Hammer adjustments, ta adjust how mucha that air pressure gets released.

As many pellet weights in a caliber, as there is bullet weights.

And it's more difficult ta adjust the variables, airgun-wise.

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I have an FX Impact M3 .25 Sniper I bought last year. I grabbed a bunch of JSB Exact King MkII Heavy pellets (34gr) and a Hill pump. It is sweet, and crazy accurate! Haven’t touched any of the adjustments - just pump and shoot!

I also bought some of the FX Hybrid slugs which are supposedly designed for the newer barrels included on the Impacts (and other FX rifles), but I haven’t tried ‘em yet.

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I'd go .22


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Originally Posted by TXRam
I have an FX Impact M3 .25 Sniper I bought last year. I grabbed a bunch of JSB Exact King MkII Heavy pellets (34gr) and a Hill pump. It is sweet, and crazy accurate! Haven’t touched any of the adjustments - just pump and shoot!

I also bought some of the FX Hybrid slugs which are supposedly designed for the newer barrels included on the Impacts (and other FX rifles), but I haven’t tried ‘em yet.

I just ordered the same thing! I think it will be here Tuesday… Pellets will be here Monday, new air pump is coming tomorrow. I need to figure out a scope for it…

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Originally Posted by 450BM
Originally Posted by TXRam
I have an FX Impact M3 .25 Sniper I bought last year. I grabbed a bunch of JSB Exact King MkII Heavy pellets (34gr) and a Hill pump. It is sweet, and crazy accurate! Haven’t touched any of the adjustments - just pump and shoot!

I also bought some of the FX Hybrid slugs which are supposedly designed for the newer barrels included on the Impacts (and other FX rifles), but I haven’t tried ‘em yet.

I just ordered the same thing! I think it will be here Tuesday… Pellets will be here Monday, new air pump is coming tomorrow. I need to figure out a scope for it…

Well, I love mine, wouldn’t change my decision! And like you mentioned earlier, its not that hard or expensive to change calibers if you do decide later that you wish it was a .22 or .30 caliber. Researched that all myself, but haven’t even thought about since getting my Impact.

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I think this will be the last air rifle I ever buy. Would be kind of cool to set it up for .177 slugs but I have a 17 M2 with lots of Eley for it and I’m sure it couldn’t be cooler than that. Maybe just getting a slug liner (.25) would scratch that itch for changing something. I guess for now I’ll just get it shooting with the pellets (which are here). Gun will be here Wednesday.

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Gun is here but it’s not scoped yet. I was going to put one of my old scopes on it just to shoot it but decided to wait for the new one. That could change though…

To really see these guns in action go to these Youtube channels:
airarmshuntingsa
air tac hunting
air-hunter gerhard

And of course the guy that got me hooked on pcp, Teds Holdover.

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I just got finished shooting the Impact for the first time. I don’t have a scope yet so I mounted a red dot on it just to play a little. Oh my… I’m giddy! I’ve watched over 100 videos (maybe over 200) on this rifle and I was expecting it to shoot well. I don’t have a bench setup yet so I was improvising using an adirondack chair and resting the gun on my wrist Quickly got it sighted in and shot some groups. The best group was the one I shot at 93 yards. My target was a steel i-beam holding up our zip line platform. it was 1.5 inches.

This is the first air rifle larger than 177 so I’m not used to this! I can’t wait to mount a scope on it and shoot it off a real bench.

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Been running a Fx Impact a couple of years. 22 Cal , sports a Athlon Midas 4x16-44 that I like very much. Switch out the Athlon on occasion with a Sightmark Waith for night shooting rats at the barn. Almost exclusively shoot Nielsen Specialty Ammo's 28.5 grain slugs [.2165] .Deadly on ground squirrels ,barn rats ,crows and Eurasian Dove.

Just ordered the Barrel tensioning kit last week and should be installed wed and will retune after . Thought it was a little loud but could be because I was shooting some pellets while ratting . Worry about slugs passing thru and ricocheting around the horses . Will also order some Patriot Javelin Slugs and see how they perform though they can't group any better than the NSA's at 1k fps.


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I ended up mounting a Vortex Diamondback 6-24 FFP on it. I’ve only shot pellets with it and not sure if I’ll mess with slugs or not. It’s doing everything I want with pellets right now and slugs sound like they can be a deep rabbit hole.

I need to put a bag rider on the stock as it’s difficult to shoot off a bench. Also thinking about adding a bipod. For the cost of these guns, both of these should be included…

I drew blood with it last week downing four pigeons that were hanging out on silos. Was using FX 25gr pellets and the ranges were 45-65 yards. All one shot kills.

New pellet order arrived last week with the box torn open and crushed along with most of the pellets tins showing damage. Replacement order should arrive in a week or so.

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Originally Posted by 450BM
I ended up mounting a Vortex Diamondback 6-24 FFP on it. I’ve only shot pellets with it and not sure if I’ll mess with slugs or not. It’s doing everything I want with pellets right now and slugs sound like they can be a deep rabbit hole.

I need to put a bag rider on the stock as it’s difficult to shoot off a bench. Also thinking about adding a bipod. For the cost of these guns, both of these should be included…

I drew blood with it last week downing four pigeons that were hanging out on silos. Was using FX 25gr pellets and the ranges were 45-65 yards. All one shot kills.

New pellet order arrived last week with the box torn open and crushed along with most of the pellets tins showing damage. Replacement order should arrive in a week or so.

Nice. The 25 really does put the smackdown on pests.

I've got a couple 25's. Hatsan 125 Sniper, and Air Venturi Avenger.

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Sounds like we are in the same boat. I have 2 spring pistons, one in 17 and the other in 22. I bought a Benjamin Trail NP XL in 22 that I haven't been able to get any accuracy out of but I'm hoping it just needs to break in and settle. Then I've also been watching the YouTube channel of the guy in Africa and Ted's Holdover. They got me wanting to try the world of pcp rifles but I sure couldn't justify the FX guns they're using so I bought an Umarex Gauntlet in 25 and am thoroughly pleased with its accuracy. It even likes slugs also. I learned real quick that an electric pump was in order after feeling like I'd die of a heart attack using the bike pump looking thing. I would like to buy one of the FX rifles someday but I'm enjoying making parts and mods to my Gauntlet by using my gunsmithing and machining skills to see if I can push the envelope. These things really are addicting.

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