Caliber of choice or follow the crowd? .....

I shoot only .25 and .20 because I’m a contrary sod and in the UK everyone shoots .177 and .22 Shoot whatever the hell you like fella.

Arkansas_Airgunner said:

it seems like the .25 is the Redheaded Step Child out there

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.25 cal is very popular -> my impression at least, based on a decade of being immersed in the hobby

For me, .22 fits all my needs but the biggest bonus is the cost of ammo, same as .177! Slugs have narrowed the distance/power gap for .177-.25 in my humble opinion.

I expect I might represent a certain segment of PCP owners, and here is my thinking. I am a long established .22 and .177 owner. The .22 will do everything I need short of a .30 caliber. So, while the .25 is just as good as the .22, I don't need any incremental increase in capability over the .22, so a .25 would just be an additional complication regarding equipment and ammo.

My absolute single favorite pellet is the .25 JSB 34gr MkII, and owning a .30 Paradigm all summer hasn't changed that. Nor does it matter that I shoot .22 more. The .25 is just right in most cases for how I shoot. If this was a one gun question, limited to only one pellet, it would be the .25. If the Paradigm had been available in .25 when it first came out, I would have bought one in that caliber for sure. Everyone has their own reasons and mine are just as long winded as everone else's, so I'll skip it, but the .25 does seem popular to me. It's when you throw slugs into the mix that .22 seems to rule, because of the limits imposed by other countries, there has been more development of them it seems. Certainly a lot more choices.

Arkansas_Airgunner said:

This is something that has been on my mind since I got into PCP Air Rifles.... All of my smaller caliber rifles are in the .25 Caliber, but seeing reviews, and reading different forums, it seems like the .25 is the Redheaded Step Child out there. Lots of folks talking about and owning the .22 and the .30 cals but not many .25's. Just curious about WTF am I missing here? Seems like IMO, the .25 is a real happy medium for this range. What are your thoughts about this? Thanx guys.

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I love the .25 cal, especially the 33.95’s

nervoustrig said:

.25 cal is very popular -> my impression at least, based on a decade of being immersed in the hobby

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I also think .25 is probably the most popular, it surely skyrocketed in the past several years and most gun manufacturers really started making .25s by the boatload.

If I had pigeon permissions, I'd own a .177 or .22. My .25 Compact is deadly on bigger pests out to 85 yds.

I thoroughly enjoy shooting my 25 cal Kalibrgun. They hit so hard, and are decent enough on air. The 34 gr pellet is the ‘smallest’ pellet I feel is a heavyweight. The only reason mine is in classified is it’s too much rifle for my yard. It’s no fun at the 35 yards max I can shoot. Just boring same hole accuracy and not enough yardage for wind to move it.

Nothing wrong with the .25 caliber - if that's what you have in the safe and have a good stock of ammo for it the just keep on smiling!

The .22 is my caliber of choice. For the energy I need and range I do my shooting it's more than adequate.

I did buy one .25 caliber airgun - an FX Royale 500 - for larger raccoon and porcupine sized pests but don't shoot it that much. It's a beautiful airgun and very accurate but my Impact easily matches it for power.

Guess that ammunition is the main consideration. I've been shooting .22 forever, it's readily available, there's a huge selection and most importantly, it's a lot less expensive than the .25.

I'm just getting into bench shooting and went for a .22/700 Panthera. I know that a larger caliber would have an advantage but I'm shooting for entertainment and happy to accept the handicap. My backyard range is only 128 yards anyway.

Think the .25 is a great caliber. For me, it's more than I need.

Just my perspective.

Cheers!

I just ordered an HW90 in .20 cal, still waiting on delivery. I became partial to the .20 cal because I once owned a Beeman Crow Magnum gas ram in 20 cal and the performance was just too amazing. Like a fool I sold the CM. This was about 20 years ago now and I have not owned or shot an air rifle since then. I was shooting Crossman Premiere 20 when they still had it. Was told at that time the the CP 2.0 had the highest BC and to order the .20 CM. I'm new to the forum, by the way. I can only hope the HW90 performs as my CM did. Ordered it from Airguns of Arizona this past Monday.

I shoot .177 because that's what i shot as a kid ! Still a kid so .177

beerthief said:

I shoot .177 because that's what i shot as a kid ! Still a kid so .177

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It’s worth a revisit for everyone! Still a kid here also, one that needs reading glasses to inspect the pellets.
I’ll shoot 177 until I lose the dexterity to handle them. Daisy M853 is getting all my trigger time lately.

I have one airgun in .22. I currently only shoot benchrest and the .22 lets me shoot 25, 50, 75 & 100.

I bought my two .25 cal especially for hunting varmints and crows. I bought my .30 for the same reason. Squirrels and rabbits are .22 fodder. Small birds .20 and .177. For varmints and small game, I prefer head shots. Birds I shoot center mass. Paper punching is .177, .20 and .22 mainly.

Big fan of the .25, own five, pure murder with the JSB 33.95s. Sole .22, a Taipan Standard, highly accurate with JSB 18.1s, but always grab a .25, or .30, when pests show up. WM

i like .22 .25 just seems like the odd man out not only is size but cost? just me.
the .22 is very affordiable lots of options and availbe about anywhere any time.
most all my interets are in the .22 but i do have a recently aquired .30 so maybe i will view things diferantly next year but i doubt it.

I have a couple .22s and a .30 and my son has a .357 . We both spent a lot of time with .177 . But if we were looking to buy another rifle (and we are) we would probably go .25

Vana2 said:

Nothing wrong with the .25 caliber - if that's what you have in the safe and have a good stock of ammo for it the just keep on smiling!

The .22 is my caliber of choice. For the energy I need and range I do my shooting it's more than adequate.

I did buy one .25 caliber airgun - an FX Royale 500 - for larger raccoon and porcupine sized pests but don't shoot it that much. It's a beautiful airgun and very accurate but my Impact easily matches it for power.

Guess that ammunition is the main consideration. I've been shooting .22 forever, it's readily available, there's a huge selection and most importantly, it's a lot less expensive than the .25.

I'm just getting into bench shooting and went for a .22/700 Panthera. I know that a larger caliber would have an advantage but I'm shooting for entertainment and happy to accept the handicap. My backyard range is only 128 yards anyway.

Think the .25 is a great caliber. For me, it's more than I need.

Just my perspective.

Cheers!

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Backyard range only 128 yards. Bugger me with a hedgehog tied to a rolling pin with a Queen Mother’s 90th birthday tea towel. I have 30m and consider myself blessed.