22 or 177 for hunting at 15 yards with sub 12 FT/LB air rifle?

Which pests?

Airgunners in the UK kill lots of small pest critters with sub 12 FPE, .177 PCPs and Springers… So its seems moot as to caliber at your stated sub 15 yard distance. For me the smaller .177 pellets are simply too small for me to want to handle.

If the game requires penetration to be lethal, .177. If shock drops them then .22

Trajectory is nearly the same at that range - in fact your elevation will be quite range-sensitive unless you keep your scope very low to the barrel or use open sights.

Personal preference really, both will get the job done.

I need reading glasses using 177 or I fear installing them backwards.

Makes no difference.

If you compare .177 and .22, at the same FPE, then the .22 will have less chance of pass through, if that is of concern?

I like .22 better,that is a close distance so I also think you do not need a scope either.You want a fast sight picture.Great point about pass through.Yea give me a heavy blunt .22 every time

Well.....at 15y you don't even need 12fpe (I drop pigeons at 50y with 11fpe, .22) but.....trying to look at this from a logical point of view.....

.177 hollow point/ flatheads, because they'll be cheaper and at 15y will be as accurate as you need, and they'll make a mess with a head or neck shot on most small pests. I recently took a pigeon with a headshot/ .177 hobby/ 10y from a webley alecto at 3fpe (1 pump) and the other side of its head reminded me of a .17hmr shot rabbit at 100y. At 12fpe it would have just passed right through......

As mentioned a couple of times above, pass-through is a problem for hunting (and pesting).

With a head-shot, caliber doesn't matter as much, but they're not always an option.

The basic physics and real world experience has shown me that a .22 caliber will drop and stop a critter with a solid hit where the .177 doesn't transfer enough energy to the target. Game can sometimes manage to move a fair distance before expiring... not good if a hiding spot is near by and even worse if a pest makes it under the fence into the neighbors yard.

Bigger is not always better. I think that many people are shooting way more caliber and power than is needed which is more costly (ammo and air) than necessary.

For the range and power you are talking about, the flatter trajectory of the .177 is no advantage. I'd recommend the .22 caliber and you should be fine out to 20-25 yards if needed.

Cheers!

msc said:

the extra FPS/speed of the 177 would give me a better chance of a quicker kill on these pests at 15 yards or less

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No. Less chance.

That said and inarguable, no difference if you utilize strictly brain shots. Otherwise, .22 is a better killer.

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igolfat8 said:

.22 will have less chance of pass through,

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Agreed. What that also means is the animal absorbs every iota of MEAGER energy that hits it, rather than wasting some/much of that precious energy.

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FWIW- I use my .22 P-Rod carbine at 13 ft. Lbs. on starlings out to 25 yards effectively. Most shots are well under 15 yards. I don’t think if it was shooting at 12 that it would make much difference.

What pests are you shooting? One of my favorites for close range pesting is a HW30S .177. Under 15yds it's perfect with open sights. Have killed lots of pigeons that way. Probably better in .22 for that close

.22 using WADCUTTERS .... devastating impact with lower penetration.

Try a .25 like this one. It is a little over 12 ft lb. Wham, Bam, thank you Ma’am.
.25 Webley Stingray

If the most of the shoots are between 7(less?) and 15yards both the calibers are usable but...
I prefer .177 in low power configuration 5.5ftlb/7.5j , for that distance RWS R10, H&N Match Heavy or even lighter ones as Geco and RWS Field Target , H&N Barracuda 8, JSB Exact or JSB Exact Express for a 7-25Yard range.

For squirrels I don't think the 22 has enough penetration at 12 fps unless you pass up shots that will hit bigger bones like the shoulder. It will work sometimes but deflect and miss the vitals sometimes. I used my P-rod at the original tune which was slightly over 12 fpe and had a couple run off. Returned to 18 fpe I've had no issues. No issues at the low power with brain shots.

I haven't used a 177 at 12 fpe on game but I know it penetrates deeper at the same fpe. It does kill squirrels slightly slower at the 18 fpe I use but with any reasonable placement they don't travel more than a few feet.

Energy "dump" is a myth. Our airguns kill by making a hole. A bigger hole kills quicker but only if the hole is deep enough to take out something vital. Depth is a little iffy for squirrels at 12 fpe using a 22 so I'd use a 177. A more patient hunter could be fine with a 22.

.22 over .177 because moderation is for

At 15 yards or less trajectory will be virtually identical but .22 will hit harder than .177.

Since you're limited to 12 fpe of kinetic energy, neither one will be more powerful by that metric. A .22 has about 55% greater frontal area and with typical pellets about 25% more momentum however and in my experience will hit with noticeably more impact.

If you were shooting out to 50 yards, then the .177 would have the edge since it typically is going 150 fps or so faster and will shoot flatter. They also are more susceptible to wind however and tend to get blown off target at range if it gets windy.

.177 is slightly less expensive. .22 is slightly easier to load.