.22 vs .30 as an all round gun, which would you recommend?

[Rey]

My perspective on any gun goes like this. If you open up a tool box do you have one hammer that does all the jobs of course not. The small hammers are nimble, easy to shoot, take out small targets. Big hammers not so nimble and lays down the power. You definitely make sure your hand is not in the way or you better have a good swing to control that it.
That's why we have pistols, rifles, carbines, shotguns, etc. You can't find an all in one. Let's just have fun and get them all, lol.

 

[dgeesaman]

I have both and if I had to keep one it would be the .22.

If I had to pick a pure varmint eliminator it would be the .30. It happens to have more power (75 vs 55fpe) and it’s dead reliable. Shots cost more money in air and lead so it’s not an everyday shooter. The .22 would still be a potent varmint whacker but because it’s a Crown Continuum I can swap barrels and dial it down for volume / field target or put the 700 on and crank it up to hammer at longer ranges.

David

 

[rangur1]

I’m not a 22 fan, but 22 will be way more versatile that .30 my preferred caliber is 25. But to each their own.

 

[PumaCarl]

I thought about this for longer than I should, and deleted a couple of answers, and came to the conclusion (for myself too) that you really shouldn't waste your time with versatility. Versatility is highly over-rated and a real p.i.t.a. . Once you have something setup and working perfectly, it gets harder and harder to convince yourself to touch it. At least that's where I'm at these days. Buy different guns for different jobs and you will be so much happier. That's the best advice I got.

 

[chip78]

I thought about this for longer than I should, and deleted a couple of answers, and came to the conclusion (for myself too) that you really shouldn't waste your time with versatility. Versatility is highly over-rated and a real p.i.t.a. . Once you have something setup and working perfectly, it gets harder and harder to convince yourself to touch it. At least that's where I'm at these days. Buy different guns for different jobs and you will be so much happier. That's the best advice I got.

Totally agree! But if I had to pick one, I'd go with .25 for its balance of power versatility and economy.

 

[EdinGa]

Sounds like you have a decent budget to work with, and if one gun is your intention, I'd say .22. There are plenty of guns in your price range that can be turned up and down in power to suit the situation. .22 will be much cheaper to shoot and give you the most flexibility.

 

[Dairyboy]

While I love a .30 I find them just too close to .22lr to be safe shooting at elevated angles on our farm. A 22 at 30fpe is much safer for that. Biggest I'd ever go would be .25 with a 34gr shooting around 830fps.

 

[pesty3782]

For me it would be a 22….birds, Pdog no worries. My first Pdog hunt I used a 22 ghost carbine shooting 18’s at about 870 and a 30 ghost shooting 44’s at 910…..115 yards was the longest shot for the 22 and 185 yards for the 30. Schwack and DRT.

Buster (Ghost carbine) is on the left. Son and I brought back 20 collar doves and now they are in the freezer when he was last here.

The wife has a RW, but I would never take it hunting. It’s long, heavy, and not a fan of the battery….And You need a programmer to tune it or an after market board. And let’s face it those stocks are to nice to bang around while hunting.

I can honestly tell you I like the ghost platform so much I hunt with it and compete with it. You can change calibers really easy…1 screw for the barrel and 1 for the probe. I have my reg pressure and PW numbers on my phone so switching calibers is easy.

The decision of course is totally up to you and please let us know what you get.

Tony P

 

[mobilemail]

If I decided to sell all my airguns and buy one crazy nice one, it would be a .22, .25 is close second place. But ubiquitous cheap ammo, shot count, and some public sites or competitions limiting to .22 really give it the nod.

 

[steve123]

22 cal is great for most things but I prefer 17 cal for much that I'd use the former caliber for.

Me = Definitely 25 cal with fast twist barrel for versatility. Great compromise as all an arounder with pellets.
Absolutely superior using Altaros slugs at extreme distance.

30 cal is expensive to shoot because only 150 in a tin. It's a hard hitter though. Likely most qualified due to cross section and energy for hunting.
Plinking no, well unless someone doesn't mind the extra cost for ammo and air.

 

[N2 Shooter]

I have the Maverick VP .30cal. I fell in love with the .30cal as the perfect blend of power when I need it and I can dial down my Maverick with the Power Wheel when I don't need it. I also use the FX Hybrid Slugs, which have a tendency to fragment in game, and I suspect they will do the same on some building materials and possibly minimize damage. I believe you may be able to dial down the juice on the Delta Wolf too.

A headshot on a groundhog from 36 yards at 90fpe did not leave an exit wound.

 

[Chapjl]

Had a 30. Incredibly accurate FX Impact. One hole groups with 44's at 50. Set it up with slugs, used a ton of air, ammo with either pellets or slugs is way more expensive per shot. Sold that setup. I now have a 22 and a 25. I find myself reaching for the 22 for the closer shots, the 25 for distance. You can hotrod a 22 to shoot distance but it will be fairly turned up. I took the 30 prairie dog hunting......once, worked really well......but it doesn't compare to a 17 hmr for flat shooting and damage on dogs in my experience. You will need an air refill fairly quick. I'm not a fan of lead projectiles on prairie dogs. Not overly destructive and you'll watch some crawl off. Like most things there are positives and negatives.

 

[Hateful McNasty]

In pcp id think a lot depends on the gun and power used . .177 can be a hand full even in a springer if you reach out far. You dont need as near perfect day with a .22 especially a slight puff of wind blowing you off constantly.

In all for just all a round the .22 going to be hard to beat in pcp.

Easy access to pellets / everyday walmart at the min..

Good energy for small game .

Good weight selection and types

Hunting or tin can back yard plinking or target on the cheap... Ect

The 30. Well.... no cheap or easy access / probably mail order only and low count tins.

Pretty overkill for small game or general plinking / target .

Less shot count per fill. .....ect

( opinion)

 

[L.Leon]

I thought about this for longer than I should, and deleted a couple of answers, and came to the conclusion (for myself too) that you really shouldn't waste your time with versatility. Versatility is highly over-rated and a real p.i.t.a. . Once you have something setup and working perfectly, it gets harder and harder to convince yourself to touch it. At least that's where I'm at these days. Buy different guns for different jobs and you will be so much happier. That's the best advice I got.

I would think that both calibers would be versatile within their practical usesage parameters. The .22 can be deployed in many places the .30 could not. And the .22s can be bumped up to power levels that get close to and duplicate what the .30 does on critters. But agree with your premise. “Horses for courses”…

 

[Trucker3573]

I personally like 25 cal. I only shoot pellets and I can basically do whatever a 44.75 will do with a 34 gr 25 at a much lower cost. I would say the same in comparing the 22 to 30. For pellets, in my opinion, the 30 is a bit of a dead zone unless you are shooting competitively and want an edge on the wind. For just shooting and hunting I can take just about anything with a 34 gr that I can with a 44.75 and do it cheaper.

 

[Benjamin 2]

I have the Fx maverick as well. What a versatile platform of a rifle. Not as expensive as a Daystate or Impact. I have change kits in all calibers allowing me to do what I want, or should I say need to do when I want to do it. But the barrel that’s used the most is the .25.

 

[DirtyGator]

I was recently concidering adding a .30, still may as its clear I have a bit of a problem. But I have one .22 that I just use to hit spinners with the kid. Pesting is handled with the .25's.

 

[Airgunmann]

The 30 cal puts the smack down on pigeons but with a well placed shot I dropped one dead at 98 yards with 22cal 25 gr pellets. I was wondering about the 22 myself I've always had a 25 cal or a 30 but the redwolf hp had me fall in love with the 22 cal now

 

[Greg_E]

With the bigger rounds, you risk shooting holes in things on the other side of the pest. Watch some of the iguana hunters in florida, they often turn the power down when in populated areas. Maybe that backs up getting a Red/Delta/Alpha wolf, or it backs up the 2 gun philosophy that I tend to use. I'm actually now a three gun: 40fpe or lower from a 25, up to 210fpe in 357, up to 600-700fpe in 50.

Now if someone wants to gift me a Red Wolf HP, I'll go buy the caliber kits and have a nice time! Might be able to sell the 25 and 357, but the 50 stays unless I replace it with a different power tool in the same size.