It's almost a six of this or a half-dozen of that proposition, but I'd go with .22, although you'll need to avoid anything but head shots if you want the meat. The "extra" weight is already there and won't be the potential impediment to performance you could see from adding more and more weight to a .177, trying to get an equivalent smackdown. If you don't butcher them and the head isn't a sure thing, go for breast shots. That gives you a much larger but still very effective target. Good luck, whatever you choose!
Heck, my little lady would probably skin ME if I tried to use them for food! I gave up hunting long ago anyhow, although I have no problem with folks that do. No judgment intended here; just a thought about another option...
If it works for you, naturally that's the thing to do. I always would go for head shots too, and not only to keep from trashing the meat. I learned to go for the head as a kid with a BB gun because it was the only sure way to get them with the first (and all too soon, usually the only) shot. Later, I used my first BB/pellet rifle (bought with my own very precious, very hard-earned money) to help my dad keep the pigeons from spoiling the hay (probably with the earliest version of what's now the Crosman 760 smoothbore pumper (IIRC: hey, it was close to sixty years ago)). ;-) 'Worked every time and soon was just second-nature. To get really serious about the pigeon problem though, we worked as a team: I'd sneak inside with my semi-auto Remington .22 and shoot what I could, as long as the round wouldn't go through the bird and roof both. Even if I missed, the noise alone would cause the rest to evacuate the barn lickety-splitly, where my dad was waiting outside to nail 'em on the wing with the twelve gauge. Very effective.I’d say just know where your gun shoots at various ranges and only take head shots.
Seriously head shots are best.
I have a lot of open area so missed shots aren’t an issue as long as I don’t try to shoot them off equipment or barns etc.
And there are a lot of doves.
If I was shooting in tight quarters a 177 would be my choice.
I carry some poultry shears, pluck the breast meat feathers, cut out the breast with the shears and tuck it in a plastic bag to take home.
Clean up the field dressing by skinning them out at home and freeze until I get 30-40 for a decent meal.
I can't tell to whom you're directing your question, but I think you answered it yourself. What works is what you use. If I had my druthers, I'd prefer a .22, but a .20 hits hard too, and even if a .177 pellet goes straight through, if a brain (or spine) is in the way, it's lights out. As usual, the one thing critical to success will be accuracy, not caliber.
