BSA Lightening GRT .25 Makes Meat

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I have been talking about this recent acquisition in another thread here:

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/bsa-lightening-grt-25-review-comments-and-notes

Today the rifle impressed me. Hitting a squirrel with a 25 cal pellet steaming along with 14 fpe has a very different effect than the same energy in a .177. We have all seen the "Happy Dance" head shot squirrels do when hit with a .177. They don't do that when hit with a .25. They just jerk once or twice on their way down and then they are dead right there. Good rifle. Good gumbo.

1569366422_19694546935d8aa196ad21b6.79670987_IMG_20190924_171407.jpg

 
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Very nice. Question... what is a decent cost effective range finder? Thanks
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IMHO, the Halo 450xl is pretty good at 90-ish bucks. Walmart and Amazon.



It has inclinometer function for angled shootjng correction.
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Good advice Jim. That's a good range finder and the clinometer comes in handy for rough terrain.

You asked about the pellet. H&N FTTs look like they may be the pellet the gun is going to like. That works for me because they get about 50 fps more velocity from the power plant.

I tell you though, it is mighty impressive when that bowling ball slaps a squirrel. They don't shrug it off. It puts me in mind of what it looks like when you hit one in the head with an arrow with a blunt point. Just **SMACK** and they literally back up a couple of inches before collapsing. My Condor is regulated and tuned to shoot 36 fpe. It is a .25 and I've seen the same thing with it. A squirrel head shot with a .25 just drops in it's tracks.

So to support that idea. The cross section of a .177 is 0.025 sq. in. The cross section of a .22 is 0.038, so fifty percent larger than a .177. The cross section of a .25 is 0.049 so it has TWICE the cross section of a .177 and is almost thirty percent larger than a .22. 

One of the squirrels I shot today was at 18 meters. The other was at 20 meters. The pellet that hit the squirrel at 18 meters entered just below the eye on the right cheek. I thought it had passed through because of all the blood on the left side of the squirrel's head. It had not actually passed through. I just blew bits of skull out the back side and the bleeding came from that. The pellet was in the off side, just under the skin. So that squirrel got the full 14 FPE absorbed by it's head. That is what makes the .25 so impressive. Big slow pellets hit more like a brick than a needle.
 
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This GRT excels at being that rifle by the door that you grab when you need to address something immediately. Didn't really expect to use it that way, but there you go. I saw that Racoon and there were three rifles leaning in the corner. Which one did I grab? The one that was best suited to the immediate task. I foresee a long relationship with this rifle. Highly recommend one in .25 or .22 as that rifle you keep by the door. Put a little "Bug buster" scope on it and you are ready to make meat when the opportunity presents itself.
 
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@TigOleBityz I believe "Guest" is a banned ex member. Really good old thread with a neat rifle.

FWIW the impact difference of 25 is to 22 what 22 is to 177. It is noticable though not always defineable. "Guests" rifle is putting out a low ft/lbs for 25 -- somewhere around 480 fps +/-. (Edit- ultra lite 20.06 gr pellet at 560 fps = 14 ft/lbs.)

The most notable difference in killing effect between 25, 22 & 177 is when you put them all at 15 ft/lbs and start shooting critters.
 
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Hal4son said:
@TigOleBityz I believe "Guest" is a banned ex member. Really good old thread with a neat rifle.

FWIW the impact difference of 25 is to 22 what 22 is to 177. It is noticable though not always defineable. "Guests" rifle is putting out a low ft/lbs for 25 -- somewhere around 480 fps +/-. (Edit- ultra lite 20.06 gr pellet at 560 fps = 14 ft/lbs.)

The most notable difference in killing effect between 25, 22 & 177 is when you put them all at 15 ft/lbs and start shooting critters.
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No, Guest is not, and never has been, banned. I am he. ;)
Yes the rifle shoots around 14/15 fpe. That is not preventing it from being very impressive when hunting pests inside about 40 yards. My sig shows 13 squirrels for this season. Most of them were taken with the BSA in question. It is a really nicely designed and executed hunting rifle for the hunter who is walking and does not want to carry ten pounds.
 
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