Hey guys could use some help. I'm new to the sport and trying to do some research. What's the best caliber to use for plinking in the back yard up to 50-100yds? Should I use pellet or slugs?
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Caliber Selection
- Thread starter FIDI_G
- Start date
Ill be shooting from my deck and its about sixy yards to that large oak in the back across the creek. I could go considerably farther back though. Its a flood plane so no houses behind.
Ill probably be shooting anywhere from 25-100yd for the majordy of shooting.
Im definitely leaning more twoards a .22 or possibly.25 though.
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That is a nice yard/range! .22 pellets will work absolutely fine. If you're even remotely decent at reading wind you won't have any issues at those ranges with a PCP. Ive shot reasonably decent groups at 100yds with a sub 12ftlb .177 springer so a .22 PCP should be a cake walk for you. 25 cal definitely has its benefits though. At 900fps a 25.39gr or 33.95gr .25 pellet makes 100yds pretty straightforward.
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I shoot .30 and .35 in my back yard, unfortunately it's less than 20 yards.
You guys are lucky with those big yards.
You guys are lucky with those big yards.
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Unsurprised. Does most his pesting with moderate power .177's, uses a canon for the basement range.
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.25 Cal for making honor to that beautiful place and to make clean kills of it’s invaders !!
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Key word is...."Plinking"
no killing or even super precise target shooting,
I stand with my suggestion, .22 or .177 with .177 coming in first.
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I bought both my PCPs as .30 but convert them to shoot .22 near the house. Much quieter, more rounds per fill and cheaper to shoot.
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I am fortunate in that I can shoot my airguns out to 102 yards. I do all my plinking with the .22 caliber. I plink cans at that 102 yards with a 17 FPE, .22 PCP. Over 3 feet of drop! 11 MILS of holdover and unless very calm? Hold off for wind too. Do I hit them every time? Of course not, but often enough to apply what I learn at shorter ranges. Yes, the wind can blow them around out there. But I’ve also gotten much better at making consistent, consecutive hits in the wind. That’s been one of the sweeter aspects of shooting airguns for me. I gotten very good at holdovers and hold offs through thousands of pellets down range. The bulk of my plinking/pesting/shooting is from 25 to 64 yards. Go .22 then if you decided to progress to pesting or hunting? The .22 within reason will handle that too. .177 is hard for me to handle the smaller pellets. My 102 yard station.
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Your backyard reminds me of Dr. Russ' back yard. He says his wife shoots from inside their house, out the window. From the looks of this photo, seems you could probably do the same thing if you so desired.
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Yeah I want to setup various targets at various yardages. In the summer the skittos are nasty down there.
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Thanks for all the advice. Im very new to all this so still doing a lot of reading.
Going back to plinking using a .22 or .25 if I setup some steel plinking targets from 50 -100yds is the .25 way overkill? I know the cost of amo goes up. It will be a little louder and hit harder. Will be a little more accurate in windy conditions. Is it to much? Or should I just stick to the .22 I won't be doing any hunting just plinking and target shooting.
Going back to plinking using a .22 or .25 if I setup some steel plinking targets from 50 -100yds is the .25 way overkill? I know the cost of amo goes up. It will be a little louder and hit harder. Will be a little more accurate in windy conditions. Is it to much? Or should I just stick to the .22 I won't be doing any hunting just plinking and target shooting.
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I'd stick to .22
It's not that .25 is overkill, it's just that a .22 will be quieter, get more shots, and is cheaper to shoot
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Check your state rules and regulations on what you are allowed to shoot in your area.
More congested areas require smaller calibers.
More congested areas require smaller calibers.
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