In pursuit of accurate .22

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GeronimoKY

GeronimoKY

Member
Nov 29, 2016
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Kentucky, United States
Ive been searching high and low for an accurate .22 pcp. I've had many that fell below expectations. Tired of wasting money, time, and hair! I've achieved the accuracy I'm searching for in .177 and .25 but unfortunately their .22 siblings have both been duds. Ive tried several guns in .22 that were actually embarrassingly inaccurate past 20 yards. Is .22 a difficult caliber for accuracy? All of the hours of research shows people loving many different guns in .22 but I can't keep buying a rifle to be let down then take a loss to sale. Ammo selection is huge and I own almost every option to try but have yet to find a gun that shoots anything accurately. I'm getting frustrated to the point of giving up. Problem is I'll have 13k+ .22 pellets I can't use. Yep just lost some more hair thinking about it. 

I'm looking for an accurate .22. Where should I be focusing? Doesn't matter if it's bullpup or traditional or even bottled, I just want accurate from 10 to 75 yards. Only brand I won't consider is air force. Too ugly to me and I'm not a single shot kinda guy. I know it's better for accuracy and when bench shooting no problem but I'm wanting a reliable squirrel murderer and multi shot is a must have for me. Too cold where I live to be bare handed fiddling with pellets. I'd like to keep price below $1500 as well. Maybe my expectations are too high?

Any input about what you've had great results with will be appreciated. This is my last hope for finding that accurate .22. Thanks for your time to help me find what I'm looking for. 

Justin
 
Almost anything regulated from FX, Kalibrgun Cricket, BSA R-10 is infamous for their hammer forged barrels and being an owner, I can confirm they are insanely accurate, basically as accurate as my Royale. Mutants seem to be getting awesome reviews in the accuracy dept. If you're looking for "insane accuracy" but trying to keep costs down I'd say either FX Streamline or BSA R-10. 

Whatever you choose, try to make sure it's at least regulated. I'm a bit of an accuracy nut and I'll likely never own another non regulated PCP. 

Best of luck with whatever you choose! 
 
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"balllistic"What .22s have let you down so far?

Accurate .22s for squirrel hunting out to 75yrds with track record in < $1500 price range: Daystate Regal XL, FX Royale T-12, FX Wildcat, Taipan Mutant, Kalibr Cricket are a few that come to mind...
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I'd second that list (apart from the T12 as I have no experience with it). 

To be honest, I can't think of many guns where the 22 is noticeably worse than the 25. The Marauder is sometimes worse in 22 because they use different barrels. I can think of a few where the 25 is worse than the 22. A few Daystates and Air Arms are like that.

One thing I would say is that I have had more luck with a broader range of pellets in my 25 cal guns. I don't know if that is just me or a broader issue though. It could just be that my Cricket 25 is the least pellet fussy gun I own.

I would recommend the Mutant or the Daystate Huntsman as good bets for out of the box accuracy in 22 cal (and less than $1500). My Mutant made me giggle like a school girl when I first got it because it was so accurate with JSB 15's and so quiet too. Accurate plus quiet is a great recipe for an awesome air gun. 

I got my Mutant from Wild West and they do an accuracy and consistency test before sending it out. They don't test it at super long range but you can be fairly sure you won't get a lemon from them. 

As with any caliber, it is worth spending time trying a bunch of different pellets before you find Cinderella's other shoe. It isn't always a given that JSB pellets will be best. 
 
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Thanks to all that took the time to respond. I truly appreciate it. Mutant is the gun that keeps coming up on my research to. Seems no one has major complaints. I like super quiet too. Do the mutants perform well out of the box or with simple tuning? I don't want to buy something that needs twelve upgrades to achieve good accuracy. I tuned my marauder .25 and coyote .177 to my liking. The others I have tried haven't responded well at all. I've tried a couple air arms based on reputation but didn't impress me. I've tried the coyote .22. Nope. Marauder .22 hahahaha. I have a Hatsan .22 that's pitiful. The .25 Hatsan isn't much better but for medium game ok. Tried a prod. Wasn't good even though others love them. Sumatra .22. Way loud and erratic even detuned. Evanix rainstorm was promising until I shot about a hundred pellets. Then it started fall apart. I think it was returned but sold as new. Maybe I have bad luck? I'm going to try ONE more gun in .22. I assumed that stepping over the $1000 mark will help but the air arms I tried have me timid. I know every gun/barrel is different but I gotta catch a break sometime right?The mutant does seem to be a top performer for those who have owned one. I'll get it ordered and keep you posted. I'm hoping the mutant will meet expectations but if not, you'll see a huge lot of .22 pellets in the classifieds for cheap!

thanks again for the advice

Justin
 
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They perform great out of the box. They come very well set up usually. Everything is adjustable though if you do need to tinker with it. The trigger is a work of art. Super adjustable in the unlikely event you need to try and make it better. Also, if you buy from Talon Tunes, Tony will test shoot it and chrono it to make sure its working fine before it ships. The gun is the quietest stock PCP I have ever shot. You can make it quieter though, and again Talon Tunes has adaptors that can screw in to replace the shroud cap and allow to add another LDC while keeping the stock shroud too. I did that, and this gun is now quieter than my PROD and the Weihrauch LDC. The mutant has more than twice the power and is substantially quieter with the added LDC. You will not be disappointed.
 
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You have not given your definition of accurate yet. What do you consider to be an accurate .22 PCP rifle? What rifles have you tried? How did they shoot?

The .22 is neither more nor less accurate than any other caliber. Given the huge selection of pellets for .22, one would expect a person to be able to find something that would shoot well enough in just about anything... The question that remains is, "What is well enough?" 

So what is your definition of accurate enough?
 
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