Is HW50 .177 Sufficient for Rabbit Hunting?

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SteveinHNL

SteveinHNL

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Feb 14, 2023
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Santa Clarita, California, USA
I am quite new to shooting, and I am interested in trying rabbit hunting for fun and food. I am in Los Angeles County. I see varying information on the Internet about 22 caliber, being the better pellet for rabbits, but I have also seen information on these boards, indicating that .177 is more than enough pellet to do the job. I am thinking of getting an HW 50 .177 as a starter as opposed to an HW 95. If I become proficient and find a reason for a .22 I am thinking I could add an HW 95 in that caliber later. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Yes the HW50 I think would work very well. BUT 1st,,Find the most accurate pellet for your particular rifle before you go shooting animals. Only shoot under good conditions as in (not to windy). The wind will push those little pellets around quite a bit. I myself would keep the max distance to 25-30 yds. Check your all your stock screws for snugness before u take it out.Takes about 10 seconds. I got my HW50 from KRALE. It's a great handling,hard hitting,accurate little rifle. I love it.
 
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SteveinHNL said:
I am quite new to shooting, and I am interested in trying rabbit hunting for fun and food. I am in Los Angeles County. I see varying information on the Internet about 22 caliber, being the better pellet for rabbits, but I have also seen information on these boards, indicating that .177 is more than enough pellet to do the job. I am thinking of getting an HW 50 .177 as a starter as opposed to an HW 95. If I become proficient and find a reason for a .22 I am thinking I could add an HW 95 in that caliber later. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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If your only purpose for an Airgun is hunting - I'm not sure why you would consider a 177 over a 22. its true you can dispatch a rabbit with a 177 - I've done it with a Red Rider BB gun as a kid - but why even do it - I would at least get a 22 cal if not even a 25.
 
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Bill_D said:
If your only purpose for an Airgun is hunting - I'm not sure why you would consider a 177 over a 22. its true you can dispatch a rabbit with a 177 - I've done it with a Red Rider BB gun as a kid - but why even do it - I would at least get a 22 cal if not even a 25.
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I was leaning towards the 22 but the reason I am thinking of a 177 over a 22 is because it is my understanding that the 177 shoots straighter (increasing my chance of success), although the difference may not be appreciable at the distances I shoot from (I am guessing it will be hard to get closer than 20-30m). I am definitely open to being corrected, thanks.
 
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Bill_D said:
If your only purpose for an Airgun is hunting - I'm not sure why you would consider a 177 over a 22. its true you can dispatch a rabbit with a 177 - I've done it with a Red Rider BB gun as a kid - but why even do it - I would at least get a 22 cal if not even a 25.
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A 12fpe .177 is much flatter shooting than a .22 with more than enough penetration. They're also inherently easier to shoot in a springer. Either way whether its a 177 or a 22, a brain shot is lethal.
 
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Well looks like there are 2 different roads - one right one left - Maybe what you should do is pick out the gun - get the specs - pick out a few different pellets and plug them into a ballistics program and make your decision that way.
As far a springer - I have both 22 and 177 - I wouldn't say either one is easier to shoot than the other - but for sure they are both different - something your going to have spend a lot of time and ammo learning either way.
 
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When you’re killing an animal velocity does not exceed momentum.

Momentum will always perform. A Remington 300 ultra magnum almost makes the same ftlbs as a .375 H&h. But If I was going to pick a fight with a Hippo the 300 RUM wouldn’t be leaving the truck.

The .22 will not be any harder to hit anything with out to 30 meters. Plus has much better frontal density.
 
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The big factor: the .177 will probably be more accurate with a wider variety of pellets, and it is better suited to the power level of the HW50S

I do a lot of hunting with spring guns around that power level, and have had piles of Weihrauchs, and every one of them has been a better shooting gun in .177

Rabbits are not hard to kill, a .177 HW50S would be a fine choice.
 
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extradrygin2001 said:
When you’re killing an animal velocity does not exceed momentum.

Momentum will always perform. A Remington 300 ultra magnum almost makes the same ftlbs as a .375 H&h. But If I was going to pick a fight with a Hippo the 300 RUM wouldn’t be leaving the truck.

The .22 will not be any harder to hit anything with out to 30 meters. Plus has much better frontal density.
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Nobody is disagreeing with anything you said here. My .22 50S is absolutely more hold sensitive than my .177 50S though and I've seen similar experiences from other users. This is a new shooter and not a heavily experienced one. Factor in this is a springer we're talking about and not a PCP, the .177 will be much easier for OP to learn with.
 
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Ok thank you for correcting my statement. I have only owned TX200’s and my .22 tx has been more forgiving to me than the .177. I was basing my experience with my knowledge of these two rifles and my magnum rifle experiences. It the overall experience of multiple people resulted in the .177 being best then i cheerfully retract my statement.

Thank you
 
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extradrygin2001 said:
Ok thank you for correcting my statement. I have only owned TX200’s and my .22 tx has been more forgiving to me than the .177. I was basing my experience with my knowledge of these two rifles and my magnum rifle experiences. It the overall experience of multiple people resulted in the .177 being best then i cheerfully retract my statement.

Thank you
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I've had similar experiences to yours as well but not with the TX. My .177 TX outshoots my .22 TX but my .22 97K outshoots my .177 97K.... I think it all just boils down to springers are a bit weird and don't necessarily always play by the rules. You could end up being right here but I do think .177 is going to be the safer bet. OP should just buy both and give us his opinion 😄
 
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Looks like the fpe for that gun is very consistent with the legal limit in England. Plenty of youtubes of people killing rabbits and squirrels with them. I like having more but it definitely will work with good shot placement.

With an airgun, especially one with modest fpe, I first want to know I have penetration enough to get to the vitals even if my placement is a little off. Penetration will be deeper with the 177. The 22 will make a wider but shallower hole. If you could make the wider hole just as deep, that is better, of course. But that 177 should get the job done if you do your part. The other thing favoring the 177 is trajectory. There will be less drop making shot placement easier and good shot placement is extremely important.
 
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