PCP vs Rimfire

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Air all the way. If I could hunt big game with an air powered gun I wouldn’t even have a single powder burner . I did have a tricked out .22LR and sold it . Too loud and after shooting a box of cheap stuff needed a complete tear down to clean the carbon from everywhere . Sure the powder burner is more powerful but one thing Airguns have taught me is that accuracy is everything . If I do t feel like I’ll confidently hit what I’m aiming at , I simply don’t pull the trigger . 

Now I shoot mostly recycled lead and all it costs me is time to cast my projectiles . I think that’s one of the best parts , quite relaxing . 
 
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When I think of a air rifle / rimfire comparison. I wouldn't include a airgun with a larger bore than the rimfire. As far as dependability airguns can't compare. even in climate controlled environment a o-ring will fail. I have a 60's model savage / anschutz toped with an older model 3-9 leupold that can be grabbed out of the case and will shoot point of aim every time. I have heard some say an airgun will out shoot a rimefire. I can't see that. Saying that I love shooting PCP's in the yard.


 
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What many don't realize is that a standard velocity 22rf 40 grain bullet has a .14 g1 bc on average. 

Even a 30 cal 50 grain pellet has one third that bc.

The 22rf is going 100 to 200 fps faster than a pellet is.

Against pellets the 22rf will blow "much" less in the wind. 

The problem with 22rf ammo is the better shooting is the more expensive stuff, although one can get lucky and find a good lot of medium priced match ammo. 

Slugs in air rifles, it's getting closer to the 22rf, or exceeding depending on bc and fps.

But big pcp's gulp air like crazy and slugs can get pricey unless you make your own. 

Pretty much have to own a compressor if you have a big pcp.

Now a reduced load in a 20-221FB center fire is awesome. 32 grain at 2300 fps giving 1" groups in calm conditions at 200y! That's my solution. 
 
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I live in a subdivision in nashville TN, my house sets on about 1/3 acre and every time I go out to shoot my .45 auto or my .300 Winchester Mag the neighbors just go crazy. I only have a 30 yard shot max from one end to the other. I do like my air guns so I can shoot in the back yard and not have to drive forever looking for somewhere to shoot. Like some of the others said, if I had a farm or access to one I might shoot rim fire or center fire more. But my space is very limited.
 
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Saltlake58.... I don't know about Utah, but

Not a single one of my guns, air or powder powered is registered. 2 Deer rifles, 6 shoguns, 3 pistols and 6 rimfire rifles and 4 airguns. All in America.
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Well, I won't say what the status of any of my PB's are, and registration is only on sales through an FFL, I was referring to a new or used sale via FFL. Private sales are not, yet, required to do the registration bit unless of course you live in certain states that don't like the 2nd. Where with an Air Rifle, FFL's don't matter.

Let's just say NO to more controls and keep air guns off the controls list.
 
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How many guns are sold? Comparing air to rimfire. Let’s face it folks we are on the lunatic fringe . If you are stretching out past 100 ( like I am) with a PCP even more so.

You can’t justify this stuff. It’s a little like sports cars and motorcycles and I’ll bet you most of us are into that as well or even worse BOATS 

The average normal guy has a $100 22 lr rifle and a $50 air rifle. 

WE ARE NOT NORMAL.

I think the subject was well covered rim or pcp but for the average normal person the expense involved to shoot 22 lr distances with a PCP is not justified. 

And for you guys shooting air guns at 300 , 400 and 500 yards. You are like the guys that put 8v motors on a motorcycle 

Don’t tell your mothers 😀😀😀
 
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Very interesting topic. I have both 22 and 25 air at fac levels and an Anschutz 22lr. I can shoot were I want in Scotland subject to the landowners permission but a stray ricochet or shot onto another piece of land and I will be in trouble with the law. Accordingly I don't see pcp v rimfire as a competition but as useful tools in different situations. I would never fire a rimfire into a tree so up steps 22 air. In the dark and around houses rabbits fall to 25 air and in daylight I tend to prefer the 22lr. Moderators are encouraged in UK so noise isn't an issue with the 22lr provided you shoot subsonics. I find all guns shoot the same in good conditions until around 60 yards were 22 air begins to lose out. 25 cal keeps up with the Annie until around 80 to 90 yards but after that the rimfire wins out subject to safety and back stops. In short sometimes the pcps win as I am hunting squirrels in trees, sometimes the rimfire wins if it is rabbits at 100 yards. If you are talking long range shooting in windy conditions it is the rimfire every day of the week, but were is the fun in that: hence why we justify buying so many rifles...... 
 
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Depends, if you legally can use a power burner safely in particular .17 or .22 rimfire I'd use them. I shoot air rifles because it's short range, can use a moderator and it's adequate up to and including raccoons, fox and coyotes I have pests destroying property and a threat to children and pets. Squirrels chew vinyl grips, destroy cushions to make nests, naw trash can lids, electrical and com lines, solar panel and auto wiring. I'm not in the city but houses here are on 3+ acres and the county has outlawed power burners here. It just depends on what's legal and safe where you are at. I prefer an FX Impact in .25. Ammo runs about .04 to .06 when buying enough for free shipping.
 
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If I was only into 100 yard + shooting then I'd have to drive to a local range anyways so I'd get some good hearing protection and a 17 HMR and not concern myself with the cost of ammo or the rifle(s). The local range is free and out in the National Forest near my house and I happen to be free when it is least crowded. The reality is that if I'm free to go to the National Forest to shoot I'd rather use that time to go hiking anyways. 

I thought about getting a 22LR set up to be a backpack gun and shoot quiet/subsonic loads but I just wasn't finding an option that really stood out to me. And even though I can shoot a bow legally on my property I can't shoot a 22 LR legally so I'd still want a pesting option.

Ultimately what drew me to PCP is the combination of accurate, quiet and compact as well as legal to shoot at home. That is priceless to me. 

For the record, what is the ultimate 22 LR backpack gun? And if semi-auto do they work with the quiet or sub-sonic rounds? 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Toa2AfTBenA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRDfQekwX98


 
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My neighbors gripe when I light off the powderburners. Even the .22LR gets me a call. It's legal, just annoys the neighbors. 1 is NBD, but bunches aren't going to be popular. I live on 4 acres. Houses around me are 4+.



The airguns on the other hand don't bother anyone.



My .30 Impact (fav gun) is $.11 per pellet. I pay $.05 to $.06 for .22LR. My .22 is a highly customized 10/22. In the end though, I shoot the snot out of the .30 and have fun doing it and never think about the pellet price.



I think the .30 is more accurate because I use it more and know what it's going to do at various ranges. The .22LR is probably more accurate overall, but I hardly ever get it out so don't really know what it's going to do.

Powderburners are cool, but airguns are easier on the sound levels.



Now, if I got a silencer for the 10/22 it'd be a different game...stupid govt.
 
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I have a Remington semi that will shoot .22 shorts, Longs and LR, a Keltec CMR .22 Mag and several other powder burners. My PCPs include a tricked out PROD, Gamo Not So Urban (took the pickle off and put a Donny on it) and my BSA R-10 Huma Regulated with a 500cc bottle.

The Remington is for Ground Hogs, Raccoons and Armadillos. The PMR for Coyotes (2 legged and 4 legged). The PCPs for tree rats, ground squirrels, and Crows.

I live on Smith Lake in Cullman County Alabama and my neighbors shoot their weapons in their yards. I would never shoot at a crow or tree rat in a tree with one of my powder burners. A .22 LR will travel 1 mile and a .22 Mag much further. I would never take a chance on having a .22 LR go through a Crow and land on a neighbors child or damage their house. The PCPs offer quiet shooting that does not scare the game off if I miss (windage calculation incorrect) . The neighbors could care less, we call gunfire the sound of freedom in Cullman County. Any supersonic round breaks the sound barrier and you get that distinctive crack. A light weight “green” .22 pellet fired from my BSA will do the same thing and scare away anything you may miss.

Weapons are like tools, you select the best one for the job at hand. If you must remove a 14mm nut you can use, in order of preference, a 14mm socket, a 14mm wrench, a crescent wrench, or a pair of vice grips (LOL). All will get the job done. The decision as to what weapon you choose depends on environment, game size, safety and anything else dictated by your personal situation.

My advice is to have both a .22 powder burner and a PCP. If I could only pick one, for overall versatility, it would be a PCP.

Charlie

Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough
 
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Wow, interesting thread.

I live on a quarter-acre next to a canal in a suburb of Miami. I get around 25 yards in the back yard, and that's what I zero my PCP .22 at. It is illegal to shoot a firearm there. That said, someone has shot CCI Quiet (model 970) subsonics out of my Remington Fieldmaster .22, and it is no louder back there than my Hatsan Flash QE .22. Thing is, there really isn't a reason to shoot a PB back there. Don't get me wrong, those CCI 970's are segmented and quiet, and they will do great damage. Whatever backyard critter needs dispatching though, the largest being potentially a big raccoon, I feel like the Hatsan can take care of it with proper shot placement. It sure does a number on the iguanas, I'll tell you what. Squirrels just fall over DRT. I don't shoot birds, but do shoot iguanas out of trees. That means the PCP for sure. Accuracy is excellent for both at 25 yards. Holes through holes (I've heard). Bottom line for me, the PCP lives by the back door. The Remington is in the safe.

If there is some form of consensus I've seen here, it's that both have their place, and are not necessarily natural adversaries.
 
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You're not going to get comparable 50 yard accuracy with $5 a box rimfire ammo, compared to the best PCP rifles. If you double that cost, the rimfire will, on average, begin to out perform the PCP. With the rimfire, after you buy a precision quality rifle, it is then all in the ammo. With the PCP, you pay a comparable cost for the rifle, but then the time and expense is in maintaining the rifle. Both fun and expensive hobbies. If hunting is in the mix, then my preference is strongly in favor if the rimfire, as the rifles are tanks compared to the relatively fragile air rifles.
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I have a $599 Browning ( Japan ) SA-22, and with $2.50 a box, CCI standard will outshoot any PCP I have owned. 
 
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