.25cal - Why, or why not?

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Corvid_hunter

Corvid_hunter

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Dec 21, 2019
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Ontario, Canada
I'm patiently waiting to buy my next PCP and have been waffling back and forth between the Crown Continuum MKII and wanting a bull pup. I was going to get a Delta Wolf, but that is still many months off, and approx 1K more in price than a Impact. I was going to get something in .22cal because that's what I normally shoot, then I started thinking about possibly getting an Impact (700mm Superior liner) in .25cal. I shoot crows and magpies from 30-100 yards and like to shoot paper out to 100 yards. What can the .25cal do better than the .22cal, or vise versa? Ammo cost doesn't seem to be a big difference, so that's not really an issue for or against.
 
I dunno about the pros and cons. I’ve seen people arguing in favor of the .22 saying a .22 slug can do as much damage as a .25 pellet. Personally I favor larger calibers. I love shooting my .25 Brocock Bantam Sniper. I can get over 100 shots off of a bottle filled to 200 bar on the lowest power setting with a regulator. The last chronograph numbers I recorded suggest that I shot at 23-25 fpe pretty consistently. I’ve been itching to get a crow, but these country crows are smart. Dropped smaller birds dead on the spot. Haven’t taken it out that far but I’ve watched others do it. I’ve been shooting 25-30 yards mostly. 
 
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The larger calibers are not only more powerful and shoot better at distance, but are louder even with a moderator. The impact of the heavier pellet is also louder, so keep that in mind as well.
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Maybe at high power. My only .25 is a 30fpe pistol I hunt with. It is extremely quiet, and honestly about dead silent when the pellet strikes game. Not sure why, but my .22s, any of them at any power level (600fps and up) are easily 20x louder on impact.
 
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I’ve had a good 22 pcp for 10 years & love it. Bought a 25 bullpup & there is no comparison. Use both primarily for squirrel hunting but wanted to be able to humanely get rid of pesky groundhogs (deprivation only) so opted for the 25. Im amazed how effective that 25 is. Pound 2”x2” spinner @ 70 yards at will. Just note that it does eat a bunch of air (bought a compressor).
 
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If you don't mind the higher cost of ammo....I vote .25 for everything if you can shoot 40ft lbs or higher accurately.

I shoot both.

.25 cal of the same foot lbs of energy really hits hard.More surface area.

In my test a .22 caliber 21 grain at 900fps vs the .25 caliber .25 grain almost has the same trajectory.

.25 destroys raccoons and rabbits alot quicker than the .22 and it also creates a larger area for the killzone if you are not a perfect shot.Currently it's cheaper to shoot my .357 caliber than my m25 caliber.


 
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If you do not shoot a lot and want to have "authentic killing power" buy the Uragan in .30 Cal.

Just be careful what is behind when shooting.

From rats, racoons, to coyotes and jabalina do not need anything else. Is much more accurate, deals better with wind. But gives less shots per fill and is a more expensive ammo.

But if you do not shot s lot. With one .30 Cal for hunting you are absolutely done.

I have diverse good rifles in .177, .22. .25, .30 and two in .357..... When the topic becomes real hunting, the only ones that are chosen to the adventure are the .30 and for deer the .357.
 
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Why? Extra energy at the target.

Why not? Extra energy at the target.

Seems where one is shooting is just as important as what one is shooting at. I'm biased because I generally prefer .177 but I always go to the least powerful projectile that will do the job because I shoot my airguns where there are other homes within a few hundred yards. If field hunting, seems less concerns for most situations.
 
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I have a .22 Airwolf MCT and a new Impact in .25 which seems inline with where you are going.

I've been testing NSA slugs in the Airwolf but haven't found any that shoot as well as JSB 18 or Hades in my gun. If I did find one, I'd use those in my Airwolf at 100 yards. I have a single pack of FX slugs (on the way just to test) but I wouldn't spend the extra $$ to use those as my everyday ammo. Heck they cost more than 9mm handgun ammo before the ammo shortage! I routinely take crows, chipmunks, and squirrels at 50-75 yards with the Airwolf and JSB pellets. Haven't tried 100.

My Impact .25 (700mm Superior Liner / Ernest Rowe liner sleeve, Ernest Rowe barrel tensioner, Donny FL Ronin) was bought to be a slug gun for 100 yd plus shooting, but It's accuracy isn't down to a rough role at 50 yards like the Airwolf yet so I'm still playing with getting it repeatedly accurate. Wish I lived closer to an expert tuner.

Based on ammo cost, variety, noise, air use, I'd go .22 over .25. Sounds like the ideal rig for you would be a .22 slug gun
 
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Last fall I set up a .22 Avenger shooting JSB Knockouts 25.4 grain slug (845 fps) and also an FX Wildcat mk3 .25 with JSB 25.39 grain pellets. Both guns shooting 40.5 FPE plus/minus half a foot pound. 

Without doubt the .25 put down squirrels with more authority. Body shots were still clean kills with .25, whereas the .22 slug often needed a follow up. Don't get me wrong, plenty of our UK friends use sub 12 foot pound .22 pellets efficiently on squirrels, but .25 is more forgiving. Other benefit of .25 is more versatility to take racoon, possum, or woodchuck. 

I dialed down the .22 to use on small rodents (rat, chipmunk, red squirrel) around buildings, where IMO the .22 or .177 is better than a .25. I also like plinking with a .22 more. 
 
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Last fall I set up a .22 Avenger shooting JSB Knockouts 25.4 grain slug (845 fps) and also an FX Wildcat mk3 .25 with JSB 25.39 grain pellets. Both guns shooting 40.5 FPE plus/minus half a foot pound. 

Without doubt the .25 put down squirrels with more authority. Body shots were still clean kills with .25, whereas the .22 slug often needed a follow up. Don't get me wrong, plenty of our UK friends use sub 12 foot pound .22 pellets efficiently on squirrels, but .25 is more forgiving. Other benefit of .25 is more versatility to take racoon, possum, or woodchuck. 

I dialed down the .22 to use on small rodents (rat, chipmunk, red squirrel) around buildings, where IMO the .22 or .177 is better than a .25. I also like plinking with a .22 more.
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Same foot pounds in diverse calibers "do not mean" same killing power.

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/final-formula-for-obtaining-the-hunting-energy-units-on-air-rifles/
 
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Emu wrote

..."Same foot pounds in diverse calibers "do not mean" same killing power."....

Think I pretty much said that if you read my post.

Original poster seemed to want real world experience using both calibers. The math behind killing power doesn't say anything about whether someone likes to shoot that caliber; there's also loudness, cost of pellets, shot count, etc. 


 
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Emu wrote

..."Same foot pounds in diverse calibers "do not mean" same killing power."....

Think I pretty much said that if you read my post.

Original poster seemed to want real world experience using both calibers. The math behind killing power doesn't say anything about whether someone likes to shoot that caliber; there's also loudness, cost of pellets, shot count, etc. 

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Agree!

In my opinion even with a substantially less fps, with same foot pounds of energy, a .30 Cal is much more lethal than a .22 Cal.


 
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The OP was asking .22 or .25. With what Matt Duber and company have done getting .22 slugs to 70 ft/lbs (same as many .30) I'd go for the cost advantages of the .22



Frankly, they are delivering more energy with their .22s than my .25s current configuration (I'm only around 50 ft/lbs).







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Much more option of ammo in .22 than in .25 and cheaper to shoot.... That is a fact.

But for hunting, what Swopever says is also truth.

Noise depends more of the rifle than of the caliber. 

Each one has to decide what he wants and what are his own proportionals to decide what is the cost of shooting that is willing to assume.






 
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