.177 vs .22 | Which Is the Best Caliber for Airguns/Airgun Hunting? 

.177 is like the 5.56 of bullets and .22 is the 7.62x39

I've been shooting air rifles for 40+ years. When I first started, this question was eagerly discussed in the magazines on a continuous basis. After all these years, during which I have shot rifles in .177, .20, .22, and .25, I have come to a simple conclusion. As long as you are shooting at an appropriate target, within your skill level, it doesn't matter a DAMN what size pellet you are using.

I've been hunting with Air Rifles for about 53 years the 177 is king I've dispatched More game and much more kills .faster. Better penatrion Accuratce more available. My next choice would have been 20 cal years ago they were more available not so now

I prefer the .22 as well it retains more energy at longer ranges due to the heavier wider pellet my top air rifles are the Gamo coyote and hatsan flash both in .22

Living in a residential area I enjoy the .22. I needed something that wouldn't break the sound barrier

.177 is going to have a higher ballistics coefficient meaning it will retain velocity for longer. The speed of sound is around 1200fps so as long as you stay below that, both will be accurate past 50 yards. IMO, the .177 is going to be better for long range bird hunting.

I prefer .177 just feels like it goes faster and is better at going through stuff i guess

It’s all about accuracy, that’s why I chose .177

I definitely like the "smack" of the 22 better. Price difference is very minimal in most cases. My all time favorite airgun is my old Daisy 822 multi pump. Wood stock and metal reciever. It'd be hard to choose a favorite cal..maybe a 22 but my Hatsan 155 .25 cal is powerful and I like it alot.👍

Interesting point to note is that energy transfer from the air to the pellet (inside the barrel) is more efficient in .22 than it is in .177. This means for PCPs you always get more shots per fill in .22. For spring rifles, if you choose .22 you get more muzzle energy.

I have both I shoot both I really like both I have to use the heavier pellets on both .177 and 22 if I want to keep it quiet or both of them will sound like a rimfire 22 .177 is better for penetration but like you said the 22 really makes the target hop however at 1650 fps (1450) really a 177 9.4 grain pellet will make things hop pretty good

Hope you guys enjoyed the video! What is your favorite airgun caliber?

I only ever had two air guns one was a super cheap .22 and after awhile it started failing so I bought a new gun which was a .177 it's amazing I know it wasn't the pellet size before I get called stupid I just made a bad desision to buy a cheap gun

Great work and video , thanks bro.

was pretty sold on getting a .22 but this video really changed my mind. I reckon i’ll buy a gun that can shoot both just to have options 😂

I personally like .177 ... It's very fast, and has a pretty flat flight path

.20 is great, though I wish companies would offer a wider selection of pellets

My Stoeger Bullshark is .177 and it shoots 10.03 grain JSB Knockouts at 1000 fps. The pop these little slugs make on pests is impressive.

Does hunter Tom recommend a 10 shot or a single shot break barrel for longevity? Im guessing the break barrel with out the 10 mag will last longer??

My gamo magnum .177 will pop 5.1gr out at 1550fps, 7.3gr out at 1350fps, 8gr out at 1035 fps, 10.6gr. Out at 980fps, and 13.49gr slugs out at 750fps. I always pick my gamo .177 mag for hunting over my wildcat .22 or my shockwave .22 . ill use either of the .22 i have before i will my f4 .177 though. My .22 will not go through near as much at 45 yards as my gamo magnum will.

I've got a Gamo in .22 and after a lot of pellet testing I found the RWS pellet was accurate, and as long as you did your job with shot placement, it proved fatal on head shot rabbits out to 30 yards.

it depends on the gun you are using more than anything. Some .177 might shoot 1500fps and some other .22 might shoot 800fps.. even with the same round my pink daisy red rider doesnt have the power my crossman sbr has and that doesnt have the power a good break barrel has that doesnt have the power some of these supper pellet guns have with big tanks on them. Yes .22 is better in general but its all about the gun

.22. Break barrel and .25 PCP -right now what I have. Looking to start investing in .30 pellets/slugs very very soon.

I like for you'r information brother

You should own both!

I like the 22 cause it hits the targets harder. Love my Gamo

.22 best hunter - .177 best target 🎯 All depends on your usage- bottom line.

Stupid question. I have never shot a .22 pellet gun. I live in town and need to short squirrels and rabbits. Will .22 go through a wooden fence if I miss? I have not shot a pellet gun (.177) since I was a kid.

I have a gamo maximum gen 2 1300 fps I shoot gamo blue flams which gives the gun a 30% increase in accuracy and power so that puts it a little over 1600 fps I shoot around 112 yards

.177 flatter shooting, more accurate and cheaper to shoot

.20 cal is my personal favorite. Unfortunately, when Bob Beeman left the business, so did his great marketing skills on the excellent caliber as did the variety of pellets available decline. Way back in the day when most kids had their .177 pumpers, "Santa" decided to drop off a Sheridan model C and a few 500ct boxes of 5mm pellets in my living room. Even the kids who had .22cal Benjamin 312s and 342s had to try out this airgun and needless to say they where dropping hints to their parents that they needed one also. At that time, Sheridan was the only manufacturer of the pellets. They weighed around 16gr shaped like a trashcan and had alot of antimony added, so the pellets where hard and had excellent penetration. They would often zip right through most small game, so 4-5 pumps was plenty for squirrels and rabbits and for larger game like woodchucks, oppossums, raccoons 7-8 pumps worked great. Then Bob Beeman started to push 5mm in his guns and that really opened the door the R1, R10, Crow Magnum, pretty much most of his imports had the 5mm option and a wide variety of ammo to cover light weight pellets that shot like a .177 or heavy pellets that shot and hit similiar to a .22. His guns obviously where not cheap, but the quality was excellent (I still have many from the 80s/90s and all are in great shooting condition still. And the far majority of them are in .20cal. I may be biased somewhat towards the 5mm since I have so many guns chambered in that caliber and that is what I shot growing up and still do. But even today I say the 20cal is the most versatile caliber.

There both as good as each other in there own way👌👌fact👌👌

Amazing!

I only have 22s and plenty of them. But I'm in Illinois. So I may get a magnum 177 and shoot heavy pellets

I feel like .177 to .22 is 5.56 to 7.62

I like both cals.

Been shooting for 43 yrs and decided very early on the .177 was more universal in effect and easier to shoot accurately.

Hi there ! Anyone knows how much big animal can diana 54 airking .22 can kill quickly and in what distance? Thanks a lot

I like shooting heavy .177 pellets because it has the penetration of a .177 as well as the power of a .22 out to longer ranges

What do you think of the gami line of 22 for me to get started

Common sense says 22 should be quieter since it travels slower. Am I assuming correct?

Informative vid, so thanks for this. I wish you used fewer of those jump-cut type edits, though. Maybe that's a stylistic choice. The thing is, for older audience members like me, it can be a little off-putting. I was worried I was having a stroke or something until I figured out it was how you edited the video. Again, thanks for the info. I've given you an upvote, FWIW.

What about for sub 12ft/lb hunting Will .22 be better for killing rabbit and fox than .177

I shoot a .177 for squirrel and rabbit. Never got into .22. Just go to 17HMR or 22lr for bigger targets. That’s more because I use open sights rather than optics.

he's a legend in his own head

And what model I want a break barrel and I have about a $300 budget I don't want to break in case it's not really my cup of tea because I have a lot of real firearms and a lot of real 22LR said have some crazy setups for target shooting I just want something I can go shoot anywhere without getting locked up

If there are laws, restricting the energy output, 4,5mm is probably the best option, if you're allowed to own uncastreted airrifles, 0.22 has the same shot count per air cylinder for a 4,5 with 30 joule and a .22 with 40 joule. Then the difference in drop isn't as bad anymore, the heavier pellet is less wind sensitive and will sustain more energy.So that is my preferred caliber (i can't have anything above 6mm or a silencer on it, but i am allowed to own a full powered weihrauch in 5,5mm). Pellet price doesn't matter to me, because even if i shoot a lot with premium pellets, it will be hard, to spent more than 100 bucks per month on them.

Yer killin’ me here, kid. I’ve read through all the comments and the debate rages on. There are some very good observations. I enjoyed reading the comment about .20 caliber, and Mr. Crosman. As you said, very interesting. I’m still trying to decide which caliber to purchase. I’m inclined to post this comment and then press the “add to cart“ button for the .177 which is the caliber I’ve always had. I was just curious about .22 but I’m not going to be doing any hunting. I don’t think. But if I do, I’ll just shoot really good. But the .22 pellets are easier to grab out of the tin? Crap! Like I said… You’re killing me here, kid. 😂

.22 is quieter and hits harder for short range it is the clear winner...For long shots at paper the .177 wins...(hunters wait for the closer shot to kill not wound)

If buying a Black Ops Break barrel sniper air rifle should i get the .177 or the .22 ? looking to shoot and hunt small game , for my son thats 15 years old . Thanks

177 hollow point at 1,000 fps, 18.3 fpe, best for small to medium game. Expands to 22 size, dumps energy quickly, causes massive shock/damage. Flat trajectory. Accurate. Subsonic. EASY to cock and cheaper ammo. I know. I had 22 air guns. My Beeman 10616 is rated 1,200 fps max, has 28 lb cocking force, was $129 with scope on sale. Hard to equal, much less beat.

got to love 50 cal am i right

what weight of .177 pellets do i need to keep just under the sound barrier?

Which is better for longer distance say 50 - 100 yards?

for a 50 bmg

I prefer the .22 for hunting seems to do a lot more damage the .177 is good for plinking though.

Yea definitely big win for 177. Because it's like a co2 special but yea 22. More hunting. But I'd rather hunt with actual 22lr instead more cheaper

I like them all I shoot 177 to 45 cal

Is .22 is more quiet ? .177 break st sound barrier?

Me and my dad had crossmam legacy and 750 to 1000 and we hunt iguanas and panches just one pallet do the job

ive only shot 177 and i want a caliber that can take a dove down at maybe 50 yards cause i shoot in a field and there are powerlines i shoot dove

Can I shoot .22 with a 5.0 mm pellet?

I just purchased the gamo wildcat whisper. It travels over 1300 fps. I'm sorry but at long-range a sniper rifle is better than bazooka if you know what you're doing

I figured out how to have both , just buy a beeman RS2 done now i have choice if the store is out of .22 i buy .177 swap the berrel and game on ....

What has more range

Is .77 okay at a max range of 33 meters for feral pigeon for clean huemanae shots.

I hunt gopher with a .177 and it works fine for me

In the UK this is more of an issue as we are restricted to a max 12 ft lb unless we have a FAC. In the US though, don't you guys tune your rifles to shoot around 960fps regardless of caliber? So actually the bigger the slug the larger the ft lbs so speed of pellet has nothing to do between .177 and .22, it's all down to the ft lbs.

dude 177 cal for the win man... i nailed a coyote commin out of my barn at 30 yards 22 fpe dropped in its tracks. i dont really mess with 177 or 22 cals. if its not 7 or 800 FPE i dont mess with it. but shooting a bob cat or coyote with that is over kill big time! i use 800 fpe for grizzlies. black bear.

177 is faster and penetration is better but 22 has more knock down power with same power plant and drops more but head shots with either should be affective

I use .177 and 22 but .177 i better than 22 by speed and penetration

.177 is deadly, accuracy < 40 yards yards is awesome. Fox , coyotes and raccoon with a pcp.

I find a lot of pellets and bb at yard sales.

So the .22 is stronger than the .177 right

Im a begginer when it comes to airguns , I had old school .22 that my grandpa gave me but it broke. Now I cant decide whitch caliber I want my gamo fusion mach 1 to be :/ ( Im definately buying that type of rifle , just cant decide whitch variation is better , 1.77 or.22) .Any tips?

I own mostly standard firearms but I do own a .177 caliber air rifle (a small cheap crappy one). I would say though if I were to hunt I would probably use the .22 for brute force but in some cases like just an all around air rifle that still has the option of hunting I would use the .177. Not only is it flatter shooting over a larger distance but if you want to not break the bank you could, in some cases, switch over to .177 caliber bb's for plinking or fun shooting. It is a bit more versatile. But with anything it comes down to what you want to use it for and shot placement and even the type of air rifle you get and not just the caliber. I really want to switch over to try air rifle hunting so I will soon be in the market for a good nitro piston air rifle for rabbits, squirrels and such.

It's really simple! If you are in a country with joules restrictions smaller is better. With no restrictions bigger is better.

i have a 177 crosman break barrel and i shoot a small 25mm plastic ball off a coke bottle at 31 meters now that is accurate enough for me

What rifle is he holding in the thumbnail???

5.5 top chasse👍

Thanks Hunter Tom, but slow down and chill just a bit in your presentation. You are good. Nice information. Thank you

I prefer a .22

16 joule .177 vs 16 joule .22 ??

.177 is generally a supersonic round whereas the .22 is generally subsonic. A squirrel cannot possibly hear a .177 before impact.

What did you edit this video with, an epileptic?

Oh Boy think you all need to look at the modern tech and where airguns have got to now where .22 develops 75fpe and the bigger .30 and 9mm are in the 150-200fpe or greater. The .177 is now really only a back yard plinker unless your in are in a country with fpe limits like the UK

Do you shoot alot of break barrel rifles?

I’ve not had .22 being I just shoot my real 22 rifle when I want 22 cal.

Dude, why would you make a video with no video.

Pellet advice from Max Headroom

22 caliber

I like the .22 better. I miss my .22 air gun that I had when I was a kid.

I shoot. 22 & .30

177

Hi .177 travel faster and at a lower chadactradie On aim the kill zone isn't perplexed It's down to ability with distance mill dots etc Lots of people think big is best It's not a cock dangling comp Total the opposite lol 🤣 Thanks for the video I will subscribe Also stay tuned 🐇🐀🔫

How can you talk about not saying what is power is your riffle? it's useless comparison. If you go very much to the legal limit, 0.22 is quite appealing. Many .177 doesn't have the speed that 0.22 have.

I shoot both but I like.22 better…

Speed means nothing if it doesn’t pack a powerful punch. .22 is waaaay more powerful than.177 so end of discussion!

.22 is better than 177...22 best accuracy..and best for hunting..

Jesus Jump Cut, Batman