Thanks for all the advice folks.
Think I’ll look for an Air Gun club near me to see what best suits. I think air guns I’m used to in day gone by where somewhat different back then the BSA Meteor was the best and you had side lever rifles and only .177 or .22 to choose.
But without starting the whole .177 or .22 debate for a target weapon I presume .177 is better since it's lighter so should hold more power and fly true more than a .22 which will be slower and have more stopping power being bigger and heavier?
Very broadly, yes. I strongly suggest you to ignore the calibre issue in favour of finding a comfortable gun though, which will more or less make or break the whole process.
You can be successful (or not) regardless of calibre.
In brief: I tend not to use .177 when shooting feral pigeons and rats in farm building because at shorter ranges the pellet can pass clean through and cause property damage. Using flat or hollow point pellets goes a long way to address this but with .22 the problem is further reduced.
Conversely if I want to do longer range pinpoint shooting in fairly still conditions I always pick my .177 gun up.
Where you hit is more important than the calibre you use, but there are scenarios where one has definite advantages over the other yet neither outshoots the other in all circumstances.
Put your pellet in the kill zone and the calibre is completely academic.
.177 is flatter and requires less compensation at different ranges.
.22 has a bigger trajectory and requires much more accurate range estimation coupled with the right amount of offset for that range.
.177 is therefore easier to be very accurate with. Take a look at any of the published results tables for Hunter Field Target competitions for an idea of who is shooting what. Some of the folks attending these events have serious kit but many have modest equipment and do well because they know how to use it.
Retained energy is what matters at point of impact, assuming you get your shot placement right.
As I said previously, some new .22 pellets have recently come to market that offer much flatter trajectory than normal for that calibre. This could be a way forward for some people since it takes a lot of the several inches of trajectory you would normally be playing with out of the mix, but let's not over egg the pudding just yet.
Find a comfy gun within budget and practice with it in all stances until you can knock nails in. If you can do that and get close to a rabbit or pigeon then any calibre will take care of business, as long as you take care of yours.
As my uncle used to drill into me when I was a kid learning to shoot - "a hole in the head means dead"
Last edited:
