Small Game - Pellets .177 or .22

[London177]

Hello all,
Can I ask what you regular hunters use for hunting small game? I have a chance to hunt with a friend for rabbits soon. I want to use my BSA Ultra in .177 as I am confident I can hit a rabbit's head at 20-30 yards every time. Remember in the UK I am limited to 12ft/lb power limit. I am sure a .177 will kill a rabbit with a headshot at that range but a few people have told me .22 is the only way to go.
What do you experienced hunters have to say?
Best wishes,
Alan

[longislandhunter]

Hey Alan,

Either caliber will easily take out a rabbit with a well placed shot.  I've taken many a rabbit with a well placed head shot from one of my .177 rifles.  Matter of fact I've harvested my share of squirrels, which are much tougher in all respects to rabbits, with  the same .177 rifles.    While it is true I do most of my small game hunting with my .22 caliber guns I also get in plenty of time hunting with the .177 guns and they do the job just fine.  If you can get some JSB Predator pellets I would highly reccommend them.  They are my primary hunting pellet and are absolutely awesome on small game.  However, a good domed pellet will get the job done also.  It really doesn't take all that much power to take out a rabbit.   The important thing is shot placement.    

Take that .177 rifle of yours, go rabbit hunting and have a great time.   I'm looking forward to your hunting post and hopefully some nice pics.  Good shooting..     :)

Jeff

[tat2dman]

.177`ll drop`em all day long,if ya hit the spot...

I agree, a .177 cal will definitely take out a rabbit.  As a teenager all I had was a cheap Daisy 880 that was deadly accurate but only produce ~7.5 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle.  I dropped a number of rabbits in one shot but squirrels required a perfect shot if I only wanted to spend one pellet.  My most memorable rabbit.....  He was standing on his hind legs  in tall grass 20 yards or so away.  I could only see his upper torso and head.  One well placed shot to the head had this rabbit leaping maybe 3 foot vertically only to come down one his side, deader than dead.

Take that 12ft/lb limited .177 and blast away.  Pics are a must after your fun.

[PeakChick]

I agree with Jeff. .177 has plenty of power for most small game you will hunt with an air rifle. Shot placement is everything. That BSA will allow you to place the shot where you need to. I have good sucess with JSB Exacts, RWS SuperDomes, Gamo Hunters. I like the domed pellets for their long range accuracy. They always do the job for me.

I use a couple of my .177 rifles to hunt with also, and have had good luck with the  crow magnum and kodiak pellets in my G-1 Extreme, and R-10 on squirrelsand rabbits. They are the most accurate in these two guns which is the most important thing, even though they shoot around 750 fps in these guns. Here are some of my most recent experiences. Late last month,a squirrel shot with a kodak pellet at 35 yards in a tree with the  scoped (4X Tasco ,AO)G-1  Extreme was dropped cleanly with a head shot, and the pellet passed through the head, back to front, on an angle, left to right. Then,  two weeks ago, I shot a crow at a measured 53 yards with my model 34 .22 with Crosman premiers. I got complete pass through on that shot which suprised me. It was hit in the breast, and I had to hold over quite a bit to hit it and was aimming just above it's head . I was using the guns stock open sights. The crow dropped instantly and was dead before it hit the ground. This gun shoots those  pellets at a cronographed 720fps. I also shot a squirrel last Friday with the scoped  RWS 46E in .22 at 25 yards, with the same pellets, and hit it in the head twice and both pellets passed through the head and I still had to step on  it as it was not dead yet. The first shot was in the left eye ,which was my aim point , and came out behind the right eye, and the second shot that was hurried, hit in front of the eyes , completely removing most of the lower front of the squirrels head .  That squirrel was  still able to run eight feet up a tree before the second shot found him and he fell at that shot but was still alive, despite the damage. They can be very tough to kill at times.  The 46E .22 cronographs those pellets at 593- 600fps and is around your 12ft/lbs requirement. So caliber is not as important as shot placement and pellet performance, and sometimes wierd stuff  happens.   On that last squirrel I think that predators may have been a better pellet to use in the 46 . The .22 CP's just missed the squirrels brain by a hair and more inital terminal damage to the target in that case would have been desirable . The CP's are the most accurate in both those particular .22's and I don't have any Predators right now, nor have I shot any in either of them.

I'll add my vote to all the others for .177.  With a limit on energy, it'll have the flatter trajectory at 12fpe, so hold over will be easier.  22 at 600fps or less is going to have quite an arc in the trajectory, if you're very far from your sight-in distance.

I hunt with a model 34 in 177.  I really like the CP HP pellets.  They're very close to being a dome head, but have a hollow point.  They expand well and shoot straight.  I can reliably hit a pop can at 75 yds, so I know they're good for rabbit beyond 40yds anyway.  That'd be about my limit, I think.

Last rabbit (well, snowshoe hare, really) I took was at 34 yds, head shot.  He jumped a few feet and landed on his side, kick, kick, dead.  Seems to be a favorite trick of the rabbit, from what I read here :)

J

as yourself i am not sure of which pellets are better,but do listen to what this  lady & gentleman suggest,(BELIEVE ME THEY KNOW) i prefer the .22 but i do shoot both, i was checking out the ultra multi-shot,yesterday, how do you like your ultra? i might have an opportunity to shoot one today ( i'm hoping dave at cobra airguns is reading this)......i take it your a RAIDER fan,I wanted to use that same logo on my posts,but was unable to set it up ....(don't know how )  my cousin was their starting QB for years....." RAIDER NATION"...".COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE".............good luck with those rabbits,post some pics if possible.....thanks....

        joe cuz(akita breeder)

[shadow]

Both cal's will drop small game with no problem, pellet selection and shot placement is the key. My hunting pellet selection consist of the Tomahawk's, Gamo Rocket's, Gamo Hunter's, Gamo Pro Mag's, Master Point and magnum, CPHP. My go to pellet and favorite is the Predator. The result's of my .177 and .22's are in My Album, proof's in da puddin hehehe. Ed

[DAMAGE]

It also depends what you can get where you are or what they are prepared to order for you, In NZ the most popular hunting pellet is the H&N Crow Magnum Diabolo which we have to order in from over seas but they expand very well, In .22 however you need a high power rifle to get the expansion.
RWS Super Domes for my longer distance shots and they have good expansion also and are very accurate, GAMO TS-10 or TS-18 for penetration  on special targets with extra thick skulls.

If you have a pellet that is good and accurate just go with that, It will do the job for you hit it in the head it will drop.

[brokenarrowjbe]

Alan, do you know the weight of your pellets and the FPS? If so try this link
 http://www.gatewaytoairguns.com/pellet_energy.htm
With good shot placement, 25 to 30 yards seems best. John

[London177]

Hello John and everyone :)
Thanks for the calculator. Very handy.
Now I feel much better about using my .177 for the rabbits. I am not a great shot but I feel confident I can put a pellet on the rabbits head at anything up to 30 yards. I want a clean kill. I feel much happier with the .177 than .22 as it flies nice and flat.
I am not sure which pellets I'll use as some of the ones mentioned are not in the gun stores in the UK but I think my RWS Superdomes or "H" points will be fine.
Thanks again for the answers. You know if I'd had asked this question on a UK based forum I'd have had nothing but rants and abuse between posters. The debate over .177 v .22 is a hot potato over here.....That's why I come here as you are so friendly :)
Have a good day.
regards,
Alan

Alan,

I am pretty sure you can get Crosman Premier Lite (7.9gr) over there in the U.K., as your Field Target game was what they were really designed for.

I've used those with good success hunting cottontail rabbits of 2 to 4 pounds weight and jackrabbits close to 10 pounds weight in the High Desert of California, and while I am shooting them out of a 15 ft/lb rifle, I'm also shooting them out to 50-55 yards or so.

Hit the magic mark where an imaginary line drawn to extend behind the eye would intersect with a similar line drawn to exted below the ear, and its instant death for ol' longears.

I also like Crosman Copperhead Pointeds (They aren't really that pointed).

I suppose you can get Haendler and Nattermann Field Target Specials over there, too.  They work pretty well also.

The advantage with the CPLs is that they're light to keep velocity up, have a high BC of .028 to retain it, and have a wee bit of alloy (either tin or antimony-can't remember which) so they penetrate bone well.  Just the ticket for a rabbit's noggin.

JP
http://www.uplandhunter.net

So far all I have used is .177 to hunt rats with my GAMO BIG CAT which has 700 kills on it and as of recent I got a TALON SS .177 and I have taken 51 rats with her. I am sure I could take rabbits out with know problem. I use Crosman Premiere, Hunting, Fireball (which I really like) and also Gamo Rockets, I just got a tin of Crow Magnums which I can't wait to try.

[hunter220]

mike milz - 3/11/2008  8:26 AM

So far all I have used is .177 to hunt rats with my GAMO BIG CAT which has 700 kills on it and as of recent I got a TALON SS .177 and I have taken 51 rats with her. I am sure I could take rabbits out with know problem. I use Crosman Premiere, Hunting, Fireball (which I really like) and also Gamo Rockets, I just got a tin of Crow Magnums which I can't wait to try.

Make sure to modify them to make them twice as effective.