.177 or .22

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If you have a rifle that shoots .177 and .22 pellets at the same speed, I would choose the .22, because I believe there is less effect from the wind during flight

Therefore, my next rifle, which will see very little if any huntingwill still be a .22

What is the flip side to this?

Cheaper/more pellets isn't an issue.

Any help?

the same rifle that shoots .177 and .22 at the same speed??? doesn't happen. If you want a plinker get the .177cal flatter trajectory and greater selection of pellets. I own mostly .177 because of these reasons. I own .22s for hunting and they out price the .177 by a mile.
by the way I assume your talking springers.
now for some math. A springer shooting at 890 FPS @ 50 yards = it will take approximately .169 seconds to get to target..OK with wind drag and all lets say .20 seconds (that's if the pellet traveled 750 fps all the way to the target)...So in 2/10th of a second the average breeze should not effect your pellet to anything noticeable. What kind of wind were you thinking of shooting in??? Same your money buy a nice .177cal and enjoy.
Hope this helped
Bart

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I suppose I should have put this in the general AirGun forum... sorry

The gun is NOT a springer, but the question still stands... is one better than the other for some reason.

They cost the same

The Daystate Air Wolf incorporates the patented electronic firing system, 500cc air bottle, and baffled barrel shroud together, setting it out above the rest as a high power, accurate, ultra-consistent air rifle which does everything a shooter demands. This rifle is one of the most advanced shooting arms of any kind in the world

.22 Caliber Results:

70 shots per fill with 30fps total spread

----->Top velocity of 909 fps with Beeman Kodiak pellets

Maximum power at 38.72 ft/lbs with Beeman Kodiak pellets

.177 Caliber Results

180 shots per fill with 30fps total spread

----->Top velocity of 907 fps with Beeman Kodiak pellets

Maximum power at 19.37 ft/lbs with Beeman Kodiak pellets

Hmmm...Well how are you set up for refills? 70 vs. 180 shots that's a big difference. If it's just plinking than the .177 stands out as the logical choice...BUT Like most guy you want every ounce of power you can get out of that gun no matter if was only 10 shots....SO I think you've already made your choice and you want us forum members to justify that .22 caliber Hmmm...Me thinks yes....
Hell I would buy the .22 cal just because I could.

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Really, I'm looking for The Way.

I have my [relativly uninformed] reasons for making this decision to get the AirWolf, but there may be something I don't know that would make all the difference.

The shot count in .177 gave me pause, but I can dial down the Ft.lbs and do better on the .22's. And with a Pygmy tank, I can have a few top-offs to extend the useful shots. The New Zealand group think it would be rather easy to change barrels and bolts/probes between calibers, if I thought I had to.

I am actually looking for a good reason to re-think. I want to try FT and HFT and have a gun that will help me and would also make a good plinker with the 10-shot magazine.

My neighbors are already complaining about my .22 Shadow Supreme, so the super-low noise level with the AW, even with .22, wuold be nice.

I'm just trying to not look totally clueless.

For general plinking and FT I would get the .177.  In addition to a lot more shots per fill and the lower cost of ammo, you get a flatter trajectory.  And don't forget that for FT, the .177 is a smaller diameter and easier to fit into the target hole without the dreaded split.

One of the reasons I chose the Talon SS as my first PCP is because of the easily interchangeable barrells.  I can have a .177 for target, spend 6 minutes changing the barrel, adjust power and re-sight, and have the .22 for hunting.

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Why does the .177 give a flatter trajectory if the speeds are almost the same?

Trajectory is the drop caused by gravity pulling down on the pellet for a certain time

If the speed is the same over the same shooting distance, the time of flight would be the same. I'd think the trajectory would the be the same, assuming the BC is about the equal.

I think you're thinking "springer" again.

I'm looking into barrel/bolt interchangeability

Could be you're right.  I do know that larger bullet = more drag.  Even if the .22 is the same shape as the .177, the frontal area presented in the direction of travel will be larger and thus produce more drag.  So, with that reasoning the .177 will maintain more of its velocity at a longer distance and a flatter trajectory.  That's a theory, anyway.  

Or, alternatively, I could be talking complete bullox! :  )  This is also a high probablity.  Sometimes I ain't too smart, but I'm always smart enough to admit the possibility that I'm wrong.

Still, for FT I would choose the .177.  Just that little bit of diameter difference could be the difference between a hit and a split.

My main argument for the .177 is that you said the gun would be used primarily for plinking and target.  If that's the case the .177 is king for number of fills and economy of shooting.  If you said you were using it primarily for hunting I would whole heartedly reccommend the .22 for its knock down power.

BTW, If you want to talk to some guys who are a LOT more knowledgable about PCP's and this rifle, go to http://www.airgunforum.net
It's a British forum and those guys know their PCP's.  Given their limit of fpe they also know how to get the most out of their air guns.

Also, according to one site I found the Air Wolf gets 350 shots in .177 but 550 shots in .22.  OOPS.....just noticed that this is from another Brit site and the rifle is set to 11fpe so that may be the difference.

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I am registered on AirGunForm, and find there are very knowledgeable people there, but I sometimes don't get responses to my questions.

What site did you find your AW info?

I visit and search fornew sites all the time, and would like to know about any that I might have missed

Thanks

Here's the link: http://www.airgunbuyer.com/Showproducts.asp?cat=Air%20Rifles&SubCat=Daystate%20Air%20Rifles

I've just been reading the reviews posted at Daystates site.  Holy Crapoly! thats a nice rifle.  If I was to buy a rifle at that price I would also have to add in the cost of a divorce attorney!  I bought my Talon SS used and still am hearing about the money I laid out.  Easy solution: I bought her new golf clubs!

BTW, this review particularly mentions the .177 for FT and HFT use http://www.daystateamerica.com/Air%20Wolf/Air-Wolf-SS-Review-1%5B1%5D.pdf

The other reason I would choose the .177 for target is the smoother curve of the velocity over the number of shots according to the chart on Daystates site.  The longer curve would make it easier to compensate for the change in velocity.  Although, I have to add that the change is so small that it probably wouldn't make much difference in the POI.

Man, that is one sweet rifle! Someday..................but I'll either have to be a lottery winner or be spending the wifes life insurance policy!  : )

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Got that review and atwo others. Nothing prepares you for the reality of the feel of it. I'm going to doublecheck it a few times, but it feels to me to be The One. There is the initial investment in the PCP support stuff, but that's what it takes. I plan to do this for a long time, so it will be amortized over the years.

My wife isn't too happy about it, either, but we have agreed to allow each of us to spend a lump sum to get a toy [or a trip] every once in a while, finances allowing. I alsohad to include a good scope, which bumped it up a bit. This is a lot, but I sold some stuff I wasn't using that I had collected over the years, and have raised half already.

This will make it easier for her. Of course, my choice is always a waste of money, but at least it will have some resale value, unlike computer equipment, which I saw as a legitimate gripe. Now that they're a commodity, there's no fun left in them any more, so I needed something new... this is it.

-=ed - 10/1/2006  11:12 AM



If you have a rifle that shoots .177 and .22 pellets at the same speed, I would choose the .22, because I believe there is less effect from the wind during flightAny help?

I would choose the one with the highest ballistic coeffecient.  Because that is what has the greatest effect on flat trajectory and wind drift resistance -not pellet diameter or mass.

And that's a fact that is universally recognized in the field of firearms shooting.  It doesn't change just because the projectiles being expelled are propelled by air, rather than powder.

But if .22 trips your trigger, go for it!

-JP

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.I think the BC of a spinning pellet is the most important factor for [distance]/[speed], and thus vertical trajectory.

However, I also think the inertial resistance to change of direction due to an external force [wind] which is greater in a heavier pellet is significant, as this reduces this change due to the increased mass of the pellet, so a pellet of greater mass will be off-target by a smaller amount. This could be important during small gusts that crop up randomly... or a brush with a twig during FT??

IMHO, unless I'm overlooking something.

You are.  I tried to find a chart for the Beeman Pellets ballistic coeficient (BC), which I remembered seeing somewhere.  In any case I think you'll find that among pellets of a certain design, say the Beeman Trophy, the BC for a 177 is higher than the BC for the 22 because the 22 is proportionately shorter than the 177.  So if you launch two Trophy pellets, one 177 and one 22 the 177 will shoot flatter and retain its energy better.

Mike