Bye bye .22

[Cantona256]

Not a fan of the hades tbh. And 23 ft lbs is more than enough to kill them, they are certainly dying with vital shots just not right there. As far as pellets go, standard domes hit just as hard. You are right that if shooting pellets, than the .25 will certainly part with more energy. But if shooting slugs that expand good ,caliber is moot. All I shoot ground squirrels with is 21 grain javelin slugs, and they hit those little suckers so hard its gruesome at times. This is the same topics discussed about elk hunting, caliber is always the big topic when in reality bullet choice is key.

Could not agree more bro. I keep people obsessing over the 36gr HP 2 slugs for the barra 250z because of one video. The gun will shoot them like 850fps stock but there’s almost no expansion at that speed. I drop ground squirrels super hard with my 30 and 31gr going 950-960… just got my first pass throughs this weekend at around 35y… beyond that they dump all their energy in the target.

 

[Cantona256]

I favor the 25 also and maybe it’s just the louder smack of the pellet that I like.

Dude the thwack on my .25 cal 31gr slugs is basically why I get up in the morning.

 

[JimT66]

Dude the thwack on my .25 cal 31gr slugs is basically why I get up in the morning.

Hahahahahaha, yes, it is a sweet sound when it meets hide. Completely unmistakable.

 

[Cantona256]

I just wanna echo @Bladebum and @Luis Leon… it’s not the caliber is the shot placement and ammo. With smaller critters you can get away with less than ideal shot placement, if your ammo is gonna properly devastate the target. I shoot .25 cal 30 and 31gr slugs because I find them to be very versatile and I love the expansion I get from them. Whacked a rock squirrel at 125y today actually… my #1 philosophy is that I don’t want pass throughs. Pass throughs mean FPE left on the table and not in my target…. As for .22 I shot a 10+ pound fox with an Umarex Komplete with a 17gr pellet. Went in his chest through his heart and ice picked all the way out the torso near the back left leg. He made it 10 yards. It was a lucky shot but it’s better to be lucky than good sometimes, but you get my point. Shot placement… I hunt all the time and have many uses for .22 cal… feel free to dm me for my address if you need to donate any unwanted .22’s Hahaha… also in act of shameless self promotion I’m gonna post my YouTube video of the squirrels I shot today. Well one is from Saturday but the rest are today. Third one is 90y and the second to last is 125y…the really loud thwack to the back of the head is at 74 I think…

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[Grunt64]

I’m planning to ditch .22 altogether for my hunting needs—it feels like the ground squirrels around here are wearing Kevlar vests! The .22 just doesn’t do enough damage, even though the gun’s zeroed and I can make headshots on lizards all day long. The .25, though—that one sends them to their maker quick.

Will give you more distance too.

 

[mrage]

Maybe better shot placement? The .22 is a fine killer. Maybe switch up projectiles and send deliberately and with deadly intent…


So .22s doing 30 fpe need not apply… Though I haven’t had the privilege of shooting ground squirrels. They don’t seem different than our Northern Gray Squirrels or heck our even bigger Woodchucks. And both of those critters find 30 fpe PCPs irresistible. Heck, I’ve taken a few chucks with my sub 17 fpe Atomic XR. I thought it was always about shot placement within your comfort zone for sure kills… The .22 is a fine caliber with a multitude of pellet and slugs to choose from…

My 300+ PA woodchucks/ G-hogs will attest to that. I just recently went to .25( price & gun were right at the time) simply to see if there was a significant difference. As of yet I'm undecided after 7 & still trying different ammo. I won't
"plink" w/ .25 because of cost, that's what I liked about .22 pellets(no slugs for plinking $$!) . I had used pellets for the first few years of PCP shooting. I found that a JSB .25+gr .22 slug at 730-740fps did a fine job on G-hogs to 50+ yards
hitting the head/neck at most angles. Just my thoughts so far.

 

[Cantona256]

My 300+ PA woodchucks/ G-hogs will attest to that. I just recently went to .25( price & gun were right at the time) simply to see if there was a significant difference. As of yet I'm undecided after 7 & still trying different ammo. I won't
"plink" w/ .25 because of cost, that's what I liked about .22 pellets(no slugs for plinking $$!) . I had used pellets for the first few years of PCP shooting. I found that a JSB .25+gr .22 slug at 730-740fps did a fine job on G-hogs to 50+ yards
hitting the head/neck at most angles. Just my thoughts so far.

Shooter makes the shot, not the gun. If you have enough power to penetrate enough to hit vitals it’s enough power. Just gotta get it in the right spot. I use .25 because I also want to shoot coyotes. Even then there are some beast .22’s out there doing way more FPE than my barra. So basically I agree with you and Mr. Leon haha.

I found a guy on the AGN forum that makes sells very affordable slug. In fact they’re so affordable I’ve increased the amount I shoot. My last order of 400 slugs cost $40 total with the shipping. So .10 a slug? For .25 cal he only makes .250 I think though…. For the record they are by far the best I’ve shot out of my Barra. They look very much like NSA slugs.

jesfranco@yahoo.com

He’s in Puerto Rico so I email him in Spanish but his English is very good so no worries. I get nothing for hyping him btw. If anything it makes the turn around times longer because he gets more busy haha but I really can’t say enough good things about the product and service.