At the 25 yards or so I've been killing them the sound of the gun and the thump of the pellet are close enough together it makes it harder to hear the latter. I've shot 20 now with my 25s and only had 2 run more than 3 feet or so and those went about 15 feet. Nearly half were body shots. I don't doubt that a 30 caliber hole would have ended things a little sooner in those 2 cases I don't think it justifies another gun in my mind. But I'm glad I like your 30 and I don't doubt a bit that it kills effectively.
What does the pelt/meat look like after a .30 pellet hits?
Quote from: Spacebus on May 16, 2022, 12:33:11 PMWhat does the pelt/meat look like after a .30 pellet hits?That would be my question...If hunting small game for food purposes I would prefer to use an accurate, flat trajectory shooting .177 and go for the head shots. Not much meat on these things anyways so I would thing it would be beneficial to damage as little as possible. I don't know many small game animals that can survive a .177 dome to the dome... Hone my skills and prosper....
Quote from: avator on May 16, 2022, 01:16:03 PMQuote from: Spacebus on May 16, 2022, 12:33:11 PMWhat does the pelt/meat look like after a .30 pellet hits?That would be my question...If hunting small game for food purposes I would prefer to use an accurate, flat trajectory shooting .177 and go for the head shots. Not much meat on these things anyways so I would thing it would be beneficial to damage as little as possible. I don't know many small game animals that can survive a .177 dome to the dome... Hone my skills and prosper.... I don’t eat the ground squirrels so I can’t tell you. You bring up a good point. Maybe a smaller caliber is better for food/fur purposes.
The .30 provides a very satisfying “crack” or “thump” when hitting quarry. The .25 is nice but the .30 provides a much larger sound when hitting flesh. There’s no mistaking a direct hit. I liked the .30 AEA so much I’m tempted to get an FX dreamline .30 for even more “crack” possibly in a chassis. Some say the large calibers are overkill but is it ? The difference between a .177 and .30 is how quickly mr squirrel goes to squirrel heaven and hopefully he didn’t suffer which is always the goal and the larger calibers I feel from experience offer a quick ride to squirrel heaven and provide a larger margin for error because we’re not perfect as shooters.
I want to hunt deer, but that's of course outside of the thread.
Quote from: Spacebus on May 16, 2022, 04:53:31 PMI want to hunt deer, but that's of course outside of the thread. Here in Fl, and in Al it is legal to hunt deer with .30 cal. I wouldn't hesitate to take a deer with a head shot at less than 50yds.
Would you shoot a deer with a .22LR? Most .30 cal pellet guns are in that power range with inferior accuracy.
Quote from: Spacebus on May 17, 2022, 09:33:24 AMWould you shoot a deer with a .22LR? Most .30 cal pellet guns are in that power range with inferior accuracy.Many years ago I heard that there were more polar bears killed with .22 LR than any other cartridge. It was the only cartridge that Eskimo's could buy. Do a google search and you will see that it can certainly do the job. Would I shoot a deer with a .30 airgun. Yes, I would take a ethical head shot on a deer at 50 yds or less. There are also LOTS of hunting videos of pigs/hogs being taken with .22 cal air guns. Shot placement is everything.