What caliber do you think is the most versatile?

[oldpro]

 .25 unchoked barrel will shoot low power pellets and heavy weight slugs with plenty of range and good BC. 

[limbshaker]

.177 or .22 in that order in my opinion.

Personally, I don't think the bigger calibers are what airguns are all about. And certainly less versatile, if that's what this thread is still about.

I have shot a .30 caliber BullPack something, it looked and felt like a Bunn coffee maker knocked over on the bench. The recoil and racket was impressive, but I didn't see the point. Expensive to shoot, need to be sure of an extra solid backstop, uses a lot of air, low shot count and so on.

You can shoot a .177 or .22 about anywhere, and economically at that. I've hunted small game with them my whole life and have never needed more power. For field target .177 is the obvious choice as well.

I understand some guys like to hunt bigger things with airguns, and the bigger calibers shine there obviously. But even a lowly rimfire would usually shine brighter. And a .30 doesn't seem very versatile to me when you are trying to shoot starlings off a bird feeder in a suburban backyard. You know, like things you can't do with rimfires...

I guess I'm just getting older or stupider and left behind. But for doing what I consider airgun stuff, .177 or .22 works better for me.

[Nomadic Pirate]

That's the all Idea of Versatile, ......something that can cover a wider spectrum.

.25 and .30 are best

.25 can cover a big power range and shoot a wide variety of ammo
.30 can cover a big power range and shoot a variety of ammo, but not as extensive as the .25


Both can be used to hunt from the smallest game to the biggest game, ...versatility.


you can make all the arguments for .17 and .22 but the spectrum is significantly more limited ,..therefore less versatile.

Someone mentioned .45, ....same thing, great for a smaller spectrum therefore less versatile.

Today's .25s and .30s are definitely the most versatile with the wide power spectrum they cover and the great ammo selection to feed them.

[rkr]

It's not all about hunting big game. Many airgun owners shoot paper or plink with their .177 and .22 airguns and are happy with that. If we want to add duties .22 goes well for small game and pests with pellets. We can up the potential of the caliber with proper bullets and reach the efficiency and range of a .22lr round. Pellets are cheap for plinking, bullets can be cast or slugs bought, most guns can make decent power, air usage is conservative and you can hunt up to medium size game or just plink in your backyard - I'd say .22/.222 is the most versatile caliber out there.

[Luis Leon]

My reasoning for getting into the airgunning game was/is to shoot more. I shoot hundreds of pellets per week, I couldn’t afford to do that with a .25 or .30. Plus, the larger calibers are less practical in the fact that they produce higher  energy levels.  Which require in most cases the same precautions as when shooting a .22 rimfire. With a .22 you I can take critters up to Racoon size (sub 50 yards) or sparrows and rats in the barn. If I need more power? I reach for my .22 rimfire. IMHO, the .22 is hard to beat for “versatility “.

[Luis Leon]

That's the all Idea of Versatile, ......something that can cover a wider spectrum.

.25 and .30 are best

.25 can cover a big power range and shoot a wide variety of ammo
.30 can cover a big power range and shoot a variety of ammo, but not as extensive as the .25


Both can be used to hunt from the smallest game to the biggest game, ...versatility.


you can make all the arguments for .17 and .22 but the spectrum is significantly more limited ,..therefore less versatile.

Someone mentioned .45, ....same thing, great for a smaller spectrum therefore less versatile.

Today's .25s and .30s are definitely the most versatile with the wide power spectrum they cover and the great ammo selection to feed them.

How about the price of said projectiles?
Sparrows with a .25 or .30? I guess, but heck a .177 would be as effective.
The “power” part of the “versatility scale” is being skewed. If all you do with your PCPs is hunt? Have at it. But, if you plink, target shoot, pest or hunt small game, all with the same gun? How do the big calibers compare in those fields? And I’m talking shooting thousands of pellets per year. Lots of air gunners discover that they can do a lot with a .177 or .22 then they up the ante and start chasing rimfire energy levels? Which puts many constraints on where you can deployed said PCP. How is that more “versatile”?

[YEMX]

How about the price of said projectiles?
Sparrows with a .25 or .30? I guess, but heck a .177 would be as effective.
The “power” part of the “versatility scale” is being skewed. If all you do with your PCPs is hunt? Have at it. But, if you plink, target shoot, pest or hunt small game, all with the same gun? How do the big calibers compare in those fields? And I’m talking shooting thousands of pellets per year. Lots of air gunners discover that they can do a lot with a .177 or .22 then they up the ante and start chasing rimfire energy levels? Which puts many constraints on where you can deployed said PCP. How is that more “versatile”?

You're absolutely right about cost- you just can't beat the cost of .177 vs. .25.  I wonder how much a tin of .177 vs .25 would weigh though.  Not with the tin itself.  Just the pellets.  I wonder if it's the same amount of lead.  Bah. Moot point. 

Well, the OP mentioned penetration and ricochet... say you've got a .177 and a .25 both shooting 14 fpe.  A .177 will have pass-through but the .25 will usually not (depends mainly on target density/type).  So that's one way to look at things- they are both able to kill, sure- but the .25 checks off a few more boxes than the .177 in this case.

You mention versatility with regard to higher power levels and larger calibers?  Well, for those of us who don't live in *ahem* "more free" states (i.e. gun friendly), higher power, easily suppressed (w/o the rigmarole of suppressor legalities) airguns may be needed...  There's also the fact that with pellets (probably to some extent slugs as well), you're not going to get the range as a PB.  I have a .357 that does 140 fpe.  Not a backyard gun by any means.  But 140 fpe is more than some 22LR cartridges, makes a bigger hole, and my .357 shooting pellets will travel far less distance, and does far less damage at distance.  Ergo, .357 pellet shooter is safer to use than a .22LR.  Plus, it's far more quiet than a .22LR when suppressed.  At least my build is.  For me, there's a growing coyote problem on a family-owned property.  I can eliminate that threat, and no one will be the wiser- something I cannot do w/a PB.  I could also turn around and do long range target shooting/plinking and such.  Is the .357 as versatile as a .25?  No.  But to say the higher power big bores aren't versatile, is wrong.  A more accurate statement would be "higher power big bores are not versatile for me".

The bottom line, is that there is no true "best all around caliber" because there are a few things that aren't mentioned- what is the spectrum of intended activities this "best caliber" is supposed to be doing?  Where do you live- city?  Country?  These are the few variables that need to laid out before any real discussion of "perfect caliber" can be discussed.  Otherwise, we're just slingin' opinions around and that leads to more arguments than actual discussions...  Just sayin'. 

[AlanMcD]

I'm with Luis - more than 99% of my shots are not at a critter, but at paper targets and spinners I have set up with an appropriate backstop, and so far all of it has been at my home in a neighborhood with lots that run around an acre or so.  In fact, over the course of a year, probably 80% or more of my shooting is at paper in my basement (I am blessed with a 21 yard indoor shooting range).  I have .177, .22, and .25, and the bulk of my shooting is with the .22 caliber, mostly because it is the most versatile.

If it were not for the fact that a portion of that 1% is at groundhogs, I would make do just fine with a .177, but I really need the .22 for that (and the .25 is justified by and preferred for that purpose). I see no use in my world for a .30 cal or larger in the airgun world . . .

So I would say the .22 is the most versatile for me, as it is the one of the three that I could use for almost everything, although there are things that my .177 HW-30S just can't be beat at, so I would not want to be without it unless necessary - which thankfully is not the case. It is tough to get the .22s down into the ~7 FPE range.

By the way, I also find great use from airsoft for getting the deer out of the yard - I would not use any pellet or bb gun for that purpose.  They sure take off when you pop them with some high rate full auto fire . . . .

[limbshaker]

Well, the OP mentioned penetration and ricochet... say you've got a .177 and a .25 both shooting 14 fpe.  A .177 will have pass-through but the .25 will usually not (depends mainly on target density/type).  So that's one way to look at things- they are both able to kill, sure- but the .25 checks off a few more boxes than the .177 in this case.

The bottom line, is that there is no true "best all around caliber" because the thing that wasn't mentioned is what is the spectrum of intended activities this best caliber is supposed to be doing?  Where do you live- city?  Country?  There's a few variables that need to laid out before any real discussion of "perfect caliber" can be discussed.  Just sayin'. 

How many of you are shooting a 14fpe .25 or .30 cal? Seriously.

[YEMX]

How many of you are shooting a 14fpe .25 or .30 cal? Seriously.

I am.  I built a gun to specifically do that.  It's pretty accurate so far too.  The gun has a specific purpose- "indoor" (barn, large out buildings, warehouse, etc.) and close range pest elimination, with over-penetration in mind.  If I get pass-through, I don't want there to be much, if any, damage to what's behind said target.  It's not meant for anything beyond 30 yards- and even that is stretching it.  I would NOT build this type of gun in .30.  Although, I wouldn't mind experimenting...   

[Nomadic Pirate]

And that is the all idea in versatile,

You can if you want cover much more basis with the spectrum that today's .25s and .30s offer you.

if all you do is plink target shoot in your yard agrre with you that .22 or even better .177 are best,....but you are talking of a dedicated one purpose gun, and that is perfectly fine.

Cost od ammo is relative too since today there's a huge availability of molds and you can cast your own.

Again both .25 and .30 can be detuned significantly to make them perfectly safe to shoot targets even in a small yard, and then can be powered up again to shoot targets at 200 yards, and that is,....versatility as well as hunting capability.

Vessatility is the ability to cover the wider spectrum of applications possible , so middle ground is always better, with a .30 I can do what both a .177 and a .45 do
with a .177 I cannot do what a .45 do and with a .45 I would not try to do what a .177 does LOL


if you have to pick up a .22 LR to do what your .177 or .22 can't do then they lack versatility

[triggertreat]

I can't think of one caliber I would use for every situation. The versatility comes from having different calibers.

[Ribbonstone]

One of those guys as well...at least with one .25.

But I don't see the .25 or .30 as real versitile sub 20 foot pound caliber.  If you're a need for low-n-slow  AND the ability to go reasonably fast....22.

Although you'd be better off with more than one rifle rather than tryng to do everything with one.

If there were an "all around" perfect rifle, NEVER post about it....my wife would see it....I'd have no reason for any other rifle.

--------

If the .177 "owns" the low end...and .25 best for the high energy end.....then the .22 is just the compromise caliber (back in the day, where the 5mm once lived)

If .30 is the best all around, then both the .22 and .25 are the middle-children.

[Nomadic Pirate]

I can't think of one caliber I would use for every situation. The versatility comes from having different calibers.

That's even better

That's why FX and other brands are putting so much into the barrel swapping designs.

[triggertreat]

I can't think of one caliber I would use for every situation. The versatility comes from having different calibers.

That's even better

That's why FX and other brands are putting so much into the barrel swapping designs.

I am not a big fan of multiuse guns and barrel swapping, although I am all into this with an Impact currently and am doing just that.  At least the Impact makes the task of caliber swapping fairly painless, if keeping a few notes.  I would still rather just grab a caliber selection that is ready to go already.

[Nomadic Pirate]

I can't think of one caliber I would use for every situation. The versatility comes from having different calibers.

That's even better

That's why FX and other brands are putting so much into the barrel swapping designs.

I am not a big fan of multiuse guns and barrel swapping, although I am all into this with an Impact currently and am doing just that.  At least the Impact makes the task of barrel swapping fairly painless, if keeping a few notes.  I would still rather just grab and go with the caliber selection all ready to go.

Agree, looked into it myself and backed away,
rather have different guns in different calibers,..as you can see

[AlanMcD]

Cost of ammo is relative too since today there's a huge availability of molds and you can cast your own.

People always talk of casting as a low cost way to get ammo, but forget the "cost" of our time to do it (and of course the equipment to do it too).  There is no way that I can come up with the time to cast what I want to shoot, and doing so would in fact quite literally cost me more than the cost of purchasing the ammo.

Maybe when I retire I might give it a try, but certainly not until then . . . . so for now purchased pellets and slugs are the cheapest way to go, and the best .22s and .177s are MUCH cheaper than any .30 cal ammo.

[Nomadic Pirate]

I think everyone agrees that 500 fps is a good velocity for yard plinking/target
a 25gr .25 @ 500 fps is 14 FPE
a 44gr .30 @ 500 fps is 24 FPE

perfectly reasonable power levels for a yard.

When those threads come up with ......" If you could only have one gun " type scenarios I always pick a .30 cal gun for my one and only.

If I lived on the Mainland ( more variety of game ) I would probably pick a .25

with the current offering of bullets and the latest generations of .25s they can really shoot hot, and then again can be tuned down and plink with pellets in your yard.


So for me personally is .30 but thinking about it more, generally today's .25s are the versatility kings.

[Motorhead]

.22 caliber

13 grain wad cutters to heavy 25+ grain pellets or even heavier slugs ..... Power from say 10ft lbs or less to near 80 ft lb
These are AIR GUNS and when one asks the Q as OP has ? .... It comes down to how the end user utilizes his air gun and where the line is drawn to setting it aside and using a Powder gun.

For my uses and shooting dynamics encountered / required the age old .22 caliber is by far the MOST VERSATILE   

[Nomadic Pirate]

Yeah, the latest trend in .22 heavy pellets and bullets sure has increased the .22 spectrum by a lot,.....only thing is that there isn't that many .22 guns that are that easy to power up.