beeman r9 .20 vs diana 34 .177

[SwampHunter]

i already own the d34, how much better would the r9 in .20 be on squirrels?

[Robert 5mm]

If you hit what your are aiming at ( head or heart/lungs ), then none.

Buy the R9 and you will enjoy it.

[Denby95]

I agree with Robert. If it's the same caliber, theres no significant difference in power output. If you want to discuss .177 (or .22) vs .20 for squirrel dispatching then thats a different argument than HW95 vs D34.

[SwampHunter]

Thanks for the input guys, I didn't realize the two performed so similar. I'll save the money for now and practice with the d34!

[KWK]

.177 is better in the woods. The .20 will shoot like a .22 out there so why bother? I prefer the trajectory of the .177 and .177 size holes kill.

[HectorMedina]

i already own the d34, how much better would the r9 in .20 be on squirrels?

What about a D34k Premium in 0.20"?

;-)

Drop me a PM

Keep well and shoot straight!




HM

[Toxylon]

.177 cal pellets are much fussier to load than .20 cal pellets, especially in low light, with cold fingers, in a hurry etc.,  ie. typical hunting situations. That alone would / could favor the bigger caliber.

Personally, I can't stand the noise the .177 cals seemingly invariably make, so I would always choose a bigger cal.

It ain't a simple trajectory question, if the trajectory is a question at all. I used to shoot out to 60 yards with a .22 cal medium-power springer, one-shot kills.

[HectorMedina]

Thinking about this, I would add that, as far as the squirrels I know go, there are VERY FEW shots beyond 40 yards. MOST will be in the 20'ish region at different degrees of elevation.

In this sense and with full consideration of the TASK, I would say that the D34, shooting a medium weight expanding pellet will be better at the task than a slow 0.20" cal pellet.
I can think of several expanding pellets that may do well out of a well tuned 0.177" cal:
Predator PolyMag.- 650 fps MIS (Minimum Impact Speed)
Predator PolyMag Short 700 fps MIS
Predator Metal Mag.- 700 fps MIS
H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme .- 550 fps MIS
JSB Hades.- 650 fps MIS

In my test, ALL of these pellets have shown expansions when impacting at their rated impact speeds above

It really is a question of making a "syndaver" and testing for both accuracy and terminal ballistics. Like here:
https://www.ctcustomairguns.com/hectors-airgun-blog/the-universal-pellet-is-here

Where we showed that the final head size could reach diameters well in excess of 0.22" depending on the choice of POI.

A hole is a hole is a hole.

So, get some of these pellets, some newsprint paper, some old chicken bones, and make a test dummy!

HTH, keep well and shoot straight!



HM