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The outdoorsman · Veteran Member

Here are the animals i found the minimum required energy to kill various game and pests cleanly.

English sparrow, mice, voles _________2fpe
Squirrel,starling,pigeon,rat____________3fpe
Rabbit,Crow,_______________________5fpe
Opossum___________________________6fpe
jackrabbit,woodchuck_________________8fpe

so go on the energy calculator on the forum and check out what game your rifle is capable of taking.

jjensen6387 · Member

just being the devils advocate here but I have seen numbers ranging anywhere from 20fpe (pyrimid air forum) *I thought that was a lil high* to the 3fpe to kill squirrels "cleanly" so is there any Hard definition to what the real numbers are? *not to say these ones aren't right* just looking into the scientific method point of view on this topic... Wink

Try and prove your peers wrong until they can show with out a doubt they are right! Mr. Green

The outdoorsman · Veteran Member

have you ever shot a squirrel?
They are deffinatly an easy game animal, i have taken them with a stock 2240... i have a crosman 38t on small hunt i took 2 squirrels with it with crosman pointed pellets. 20fpe is way to high for a minimum!

also i did not make these numbers up they were from a website listed in
"fpe to kill various pests part 1"

jjensen6387 · Member

haha yes as a matter of fact to your initial question, and secondly I wasn't saying you made them up, like i said just challanging your information til it can't be challenged any more:mrgreen: Thanks for the input! great information!

...oh by the way here is one of my little buddies that paused too long to eat the bird seed Laughing

AirGunEric · Site Admin

One thing that tends to get overlooked when talking about "fpe required" is, of course, the actual projectile being shot.

For example, shooting a 12fpe 14.3gr .22 caliber wadcutter pellet is far different than shooting a 12fpe 7.9gr .177 caliber pointed pellet. Both are the same "power"- but the .22 is flat and heavy and would be traveling at around 615fps, the pointed .177 at around 827fps. Now, shooting a squirrel with the .22 would likely kill it immediately, shooting a much faster moving pointed pellet at the same squirrel might go "through and through"- leaving the squirrel wandering off to get an infection and die days later.

My point- it's not just about "power" either- other factors need to be looked at in respect to finding the best setup for hunting.

The outdoorsman · Veteran Member

very true Eric

cissp22 · Member

AirGunEric !!

i realy dont think so ! i studied long time in this matter so a pellets cant do anything more than a hole in a vital body organs ...4.5 or 5.5 mm of that hole is not realy as important as a depth of the hole and where it settels.i think fps less than 800 for .22 makes it less accurate,trajectory problems and also no penetrationg power. am i wrong? iv got shadow 1000 .177 and also shadow 1000 .22 ...in 50 meters i pervailed over a desert rat with 2 inch depth in its neck and died 30 secends after shot ..with .22 i realy didnt do as well .

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Maybe because it's a Gamo, or maybe because of the pellets. You'll want to spend a bit of money on them, not sure which ones you use.

23ib0d0n · Moderator

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

This minimum fpe thing is pretty much a crock. I shot a squirrel with a .22 cal airgun producing at least 15 fpe which got away, and then I shot and killed the same one again months later. When I skinned it, I found the first pellet imbedded under its skin next to its ribs completely healed over.

FPE means nothing if it doesn't allow penetration to the vitals. I have a .22 now that is only 700 fps and again I've encountered penetration problems, even with superpoints.

High velocity, even with lighter pellets, at least guarantees there will be damage when it hits. But as a rule, you want more fpe with larger projectiles if possible.

cissp22 · Member

certanily .22 works better if u wanna headshot a Bear or wild Dog from 1 or 2 feet !!!! ...atleast more saviour .

but 80% of air rifle hunters do handle with birds , malards , small pests from 30 to 80 yards ...

1- u can be more accurate sighting easier ( not 5 inches upper the target ) with .177 ...it drops down slower , more range .

2- penetrating to cartilage of birds wing and feather seems to be far easier with smaller pellets .

3- accuracy is the most importent gole for a hunter can be expected with .177 ..

i definitly tell every one ..if u r determined to buy a good brand like Diana magnum 350 , or more powerful airguns ( more than 900fps) ...> there is no doubt about : JusT .22 .

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

23ib0d0n · Moderator

How far are you shooting? Using the same powerplant, a .177 Diana 34 at 880fps with CPL vs a .22 Diana 34 at 775fps with H&N Trophy groups are about the same size at 50m, but holdover for the .177 is more like 50mm sighted at 40m, while the .22 is about the same. Holdunder at 25m for the .22 is about 40mm while the holdunder for .177 is about 20mm, but the biggest difference is energy.

Energy for the .22 is higher than the .177 out to 80m, but accuracy is the same. Deliver more energy to the target, the target just drops. The TKO {Taylor knock out} value indicates energy isn't all created equal, and .177 is really best at being inexpensive to plink with or punching clean measurement holes in 10m Olympic match targets.

Using TKO formulas, a .22 that produces 18.9fpe at 1.6 lbs/sec momentum with a TKO value of .35, while a .177 that produces 13.6fpe at 1 lb/sec momentum with a TKO value of .18 ~ about half of the kinetic delivery on the target.

Again, these are rifles I shoot and have experiance with. Big slugs really do drop critters better.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Yes, I've seen the knock down power at work. I knock the squirrel clean out of the tree. It falls 30 feet, bounces 3 fee of the ground, then scurries back up the tree again into its hole. Knock down would be great if you didn't have to account for the fact that things get back up.

23ib0d0n · Moderator

I do find it quite interesting that I have yet to see a squirrel get back up after being shot with an accurate .22 magnum springer within 50m, considering how many I've shot over the course of more than 3 decades. Don't recall ever having to use any kryptonite pellets either . . . Shrug