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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf you try to keep a .25 pellet under 12 fpe, the resultant trajectory\nis akin to tossing a brick down range with an underhand toss. This limits the\nutility of the caliber in legal limit guns, but get it blazing downrange at 900\nfps and it\u2019s quite a different story! If both a .22 and a .25 are propelled at\nthe same velocity, the .25 caliber has a trajectory roughly equivalent to the\n.22, perhaps a bit flatter because it retains energy more efficiently as it travels\nfurther from the muzzle. Some will argue that the .25 is less influenced by\nwind, though I personally feel it\u2019s a matter of degrees. This might be the case\nin light winds, but if the wind is howling I either move the shots in closer or\nput my rifle away until the weather moderates. There is undoubtedly a\ndifference in terminal performance; the larger surface area of the .25 in\nconjunction with the higher energy delivered on impact can make a substantial\ndifference in knockdown power, especially on body shots when compared to the\n.22. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If hunting prairie dogs, where the range may exceed 100\nyards, the knowledge that a body shot will anchor the quarry makes it a viable shot\nplacement and increases the effective kill zone substantially. To those that\nwould argue that the joy of airgun hunting is getting up close and personal to one\u2019s\nquarry, I agree. But I would also remind them that firearm hunters often shoot\nprairie dogs at 700 yards or more because they are so difficult to get close\nto, and in this context 75-100 yards is a fairly short range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, the .25 has gained popularity in the American market\nbecause it is efficient out of high powered PCP rifles, offering both a\nrelatively flat trajectory and improved velocity retention. Furthermore, it\noffers excellent results on game because of the increased energy delivered on\ntarget, and the increased size of the wound channel created. This results in an\neffective longer range hunting tool for small game, but also allows larger game\nto be taken at closer ranges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now if you take the same set of factors into consideration,\nand apply them to a comparison of the .25 and .30 calibers, I believe the same\nresults will be noted. If the .30 caliber pellet, which in the context of this discussion\nis limited to the conventional Diabolo pellet design, is propelled at 900 fpe\nthe same results are noted; the trajectory is flat, velocity retention is\nimproved, the larger surface area delivers greater energy on target and creates\na larger wound channel than noted with the .25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t really need a .30 to hunt squirrels or most small\ngame because I can invariably close the distance to my prey. But some smaller\npest species such as prairie dogs, crows, and ground squirrels may require\nlonger shots in some terrains. If a varmint with greater mass, such as a ground\nhog, raccoon, or nutria provides an opportunity for a shot, the same gun can be\nused with confidence. And for quarry of any size, the body shot becomes a much\nmore attractive option as a result. The gist of this is that a hunter can buy a\nsingle rifle, and use it for a wider variety of game. In the areas where I\nhunt, there are more than twenty species that can be harvested with an Airgun,\nthat range in weight from a half pound to twenty pounds. There is an advantage\nto one gun that can do it all well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest disadvantage of the .30 is that it will carry\nfurther than either a .22 or .25 propelled with the same muzzle velocity. Note\nthat I am limiting this discussion to Diabolo style pellets, which have an\nintrinsically poor ballistic coefficient. The .30 pellet still sheds energy relatively\nquickly, when compared to even a standard .22 LR rimfire bullet. You might ask\nwhy not just use a .35 justifying it with the same arguments? The short answer\nis that it doesn\u2019t fit the application. There is a point of diminishing\nreturns; shooting a squirrel or rabbit with a .30 is not over the top, but a\n.35 is! It tends to carry too far, over penetrates, and will tear up small\nbodied game at close range. To my way of thinking the .35 is a better\nshared-service caliber bridging medium and bigger quarry, as opposed to the .30\nfor small to medium sized game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another disadvantage that has been cited in the past, is the\nlimited availability of guns chambered in .30 caliber and difficulty in finding\nammunition. However, in my gun room I currently have an Evanix Rainstorm, an\nEvanix Snipper, an FX Boss, a Daystate Wolverine, the Hatsan BT Carnivore, the\nEvanix Max Bullpup, the Hatsan Hercules, the MROD Velociraptor and the Ataman\nM2R Carbine all in .30 caliber. And there are more rifles coming to market! Obviously,\nwhen it comes to shooting platforms we are not starved for .30 caliber options!\nThe rifles I\u2019ve mentioned are designed to shoot standard pellets, and tend to\ngenerate around 70 \u2013 95 fpe though some will do a bit more. A couple of these\nrifles can handle shorter lightweight cast bullets, and I have rifles in my\ncollection that will exceed 200 fpe (such as my Quackenbush and Pro Big Bore\n.308\u2019s). But this is accomplished with cast bullets using higher fill pressures,\nmore air per shot, and a resulting reduction in shot count. I believe these comprise\na different category of air rifle which address a completely different use\ncase, and for this reason have excluded them from this discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as pellets, there has been a limited selection,\nprimarily the JSB Exacts and private label variations thereof. This does not\ntrouble me greatly, because these pellets tend to work well in every .30\ncaliber rifle I have, and provide excellent terminal performance on game to boot!\nThere are however, also new pellets coming to market; at the SHOT Show in Las\nVegas last month both H&N and Hatsan had released new .30 caliber pellets,\nand the Predator Polymag pellets are now available in this caliber as well.\n\n\n\nHaving made my case for the .30 caliber, I will\nnow qualify my position. If I was living in a region where there were power\nrestrictions in place, where there was not a need to reach out over longer\ndistances, or if there was not legal game available that required more energy\nor a larger wound channel to ethically harvest, there is less reason to opt for\nthis caliber. However, in those places where higher powered rifles are\npermitted, where there is no limitation on caliber, and there is either larger\nquarry or a need to reach out further, I would expect to see interest in the\ncaliber grow. There may also be a small subset of target shooters that are\ninterested in long range bench rest competition that might gravitate towards\nthe caliber, but I would expect it to gain the most popularity with hunters. So,\nif you see companies promoting yet another caliber and ask yourself why?? I\nhope this provides some insight from a \u201cforeign\u201d shooters point of view!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is excerpted from an article I wrote for Airgunner Magazine in the UK a couple years back. I’ve found myself gravitating to the .30, and for many of the same reasons I drifted away from the .22 to the .25 a few years earlier. BTW: Airgunner is a great magazine available either as a … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gregg57.sg-host.com\/hunting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/AG_-30vs25_4-1024x683.jpg\")
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