Seems like .20 is the oddball caliber for Air Force guns…
The majority of posts appear to relate to .22 and .25 followed by .177 with rare occurences of .20.
Seems funny, just a few years ago, one could not ask for a better long range hunting/plinking rig than an AZ tuned Rapid MKII(.20).
I almost bought one but opted for a Tony tuned Talon(.20) with 24″HW barrel. The rifle was the bomb but I ended up giving it to my niece…
What’s your take, is the .20 the least popular caliber for an Air Force frame? Why do you think so? Lack of power or accuracy compared to the .20 and .25, cost of ammo compared to the .177?
Regards,
Tony
All Replies
No need for .20 in a high powered PCP – .22 will out preform it in every way.
There’s a lot of folks that will still state their .20 Rapids are more accurate than their .22’s and .25s at long range…
Regards,
Tony
You are going to have me ordering a .20 barrel…Stop it….
Well I’ve got both. and all I can say is that the .20 will print smaller diameter grouups under 60 yards, but that is mostly because they are smaller pellets. If measured center to center, the .22 still wins! But the group does look bigger. Add a little wind, which there always is here in Central Texas, and there is no contest. the .22 winns hands down.
I wonder about the .25’s. I am wanting to try get one! It should be able to handle the wind just that much better! 😀
Mike
No need for .20 in a high powered PCP – .22 will out preform it in every way.
There’s a lot of folks that will still state their .20 Rapids are more accurate than their .22’s and .25s at long range…
Regards,
Tony
There are a lot of people who think that .177 arbitrarily shoot’s flatter than .22…
And there is the difference! 😀
I was shootin 23gr. ejs at 1150fps, but the accuracy would be in the 55fpe range still awesome power.
No matter what you do to a .20 caliber AF gun, pop in a .22 or .25 and it will pop your eyes out.
Probably most .177 guns are sold because they can shoot so damn fast. Velocity is the biggest selling point to newcomers who dont know better.
Yep…Velocity had me mesmerized and hypnotized till I saw the accuracy of slower fps today.
how a slow pellet can consistently print tiny groups!!! 😀
Regards,
Tony
No need for .20 in a high powered PCP – .22 will out preform it in every way.
There’s a lot of folks that will still state their .20 Rapids are more accurate than their .22’s and .25s at long range…
Regards,
Tony
You are going to have me ordering a .20 barrel…Stop it….
The Modern PCP’s have no such disadvantage. We can tune our guns to take the .22 and .25 to as fast as it can go before accuracy suffers just below the sound barrier. Or use bullet shaped slugs to go faster than the speed of sound. So there is no advantage in .20. Only lower FPE with much lower ballistic coefficient.
In fact, I have a 12″ .20 hand lapped barrel. here that needs a new home! 😀
Mike
with the .20 platform…did a very effective and lucrative job at it as well!!! 😯
My next .20 Talon will be another 24″ HW…I really like the HW barrels in .20…
Regards,
Tony
No need for .20 in a high powered PCP – .22 will out preform it in every way.
There’s a lot of folks that will still state their .20 Rapids are more accurate than their .22’s and .25s at long range…
Regards,
Tony
No matter what you do to a .20 caliber AF gun, pop in a .22 or .25 and it will pop your eyes out.
Probably most .177 guns are sold because they can shoot so damn fast. Velocity is the biggest selling point to newcomers who dont know better.
not knowing or really considering the implications on accuracy and precision…
The Air Force chassis can definitely handle big lead but can handle the .20 just fine with incredible accuracy if set up right…
Regards,
Tony
yep…That would be like shooting a 16gr pellet at 1375fps, 21gr @ 1200fps
35gr @ 925
Pretty big and pretty fast
What the heck you shooting in that thing. I know of no .20 pellet that can take that kind of velocity and remain stable at long distance. I have a .20 Bbl. here.
Inquiring minds want to know! 😀
Mike
I have a .20 caliper Condor, and it can kick out 67fpe, and in my mind if that is not enough power then you are all crazy, which of course we are, but I really love my .20, it is the most accurate thing I’ve ever seen, and I would never part with it.
No matter what you do to a .20 caliber AF gun, pop in a .22 or .25 and it will pop your eyes out.
Probably most .177 guns are sold because they can shoot so damn fast. Velocity is the biggest selling point to newcomers who dont know better.
Yep…Velocity had me mesmerized and hypnotized till I saw the accuracy of slower fps today.
The Modern PCP’s have no such disadvantage. We can tune our guns to take the .22 and .25 to as fast as it can go before accuracy suffers just below the sound barrier. Or use bullet shaped slugs to go faster than the speed of sound. So there is no advantage in .20. Only lower FPE with much lower ballistic coefficient.
In fact, I have a 12″ .20 hand lapped barrel. here that needs a new home! 😀
Mike
Yep Beeman’s arguement was to sell expensive pellets, and there was a shread of truth that 20 might have been better in some mid-powered springers.
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I started out in pellet guns in 1976, I was ten and the conventional wisdom back then was “Use a .177” because the benji. pumps of the day didn’t have enough power to get a pellet moving fast enough in .22. I still went with .177 when I got my RX-1 (I might have made a mistake????) When I got my Condor there was no question it was going to be .22. The .22 Kodiak looks HUGE next to a .177 Kodiak. That is, until you put it next to a .25 Kodiak. The new 2009 Beeman catalog lists the RX-2 in .177 at 1125 Fps. (Which, btw is the same as my RX-1 in .177) and the .22 at 860 Fps. Now, we all know they are most likely using lighter weight pellets to get those numbers. But the Fpe. (at the muzzle) are 19.9 for the .177 and 20.8 for the .22. I don’t want to give up 265 Fps. to gain one Ft/Lb. Now I know that the .22 will be doing better at 50 yards than the .177 but I rarely shoot that far with my break barrel. I would rather have that almost laser flat trajectory. That combined with the cost of .177 pellets. That’s my .02