I have killed over 50 groundhogs using my Airforce Talondor .25 with the JSB MKII from 30 – 90 yards. And if any benefits exist of a 22 over a 25 I am unaware of them. The Gamo Coyote SE PCP Air Rifle is equipped with a multi-shot mechanism with a 10-shot rotary magazine, which is super convenient. pellet at 21.12 grains. The second video shows me shooting a young groundhog in the large brush pile again which I could not find to check shot placement etc. I had the .30 set to the same 70 fpe as the .25 and the .25 penetrate deeper than the .30. Where an airgun that shoots pellets is by default a “pellet gun,” an airgun that’s designed to only shoot BBs is referred to as a “bb gun.” The major distinction between the two, besides the ammo they use, is that nearly all BB Guns use a smoothbore barrel vs a rifled barrel. A Fresno woman says her cat had to have an eye removed after it was shot in the face with a pellet gun on Monday. If the scenario was flipped and the grizzlies or any of the other pellets listed were the most accurate I would be using them instead. You have to do your job too, if you cannot place the pellet in the kill zone again and again, no pellet or gun will help you. If … There was a valid reason that Ralphie’s mother warned him of shooting his eye out, after all. The average rockchuck is probably the same size as the average groundhog we also know theres some real porkers out there but all in all very close to each other. I had a JSB King heavy mk2 hit a ground squirrel with close to 40 fpe and it deflected. My Daystate was tuned as high as 60 fpe with JSB  King Heavy mark 2 and every chuck I have shot with it has been a complete pass thru. Airgunbill   Well the 50% size increase coupled with a softer lead I agree is likely the prob. The results were surprising as far as accuracy so please watch the video. The front section of the shoulder gives access to a boar's heart and lungs. I have no doubt any of the pellets in the list will easily kill a chuck with a head shot out to 80 yds and further. FPE  at the Target is what counts and the different pellets have different ballistic coefficients vastly changing the real FPE at the Target. Skin them out. I just can’t explain the difference. with two different air rifle with 24 fpe or 34 fpe. Where can I shoot airguns in Oregon ? I have killed lots of groundhog like I mentioned in another post with my .22 cal. Predator poly mags will as well and put a deeper dent in the backer board. In Safford, it is against ordinance 9.16.010 section D to discharge “any air gun, ‘B-B’ gun, gas-operated gun or any instrument, toy or weapon . All information is provided "as is" with all faults without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. I know I have not shot enough with the Wildcat in .25 caliber to say it won’t do the job but I know I had good success with my .22 calibers with less fpe. I will admit that for groundhogs and larger, I much prefer my 70fpe .25 or my 80fpe .30. . My compact WC spits the 25gr JSBs at 890fps. The RWS Model 54 .22 Air Gun Combo is one of the high-quality 22 air rifle for the money. There are numerous reasons why this is one of the best air rifles out there, the main being its recoilless action. At that distance my air rifles had about 20 fpe of energy left to do the job. Shot placement is key with any caliber airgun. 177 cal go as heavy a pellet your gun will shoot accurately. The major con of spring powered pistons is the higher recoil as a result of the piston motion, which also has the potential to effect accuracy. Bill. I had the .30 set to the same 70 fpe as the .25 and the .25 penetrate deeper than the .30. My experiments were not very scientific, but I concluded that if fpe is equal or close to equal, the smaller diameter pellet will penetrate deeper. I would love to see what my RW HP does on chucks with the 25gr JSB Redesigned. Soft lead is your problem.It was for me too.Instead of air arms it was JSB 25.39.I switched to benjamin domes hard lead alloy,27.8 grains,and buddy let me tell ya'.Night and day difference.Critters drop with the Benji domes! Pellet guns can effectively shoot past 350 yards, according to the BB-Guns website. Try to get as close as possible and make sure you get a good shot … I put the larger insert in and went to test some heavier pellets for accuracy and get the rifle set-up for a good power curve as it is a unregulated rifle. Thurmond, Taking another direction on my quest for a rifle /pellet combination that will effectively take out groundhogs. Killing animals with airguns takes everything to be done right in order to have a quick humane kill. Every single chuck I have killed had complete penetration of the skull with JSB Kings and King heavies from 30 yds to 80 yds with muzzle energies that ranged from 40 fpe to 55 fpe. If I were to attempt killing a groundhog with a pellet gun, I'd use a 22 cal and be good enough to him the critter in the eye. You can get muzzle-loading performance from them. I must admit I have never once killed a groundhog with a pellet gun. The No. Once again this is with the Beeman Kodiak .22 cal. I only shoot 25gr JSBs thru it. MY wild cat 25 at 75 yards will punch through 3/4 plywood shooting the jsb heavys Once the Raccoon … You have to keep in mind some of the ways to shoot them or choose carefully the pellets because all the pellets are not the same. They have a trigger and jaws. I believe you are very near the limits of what you can humanly dispatch with a 25 or 22 cal pellet gun, They have been eating away at my grandmothers garden and i told her that i would try to get rid of them. I wont give up .5 accuracy with the softer JSB to a harder pellet that gives me twice the size in groups that JSB get. That may change, and hopefully soon. Compare the .22 and .25 unless you just can’t recover the critter. I am getting 850fps and it just slams them. In one of Ted’s Holdover video he shows the difference in cross section between the .22 vs .25 is 24mm squared vs 32mm squared a  50% increase in diameter. Read Michael Pendley’s practical groundhog recipe here and watch him cook it here. Copper coated are 33 percent harder than lead pellets. Final thoughts. what rifle they were using the pellet used and shot ranges. I know the more confidence you have in your equipment and shooting ability the better you are going to perform in the field and that just increases your odds of having everything go right. pellet penetrates better. I must admit I have never once killed a groundhog with a pellet gun. I don't shoot anything but the MKII. My experiments were not very scientific, but I concluded that if fpe is equal or close to equal, the smaller diameter pellet will penetrate deeper. (Deer, hogs, etc.) I’m thinking the smaller cross section of the .22 cal. fuznut I mentioned in another post I have killed over 200 groundhogs out to 40 yards with a 24 and 34 fpe pellet rifles in .22 caliber. Good luck ,   let me know how it goes. Most of those shots were between 25 and 35 yards with head shots of course. _____ Crosman G1 extreme 177Cal. You would not find any difficulty in hitting the target because of their decent body size. I'd like to spend no more than $150, preferably $100 and am fine with a used gun. Monday, November 3, 2008 . Here is the results of my penetration testing of various pellets through as I remember through 3/8" plywood into clay. 100 foot pounds will dispatch much larger animals than 50 foot pounds as well as having much more downrange energy retention. pcp’s with Beeman Kodiaks at 21 grains. The trick is having room to load a longer and heavier projectile which most magazine fed air guns can’t do because of the limited gap the magazine fits in. It fires bbs and pellets. 44 grains they are hard to stop. shooting the 21.12 Beeman Kodiaks at 750 fps. Most .25's I am seeing  top out around 40 to 50 foot pounds. A crossbow is suggested as it is accurate and silent. My Daystate was tuned as high as 60 fpe with JSB  King Heavy mark 2 and every chuck I have shot with it has been a complete pass thru. pellet penetrates better. I don't want to disturb neighbors or be unsafe so I am wondering it a quiet pellet gun would be lethal. If not a lung shot. Bill, fuznut I mentioned in another post I have killed over 200 groundhogs out to 40 yards with a 24 and 34 fpe pellet rifles in .22 caliber. Ground Hog/ Wood Chuck - 7-8fpe Gray Fox - 8.5fpe Red Fox - 9.5-10fpe Bobcat - 9fpe Crow - 3.5 fpe head, 6fpe body/vitals Pigeon - 3 fpe head, 5fpe body/vitals Sparrow - 2.5fpe Typical Pellet Velocity (fps) for Required Energy Racoon.22 920fps with 21.4 gn (Beeman Kodiak) 790fps with 28.4 gn (Eun Jin) 100 foot pounds will dispatch much larger animals than 50 foot pounds as well as having much more downrange energy retention. Pellet guns are flat out fantastic for a very wide range of reasons. Same held true with another one of my .25's versus .30. So don’t toss those groundhogs after you shoot them. We have a contract with a local University , local city government and 3 farmers to eradicate all groundhogs. The grandfather who was present at the time isn’t an employee of the local police department, however he surely has some sort of LE connections to have been there. It has the top hat with interchangeable inserts to vary power levels. JSB are the most accurate pellet in my rifles so thats what I will use. I've never owned any kind of a weapon so I'd appreciate any help at all here. If so, owning a pellet gun or an air gun is just one of the uses it’s really good for. I would use this as a excuse to buy a nice 22 cal pellet rifle though. Daisy Airguns are a perfect example. alot. Yep Benjamin Domes are a good choice for their hard lead and the extra weight helps too. Bill. Just because conventional airguns don't offer firearm performance doesn't make them useless. Plus I have not yet shot any with the heavier JSB 33.95 so more shots are needed. http://www.americanairgunhunter.com/groundhog.html, http://www.rodexindustries.com/action.html. of the head, you will have no farther problems. away or less. I have taken rockchucks from 30 yds out to 80 yds. I would use this as a excuse to buy a nice 22 cal pellet rifle though. I have killed over 50 groundhogs using my Airforce Talondor .25 with the JSB MKII from 30 - 90 yards. Today I was outside and saw the hog climbing the fence and getting in. I have taken about a dozen rockchucks here in MT with my daystate .25 and an mrod also in .25. Usually single shot, the force for the pellet comes from a man made cocking mechanism that readies a spring within the gun. This is really only an option for people who have good marksmanship skills, and it is worth noting that it is vital to be able to kill the animal with one shot. So you can make a perfect shot and have it deflect just a little and end up with a bad hit. A .25 pellet is roughly 14 percent larger than a .22. The results were surprising as far as accuracy so please watch the video. Not sure if they are too soft and not penetrating the hard groundhogs skulls or what factors are in play. In this regard, aiming for a hog's front shoulder ensures that you penetrate both its lungs. If your air rifle can do 25-30, then go for it. The pellet carries enough force at that distance to be a danger to people and other objects. I have not shot enough groundhogs yet with the .25 cal. 1 pellet (it is one of the heaviest 22s) = 1 groundhog. yet to find out what is going on. I second that notion.the domes work great.but I've taken out so many ground hogs with the heavies.up to a 100 yds.my mrod is pushg the heavies at 865 per second.thats 55 ft pds.do it all the time alex. The combination works great for us. I have killed lots of groundhog like I mentioned in another post with my .22 cal. Here's some 411 for you: I once blasted a groundhog at 10 feet with a shotgun loaded with birdshot. I actually have it on video and if I didnt have the video I would be thinking the shot placement was bad when it was good and just deflected. Collect a few dead specimens and set up the shot and check the results. My thought was with the increased diameter, velocity and soft lead of the Airm Arms pellet maybe the pellet was flattening out and not penetrating the groundhog skull well. If you want to get into the pre-charged pneumatics, that's a different story. Not talking alot, but if memory serves correct, maybe .25"-.50" at 30 yards into modeling clay. We think that it’s the most critical aspect of the two questions, which may put it under the Mom jurisdiction. The average rockchuck is probably the same size as the average groundhog we also know theres some real porkers out there but all in all very close to each other. Although The High Road has attempted to provide accurate information on the forum, The High Road assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information. In my video you can see from the bench with JSB King Heavy at 33.95 grains my rifle is capable of one hole groups at times. Neither The High Road nor any of its directors, members, managers, employees, agents, vendors, or suppliers will be liable for any direct, indirect, general, bodily injury, compensatory, special, punitive, consequential, or incidental damages including, without limitation, lost profits or revenues, costs of replacement goods, loss or damage to data arising out of the use or inability to use this forum or any services associated with this forum, or damages from the use of or reliance on the information present on this forum, even if you have been advised of the possibility of such damages. what rifle they were using the pellet used and shot ranges. Most .25’s I am seeing  top out around 40 to 50 foot pounds. AirgunBill if you look at your penetration chart for the the JSB King Heavy it outperformed almost every pellet. You can kill a groundhog with a pellet gun, but not from 100 yards away, and not even up close with a COM shot. Steel BB or 0.177" lead pellet at 200 ft/s will detach part of the coloured portion (iris) of a human eye leaving what appears to be a … Not only more drag through air but in your target(game). They are harder lead and very accurate out of my armada. The MKII is accurate and devastating at all of these yardages. The facility is for law enforcement only. I say get a nice 20 yard shot with a domed heavy pellet. I assume if you had to ask you do not own a PCP air rifle. Out in the field I should have no problem holding one inch out to 50 yards as long as I have a steady rest and the wind is not too bad. It boils down to being a good shot and only taking shots that you can make. The Safford officer then arrived at the scene and – after being informed of the situation – arrested Contreras for disorderly conduct and also gave him a citation for shooting the pellet gun in the city limits. I took a rockchuck with a head shot at 80 yds and the JSB King penetrated completely thru the skull with the pellet stopping just under his skin on the far side of the skull right at his cheek bone.I dug that pellet out and kept it I do have a pic of the chuck and pellet if anyone is interested. Before you shoot your pellet gun, carefully read and understand the instruction manual that comes with the gun. I have not shot enough groundhogs yet with the .25 cal. Due to their light weight, they don't penetrate as deeply as a larger heavier pellet (like the .22 caliber EunJin Heavies) would, especially if you have to shoot through bone to reach either the brain or vital organs. In most ways, compared to a .22LR, a good pellet gun is going to give very little away. 880s are notorious for being pellet fussy, so take your time to select a pellet that can give you best groups at a given distance. A B.B. The King Heavy out performed the benji dome pellet that some posters said perform better on game due to being harder. You can take a shot from a good distance away and ensure a quick death for the groundhog. But remember, a pellet gun is just one tool that you need to make your small game hunt successful. Most of them were headshots (all but 2). Some piston guns don't do well with to heavy of a pellet. Most of them were headshots (all but 2). the 22 . For killing groundhog with head shots penetration is what counts in my opinion. If you run a 25 at the same speed with a similar sectional density it should kill equally or better than the 22. Local municipality laws determine whether shooting, or even owning, a pellet gun is legal. At that distance my air rifles had about 20 fpe of energy left to do the job. Do you get complete pass through with either pellet or are they exit less shots. So I broke out my Condor in .22 caliber that I bought  last year from Talon Tunes when I got back into air rifles. Shot placement is key, so the best pellet is the one that shoots well out of your rifle. The 25 cal  is better suited for the task than the 22. Bill. Years ago when I was taken out a lot of groundhogs one of the rifles I was using was a Talon SS in .22 cal. The best thing you can do after the kill is a dissection of the shot and the wound channel to see how the pellet traveled thru the animal and if it hit where it was suppose to and if it actually damaged the vitals with the path it took after making contact. Pellets deflect as he has said when they contact bone or the hard veins of wings. States differ in how they regulate pellet guns. I don't shoot anything but the MKII. I have a groundhog problem. You must be logged in to reply to this topic. For the people who dont know what a rockchuck is its a yellow bellied marmot. Particularly those using a .25 caliber pellet rifle. DRT, just muscle flinching. My buddy shoots the same gun and pellets, last spring he killed a 23 pound gobbler at 25 yards in 1 shot. I like the air gun idea better. I want to know if it is legal to discharge a pellet gun in the city limits in my backyard. And,my .25 Mrods shoot them a VERY close second in accuracy to the JSB 25.39. Postmortem autopsy should do the trick. There were only two that penetrated farther and they penetrated less the .700 more than the King Heavy. If that were true, bowhunting would be extinct. I believe your thoughts on diameter are correct Bill. My thought was with the increased diameter, velocity and soft lead of the Airm Arms pellet maybe the pellet was flattening out and not penetrating the groundhog skull well. There is a lot to take into account when hunting. This is the best .22 air rifle for hunting at $500. Any info would be helpful thankyou! The two .25 cal kills were 90 and 114 yards. Winning is as easy as picking a number, no strings attached! We have a contract with a local University , local city government and 3 farmers to eradicate all groundhogs. As a .177 caliber pellet gun, it is good for a variety of shooting uses. heavier is always better. I took a rockchuck with a head shot at 80 yds and the JSB King penetrated completely thru the skull with the pellet stopping just under his skin on the far side of the skull right at his cheek bone.I dug that pellet out and kept it I do have a pic of the chuck and pellet if anyone is interested.