Why does .177 exist?

[madcarlos]

Covers further distances and cheaper pellets in most places.

[angrybear]

I'm just surprised .177 pellets don't come in a rainbow tin

[Murphy]

Correct me if I am wrong, but .177 is No 1 bore and .22 is No 2 bore.

So, as we all know, it was named No 1 because it's the best.

[angrybear]

No, because it's the smallest , designed especially for low power indoor target shooting.
there was no .20 as it was only introduced in 1948, so No-2 was .22 & No-3 .25

[gsxrman]

Funny thread.

Simple... there are those that know.
There are those that don't know.
Then there are those that don't know that they don't know. (And they shoot .20)

Don't worry about the why, and stick with ya oversized calibre, now that you cant see the pellet or feel them or load them properly.
Now that you cant pull the knicker elastic back on ya catapult enough so have to use an airgun.
Keep using your 4x only scope so it doesn't show the jelly wobble you now have, mind you now that you shoot from a stick it isn't so bad.
Use the little toy airgun that weighs same as a bag of sugar cos a real rifle is too heavy.

Leave the real shooting to the Woke, snowflake generation, and if they want rainbow coloured pellets that would be great, especially in the oversized calibres, as it will only help you see the pellets!!

[Mark D]

Genuine question.

I’m not trying to start an argument, I use .20, but I sometimes look at .177 shooters and wonder if they were not loved enough as children?

You could have fooled 99% of the membership

[tinbum]

You could have fooled 99% of the membership

It could just as easily be “.22”. I’m just wondering who first thought we needed an alternative calibre, and why?

So far I think T20’s answer is the most plausible

[junglie]

Indeed it did. Until the production of the Feinwerkbau Sport, which I think was in the very late 1960s or early 1970s, the BSF break-barrels were the only spring-powered rifles that would do 12 fpe in .177. The others - BSA Airsporter, Weihrauch HW35, Diana 50 and 35, Falke 80/90, Webley Mk III etc etc would generally be around the 9 fpe mark in .177. Maybe a few HW35s would do 10-ish, but nothing but the BSF B55/S60/S70 would break the 800 fps mark with a normal pellet.

It's a very light rifle, and the powerful spring and large amount of pre-load the BSF has makes it difficult to shoot accurately for a lot of people, but hold it gently and allow it to jump around and it groups well. Sometimes wish I hadn't sold mine.

I've got an old .177 BSF S70 that shoots very nice at 10-10.5, I had the choice of standard or export springs when i rebuilt it & chose the milder spring on the advice of wiser bsf owners. Glad i did it's a nice very easy to cock little plinker

[angrybear]

It could just as easily be “.22”. I’m just wondering who first thought we needed an alternative calibre, and why?

So far I think T20’s answer is the most plausible

Assuming Bell target was one of the "parlor" sports using the Flobert system in the mid/late C19th it would be correct.

[Hsing-ee]

I've got an old .177 BSF S70 that shoots very nice at 10-10.5, I had the choice of standard or export springs when i rebuilt it & chose the milder spring on the advice of wiser bsf owners. Glad i did it's a nice very easy to cock little plinker

Good idea. Aside from the cocking effort and considerable spring-surge etc, the BSF trigger is not fully active like a Rekord or CD unit. This means that the heavy spring makes the trigger action less sweet... so a lighter mainspring makes them better in this department too.

[MrGreengrass]

It exists to show how pointless .20 is.

[Shed tuner]

Correct me if I am wrong, but .177 is No 1 bore and .22 is No 2 bore.

So, as we all know, it was named No 1 because it's the best.

nope, it's cos .177 evangelists are the no 1 bore.

[PCPShooter]

I'm just surprised .177 pellets don't come in a rainbow tin

[Born Again]

I'm just surprised .177 pellets don't come in a rainbow tin

Surely .22 should have the rainbow, to indicate the trajectory you can expect.

[gtfreight]

Could there be an argument for .157 (4mm) for target shooting?