Accuracy bears no relation to calibre.
I have a friend who shoots for pest control and uses .25 effectively
Setting the trajectory issue to one side, are the pellets and barrels of .25 airguns well matched to give the excellet accuracy shown by the .177 and .22 calibres?
My only experience with a .25 is a Saxby Palmer Orion revolver many years ago... which seemed very accurate to me at the time and which I was told was doing 9 fpe!
I have heard that some barrel and pellet combos are no good at all, the pellets being too tight a fit .. I think these were BSAs and possibly using .243 barrel making equipment from their centrefire production line.
Accuracy bears no relation to calibre.
I have a friend who shoots for pest control and uses .25 effectively
B.A.S.C. member
I don't think that is completely true, it certainly isn't with firearms.
And in the years before the manufacture of pellets was improved ... maybe until the late 1980s? the .177 was not only flatter shooting but more accurate with a smaller dispersion of pellets at ranges up to 50 yards.
As there is a smaller selection of pellets and barrels in .25 I was thinking that maybe it is more difficult to find the right combination.
Pest control with a .25 gives more margin of error than .22 or .177 on the small target areas of pest species so that is not necessarily proof of equal accuracy.
Yes, pre 2012ish BSA used hammer forged barrels made with a .243 mandrel but the old pellets like Milbro Green Rhinos & old BSA Pylarms (18.6gn) were smaller at 6.2mm & Marksman are 6.25mm while European true .25's are 6.35mm so the pellets were a compromise to "fit" both, sadly Rhinos are no more & Pylarm are now 21gn 6.35mm.
In 2012 BSA switched over to true .25 barrels
As for accuracy, some pellet testing with my .25 Scorpion SE at the Chairgun recommended 23yds,
All are a mag of 8 shots, sitting unsupported, except where I shot the FX Hybrid for a second time as 2 were damaged the first time through
Last edited by angrybear; 11-01-2022 at 11:51 PM.
My two are accurate on H&N FTT.
I can lay down some mortar fire on field mushrooms at 50yds quite successfuly.
Last edited by MrGreengrass; 12-01-2022 at 09:47 AM.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" -- Benjamin Franklin
B.A.S.C. member
My .25's are currently all above 12fpe, and I have not shot them much recently..
But when it comes to accuracy, I have observed that the selection of quality pellets seemed to smaller in .25,
especially when looking for lightweight pellets suited for springers, and I belive this has limited the accuracy I'm getting.
All the H&N FTT batches I have tried have had weight and diameter variations that are unacceptable, with some pellet heads
loading tight and some falling into the breech of my HW80k.
The best pellet I have found for springer shooting has been the H&N match wadcutter.
I really wish JSB made a lighter version of their round head .25 pellet!
Too many airguns!
Also like Angrybear,I have a Scorpion SE in .25 cal and can confirm accuracy
at 25 yds is spot on ,even using non lead pellets.
its deadly for use on tree rats, they do not run away
after a ,25 pellet wacks them!!!!!
a great calibre IMO.
atb brian
I have excellent results in all my rifles
As do I,
I'm sure JSB used to make the Mosquito .25 which was around 20gn, and I continue to kick myself for selling the last half dozen tins I had, but at the time the only .25cal I had was FAC & they were too light,
which is probably the reason they're no longer made, most 25's around the world being FAC power, the UK alone is not enough of a market to warrant making them.
Having said that, as you can see from the above pic I find the JSB lead free to be super accurate & it's only 16.54gn, so well in to current .22 territory, problem is the price about 10p a pellet.
Last edited by angrybear; 12-01-2022 at 12:24 PM.
During the/my 'experimental' years - when I made the 20 cal realisation (through extensive field experience) and did same trials with .25 - had no problems with accuracy with 25 cal
I simply discovered the bigger hole had absolutely no benefit over 22 at uk power, and it was harder to put hole in correct place, increased chance of small movement in quarry due to slow speed, and that the close up/reduced penetration damage to building argument (rats ferrals etc) held no water, as simply using a task specific 22 pellet in that case, did a better job in every way - that was my finding, and we all may be a bit different in the way we do things .......
I've no extensive experience of fac 25, however deduce that at a mid power level say 30ftlb it may be a useful thing - I imagine there will be folk on here who know the approx speed/ME required at which 25s go 'flattish' at a diablo firing air rifle range, thus making most of it - I'd think pest birds (following general license of course) out in fields would be one use, probably quieter / more practical than rimfire calibres maybe - especially on hard ground say
Last edited by PCPShooter; 12-01-2022 at 04:16 PM.
Looking for TO-6 Trigger unit unmessed with or T0-6 kit for 34
i found my 25 very accurate