Quote Originally Posted by Muskett View Post
This in heaps.

The only thing that matters with sub 12ft/lbs rifles is shot placement.
At these power levels then there is little if no hydraulic trauma effect, so it is the equivalent of delivering .177, .20, .22, and .25 calibre stiletto needles. At the longer ranges the .22 and above can plug in pigeon feathers. Thankfully, non of the usual quarry have thick skin or bone, but the vital areas are small. Which is why shot placement is everything. As .177 generally has higher velocity and flies flatter then most people find hitting small targets at varying distances easier/higher probability.

Unless you just happen to have a nat driving .20 with a pellet that is easy to get, then it is all academic. Just an excuse to have another rifle to play with. Effective range is always what you can hit a polo mint at with a very high probability. A poor shooting .20 might be OK to 20m, and a tack driver out to 35. The limiting factor then is can you match its drop to your range finding? Can you equal that judgement as well as a .177? Most people can't. Most people find .177 hard enough. Most people without a lot of application and practice shouldn't really shoot further than farmyard ranges. I shoot to farmyard ranges as that is my ability with the kind of rifles I enjoy using, and time I put to it all, as all the calibres are easy enough to master with drop and raw accuracy.

Any advantage a .20 has on paper over any other calibre is lost in shot placement probability.
Well I'd argue about "hydraulic trauma effect", while nowhere near what a rimfire does it's there if you look.
Yes the vital area is small, so the last thing you want is a small dia pellet that passes through at speed, wasting most of the little energy it carries,
Easier/higher probability of missing the vital area but still hitting somewhere you mean.
.20 pellets are as easy to get as any other,
Not sure of what the definition of gnat driving is in mm, or what Farmyard ranges are in yds,
As for the ranges for a poor shooting / tack driving anything, if it's poor shooting WTF are you doing using it in the first place?
likewise without application & practice you should not be shooting at prey full stop,
More like any advantage .177 has is lost in shot placement, because in the field the 'human error' aspect is what's going to decide the hit or miss, not 1.5" less drop at 45yds on paper.

But I do agree all the calibres can be mastered once you know all the data, trouble is people who rely on the fact it's flat & fast, means they don't bother to learn it.