.22 bore air gun vs. .22 bore gun

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rvn_venky
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.22 bore air gun vs. .22 bore gun

Post by rvn_venky » Sat Dec 08, 2007 8:44 pm

Hi all,

What / why is there a difference between
impact (damage) made by air gun with 1000fps and 0.22 bore pellet vs. gun of same bore (and probably regular bullet also has muzzle velocity of 1000fps). Can both cause equal hurt? Also I am buying a .22 bore IHP air pistol..wht muzzle velocity can I expect ?
Thx

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Grumpy
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Re: .22 bore air gun vs. .22 bore gun

Post by Grumpy » Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:53 am

rvn_venky, a .22 air rifle isn`t in the same league power-wise as a .22 cartridge rifle.
Very few .22 air rifles are capable of firing a pellet at 1000 fps as most are limited to 12 ft lbs Muzzle Energy. A VERY powerful air rifle can develope c. 40 ft lbs ME ( There are more powerful air rifles available but they fall into the realm of the `exotic`..... and expensive ! ) A .22 lr can - depending on the cartridge used - develope up to c. 166 ft lbs ME. A .22 centrefire cartridge can generate over 1700 ft lbs ME.
The Muzzle Energy developed is a function of the velocity of the bullet and the bullet weight. Air rifle pellets are light-weight and propelled at ( comparitively ) low velocity. A normal .22 lr bullet is around three times the weight of a .22 air rifle pellet and propelled at twice the velocity - or more. A centrefire .22 bullet can be up to almost six times the weight of a .22 air rifle and propelled at up to almost six times the velocity.
Air pistols are limited to 6 ft lbs ME in the UK and I know of no pistol that generates more than that level of power as most manufacturers worldwide tend to adhere to the UK max energy level. A powerful air pistol would produce a ME of c4.5 to 5 ft lbs ME - or less than half that of an air rifle.
The Energy developed by an air rifle/air pistol is finite and therefore there is little to be gained by substituting a heavier pellet as the velocity will be necessarily less.
There are members of this forum far more able to explain the intricacies and legalities of air rifles/air pistols in India but you need to forget the assumption that an air rifle/air pistol compares in any way to the levels of Energy produced by a cartridge firing rifle/pistol.

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