How To Read An Air Rifle Review

If you are a novice shooter and are looking to buy your first air rifle, or even if you've owned one for several years reading air rifle reviews can be confusing. Trying to figure what caliber you need is difficult enough and then you have to determine which is better, FPS or FPE. Once you understand the terms commonly used in the pneumatic rifle reviews, it will be easier to find the best one for you.

 Which Caliber is Best?

The caliber refers to the size of the pellet that your air rifle is designed to fire, and the two most common are .177 and .22. The smallest ammo is .177 and while this caliber pellet may not have the punching power of the large BBs, it is accurate at a high rate of velocity. If you are planning on doing a lot of backyard plinking or dove hunting, a .177 caliber air rifle is designed for you. Another bonus with the smaller pellets is that they are inexpensive and easy to find.

 

Air Rifle

The other common air rifle is the .22 caliber, and it is ideal for hunting small game like rabbits and squirrels. It has a harder hitting power than the smaller caliber pellets, while still being incredibly accurate at high rates of speed. While the .177 caliber ammo can be used for small game hunting, it has the tendency of going straight through the animal instead of delivering a more humane killing shot.

Other less common caliber air rifles include the .20 and .25. The .20 caliber is often preferred by older shooters who love the history that goes along with the caliber firearm. Many shooters claim that it is a perfect blend of the .177 and .22 calibers, which are quickly replacing the .20 caliber as they continue to become more powerful and accurate.

Understanding FPS and FPE

Every air gun will advertise its feet per second (FPS) or foot pounds of energy (FPE) in a bid to make you believe that it is the most powerful and accurate pneumatic rifle. Both ratings can be used to determine how effective the air gun is, but most experts recommend looking at the FPE.

The FPS on an air rifle is determined by the type of BB or pellet fired. You also have to be as accurate a shot as the test shooter. If all of these factors are not duplicated exactly, you will never reach the air rifle's maximum feet per second. This is why FPE is often considered a more accurate measurement of the air rifle's performance.

Foot pounds of energy calculates both the weight and velocity of the fired pellet. This gives you a more concise measurement for all manufacturers' ammo of the same caliber. It is important to remember that accuracy is also a factor in an air rifle's performance, and that depends entirely on you. The angle of your scope and the type of ammo you are using will not improve the gun's performance if you do not know how to properly line up a shot.

Pneumatic Rifle Reviews

While reading through all of the different reviews can be confusing and even frustrating, once you understand the commonly used terms it will become much easier. The caliber that you choose will determine what type of shooting activities you can successfully participate in and the different ratings can help determine an air rifle's speed and accuracy. Simply remember, the more accurate you are at hitting a target the higher your performance rating will be for the air rifle.