Best .177 Pellets for Hunting?

Introduction

I sometimes found it difficult to select the right pellets for the game. I mean it just wasn’t totally obvious to me which one to go for as the all-round alternative. Over the years, I have found the .177 pellets to work perfectly for me, and I decided to settle for them in nearly all my hunting endeavors. 

Still, while settling for the .177 pellets, I couldn’t easily pick the best for each animal I hunted at first. However, with time, after research and trials, I came to settle for the best .177 pellets for all the games I hunted. If you have had the same problem, then worry no more, this article will set you on the right track. But first, let us look at what you should be looking out for in these pellets before deciding which one to go for!

Buyer’s Guide to the .177 Pellets

For success in your hunting, you would want to have everything checked and in perfect shape. When buying the pellets too, you wouldn’t settle for any just because it is a .177 pellet. There are some features you must consider to make a great purchase. Some of these factors include:

Accuracy

You certainly don’t want to be firing pellets as they sway away from the shot’s intended path. Most .177 pellets will be, but it is for you to try the available options before settling for the one that works well for you.

Velocity

Speed is a crucial consideration when it comes to hunting. Because you will be hunting animals that can flee at top speed, you wouldn’t want to miss your shot because the pellets have a slow flight. Therefore, you need to pick a pellet that will hit your target seconds after setting your gun off.

Shape

Pellets are designed in a wide range of shapes for specific tasks and guns. The ideal pellets for hunting are pointed and hollow in shape. The wadcutter ones are ideal for target shooting, while the dome-shaped ones come in handy when you are settling for general-use pellets.

Energy

The energy a pellet lands with on your target is a crucial determinant if the shot will work effectively or not. A heavy impact from a pellet would make a powerful penetration and probably give instant kills. This is a factor you can’t leave unchecked when buying your pellets.

Best Pellets for Squirrel Hunting

Haendler & Natermann H&N Baracuda Match Domed Airgun Pellets

Squirrel hunting can be challenging mainly because these cheeky little animals know how to play the dodging game perfectly well. I must confess that hunting squirrels with an air gun has been both fun and a high precision hunting game for me. Getting it right needs several factors, and the type of pellets I used made a lot of difference.

Out of all the pellets I gave a try, the .177 Haendler & Natermann H&N Baracuda match airgun pellets delivered the best results. The pack comes with 500 air gun pellets, which I found sufficient for long-term hunting escapades. Weighing about 10.65 grains, they are heavy enough to give you the penetration you desire in every shot you fire at a squirrel.

Features

These are some of the outstanding features of these pellets.

Perfect Sealing

What I liked about the packaging when these pellets arrived was the sealing. The Screw-on lid works perfectly to prevent accidental pellet spills hence keeping all the pellets intact even when running through the bush. You will not have to worry about so much loss due to spillage.

Accurate Shots

I can agree that these are some of the most accurate pellets I’ve ever used for hunting in terms of accuracy. Their dome shape and weight have made it possible for their accuracy score to remain on top for long now. You can count on accurate shots from as far as 70 yards or more with a good rifle.

Heavy Weight

Their heavyweight makes it possible for the pellets to keep the velocity down, giving you silent shots ideal for hunting, especially when hunting squirrels. Lighter pellets break the sound barrier when leaving the barrel and make the sound of discharging a gun.

Pros

• Perfectly uniform.
• Highly accurate.
• Silent shots.
• It comes clean; only a little washing is needed.

Cons

• When winds are strong, the pellets can, at times, curve in the air, affecting your shot’s accuracy.

Best Pellets for Pheasant Hunting

Gamo Hunter .177 Cal

One confidence you get when purchasing the Gamo Airgun pellets is buying from a world-class company. This only means you will get nothing but the best out of your purchase. The pellets are manufactured using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques to serve you well.

This strict adherence to standard and quality ensures that the pellets’ shapes and sizes are maintained and always of high quality. For accuracy, the pellets are tested randomly through actual firing to pull out mistakes that could be there before the pellets are released for the market. 

Features

So why are the Gamo Hunter pellets suitable for pheasants?

Exemplary Precision

The accuracy these pellets accords you is something you can trust and be happy about. They hit the pheasant perfectly from a distance of as far as 30 yards, and you can get it dead if the shot was on the head.

High-Speed Flights

The pellets amazingly fly so fast through the air immediately you fire your shot towards the target. So fast is the flight that, in most cases, your target never gets to know when it is hit, which is a great plus for your hunting success.

Shape Uniformity

These pellets are well-made with consistent shape uniformity. The shape consistency makes them work well in the air without being affected by the wind’s strength. Plus, the shape allows for easy penetration into the deer’s skin for easier kills.

Pros

• Multi-purpose pellets.
• Highly effective and accurate.
• High impact.
• Easy to use and clean.

Cons

• The pellet container does not have a perfect seal exposing most of the pellets, leading to a lot of loss.

Best Pellets for Rabbit Hunting

Crosman Destroyer Hunting Pellets

The Crosman Destroyer Hunting Pellets are designed to help in hunting small game such as rabbits and for pest control specifically. I would prefer carrying enough supply of these when going out for my hunting game for effective shooting experience. Their hollow points put them in a better position to offer complete expansion and energy transfer for perfect results.

If you need some reliable and tough projectiles when shooting, then these are the pellets to consider. The pellets are made of lead for durability, and they come in a compact tin for easy portability. They are also ideal pellets for target shooting, and you can use them against a paper target to help improve your skills.

Features

Below are the features of the Crosman Destroyer Hunting Pellets.

Highly Accurate

These pellets deliver exemplary work on small moving targets like rabbits. Their weight makes them have an easy and fast flight towards the target, leaving them with no chance to escape.

Made of Lead

The pellets are made of lead to give them the strength they need to see you through long durations of service. Lead also corrodes slowly, which further boosts the durability of the pellets. 

Perfect Shape

The pellets are pointed with a hollow point for complete expansion. This shape ensures they achieve the maximum speed you need when you fire your shots, plus they get to penetrate easily into your target skin for a faster kill.

Pros

• Accurate and deadly.
• Can be used for both hunting and plinking.
• Works well in both low and high-velocity airguns.
• Uniform shape.

Cons

• The pellets are somehow light, making them a little noisier when shot.

Best Pellets for Raccoon Hunting

Crosman Premier .177 Caliber Hollow Point Pellets

Raccoon hunting has never been easier as Crosman premier .177 hollow point pellets make it to be. The pellets offer perfect precision thanks to the hard-hitting hollow-point tip. This makes them a perfect choice for hunting Raccoons and other small games as well as pest control. 

Thanks to their expanding hollow points, the pellets can impart a greater impact compared to other pellets in the market. The specifications used in making these pellets go a long way into giving you the consistency you need in the hunting fields.

Features

Some of the outstanding features of these pellets are:

High Precision

The pellets are highly accurate and could easily kill a raccoon that is 30 yards away instantly with a headshot. Their pointed tips make it even easier for them to fly directly towards the target and pierce their way into the skin.

Premier Pellets

The pellets are manufactured in consistent shapes and sizes, so you will not have to worry about varying shapes and sizes that negatively affect your shots’ accuracy.

Hollow Point Design

The pellets’ hollow design makes them ideal for small game hunting, plinking, and target practice, as this helps to maximize the effect of impact.

Pros

• Premier precision.
• Hard-hitting hollow point.
• 500 pellets in one package.
• Consistent shape and weight.

Cons

• The can comes when so tightly closed that opening it would need extra efforts to be successful.

Best Pellets for Coyote Hunting

Gamo Red Fire .177

Coyotes can be a bother when hunting and potential threat to you and your hunting dog if not well taken care of. Their cheekiness is, however, stopped by the mighty impact of a Gamo Red fire pellet shot. One accurate and steady shot on the head can never fail to eliminate this troublesome canine.

Gamo’s extreme accuracy, penetration, and velocity help get the pellet right where it should be.  It has a diamond-shaped hard polymer tip, which helps in giving a true ballistic trajectory. The tip expands once it comes into contact with the target, a feature known as the mushrooming effect on impact.

Features

Here are some of the Gamo Red fire’s outstanding features.

Exceptional Accuracy

The pointed diamond-shaped hard polymer tip helps shape the direction the pellet takes when you fire the shot. The pellet gives you the best chance to get your shots on target even in windy weather conditions. 

High Velocity

The pellets are accurate; they fly in the air as fast as the speed the sound of the shot uses to travel to the target’s ears. By the time the Coyote you are hunting gets to hear the sound, it will be already shot and probably dying!

Mushrooming Effect on Impact

The pellet has a cylindrical jacket material where the force of impact drives the diamond-shaped polymer tip into, forcing it to expand outwards. This act increases the projectile diameter as it passes through the intended target, a process known as the mushrooming effect on impact.

Pros

• Unbelievable accuracy.
• Great penetration.
• Mushrooming effect.
• Attractive look.

Cons

• Not ideal for long-range shots.

Best Pellets for Groundhog Hunting

Umarex RWS Meisterkugeln Pistol Professional Line Precision Pellet Gun Pellets

Of all the pellets that RWS makes, none is better regarded as the Meisterkugeln pistol pellets. This may be true if the process of manufacturing the pellets is anything to go by. The Meisterkugeln pellets are subjected to a rigorous inspection process, ensuring that uniformity and performance are achieved in every pellet.

These pellets will fit perfectly for almost every air gun in the market, making them a reliable choice of pellets. You will easily recognize them with their distinctively shiny and bright finish, thanks to the new material composition and finishing techniques.

Features

Here is why I trust them for groundhog hunting:

High-Performance Finish

The finishing done on these pellets is to make them look presentable and attractive and boost their performance and resilience. The pellets are given an optimized surface treatment and composition, which results in a permanent shiny finish.

Compact Carry Tin

The pellets come packed in a convenient compact carry tin that keeps them safe and makes it easy for you to carry them along to the fields.

Remarkable Accuracy

Each pellet is checked in detail during manufacturing to ensure a standard shape is maintained for better accuracy and precision.

Pros

• Come in high quantities.
• Highly durable.
• Very consistent flight.
• Regular inspection for uniform dimension and weight.

Cons

• It is lightweight, making considerably louder noise when shot from the barrel, which may scare away your targets.

Best Pellets for Dove Hunting

Gamo Whisper PELLET QTY150 BLISTER

Hunting ducks need all the care you can gather in the world since these birds are so sensitive and attentive. The Gamo WHISPER Pellets are the best for this mettle of hunting as they carry their business in utmost silence. If you get to combine this pellet with your Gamo air rifle that has a whisper technology, then you make it even more silent.

The pellets are covered with a copper layer and a long skirt that help in increasing its weight for even more silent operations, increased impact upon hitting the target, and perfect flight in the air. It has a harp pyramid-shaped tip that helps it to pierce through the target easily.

Features

Here are the features of these pellets.

High Performance

The pellets are built using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques to ensure that you get nothing but the value for your money with high performance in all angles. During construction, they are consistently monitored to the strictest standards for best performance.

Enhanced Impact Energy

The pellets are made using a copper layer to boost the impact of energy once it hits the target. This helps you to achieve better accuracy and have instant kills every time you make an accurate shot.

Accurate Long Shots

The copper pellets are light to enable easy flight over long distances. With these pellets, you can achieve accurate shots from a range that is as far as 100 yards. This makes it easy to hunt ducks that are resting on roofs far away from your base.

Pros

• Silent operations.
• High-quality manufacturing technique.
• Long-range accuracy.
• They offer great penetration.

Cons

• When used with the wrong rifle, they can be very loud.

Best Pellets for Killing an Opossum

LUXOR Cu – Sharp Pyramid-shaped Pellet .177 Cal

If you are looking for a high-speed pellet for your shots, then Luxor Cu sharp pyramid-shaped pellet is yours to consider. It can acquire about 20% more velocity than any standard lead pellet you can find. Opossums are a threat to your farm produce, eggs, and even fowls, and getting them would need a high-velocity pellet to match them in their own game.

When shot at the target, the pellet cuts and shatters your target’s skin thanks to its innovative sharp pyramid-shaped tip. It also enjoys a smooth flight from the barrel to the target thanks to its aerodynamic shape.

Features

Some of the great features of these pellets include:

Aerodynamic Shape

The aerodynamic shape helps the pellets to have ideal flight characteristics and ballistic coefficients. This shape also sees to it that the pellet quickly penetrates the target for a quicker kill.

High Velocity

The pellet’s speed is unmatched. Because it is made of lead-free material, the pellet is light and compact to fly easily and faster through the air towards the target.

High Impact Energy

The pellets come covered with a copper layer, which helps to boost the impact of energy. This makes it easier for the pellet to penetrate and kill the animal within a short time.

Pros

• Lightweight.
• Highly durable.
• Enhanced impact.
• Pyramid shape.

Cons

• The pack comes with only 150 pellets.

Best Pellets for Target Shooting 

Kvintor Blik Air Gun Pellets .177 Caliber

One moment or the other, you need to test your accuracy skills. There is no better pellet to help you achieve this than the Kvintor Blik Air Gun pellet.  It has sound and blow-up effects that are designed to help you realize when you hit the target.

Hitting the target is followed by a loud sound and a light flash to keep you on track with your shooting. With a weight of only 3.5 grains, it is light enough to fly at top speed immediately; you make a shot. 

Features

Some of the features of the Kvintor Blik airgun pellets include:

Tracer

The pellets come with a tracer that can track preliminary shots where it sends a light and sound signal to alert you of your shot’s progress.

Lightweight

The pellets are made of a plastic container, lead core, and some special compound which are light in weight to make the pellets achieve the highest velocities for better measurement of your shot accuracy.

Silver Center

The pellets come with a silver center that bangs and flashes out the light when it hits the target. This is why you can check if you accurately hit the target or waived a bit.

Pros

• Fun to play around with.
• Lightweight. Weighs only 3.5 grains.
• Sound and blow-up effects.
• Ideal for scaring away pests when you don’t intend to kill.

Cons

• Can be dangerous to shoot on targets closer to people, animals, and flammable materials as this could cause accidents.

Best Pellets for Killing Starlings

H&N Hornet Pointed Air Gun Pellets, .177 caliber.

These pellets are ideal for both hunting and plinking. The pellets have a hollow head, which enables them to have a controlled expansion. A brass is inserted to improve the pellets’ aerodynamics for better flight through the air towards the target.

Its heavyweight of about 28 grains helps it achieve silent shots for a perfect ambush on the Starlings. The more weight these pellets have also help boost their energy hence a larger impact on the target.

Features

Below is a list of the features to look out for in these pellets.

Unique Design

The pellets are designed with a strong brass tip to help the pellet withstand the impact without being deformed.

High Penetration

The heavyweight and the sturdy brass tip helps to push the pellets deeper into the target’s skin for a quicker kill.

Strong Impacts

The pellets offer powerful impacts that can see them penetrate sheet metals easily. This means they will instantly kill a bird when shot in the head.

Pros

• Strong shots.
• Unique design.
• Great precision.
• Silent operations.

Cons

• Slow velocities due to heavyweight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I reuse a .177 pellet?

You should avoid re-using pellets to prevent getting your gun dirty hence spoiling it.

What’s the furthest a .177 pellet can go?

On average, a .177 pellet can travel up to 400 feet.

What is the heaviest .177 pellet?

One of the heaviest .177 pellets remains to be JSB Diabolo Exact Beast.

Summary

I couldn’t settle for a better rifle pellet with the numerous reviews and research than the Gamo hunter .177 Cal. The exemplary features of this pellet set it apart from the rest. I find its precision, shape uniformity, and high-speed flights to be irresistible features for me. I could recommend this anytime.

While buying your pellets, do not forget to check out the factors that any standard bullet should have. Look at the shape, accuracy, velocity, and energy before settling for a purchase. Once you’ve checked all that, you can go right ahead to acquire your pellets from a store near you.