.177 caliber

.177 caliber or 4.5 mm caliber is the smallest diameter of pellets and BB shots widely used in air guns, and is the only caliber generally accepted for formal target competition. It is also sometimes used for hunting small game, as well as in field target competition, where it competes with 5 mm (.20 caliber) and .22 caliber (5.5 mm) rifles.

.177 Caliber
Air gun pellets .177 caliber
TypeTarget, hunting
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1940-Present
Production history
Designed1940
ManufacturerCrosman, Gamo, RWS Dynamit Nobel, Haendler & Natermann, etc.
VariantsMatch, Magnum, Hunter, Ball, Hollow Point, Pointed

Steel BBs are typically slightly smaller than lead BBs at 0.175-inch (4.4 mm) diameter, although the bore diameter of the barrel are the same. Some air guns are designed to accept .177 pellets, .177 lead shot, or .175 steel BBs interchangeably.

Relationship between caliber and trajectory

If two guns fire pellets of different weights, the gun firing the lighter pellet must fire it at a higher velocity to achieve the same muzzle energy. This is an important consideration in locations where air guns are legally restricted by muzzle energy. Because a .177 pellet is lighter than a larger caliber pellet of similar design, the .177 pellet can be propelled faster and therefore on a flatter trajectory, without exceeding the legal limit on energy. However, because the lighter projectile has a lower ballistic coefficient, it loses its initial energy to air resistance faster than a heavier, slower pellet. Therefore, a heavier pellet (typically of a larger caliber) may be preferred for hunting.

gollark: I would probably just self-host, personally, which I do for basically all my online stuff since I don't care about monetizing it (and have no chance of getting much out of that, and don't want to support ad networks), I have some limited amount of competence at running servers, and it's not high-traffic or big enough that it costs a significant amount.
gollark: That may not be ideal for getting a long-term audience.
gollark: So, have non-YouTube copies of things, I guess?
gollark: Well, YouTube might randomly decide it hates you, apparently especially so for chemistry stuff.
gollark: I'm not sure those have as much mass market appeal.

See also


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.