.22 long rifle (left) and .22 domed pellet. Which is cheaper? The answer may surprise you.
This report includes:
- Announcement
- What you get for the price
- What do you want to do with your rifle?
- How safe is shooting where you are?
- What about noise pollution?
- Can you shoot indoors?
- Buying can be a pain
- Summary
Announcement
I was set to publish Part 3 of the OmniStorm report when I was told the following.
Air Venturi has discovered a manufacturing tolerance issue with the OmniPiston in this first batch of rifles that has resulted in a significantly higher than normal cocking effort. Subsequently, this increased cocking effort also impacts the trigger pull weight, making it heavier than it should be.
Air Venturi has confirmed that this issue does not impact the safe function of your Omnistorm in any way. If you are enjoying your Omnistorm, you do not need to do anything. If you are unhappy with your Omnistorm, Air Venturi can replace the parts completely free of charge. To arrange this, please reach out directly to our customer service team.
We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your trust and patience as we rectify this issue.
The test rifle will go back to Pyramyd AIR for repairs. The same rifle will be shipped back so we can resume the series. Now for today’s report.
Today we look more at the “cost” differences between airguns and .22 rimfire firearms. There won’t be as much actual money discussed today. We’ll talk about some of the other reasons airguns are at the top of the shooting heap.
What you get for the price
Reader Ian McKee visited me recently and he brought his Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle to show me. It’s now visiting me for a short while, though I did detect in Ian’s voice that he expects it to return home someday. I said “someday” Ian. That’s like Jesus in The Chosen saying “soon” to His disciples!
Ian has seen that my house is 80 percent given over to this blog. I have a living room and a kitchen and part of my bedroom for me, but the rest of the house and garage is for airguns. I need another firearm like the local police department needs another criminal! But this bolt-action Ruger looks REAL GOOD!
Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle.
And it lives at my house for the present! It would be silly for me to review it for you—except Pyramyd AIR does sell .22 long rifle rounds!
I REALLY want to review this rifle and maybe have a shootoff against my Remington model 33 that is my most accurate sporting .22 rimfire—I think. I do have a Remington model 37 Rangemaster but that’s a world class target rifle and not a fair comparison.
Remington model 33. I will shoot it against Ian’s Ruger.
And at the end of the series have a shootoff against a super-accurate precharged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle! Perhaps an Umarex Zelos? I selected the Ruger because as of this date it retails for more than US$ 600. The Zelos retails for just about the same. Airguns versus rimfire. Whaddaya think?
What do you want to do with your rifle?
In the old days rimfires were for serious shooting and airguns were for fun. Today there are pellet rifles shooting sub-inch / 25.4mm groups at 100 yards / 91.4 meters. We have been told for many decades that .22 bullets carry for more than one mile. Well, guess what? When an AirForce air rifle shoots a 40-grain “airgun” slug out the bore at 1040 f.p.s., how far do you think it goes?
I am not against rimfire rifles. I love them! But I now have to think in terms of much farther shots because on all but windy days the pellet rifle keeps right up. Either that or I just wanna shoot a rimfire.
What I’m saying is, I think it’s time to push the .22 rimfire out farther because pellet rifles have things out to 100 yards pretty much in hand. Of course there is always the wind.
How safe is shooting where you are?
Up to now we had to be careful where we shot our rimfire rounds because they carry so far. Today we have to be mindful of the pellets or slugs we shoot in our pellet rifles! So safety today becomes one of considering the ammunition more than whether we shoot airgun or rimfire.
Also remember that the .22 long rifle bullet penetrates far deeper than a .22 pellet. But a slug from the AirForce rifle I just mentioned will go just as deep.
What about noise pollution?
Many air rifles are quiet these days. That’s because the ATF doesn’t regulate silencers for them. But in January of 2026 firearm silencers will no longer require a $200 tax stamp, so I expected the quiet-osity of many rimfire to increase.
Can you shoot indoors?
Shooting indoors has long been one of the chief benefits of the airgun. But silencers and rubber mulch pellet/bullet traps may be changing that. And there are pellet rifles that are every bit as loud and even louder than .22 rimfire rounds. Believe me when I say that because I heard it on the benchrest line at the 2025 Pyramyd AIR Cup.
Buying can be a pain
This is a big one. In the free states and territories in the US we can buy both firearms and airguns pretty much unhindered. We still have to register all firearms and we are subject to the laws governing ownership and possession, but the process of purchasing is not that hindered. But some of our states and territories have draconian laws regarding the purchase of firearms. In those places there can be wait times and other requirements that limit the constitutional rights of citizens.
The sale and possession of airguns is generally MUCH less regulated, though there are a few US states and even a couple territories where even they are treated poorly. Funny thing is, in many of those same states the sale of cannabis sativa is far freer! Go figure.
In other nations the laws are obviously different. Each nation decides what steps people must go through to purchase and possess firearm, or even if they can. In some nations airguns are separated from firearms, but the definition of what constitutes an airgun or a firearm may also differ.
In each nation the laws must be obeyed. But the physical characteristics of pellet and bullet performance remain the same regardless of the location. That means safety is safety no matter where you are.
Summary
After reading today’s report I see that the title may not be that correct. It’s not so much an issue of cost that separates airguns and rimfires as it is the capability. And the gap seems to be closing fast!
In this two-part series we have looked at how the modern pellet rifle stacks up against the venerable .22 rimfire. I hope this report has been as eye-opening for you as it has for me!
Well, a lot of rimfire scopes now have 150-yard marks on their BDCs…. Recently got a Leopold 3-9 rimfire to mount on a 77/22 Hornet. Bottom “post” is BDC marks all the way down. Not surprising, with 200 yard Precision Rimfire events becoming popular.
And Sam Fadala recommended practice at 200 yards with a rimfire.
Tom,
What can a .22 rimfire do that a .22 air rifle cannot do? Would probably be a proper challenge. Pitting the Zelos against Ian’s Ruger Precision? Looks like you have your pompoms out already for it’s accuracy.
If those .22s could sing they might be singing their version of “Anything you can do I can do better!”
Siraniko
Oh, the shootoff .22 rimfire against airgun slugs would be delicious!
Hey B.B.,
How is that .22 caliber reloading coming along?
-Yogi
Yogi,
It isn’t. I think I mentioned that I can’t seem to make it work but if not I am now.
BB
BB
I must ask you why the Zelos rather than the Avenger/Avenger X rifles for the accuracy shoot off. They both are somewhat in the same price range and I’m ruling out the $800 and up PCP’s.
Should be a very interesting series.
Deck
A comment from brother dave,
Wow B.B.,
You really got me thinking with this report! I shoot lots of stuff here, mostly for fun. 🙂
My 15-yard range has a 1/4″ thick angled steel plate and is good for .22 LR rifles and pistols.
Hence, it’s also good for all the airguns here.
The top of my bullet trap has a large board on top to support my archery target.
When it rains, if I sit on the steps and lean against the back door (conveniently inside the carport). then the 15-yard range is now a 30-yard range; hence, this range covers most of my shooting.
I keep my scoped .22LR bolt action loaded with RWS subsonic ammo, for varmints.
But most of my .22 shooting is with the CCI .22 Quiet rounds (40 grain bullet at 700 fps).
Back in 1970 (age 21), I bought my first firearm, the Geco Carabiner, for $50…best $50 I ever spent.
It was my squirrel rifle for a while, but has accounted for many varmints also.
Yet last week I bought another $50 gun, the Umarex Buck Mark…the next best $50 I ever spent.
It is a great little airgun; it would be perfect for someone just starting out with air pistols who isn’t sure exactly what they want; it’s accurate and cheap to shoot and a ton of fun; it takes down cans at 15 yards offhand with ease (I’m so glad B.B. did a report on that air pistol!).
While the CCI Quiet rounds are fairly cheap, the Excite plinking pellets for the Buck Mark are cheaper.
However, for cheap airgun shooting, I can’t beat my grillin’ gun, the Daisy Buck model 105.
Shooting at feral cans from an elevated deck, the lawn in my backstop; I’ve lost track of how many BBs I’ve put through this thing, thousands and thousands, since getting it in 2017 (for a whopping $14.67!).
I’m a Scotsman; we don’t think of ourselves as cheap…more like thrifty. 😉
But we surely enjoy cheap shooting, and airguns provide lots of that.
Yet the cheapest shooting I do is with my long bow.
I did some gunsmithing for a friend, and he paid me with an Amazon gift card that allowed me to get a nearly finished bow blank; I just had to do some final sanding and then seal if with 7 coats of Tung Oil.
(Note: IF I had mad skills like Hank [Vana2], then I would have made my own bow!…but sadly, I don’t.)
This has afforded me the cheapest shooting…so far.
If, or rather when, I start losing arrows, the cost of archery shooting will climb rapidly.
So, for me, for plinking fun, airguns are the logical choice.
I like to shoot .22s for fun and to keep up my skills with them; but I probably shoot ten pellets for every round of .22LR I put down range…come to think of it, ten may be on the low side. 🙂
The pic below would have been better focused if Miss Clairee hadn’t jumped into it!
Wishing happy shooting to all y’all,
dave
couldn’t get the picture to post
Thanks, B.B.!
This looks like it should be a very interesting competition. If we want to compare the pros and cons of shooting each type of gun indoors; I think that the Airguns would have an advantage simply because they do not produce the odor of burnt gunpowder. I can shoot all the Airguns as often as I want to shoot them in our basement without creating any gunpowder odors. I have to limit the .22 rimfire shooting and also run an exhaust fan to avoid having a house that smells like burnt gunpowder.
I would be more concerned with the lead dust and its long term health hazards. Rather than the burnt / unburnt gunpowder. That is why indoor gun ranges use huge exhaust fans and HEPA filters.
Mike
Thanks for the reply Mike. It has made me more curious about the subject of lead’s potential hazards. There are opinions (and scientific data) on both sides of the subject. Here is one opinion that suggests another benefit of shooting air guns versus firearms (If I knew how, I would highlight the last sentence in the second paragraph of the answer.):
Question: Are lead pellets toxic?
I just wanna do target shooting with a .177 airgun but I’m scared that the shot pellets will damage the environment(animals may eat them,contaminating the groundwater,etc), I’m scared that even if I use a pellet trap, while zeroing the scope the stray pellets may miss the pellet trap and damage the environment.
Answer: In theory, yes. In practice no.
Lead pellets are insoluble elemental lead. Elemental lead is not readily absorbable through skin. Lead pellets in the environment don’t really do much either in the quantity that pellet guns disperse them.
Industrial use of lead salts which ARE soluble in water is where the real sources of contamination is. For firearm shooters, a large volume of indoor shooting where ventilation is questionable and these soluble varieties are being produced and going airborne due to priming compounds containing lead salts and lead salts being generated by the heat of powder burning can be a problem, but it takes A LOT of indoor firearm shooting before it becomes a problem. Like firearm instructor teaching classes everyday quantity exposure. Non firearms (Pellet guns) don’t have this problem since they run cold and don’t have priming compound.
You don’t need to worry about the lead pellets you are shooting. Its perfectly fine. I am over 40, lead is cumulative in your sysytem, been handloading and shooting my entire life. Ate food during and after handloading…shot indoors with no ventilation…Grew up when lead paint and leaded gasoline was still a thing…I’m a career chemist and handle these lead salts in their pure forms regularly. Pretty much worst case scenario. Last year I did a 24 hour screen for heavy metals in my system. They collect an entire 24hrs worth of urine, concentrate it and measure it. My lead levels, after all this exposure, were undetectable. So shooting a pellet gun indoors into a pellet trap is not going to hurt you lol. If you want to prove it to yourself shoot for a few months and do one of those heavy metals analysis, it will be a waste of a piss jug. lol
Thanks Elmer, a sober look at the facts is always better than unsubstantiated fears. A similar case could be made for mercury, liquid versus gaseous, primer compounds, etc.
Unfortunately, fear and hysteria are an easy sell.
Henry
EF, who responded to you? I would love to have a few emails back and forth with him. Finally a chemist with experience with lead in various forms.
And thanks for posing the question and sharing the response.
RG, sorry, I meant to post a link to that question and response. But first of all, it wasn’t my question, I found it doing a related google search though. Here’s the link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/airguns/comments/dd9f4f/are_lead_pellets_toxic/
Elmer Fudd,
There are folks in Kalifornien who know this Dangers of Elemental Lead (Pbl) song to be false information for the Masses. How else can we “Progressives” get rid of guns, ICE vehicles, Gas Ranges, Turkey Fryers in one stupid law!
Thank you!
But i think you know that in my case you are preaching to the choir :^)
shootski
Smacks of the FTS – “Follow The Science” crowd engaging in the typical “do as I say not as I do” virtue-preaching. Wouldn’t be surprised if, in catering to the POF – People Of Fear – someday these modern-day “enlightened” alchemists decide newborns should be stamped with a label reading “Government Warning! Being born will eventually lead to being dead.” The use of the word “lead” was not intended to be pun-ny in this instance.
Of course, if you get fatally hit by a lead projectile, FM supposes that could be considered “death by Pb overdose.”
Thanks, EF
I was not referring to the lead exposure from pellets but from the shooting of bare lead bullets from a firearm. The temperatures and pressure put significantly more lead airborne, particularly once the barrel is hot from repeated shooting. The enclosed space would greatly increase the lead exposure from breathing in the atomized lead and fine lead particles from firearm shooting and other heavy metals in the primers of firearm rounds. Hence the reason behind the need of an exhaust fan.
Since a lot of 22LR rounds are bare lead this is a concern for REPEATED AND PROLONGED shooting in an enclosed space i.e. no exhaust ventilation.
Routine handling of lead even daily for years will not cause a significant exposure as long as you was your hands prior to eating / food preparation / drinking. If you do not wash thoroughly to remove the lead some will inevitably be ingested.
Old plumbers who poured lead for cast iron pipe lead seals are susceptible to lead poisoning because of the airborne lead coming from the molten lead. The lead pot is typically heated, melted and skimmed in close proximity to the cast iron piping system i.e. indoors. This repeated exposure to lead fumes / vapors is the source of the lead poisoning not the routine handling of the ingots.
Another source lead poisoning for plumbers was the use of 60/40 solder for copper piping systems. Though this has since been banned not because of exposure to plumbers, but the minute initial lead found in the water of these piping systems. I say initial because once the water has oxidized the small amount of lead exposed to the water it will form a tightly adherent oxide layer and no more lead will be found in the water. My father would always thoroughly flushed each plumbing line just before turning the house over to the owners, no matter what type of plumbing was used. This flushes all the off-gassing of the PVC / PEX / metal oxides and dirt out of the piping system.
Another FYI for the lead free solder, it is a pain because you are operating at higher temperatures and it does not flow as nicely / easily as the 60/40 lead-tin solder.
Both solders are prone to corrosion on the outside if not cleaned after making your joint. This corrosion will eventually cause a leak in the future. When depends on how much solder paste was left on joint. Worst case within the first year.
Sorry this got very long.
Mike
That’s all good information Mike, thanks. I grew up with several friends who were plumbers. So I have been around (a long time ago) the lead pots and lead and oakum joints in old style cast iron piping a few times. I spent a few years installing commercial HVAC refrigeration piping and know about doing silfoss brazing also.
All great info. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Look out! I am about to gaze into my crystal ball again!
Soon you will likely be able to buy powder burners with built in “silencers”. You had best have a very thick wallet though. Those who do will find out there is a bit more to maintaining powder burner “silencers” than there is with those for airguns.
A big upside will likely be that Hollywood may start being more realistic with their effects, but since when has Hollywood been realistic about anything?
Like BB and others, I have been around for a long time now. I have watched the .22 rimfire go through many changes over the years, mostly increasing in velocity. Yes, the powder burners have been in the “velocity wars” also, rimfires and centerfires.
On occasion, somebody figures out that if they slow it down a bit, accuracy usually goes up. My dad and I never reloaded to the maximum “safe” load. That is why we were able to put five shots in a one-inch circle at three hundred yards with his .25-06.
In recent years I worked with my son-in-law and we soon figured out that if we used “slow” .22 rimfire ammunition, accuracy improved dramatically. The truth is, I knew such would happen, I just had to have him learn it.
Something we in the airgun world have seen recently is changes in the twist rate. With the increase in velocities, the twist rate must change. That is something that the powder burners have been learning over the years, but for some reason has not been coming down to the .22 rimfire world.
Of course, I am writing this in total ignorance as I had long ago turned my back on the powder burner world. This Ruger of Ian’s may have a twist rate where it can deal with the higher velocities of most modern .22 rimfires.
BB,
Can you mount a scope on the Remington? Ian’s Ruger is not set up for open sights.
I guess I am a dinosaur. I would take either of the Remingtons over the Ruger any day.
RR,
No I can’t. Not without drilling and tapping holes for scope mounts and I refuse to do that. But don’t worry—a scope won’t make either rifle more accurate.
BB
BB,
I’m not worried. I am envious.
Dave,
I almost bought a long bow at the NC Airgun Show this year. My grandson did. I am looking forward to our bow shooting sessions in the near future.
Good one, and good points made about the “follow the laws” thing; one of the reasons FM decided to rediscover airguns was the need to find a shooting tool that was backyard-friendly and legal. Granted, usually one shot with the CCI Quiet .22s was all it took to down an iguana but FM was aware that was technically a no-no cartridge to use in his suburbanized neighborhood.
Now airguns have opened up the backyard to a whole world of drama-free/cost-friendly and fun shooting.
Sez FM, blessedly and thankfully anchored in the Free State of Florida.
The Boss and I just may have to move further South after this Governor election.
RidgeRunner of the Peeple’s Republik of Virginia
You and The Boss would be most welcome in the Free State of Florida. Not exercising the right to vote is unacceptable, these days more than ever.
One of the big differences between a .22 rimfire and a .22 airgun is energy to size efficiency (for lack of a better term). Yes, you can get a .22 airgun to hit velocities similar to a .22 rimfire, but the airgun Needs to be large. While the Ruger Precision Rimfire may be roughly comparable in size, weight and power to an AirForce Escape, something like a Ruger Mark IV pistol can produce far more energy in a significantly smaller package than a Benjamin Marauder Pistol (and probably wouldn’t be far off from the Escape). Where energy with compact size is concerned, rimfire has an advantage.
There is also the question of physics: 24,000 versus 2,000. Well, that is the SAAMI maximum, most target and quiet loads operate probably in the 10,000 psi range, so the difference, if substantial, is not that large.
Come to think of it, it is amazing how much performance is extracted from an airgun using gas (air) volume at relatively much lower pressures.
Henry
Henry_TX,
I realize the blog was doing .22 caliber comparisons and the PCP airgun is certainly disadvantaged on shorter barrels but some of that can be made up by increasing the airgun caliber as well as accepting lower shot count. I’m thinking about my .575 caliber pistol (16″ barrel) launching two 350 grain bullets (slugs) or two to three 283 grain round ball and achieving 220+ FPE with the bullets and 200+ FPE with the ball ammo and with only a 3,600 psi fill.
With the .575 short rifle and four more inches of reservoir and barrel the FPE jumps to just shy of 300FPE and 240FPE respectively.
A 40 grain .22 long rifle round going supersonic generates half the FPE and loses momentum at a significantly higher rate.
The part that very few shooters can easily grasp is the retention of momentum that the caliber/Mass increase imparts down range until they get to see it first hand.
But then apples and oranges taste different as well!
shootski
Referring back to the question in the title. I have seen promotions for .22 LR. recently, 1000 rounds for $0.06 per round. And .22 premium pellets for more (air rifle slugs for way more). It would seem to me that a .22 LR slug is produced in similar fashion to a pellet (perhaps I am wrong), but using more lead. So higher cost of materials, same cost of production, but then you add the brass case, primer, powder, and assembly cost, and I don’t understand how any .22 LR can be less per round than any pellet.
As a side question, are .22 LR rifles truly .224 caliber or are they .217 or .218 like 22 caliber air rifles?
Roamin,
On the cost per round thing it’s manufacturing volume that allows .22 long rifle ammo to sell so cheap. That and sometimes they are sold at a loss to stimulate sales.
Pellets are made by the hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions. Rimfire ammo, especially the .22LR is made by the multiple billions.
.22 rifle bores do vary but the spec for the diameter of the .22 LR bullet is 0.2235 inches. The .22 Magnum is the one that’s .224 inches
BB
That makes a lot of sense. So we need to shoot more, so pellets will be cheaper? I’m down with that.