The thing that makes a pellet rifle so great is the ammo is tiny and cheap, basically the same thing that makes a .22LR rifle great. Except, it's even smaller and cheaper. In the space of 50 .22LR rounds you could probably carry three to four times as much in pellets, if not more, for 1/3 of the price as well.

If you're planning on doing a three week backpacking trek, and packing space is limited, a good pellet rifle might be preferable to a .22LR if it can do the same function while taking up less space. Then if you're back packing trip some how turns into a test of your survival skills (where you don't know how long until you'll get back), you'll be glad to have all that extra ammo on hand.



That's my opinion anyway and I don't claim to expert. In my experience firearm selection is a very personal thing (just like knives), if something works for you and your comfortable using it, it's probably best to stick with it. Be it a cross-bow, air rifle, .22LR, or .30-06.