If you know your limits the 177 will be great for what you are describing. You already have some 22s so with the cheaper cost of 177s that would do great for paper punching. I used to use my Anschutz for squirrels and rabbits out to 20 yards or so. Took off the target sights (sometimes) and put a scope on it. I always used match wadcutter pellets for shooting squirrels mostly raiding my grandmother's birdfeeders. At the slow speed of the Anschutz, you need to be precise with location so it was always a headshot for me. You'd think pointed pellets but they weren't as accurate and that flat head really makes the pellet expand when it hits home. Now I have a Benjamin Gas Piston gun in .22 cal and it may not be as accurate but the pellet is almost twice as heavy and is a little more forgiving.
-Anschutz