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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,177 Likes: 4
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 32,177 Likes: 4 |
Just got one in 17 cal.- supposedly 1300fps with the premium "platinums", but I don't need those - bought a combi Gamo 4 pack of lead ones to start with - haven't shot a pellet/bb gun in over 50 years, but have a gun-shy dog I hope to work out of... Accuracy? With a field rest (tree or door post. ), testing shows I can probably head shoot a grouse 2/3 of the time at 15 yards with the 4X scope it came with, and body shoot em at 32 yards near every time. I don't do much better off a solid rest. Or much worse free-hand. I expect if I can get the trigger adjusted to something less than an inch of creep (they call it 2 stage- HA!), I'll do better. Is this about usual accuracy for the rifle (shooter error excluded)? Second question- how often does this thing need cleaning? lead pellets... Still have about 960 left... And a comment: most of the pellets have to be pushed in, a few drop right in. The loose ones do not blow the group as far as I can see. I see no difference in poi or group size between the various 4 kinds of pellets provided (match, game, etc), at least to 32 yards. I doubt if I see any difference once I start whacking grouse, either.
Last edited by las; 09/24/18.
The only true cost of having a dog is its death.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,697 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,697 Likes: 4 |
The Gamo Whisper is one of the break-barrels I've been interested in. I haven't yet decided on whether to get a .177 or .22. Please post more of your experiences with it as you get more intimate with it.
Z
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,383 Likes: 3
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,383 Likes: 3 |
I had one - accuracy was so poor that I couldn't wait to get rid of it. I tried different pellets, plinking grade through match grade, not enough difference to help at all. I ended up giving it to a neighbor he uses it to keep the deer out of his shrubbery, it works good for that since anything smaller than a deer probably would be missed.
Oh yeah - the trigger was awful on mine also.
drover
223 Rem, my favorite cartridge - you can't argue with truckloads of dead PD's and gophers.
24hourcampfire.com - The site where there is a problem for every solution.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 916
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 916 |
My first air rifle as an adult was a Gamo Silent Cat my boys bought me for Christmas. I spent more on cheap pellets than the rifle cost trying to find something that was consistent. I would have trashed it if it wasn't a gift. Do yourself a favor and skip any pellets from Walmart. Get some JSB 8.44 or 10.34. My Gamos also shoot quality (Eley, RWS Meisterkugeln, RWS R10) wadcutters very well. Crosman 7.9 HP 500 count tins are the best ones at Walmart but the same in a 1250 count brown cardboard box are much better. If ordering pellets online, most places do not package them well and the will probably be smashed and bent when you get them. Pyramyd Air, Airgun Depot, Field Supply and my local shop, Ohio Airguns, all package pellets carefully for shipping.
Since then I have bought around twenty cheap break barrel rifles just to see if I could get them shooting decent. Some shoot OK using a rest but all of the Gamos must be held very loosely to keep POI to 30~40 yards.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 141
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 141 |
I bought one for backyard pests. Killing squirrels at 35 yards 177 lead pellets no problem. Accuracy improved around 150-200 shots. I wanted a low report and it works great for that. Squirrels were dead before the hit the ground.
"I've made alot of money in my life, most of it spent on guns and women. The rest of it I just wasted."
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 925
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 925 |
I had one - accuracy was so poor that I couldn't wait to get rid of it. I tried different pellets, plinking grade through match grade, not enough difference to help at all. I ended up giving it to a neighbor he uses it to keep the deer out of his shrubbery, it works good for that since anything smaller than a deer probably would be missed.
Oh yeah - the trigger was awful on mine also.
drover Same here. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Not worth the hipe you've heard.
If you hunt with your kids. You should not have to hunt for your kids.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,774
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,774 |
If you want a very nice air rifle, put a few more $ in the pot and get a Beeman R9.
A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,867
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,867 |
Wow, I'm glad I read this. Friend brought one over to me to set up for him. The thing shot all over the place. He took it home and he said after 30 or 40 shots it started to shoot better. Didn't know you had to shoot the barrel in. He got it to kill Peacocks that are destroying his garden. Anybody have any suggestions for best pellets for this if he ever gets it to shoot.
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,817 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,817 Likes: 7 |
If I wanted a quality but relatively inexpensive airgun, I would get an RWS 34.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,239
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,239 |
I must be an airgun snob. I like the RWS 48. It does most of what I want. It shoots as well as the guy holding it. I have spent a lot on PCP guns and compressor, and tanks. I don't expect most folks will do that. But an Air Force in .25 has killed anything I have asked of it. Put an LDC on it and it makes little noise. Almost backyard silent. But the 48 still kills squirrels nicely. The quality of scope makes it more precise. Use only an airgun scope with spring piston guns. Rusty
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,513
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,513 |
One is more likely shooting the spring and piston in to get it stable.
Try lock down a springer like one would a regular rifle and erratic performance is almost guaranteed.
Some spelling errors can be corrected by a vowel movement. ~ MOLON LABE ~
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 430
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 430 |
If you are looking for accuracy spend more on a Beeman or RWS. The Gamo (I have one) will not do decent groups at 25 yds. I used the alloys that came with it and they were good but not locally available. I am on about shot 550 with it and it doesn't shoot as hard as it did a few years ago. I have killed possum and coon with it and would never consider using it to run deer off. It shoots too hard. Use some Daisy or weaker for that. The whisper used to pass thru squirrels but now they go a ways before kicking it.
A PHD Won't help you if you don't know what the hell you are talking about.
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,817 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,817 Likes: 7 |
Most spring air rifles of any make will shoot very well IF you find the right pellet and IF you hold them right. The peculiar double recoil that actually starts BEFORE the pellet leaves the barrel means they are VERY particular. Many if not most will not shoot off of bags at all unless you put your hand under the forend and DO NOT grip it while barely allowing it to touch the shoulder. Shooting off hand can be a challenge because you have to hold it very lightly. Which is why an excellent and very light trigger is a must in a spring piston gun because you almost cannot hold a gun lightly and then have to struggle with a heavy and creepy trigger. Google up the artillery hold.
And they are all individuals. My new HW 95 seems to shoot best off hand if I pull it tightly into my shoulder with my right hand while merely supporting the forend with my left and putting no pressure at all on it. And it is going to take at least 500 shots for many of them before they settle down into some kind of consistency. And ALWAYS check all of your screws. They will back out more on a spring piston gun than they will the heaviest magnum rifle.
Gamo is not the greatest quality and their recoil is harsher with more vibration and twang than I have felt on many others. Mainly, I think because they try to make a gun that shoots too hard and weighs too little. In general, the harder a spring piston gun shoots, the heavier it needs to be. But they will shoot very well if you can figure them out.
Last edited by JoeBob; 01/12/19.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 4,555 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 4,555 Likes: 2 |
I bought one of these awhile back, went out into the backyard, with standard pellets, joker sounded like a 22 magnum. I boxed it up real quick and left the house in case the cops came. Returned it to academy...I just wasn't expected that out of it. Gamo told me it would take about 300 pellets before it quieted down...which I obviously couldn't do at the house. Went back to my colibris and 22 quiets out of an old springfield/savage 120
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,422
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,422 |
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 415
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 415 |
One of the problems with break barrels is, well, the breaking barrel. The scope is on the "receiver," so unless it's a really high quality/price gun, the likelihood of getting repeatable alignment of barrel and scope, amd therefore accuracy, is low. I had a scope on my gamo whisper 22 and it shot ok some of the time. I took the scope off and use the irons, and it's DNO all the time. It shoots cheapo crosman pellets from Walmart inside an inch at 35 yards and is devastating on red squirrels. The irons also improve the close quarters combat outcomes when squirrels are in the garage. The trigger on the whisper has a long pull, but it's predictable and clean. It's also very quiet. My go-to backyard defense weapon was a 1970s vintage Sheridan blue streak, but I've been using the gamo more because it's quiet and doesn't require pumping. My kill ratio has gone way up since I started using the gamo more, so perhaps the combination of accuracy and quick reloads makes the gamo a better tool for that job. Find the gamo on sale for 100-125 bucks, throw away the scope, load up on a couple of tins of 500 crosman premier hollow points for 8 bucks a tin, and the garden raiders and tree rats won't have a chance. Just remember that the gamo is no heirloom. I'm sure my kids will be using the Sheridan long after I'm dead, and the gamo's many plastic pieces will have fallen apart by then.
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 18,854
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 18,854 |
I agree. I've gone away from scopes to open sights on all of my break barrels.
Sent from my Dingleberry Handheld Wireless
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,774
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,774 |
+1, After owning a Beeman R9, there is not a Gamo made that I'd trade it for.
A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,817 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,817 Likes: 7 |
My next purchase is a .22 RWS 52.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,774
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 10,774 |
My next purchase is a .22 RWS 52. Those are BIG, HEAVY and POWERFUL air rifles. Buddy has one. It's fun to shoot but a tank of a gun. His is a .177 and over penetrates - .22 would be a much better choice for varmints and birds.
A true sportsman counts his achievements in proportion to the effort involved and fairness of the sport. - S. Pope
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