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I'm considering the purchase of a higher end .177 caliber spring powered air rifle; i.e., more expensive than the $30 Chinese model I already have, and was considering getting a Gamo since the top advertised velocity is better than anything else out there from what I can see. In looking at the reviews on Cabela's, however, the reviews on Gamos are very bad regarding accuracy. I'm thinking it may be a problem with the scopes Gamos are sold with. If anyone has any experience/wisdom to share on this subject, I'd appreciate it. | ||
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Gamo ... is Spanish for CRAP. Better than Chinese junk but still not very good. The published specs are usually just simply lies. I'd suggest looking for a used gun from a better maker. "When doing battle, seek a quick victory." | |||
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So, what would you suggest for a budget of say of up to $750 for the rifle (new) not including a scope? | |||
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Something like this ? http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/...eakbarrel_Rifle/1731 A Weihrauch with a "Gas Ram" fitted. In place of the spring. Like a hatchback strut in the gun. The ram has some advantages. No twist when fired, but still has recoil. I haven't seen that set up, but the HW break Barrels are classics. My favorite HW ... the 77k with the superb "Rekord" trigger. Spring powered. http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/...uch_HW77K_Carbine/35 At the moment the build of the HWs is great. A few years back they had some issues but all the new ones I've seen are really good straight out of the box. BSA made good guns but they merged with GAMO now they are crap. All cheap plastic bits, sights crooked, woodwork rubbish. Don't shoot straight, very sad. Don't worry TOO much about ultimate power it's all ... "Where you hit 'em ... Not how hard you hit 'em" with airguns. As long as you have 800 fps with a medium weight pellet in .22 or a bit more with a .177 you have a useful tool. "When doing battle, seek a quick victory." | |||
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please don't believe Gamo's published velocities. having run a few over a chronograph( even with the super lightweight pellets which suck for accuracy) the numbers are pie in the sky bullshit. much better to buy a quality used gun from Pyrymid Air or AoA. if you could hit the wall of a barn from the inside with a Gamo, you got a good one. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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If you grab the GAMO by the barrel and swing it like a Cricket bat, then let go just before it's horizontal you can achieve good accuracy and surprising range. Wear gloves or the cheap nasty front sight may cut your hand. "When doing battle, seek a quick victory." | |||
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Why not start with something like a Diana M34 combo with a scope and get a feel for airguns before dumping a big wad of cash? M34's are great tools, accurate, as powerful as you will ever need and built to last a lifetime. If you want to step up in fit, finish and trigger look at an R-9. It's a big jump from a Gamo to a $750 class air rifle. What sort of shooting do you want to do? Hate to see someone spend big bucks and then only shoot tin cans in the back yard. Disappointment is inevitable | |||
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I'll be happy to pay less than $750 if it get me a good pellet rifle. I want something with good power but even more essential would be accuracy. My intended use would be things like rabbits, groundhogs, crows and racoons; the larger animals being with head shots. | |||
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Grumulkin, When you figure this one out...PM me the decision...I want one to...can't figure out which one! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. Lane Easter, DVM A born Texan has instilled in his system a mind-set of no retreat or no surrender. I wish everyone the world over had the dominating spirit that motivates Texans.– Billy Clayton, Speaker of the Texas House No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born in Texas.— Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991. | |||
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Hey Grumulkin, I heard from my old MARINE CORPS buddy Ralph yesterday. He was telling me a guy he used to work with, Joe, had just told him about Killing some Coons(in a tree over his head) with a GAMO!  So, I asked what kind of Pellent Joe had used and Ralph said he didn't know - but - felt it was the Cheapest thing Joe could find. I do not mean the above as a GAMO endorsement. If you want a few Grins, here is a link to the Crosman Storm XT which Ralph gave me. He basically caught the first one On Sale for $89 and then got the one he gave me for $1.06. I find that part real interesting anyhow.  I'd originally planned to get one of the Nitro Piston Air Rifles, but now this one is doing pretty well with three different Pellets, so I plan to just stick with it for awhile. Just tried some GAMO Pellets with a sharp Red Plastic Tip within the Lead. And the Crosman Premier Hollow Points shoot really well as do the GAMO Pellets with the tiny Steel Ball in the Tip of a Pellet. I'd think you and Ledvm could both get some real fine Air Rifles for $750. Biggest problem I had when looking was I kept "increasing" the Base Price as I continued to look at them. Then it would dawn on me what I intended to do with it and I'd come back to my level of reality. Best of luck with whatever you both select. | |||
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ledvm, I'll let you know. The Weihrauch HW80 and HW90 rifles look VERY interesting. The published velocities are 1,000 and 1125 fps respectively which should be fast enough for me. I ran into a guy who related an interesting story. He was being pestered by deer in his yards and, wanting to scare one away, decided to shoot it with his .177 caliber pump up pellet rifle. The pellet entered a nostril and the deer was dead right there. I related the story to a colleague who thought I was talking about a more local incident several years ago. It seems that once again, a homeowner wanted to defend his shrubs agains maurading deer so he shot one with a pellet gun (caliber and type unknown to me) just intending to scare it away but instead killed it and then was asking around to find out of someone wanted to eat his kill. On a less impressive note, a homeowner on another forum related how he had shot a nuisance dog, a large one by the way, in the head with a pellet rifle and once again, DRT. Very interesting; they're definitely not toys. | |||
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i repeat- those published velocities are using the lightest alloy pellets around in .177-and those are NOTORIOUSLY INACCURATE. if you want a quality springer, get a RWS, HW, or Air Arms. and if most of your shooting will be at game, stick with .22. for less money( a lot less money), get a Benjamin NP XL.Build quality will be less but for casual plinking and small game hunting, damn good value. it comes with a decent scope and sling. after cleaning the barrel( an absolute must in this rifle), mine shot under 1/2 inch groups at 25 yds. and slightly less than 1 inch at 50 while making damn good power. has a full barrel shroud, so it is fairly quiet. the trigger is crap but a REALLY good after market drop in replacement( cost $30 and installation took less than 15 minutes) makes it a pleasure to shoot and really helps the accuracy. since i started shooting PCP's, i rarely shoot mine but it really is a great rifle for the money- less than $350 all in, including trigger replacement, shipping- everything. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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Well gentlemen, I ordered a Benjamin Trail NP LX 1100 from Cabela's. I read various reviews and, like jdollar said, that rifle seems to get good performance though the trigger is said to be poor (it's supposed to get better after use though). It is on a 4 or 5 week backorder but the price was right. There is currently a promotion on for online orders; $50 of the $299.99 price. In addition there is a free shipping PROMO code that could be worth another $20 or so dependening on where you live. But, that's not all; I had some gift cards from when I bought previous items from Cabela's AND I had points saved up on my Cabela's credit card so, for the gun, scope, etc., I was out a whole $58.73! Generally, I've found things priced a bit high at Cabela's but sometimes they're the only place to get really good stuff and sometimes they have some smoke'n deals. Several years ago, I was shopping for a CZ 550 Safari Magnum and, after calling a number of gun stores found that Cabela's had 3 in stock at a lower price than anyone else. In fact, lo these many years later, I don't think I've ever seen a used one offered for less than I got my new one with very nice wood for. By the way, jdollar, where did you get your after market triger? | |||
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Good luck with that one. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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do a googl search for GRT III TRIGGER or Charlie DaTUNA. He makes them and sells them online- about $30 delivered. simple drop in installation and takes less than 15 minutes. forget the BS about the stock trigger getting better. you will somewhat get use to it, but it is still shit. the GRT 3 makes it shoot like a whole different gun. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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Well, I got my air rifle yesterday and shot it today. It's not bad! The only thing my local Gander Mountain had in the way of .22 caliber pellets was the Gamo brand; the ones that look like they have a BB embedded in the nose. It looks like for now 50 yard groups with those pellets will come in about 2 inches and 25 yards groups are a LOT better. I think it will serve my purposes well. As for the trigger; I don't think I'm going to change it. I have real guns that have worse triggers. I find it much more annoying to have a trigger with a lot of creep on a gun that has a lot of recoil than on one like my air rifle that has no recoil to speak of. It is a quite large rifle; similar in length to my 458 Lott and when shot, has quite a crack reminiscent of a 22 LR so I guess the pellets must be breaking mach 1. | |||
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the best way to tighten your groups is get rid of the trigger. you will not believe how much more accurate that rifle can be. my NP XL shot consistent 1 inch 50 yard groups once i changed the trigger. and the Gamo pellets you mentioned will not go supersonic in that rifle( too heavy). i tried them over a chrony and NEVER got them above 1000fps. the 1100 fps( supersonic speeds) that Benjamin advertises can only be achieved with the VERY light alloy pellets- and accuracy goes to hell if there is ANY breeze. Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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Well, maybe I will change the trigger. I think you're right about the supersonic thing but on the first couple of shots I took with the rifle there was a loud CRAAAK similar to a 22 LR being shot but it doesn't do that any longer. I weighed the pellets, by the way, and they weigh 14.3 grains. | |||
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the Crossman Premiers that i shot in mine were 14.3 grains- and i can absolutely guarantee you they won't go supersonic. they averaged about 855fps and very very consistent and accurate at that velocity. the CRACCK you were hearing was the piston/spring/ hammer combo as they seated and broke in. also, hopefully you cleaned the barrel good before shooting it- the Chinese leave some nasty machine oil/grease residue in the barrel. even after a thorough cleaning, the rifle will still diesel for about 200 or more shots( "smoke" comes out of the muzzle and breech). this is the machining oil remaining on the spring and piston surfaces burning off. the owners manual recommends about 250 shots to break in the moving parts IIRC and that is a conservative estimate. mine took at least that many before it quit "smoking". you will never realize the full potential of this rifle until you change the trigger- it will be like you have a whole new gun! Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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Dieseling, eh. I guess that would explain the crack. I did clean it well before shooting it; the first patches came out black. The only loud CRACKS I got were on the first two shots; it's pretty quiet to shoot now. | |||
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