Are Gamos really all “JUNK”?

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FPS has never been a problem with this ones. This Whisper Fusion is throwing them all over 800 FPS. At least the premiers. The JSB 16 and 18 very close too. That’s one of the reasons why I would have love for this thing to group better. I wanted to keep the springer. The plastic is one of the things I like the most. My purpose for this one is to be a truck gun, just to lay there getting beat up until needed. If someone breaks into the truck and steals it, no big loss. All plastic covered so no rust or scratches. Can’t do that to the HW97. My old Gamo sat in the backyard for 5 years and shot pretty well till the day I sold it to buy my first PCP. Same exact gun I’m trying to keep now but i guess this years version is no good. I do remember going to Spain in the late 80’s and even though the Gamos were made there, they were top notch at the stores. Not cheap either for back then. 
 
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If Gamo still made the Shadow/Hunter models from Y2K I might change my answer. I still shoot my old Shadow 1000 .177 often and I recently had it apart to make a parts list. I was amazed that the spring was still in one piece, even though I had a few detonations when I first learned to clean a springer. It is probably time for a fresh piston seal. While it was apart I noticed it had over 2" of pre-load on the spring. I machined 1/2" of pre-load off the spring guide spacer and did a proper lube and tune. I don't know the new FPE, but it now shoots 5.56g H&N and CPHP's interchangeably and both under the sound barrier. The 5.56g were supersonic before the de-tune. It's too bad the gas springs aren't tunable, as this thing is a shooter now.
 
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I would disagree with those who opine that ALL Gamos are junk! I just replied to another thread, and my response here will be pretty close to the same, but I have two Swarm Maxxims in .22, and my neighbor has one in .177. All are capable of putting pellets in the same basic hole at fifteen yards. I will state that the very first thing one should do when getting one is thoroughly clean the barrel. I used a bronze brush first, then followed up with Hoppe's #9 on several patches, then clean patches. #1 rifle was absolutely a mess inside, #2 not so much. But I cleaned both before I shot them, and this was because I saw a video review which brought this to my attention. 

Secondly, one must experiment to find the right pellet for the rifle. I found two early on that worked extremely well. I first discovered the Gamo Rocket, then found the JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy 18.3 grain, and that's where I stopped! The rifles all like to be held firmly, instead of in the 'artillery hold'...and I shoot off a tripod. My trigger elbow is braced on my chair, and this sort of shooting position triangulates everything. If I don't use this hold, my shots are all over the place...same thing for my neighbor who poo pooed my idea...until he tried it, and LO! It's a miracle! His .177 isn't quite as accurate...that could be him, or it could be that he buys any old pellet from Walmart and doesn't put any thought into pellet choice. He shoots good groups, mind you, much better than those indicated elsewhere in this thread.

Before I bought my first Swarm...I have two because I bought another after somebody tried forcing a .177 magazine into my .22...I did some research, and what I found that although some complained about inaccuracy, most folks said the opposite. I've been VERY satisfied with my Gamos, although I'll admit that they are not the end all to beat all...for me, that would be the Air Arms TX200 Mk III, but that's up the road. 

So, if you're having accuracy problems, I'd suggest cleaning the barrel...find the right pellet...discover the correct hold for your rifle...and take your time when you shoot! Works for me!
 
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Yep, clean the barrel ....and keep it fairly clean, remove all the screws adding Loc-tite and snug them all up equally. Add a decent scope shimmed so that zero is a good bit away from the stops....and it should shoot just fine.

It may not impress you on paper but if you are a decent shooter it will put down pests and small game just fine. I can confidently kill squirrels and bunny's out to 40 yards with my Swarm .22 

Since my POI suffers when I am surprised by the trigger I taught myself to touch it off deliberately instead of squeeeeezzing. No problem hitting my target.
 
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I do have a swarm maxim in 177 too. Bought it for my stepson to learn to shoot and get the basics. Plus I wanted to see if it would be any better in 177 compared to .22 I’ll have to say that it shoots all over the place, from a shooting rest, artillery hold, bipod... it doesn’t matter. Been thinking about clamping it down with a vise or plumbers tape but I’m afraid id be wasting my time. 

My previous .22 which shot half way decent, I did clean once in five years. And it did shoot a bit better after the clean. Maybe I need to do that to this new one. Plus I only have about 75 pellets thru it. So maybe shooting a few more will help. I did try all the JSBs 18/16/14/25 and even the Gamo 22gr. So I’ll clean it tomorrow and see. 
 
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a .177 gamo raptor was on sale so i picked one up along with some cphp pellets. i was just getting into airguns, didn't know anything about springers, and immediately mounted the supplied scope and began shooting it. no cleaning the barrel. no break in period. the scope was toast in less than 10 shots. i kept shooting it with the iron sights and it hit everything i aimed at. sparrows fell like rain at 30yrds, and water filled soda cans burst open at 100yrds. i had a little competition in my yard with some friends and easily made them look bad. i was hooked. then i picked up a .22 NP2 Trail and the gamo was set aside for rainy days. one of the friends who was shooting with me that day wanted the gamo and i sold it to him. for me, it was the perfect rainy day in the woods rifle. light, cheap, accurate, and i didn't care if it got wet. 

i guess my raptor was the exception rather than the rule.


 
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Fishinwrench and Yarddog bring up some good point about holds and triggers. Most of the mid-level springer shooters just assume the artillery hold is the only way for all springers. Maybe the new Gamo's can be added to the list of springers that like a firm PB style hold. I have heard similar claims about the Hatsan 125 sniper. Triggers are a make or break item for me. Yesterday I saw this in a very dramatic way at the range Shooting at 50 feet indoors with my Prowler .22 using a target with 1" squares. Every shot was inside a nickle and more than half touching the bullseye. The one of my new shooting buddies handed me one of the top target PCP rifles in the world with a $500 scope and I could barely hit the outside edge of the squares. He had adjusted his trigger for an 8 oz single stage. Then I shot the same PCP brand new off the wall with peep sight and 2 stage trigger and I was back on target almost as good as my $100 Prowler. So I guess I'm saying that matching my reflexes to to a 2 lb trigger served me better than a $700 target PCP and this was using GTO alloy pellets.
 
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So today I cleaned the barrel on the Whisper Fusion.22 then shot another 200 pellets, cleaned it again. Maybe a slight improvement but I’m still not happy with it. Some shots are dead on, some are 3 inches apart; at 25 yards. I’m starting to think it’s a combination of the shooter with this rifle. Maybe I’m not good at shooting this gas piston type. It definitely recoils different than the springers, including my hw97. Screw it, I’m done with it. Back in the box and up for sale. 
 
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In Germany, the Gamo rifles are quite notorious for their heavy kickback. As Gamo tries to safe money, they don't outfit their rifles with springs or gas pistons that are designed for the German 7.5 Joule muzzle energy limit on free to purchase and own air powered arms. Instead they install the full power systems in the rifles destined for the german market and tame the energy down by either drilling a vent hole in the pressure piston or drilling in a smaller transfer port. Result is unbalanced systems, that kick like hell and tend to waste scopes quickly... Only remedy would be to take a german Gamo to a licensed gunsmith, asking to get the transfer port / vented piston fixed and/or have an weaker spring installed to stay inside legal limits, as any air gun over 7.5 Joules requires a) a fire arms licence in Germany and b) any private modifications to an air gun potentially upping the systems power (except normal maintenance like changing old seals, springs etc.) can be considered criminal action by our authorities... 

Long story short: As nice as the 10 shot Maxxim IGT or other Gamo rifles may look, at least in Germany it is not worth the hassle. If I were to buy a rifle, I'd rather look for Weihrauch, Diana, Feinwerkbau or a Wather, maybe also an Umarex.
 
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I had to try one last thing before giving up. So I got some more 18gr JSB’s and strapped the rifle as hard as I could to the shooting rest. Held it as hard as I could and shot a few groups. The dang thing does shoot straight and groups really well. Took off all the straps and tried it again. No grouping at all. 

So I’m thinking that the gas piston recoil is what we need to get used to. Or find a way to remove the gas piston and replace with a spring. Someone has probably already done that. I’m very curious to find out 
 
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I have owned a couple have only one now Viper Express. The trigger sucks but what ever its a shotgun in a riffle stock. All the gamo triggers I've shot are junk... I keep this Viper cuz it does a great job on rattle snakes and small pest in and around the house its the time of year the mice look for shelter inside so pulled it out last night and got the little house invader... If it wasn't the bee's knees when it comes to making a mess out of rattle snakes I'd of hucked it in the garbage where all other gamos belong
 
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I own a few of these and in my opinion, none of the .177 springers from Walmart or Bass Pro are going to give less than 1.5" groups at 20 yards. They shoot too hot for a .177 combined with a cheap Spanish or Chinese barrel. The cheaper Gamo will sometimes have plastic in pivot points. The New $300 magnum models are the exception. For the cheap stuff I'm happy with my .22 Crosman Prowler is at least well made and it broke in after 700 pellets. My groups are still double the size I would need to shoot AAHFT, but it's a nice plinker once you throw away the OEM scope and mod the trigger. Mine is a keeper, unless somebody offers me $75 so I can buy one of those RWS 34 sales or an HW77/97K.

There is a PB guy who is new to springers who has the same Prowler with less than a tin of pellets through his and he hates it. So your mileage may vary.

I would say the Nova Liberty would be my #1 truck gun if I owned a pump. and the RWS 34 if I didn't. There is also a Pyramid black Friday Urban deal out there.
Click to expand...

Do you own a Nova liberty? If so how do you like it?
 
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I own an Urban 22, Mach I .177, and a Varmint .177. None of the rifles are junk. They all shoot well, group well and handle well. Scopes are junk. I replaced the spring in the Varmint with a gas piston and put a BSA red dot sight on it. it will now shoot h&n no lead at 1175fps. The mach has the large gas piston and a Centerpoint scope. It chronies h&n ftts at 987fps and is very accurate. The Urban whips the llamas ass.



Charlie
 
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