Gamo Urban 22 Wandering POI caused by Barrel Band - Fixed

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CharlieF

CharlieF

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Aug 30, 2018
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Hoover, Alabama, United States
First, I do not have $1.5 to $2 K to invest in a high end PCP. The Urban works well for my tree rat killing needs with the max range of 45 yds (that is my max killing range due to neighbors, etc.). The expensive stuff is wonderful and I would buy a FX, Brocock, etc. if I needed more range, shot competitively, and had a nose that was running money (I'd blow it all on air rifles). I have none of the above, so the Gamo Urban 22 works just fine with tweaking. I already tweaked the trigger pull to 1.2 lbs and did not need to adjust the hammer tension since I was getting 30 good shots per fill (fill to 2900 and refill at 1500 with approx. 50 psi expended for each shot) with little variation in FPS (verified by my Chrony).

My POI was wandering. Scope had no issues, mounts were secure but I had to crank the elevation up to max to get near a zero. I started researching the issue and found the following on GTA:


The Barrel Band is not needed, it cause all the POI issues.
It seems the air tube is not parralle with the barrel. On mine the air tube is angle down. Putting the barrell Band on flexes the barrel down so much the gun will shoot very low and will not be able to zero it.

Same goes for left and right, the band is so tight if you push the barrel to one side it will stay there. Some people had guns point so far left or right they ran out of l/R turret adjustment on their scopes.

FIX1 - Cut the band off. I slid the band over the brass fill area put some protective tape under it so I would not marr it. Then cut it with a hacksaw blade and finished it off using some cutter pliars.
Once i did this the barrel poped up to where it should be and it was easy to sight in.
The barrel is very thick and strong, it does not need a band.

The entire post is here https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=142840.0  . I did not cut the barrel band all the way off. Just the top portion holding the barrel. The lower portion around the cylinder also acts as a stop for the port cover. i left it on. After completing removal from the barrel, it popped right up. Sure enough the barrel band was pulling it down.

This solved my problem. No wandering POI after 4 shooting sessions spaced out over a week. Groups were .4 inches at 25 yds with H&N 14.66 FTTs and .5 inches at 45 yds (max range for my environment).

I do not have the magazine issues mentioned in the GTA post. My Urban has the metal stop with a magnet to hold the magazine in properly. This may be old news, but since their are a lot of new folks (including me) I thought I would post this.

Charlie

RETIRED US ARMY SPECIAL FORCES
 
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I have a Buccaneer that can put a full magazine through the exact same hole at 30 yards with JSB pellets. Whenever I have to remove the barrel band, I always fire a few shots to let it settle before I retighten the clamp back up. I know what you mean by it pulling the barrel down as I have had to shim my scope to compensate. I am happy to do this as it holds it all tight and the POI shift is very minor from a full to empty tube. If you want to float the barrel, why don't you just remove the Oring from the barrel side of the clamp, that should give you enough clearance to get the result you want without cutting up your original parts.
 
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I tried that first and the barrel was still up against the top of the band. There was very poor alignment between the barrel and tube. Cutting it off (the barrel portion) allowed me to not have to shim the scope or have any POI shift. No all Urbans have this issue. You are lucky that you were able to compensate by adding shims. Great comment. Hope any others who have this issue will try your method before cutting the band off the barrel.



Charlie
 
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Charlie. 

Thanks once again for your service to this great country.

i just received my Urban on 12/3/18. Unfortunately the pump arrived just this morning at my office and I have only been able to shoot it with the air that came in the rifle, about 20 shots. It took only 6 shots to dial it in at my 30yd backyard kill zone. 

I don’t know how much elevation adjustment my UTG scope has left because I had just robbed the scope for the Urban off my Gamo Maxxim springer and I was all the time cranking the adjustments every time I’d shoot that darn thing.

Now that the pump has arrived and I have built my shooting bench I plan to stretch her out a little bit. The trigger feels fine to me but I will probably play with it some just to see what she’s capable of. I have a range finder and some medium mounts coming soon. Next I need is an inexpensive, reliable, non fussy chronograph.

I can’t wait for this weekend when I can get out and remove some sparrows and starlings. 

Take care and God bless. 

Tim. 
 
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It seems that as a non-permanent method to check effectiveness on a rifle one could pull the barrel band off, or pull the barrel and rotate the band so that the barrel end is out of the way (maybe rotate it to 6 o'clock). That way if it doesnt work/help then it can be reversed. I dont have one of these yet but have been looking at them very hard. Can the moderator come off or is it molded to the barrel?
 
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The barrel does not move around at all that I can notice. If you look at most BSA rifles, the barrel is free floated. Mine has held zero without any deviation since I cut it off. The moderator is permanently attached. Glued on. This prevents slipping the band off or rotating it. One Gage is to loosen the band and slip the oring out of the way. If the barrel moves up and touches the top of the band with the oring out of the way, then you may want to consider cutting it off.

Charlie
 
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I also just purchased an Urban with the $199.99 price tag, just couldn't pass it up. So far it is shooting the 18.13's pretty good at 30 yards, haven't had much time recently to tinker with it more but will check out the barrel band. I bought a 1/2x20 die off Amazon to thread the barrel if I decide to remove the factory suppressor and use an aftermarket. I also ordered a pack of 6- 2.5x12 hex head screws to improve the trigger. If someone else would like one, just PM me and I'll mail you one. My stock screw is 7mm so the 8mm might have worked but I didn't measure it until after ordering, just went by a video I watched that said the stock was 8mm so I went up, figuring I can trim off what I don't need.
 
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I own a Gamo Urban shooting half 1//2 groups at 50 with the barrel on. I should try shooting it without the barrel band to see if my groups tighten up btw.. thank you for your service charlie 

iraq/Afghanistan combat veteran 11b sgt second infantry division
Click to expand...

I was 11B for 16 yrs then an18. Thanks for your service Brother. 
 
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I know this is an old thread but I have owned an urban and now a coyote and I know this is a huge issue with this gun. I really hope someone will still look at this thread and explain to me how this fixes anything. It makes zero sense to me. Ok both my coyote and urban if that barrel band came loose you could bump the barrel a good 1/2 “ in either direction. This indicates no rigidity in the attachment between the barrel and the breech. This in itself is ridiculous and what pisses me off about airguns. Can we get a barrel that is solid like on a damn firearm that doesn’t move ?? It ain’t that hard and why do airgunners put up with this garbage?? Anyway In my mind if the barrel band is removed it seems that stupid barrel would move back and forth when the wind blows?? How can this platform possibly hold POI when a simple bump moves the whole barrel. I don’t understand and really would like too before cutting that band off. Please someone explain.
 
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Take a breath…now cut the damn thing off. It changes POI because the barrel band pinches it and holds it at different POI’s. The barrel is plenty rigid if the gun is in good shape. The barrel band is a hindrance, not a feature in this case. Without the band, the barrel will return to zero when bumped because it can…without the barrel band.
 
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