Gauntlet .30 testing results [pellets, slugs, etc] review and discussion thread

Thanks to kaylaindy here in the classifieds, I got my hands on an early release Umarex Guantlet 2 .30 caliber.

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Came in the mail today. Mounted a Vortex Crossfire II 6-24x scope and it was a 2 shot sight in at 50 yards.

Also put on a DonnyFL "FX" moderator, which is the only one I have in 30 caliber. Stole it off my AEA HP SS 30+ which I suppose can go unmoderated now, in light of the new acquisition. I did not shoot the gun without a moderator on it, so I can't (yet) tell you how much louder it would be. However, it's still got a bit of volume to it even with the LDC. Backyard friendly? In my back yard, "quiet" enough. In yours -- depends on your neighbors. They'll know you're shooting some kind of gun for sure. Maybe a Sumo or bigger moderator would quiet it down, but even the sound of the pellet/slug and impact is noticeable with this.

I put maybe 100 rounds through it this afternoon. So these are early impressions, and I plan to update this thread as I spend more time with it and experiment further.

First impressions-- so it's a bit darker and greener than my .25 caliber Guantlet 2. I loved that gun so much I was certain I wouldn't be disappointed with the G2 30. So far so good. The only noticeable differences besides that are:

1. It has a more significant barrel band
2. The bolt action is longer / more travel (and I dare say perhaps smoother operation)
3. There is a hammer spring adjustment that takes an allen key. I have not touched this yet -- but I will be soon and will give results!
4. Of course it has the threads for a moderator on the barrel

So I started with the 44.75 grain FX pellets. I did not bother to take out the crony today, but I will soon. The trigger is the same as the Guantlet 2 .25 so I was hitting bullseye at 50 yards with ease. Pulled a few shots but the gun clearly shot exactly where it was pointed.

Shot a few magazines of that, going back and forth between seeing how it grouped at 50 yards and smacking metal targets at 50 and 75 yards. It really smacked those metal spinners like a boss. Hitting the tiny spinners was no issue. Accurate just like my G2 25 but a whole different league of laying down the smack.

So I took out my box of FX Hybrid Slugs in 44.5 grain. I had low expectations for this. And they were a little tough to cram into the breech. But, to my surprise I was right on target! Zero change in point of impact. Shot a 7 shot group and they shot just as well as the pellets.

So then I took out my bag of NSA 47.2 grain cup based hollow point slugs. These actually went into the beech pretty well. Good enough to load into the magazine. Bullseye. Same hole. Same hole. Same hole. Stretched it out to 75 yards... 2 shots touching each other. Zero point of impact change at 75 yards . Then blasted some metal spinners. Knocked one right out of the ground. YES!!!

Just to wrap this up, it seems like this gun LOVES slugs and in some cases shoots them even better than pellets.

One last thing to mention for now, it seemed like I got slightly better air efficiency with the slugs as well. With the pellets I was getting close to the 2800 psi regulator with 2 magazines. With the slugs I shot 3 magazines comfortably (21 shots). In further testing I will see how the shot curve goes when you fall off the reg. I suspect it will still be quite powerful and accurate for a decent # of shots under the reg, but we'll see.

Any questions, let me know. I'm going on vacation for a few days but I'll get the chrony out, mess around with the hammer spring, different ammo, etc when I get back.
* LATEST 30SL UPDATE* 78gr/858fps and 85gr Griffin slugs, 127 ft lbs and same hole 7 shot group at 40 yards bench rested..64 gr Griffin Slugs at 120 ft lbs/921fps and one hole grouping at 40yds..Anyone using 3100psi regulator? thats where im headed..