GTA
General Discussion To Gateway To Airguns => Gamo Gate => : Snorkel April 17, 2009, 11:40:53 AM
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I am compareing the Gamo Big Cat 1200 against Crosman Quest 1000 and Beeman. I don't know where any of them are made. China, Spain USA or somewhere else.
I also would like to get an opinion on which one would be the better air gun. I guess I'm in the wrong forum to ask that question.
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What are you planning to use the rifle for??? Target shooting ?? Hunting ???? Aslo, how much do you want to spend ??
That might help you narrow down your choices and give people more info with which to give you a rifle suggestion....
Jeff
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Good question and this forum will do as well as any. The Gamos are made in Spain, for the most part. The older 1250 (now Extreme?) is made in England. That's a very high powered break barrel gun. The Quest is Chinese. Some of the other Beemans, such as the dual caliber/barrel set sold in WalMart, are made in China, as well. The R series Beemans (R-7, R-9, R-1, etc) are made for Beeman by HW in Germany. As a result, their fit, finish and price are double or triple that of the Spanish/Chinese guns.
Which gun is best for you? Depends entirely upon what you want to do with it and, perhaps next, how much you are willing to spend. On the lower $ end, the Chinese guns are presently pretty good buys. Mike Milleck, who posts here, imports them and will give them a tune/inspection before shipping, which is much more than you will find almost anywhere. The Ruger Air Hawk is also a good buy. For a bit more you can get a Diana 34 (German break barrel) that is a great hunting/plinking gun and built to last. The new Panther synthetic stocked model is proving to be quite popular. As to Gamo, I'm not a fan of the Big Cat but, then, I don't have one to go by, either. I would rather spend a bit more and get a CFX underlever. Again, it all depends on your needs.
Oh, and don't forget there are other air guns besides springers. Benjamin Sheridan pump ups and the Benjamin Discovery pre-compressed air rifles, for example. So, what do you think you will be doing with an air rifle? That is where your shopping journey begins. But, be warned! Sometimes the air gun shopping journey is never-ending, especially if you get infected with air gun oil.
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I just want an accurate,durable plinker and target gun. I don't want to spend more than $150.00 or so!
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...as one almost complete newbie to another let me offer a couple of recommendations...for around 100USD you can get a breakbarrel Daisy Powerline/Winchester 1000S(X) (same basic gun)...these are fairly "rough" guns but hit hard and are fairly accurate right out of the box...for not much more money, you can get a breakbarrel Ruger Air/Black Hawk or the Crossman Quest1000...they are probably somewhat better guns(maybe) and like the Daisy/Winchester line, they shoot in the 1000fps range...they will all make good basic hunting/plinking guns...for around 75-85USD you can get the Chinese QB78 CO2 gun, which shoots in the 600fps range and are pretty good guns for the money with lots of options/tunes available for them...there are about a kazillion choices out there so it will pay to do some research on your own and find the perfect AR for you
madjack(http://../jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-cool.gif)
p.s to all the owners of those "other" kazillion guns, please don't flame me up too badly, I am only offering a quick opinion on what I have learned in the last few weeks of learning about this new to me sport...TYVM
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Check out the threads here on the Beeman dual barrel rifle from WalMart. While most guys like to keep the .22 on them, you can use whichever you feel like. Maybe .177 for target and .22 for hunting. They appear to respond well to some simple modifications. And they are the same gun that Beeman wants about $50 more for. My local WalMart has them for $125. Trigger is adjustable, too. The Air Hawk also has an adjustable trigger which is a copy of the Diana gun's. Or, if you are patient, you might be able to score a nice used gun right here on the classifieds. One that is broken in (not broken) and maybe already tuned some.
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Some things to consider like I did when choosing/buying air rifles is I wanted something pretty quiet so I could shoot in my back yard in a mid-sized town with neighbors. If I spent $100 on an airgun and then got shut down when my neighbor called the police, then I just wasted $100. If I'm going to go to all the trouble to pack up and go to a rifle range, then I'm going to shoot powder guns not airguns. Since I shoot in my yard I don't need 1000 fps either.I figured a 1000 fps gun would be louder-not just the gun itself, but the pellet travelling faster when it hits the pellet trap. I ended up buying a Crosman 1077 Combo (with 4x32 Centerpoint scope).The gun isn't very loud. Of course, I found that a CO2 gun is limited in colder temps. I am looking forward to shooting it in the warmer temps coming soon I hope (Washington State). Then, of course, I ill with airgun aquisition syndrome, and bought my first "springer". It's a Beeman model 1024 break down rifle (not one of the dual barrel ones) and is rated at 550 fps I believe. So I am well familiar with the difficulties of getting a springer to shoot accurately and, more importantly, consistently.The springer also likes to suddenly change its pellet preferences leaving me to doubt my shooting abilities.But then I got the sickness again and bought a multi pump-a Remington Airmaster 77.This gun is quiet,has a better trigger than either of the other two, and is not the least bit picky about what pellets it likes to shoot.It's capable of around 750 fps with ten pumps, but I'm using five as it shoots very well and is quiet.To say a springer is hold sensitive is an understatement.The CO2 and multi pump are much easier to shoot well.But if you live in a cold climate, the CO2 may not be very useable until it warms up.Maybe a multi pump might be the best compromise?? I like all three of my guns and intend to keep them.
Good luck in your choice.
jon
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Check out sportsmansguide.com they have some great prices on air guns at times. Right now you can get the Ruger Air Hawk or Black Hawk for $90 bucks.... and if you belong to their buyers club you can usually get a $10 off coupon (no minimum purchase price) . I think I'd go for either one of the Rugers before I'd buy the Big Cat... It's a copy of the Diana 34 which is a really nice gun, has a great trigger right out of the box and they've been getting some very good customer reviews here and elsewhere..... just a thought
Jeff
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About the costs of getting caught shooting where you aren't allowed to. In many place, such as where I live, that includes the backyard. You may be out the cost of the air gun, only, if you're lucky. You may also get cited and that will cost you more in fines. Then again, if you are shooting some place like near a school, you may find yourself arrested for firearms possession like a youngster I know. Felony conviction. Community service. Lawyer fees (no pro-bono for him). They can really add up. It is ALWAYS best to do your homework regarding YOUR local laws, especially in this day and age.
A good point made, above, about the lower powered air rifles. The springers can be easier to shoot and much less noisy. If you are punching paper or the occasional starling, they will do fine. Now, if you can find a Slavia 631 you will see exactly what I mean.
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Excellent point, Redfeather. I live in a semi out-in-the-country area; however, it still falls within the city limits of the town where I work. We have a very, very strictly enforced no shooting ordinance which applies to anything greater than .177 caliber; the ordinance specifies air powered rifles and pistols. Behind me, there are approximately 300 acres of undeveloped property, mostly woods and ponds with the majority of the land adjoining a neighboring township. Their ordinance is the same as our own. If caught shooting anthing of greater caliber then the above or if the weapon is a rimfine or centerfire, YOU WILL go go jail, no if's, and's or buts about it. If it happens to be an air pistol and you're caught with it concealed beneath your jacket or outer clothing, you will also be facing a charge of CCW..a felony. Yeah, it pays to know where you can shoot, what you can shoot and if you can shoot it. If a person wishes to shoot somwhere and has any questions concerning the legality, call the agency which handles the police function within the area where you wish to shoot. It may be a city, township or Sheriff's Department, but they will have the ordinances on hand and can read them to you verbatim. The last thing a civilian wants to do is get himself caught up in a gun charge...Whenever I see a a person with a gun charge come up on my cars' MDT, trust me, that person is subject to a whole lot more intensive questioning then someout without.
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That's what the police offer told me when I asked about shooting over in a nearby powerline right of way. Someone would likely see me, phone in about "a man with a gun" and they would have to respond. Also heard one young dad tell about teaching his kid how to shoot in the woods by his house. They were surrounded by three or four officers, guns drawn and told to "drop your weapons!" He said the "weapons" were obviously bb guns, not the lookalikes.
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If I had to guess off-hand, I'd say probably 25 percent of my SRT call-outs each year are in response to people who pulled a gun on someone else where the "gun" has ultimatelyturned out to be a bb gun or lately, the airsoft rifles and handguns. People think it's cool to spray paint the barrels of those airsofts in order to make them look like the "real" thing. Problem is, they do look like the real thing. They're 1 to 1 copies. What the individual doesn't consider when he does spray paint that toy, is the fact once they pull it and use it in a threatening manner, ie., as if it were a real firearm, he's just commited a felony and he's gonna take a ride with me.
The same applies to our springers. Heck, a month ago, I never realized these things were as large as a powder burner, I've always associated pellet rifles with Daisy or Crosman, etc. In addition to my road patrol duties, I'm also one of the range officers and spend more time with firearms then most of the other people on my department combined. Now, imagine an officer who has no experience with air rifles and approaches someone carring a Diana or a Gamo or whatever else...he or she is not going to treat it any differently then if the person were carrying a shotgun or other centerfire.
I understand about the guns obviously being bb guns, but on the other hand, when we approach people, 99.9999 percent of the time, we have no idea who you are, what you're up to, what your intentions are, etc. Unfortunately, we have to error on the side of caution, not only for our protection, but for yours as well.