Airgun choices

Hi, I am new to airgunning - although not to shooting in general, and to this forum.  Being interested in either the Gamo Shadow Sport ot the Beeman SS1000H, I would like to learn which rifle might suit my particular desires; There does not seem to be enough balanced reviews available to help me decide.  I am interested in acurracy and quality of workmanship.  I would also like to purchase an airgun that does not need tuning before it reaches the three or four year mark.  What do you all think?  Is it a possability in this price range?

If you want the Beeman, get it without the Beeman name here : http://store.dauvensfishinhole.com/8046564.html   It's only $82.00 and has the "good" trigger on it, not the crappy one. It's the same as the Beeman GH1000, but without the Beeman logo on it

[Gene_SC]

Rdtricks

Welcome aboard. I have no experience with high end springers. But I do have a couple high end PCP's.. The PCP's are fantastic out of the box. I also own around 15 Gamo springers and love them. As far as servicability goes, most of my Gamo's are under a year old, but I shoot almost every day. The other guys here will chime in on this and give you another view on there experiences and ownership of different springers that they have bought and what to expect.

When I think of a out of the box springer that needs no tune or major adjustment for what I use them for then I think of one with a price tag of $600.00 to $1100.00. Yikessssssssssss Those are strickly high end and little maintenance springers. So if you want a springer that shoots very accurate and trouble free right out of the box with years of  use then get ready to part with some major dollars..

Good luck
Gene

You guys think you  pay a lot for good springers? Here in SA good springers are almost double the price of what you pay. So go crazy and enjoy!!!!
Well if you really don't know what to buy, there is always the BSA Supersport or Lightning. I will recommend any of those anytime.

[daved]

Something else to keep in mind.  Almost everyone that owns one loves the Beeman R9.  And almost all of them say it needs a tune out of the box.  And the R9 is considered one of the great guns that all others are compared against!  The one thing that a Gamo needs more than anything else is a decent trigger.  $30 gets you one of Charlies' triggers, with that and a good selection of pellets, you're good to go.  My CFX shot very well in stock trim, so does my bosses Varmint Hunter aka S1K.  Tuning the CFX improved things that I didn't even know needed improving.  So my suggestion is, buy a decent but inexpensive gun, and just shoot it.  I think the Gamos fill that bill to perfection.  Then, if you enjoy the sport enough, you can move up.  That's what I did, my second rifle is an RWS Diana 350 Magunum in .22.  And in the meantime, I had the CFX tuned by CDT.  I've gotten comfortable enough that the next time around I'll probably do my own tunes.  Anyway, hope this helps.

Dave

I have the shadow sport and id say itsa pretty kick ass rifle. the trigger was less than to be desired (or maybe it was just me) so I added a cdt trigger to it and it transformed the gun. Its a little picky to shoot. No sand bag rests it only like the light touch of a hand. But plenty of power and accurate. Id say with a good shooter 1inch @ 50yards can deffenatly become a reality. It seems to really enjoy the crossman pellets (says there pointed but they look domed). But id assume it can only shoot better with some decent ammo. Like jsb exacts in the 8.2 grain.

But enjoy its a kick ass lil gun

Actually I was in the same dilemma awhile back. the beeman in .22 or the gamo in .177 for the same price. I got the gamo because of everyone on here and all the support. ANd I know I can get parts and or a tune from charlie. Everything was so convienet and suited the bill. Also I got the gamo in .177 it was a little flatter shooting. I zeroed at 25 yards and it seems dead on all over my yard. 10-40 yards, I can pretty much hit anything I want with no sight corrections or hold overs.

[longislandhunter]

I own 5 springers, 4 of them being GAMO and 1 being an RWS 350.  The GAMO guns are a .177 Shadow, .177 CFX,  .22 Black Shadow and a .22 1250.  My guns are completely stock, except for 2 of them that have Charlies GRT triggers in them (the other 2 will get the same triggers soon), but other than that they are just as I received them out of the box, and they shoot fine for me.  Don't get me wrong, I know they would shoot better if they were tuned, but right now I don't have the money to get them tuned and I don't know how to do it myself, so I use them as they are and I more than happy with them.  They are accurate, powerful, and serve me very well in my hunting trips.

I may get the rifles tuned someday, and I'm hoping that in time I will learn enough to perhaps be able to do some home tuning on my rifles myself, but in the meantime they perform well for me and do what I ask of them.  It's also nice to know that if I decide to get them tuned, or need parts or advice, the resources are right here.  

I'm not trying to swing you towards buying a GAMO.  What you buy is a personal decision and only you know what's best for you.  My moral was simply that you can enjoy great shooting with an affordable stock springer, whatever brand you buy, and later on if you want to "upgrade" it you can always do that.  Anyway, good luck with whatever you buy.

JEff

[vinceb]

The SS series Beeman's are made in China. I had the lower grade version, and it was a pretty poor rifle.

I'd be far more inclined to go with a Gamo, or perhaps a Spanish-made Beeman (The GS and GH series)

Thanks for all of the thoughtful comments and opinions!  Now it appears that I should be looking more along the lines of a Chinese model vs one of the Gamo units.  I'll let you know what is decided.

If you're going to look at chinese models check out the B26 and B26-2.  It is the way I'm going to go since it was recommended by several people here on the forum.  It's based on the Beeman R9 and is decently priced.

[vinceb]

By and large, with the Chinese guns there's a greater chance that it'll need some significant work to really make it right.

With the Gamo, they usually shoot reasonably well right out of the box. Any "tune-up" work is usually geared toward refining it - improving the trigger pull and feel, and making it shoot smoother.

Factory refurbished Gamo's are often a good bet. Natchez lists them in their catalog:

http://www.natchezss.com/septflier/00083f.htm

I really haven't decided just yet, although the pull to purchase something is growing stronger each and every time I do a little more research.  My looking into the Chinese models has much to do with the many posts that talk about improved quality and trigger designs cloned from a better design.  The Gamo rifles do have a better track record but also cost more than I would like to pay for a beginners first piece and the lower price will purchase a number of different pellets for testing and break in.  Again, I still haven't decided and who knows which way I may go.  My plan is to order something before the weeks end.

[vinceb]

They may have the Gamo Shadow for $125, you'd be hard pressed to do better than that in any case.

[Gene_SC]

I just bought two Shadows from WalMart for $99.00 and have heard of some buying them for less.

Gene

[-=ed]

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.Gene, why more shadows?