wanted to say thanks!

Well, I just wanted to say thanks everyone... I've gotten quite an education in air rifles over the last 48 hours - something I never thought I'd have.

I went tonite to my gun guys.... they had a hunter 1250 on the shelf they were selling for around $350 as I recall ... I shouldered it, and was surprised at the heft and solid feeling of it.... again, before this, all I knew of air rifles were little plastic daisys.

But I declined it, not sure why... my gut told me to stick to what i'd learned so far. So, I said I was only interested in a 440c, Hunter elite, or CFX Royal... that no matter which one he got in, I'd be pleased with.

They moaned & groaned, said it would be impossible.... but, someone somewhere came through, and I'm pleased to announce that on Monday, I'll be the new owner of a shiny new Hunter Elite.

I am going to be paying a pretty penny more for the rifle than prices go online.... which stinks, especially cause I know... but I guess thats the price I pay for waiting to the last momment... besides, everyone's entitled to earning a living, and I like to support local mom & pop's.... family run sporting goods stores & hardware stores are sadly becoming a thing of the past.

So some ammo & a good cleaning kit for stocking stuffers and I'm off to the races!

I wanted to thank everyone, really thanks. This whole air rifle thing started a while back while strolling through a Cabelas and seeing a remington air rifle. He liked it a lot, so I figured I just go pick one up. Well, just as I was about to try to order one, I did a little looking around and discovered that they don't get great writeups.... a little sleuthing and I discovered Gamo, and then I ended up here.

If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have had any knowledge or confidence in what I was buying, and could have made a big mistake, ended up with junk and scrapping the whole AR thing. At least now I feel certain, that though I'm flying blind, a Hunter Elite is a good place to start. And I know that we can tune this rifle and getting shooting fine.

many thanks, I'm sure I'll be back with dumb questions, and have a wonderful holiday everyone!

and btw, i just read this; "A shooter who is very good with a spring gun is usually an excellent firearms shot, but not necessarily vice versa."..... thats cool, I really want to be an anne oakley... I'm revved up myself now...

[shadow]

GREAT, happy to hear your getting what you want. I've learned so much on this site myself ,the members are #1. Keep all of us updated on your new shooting iron. Take care , Ed

ok, first stupid question:
what is the proper etiquette when handing an air rifle to someone or leaving it in the rack while at the range? I mean, with my rifle, I open the bolt before giving to someone, with my slug gun I open the breach... does one break the barrel?

thanks!!!

[vinceb]

...because when the barrel is popped open the gun obviously cannot discharge... even if the spring is cocked and a pellet loaded, if the gun goes off it will only slam the barrel (and possibly destroy the gun). The pellet, if it comes out at all, will have almost no energy.

BTW, the Gamo's - and a lot of breakbarrels - have a lock-out that prevents you from pulling the trigger when the breach is open. This also means that the gun can't be "de-cocked"... once it's cocked, it must be fired. And "dry-firing" is usually not recommended, although Gamo claims that it won't hurt their guns. Most springer manufacturers are not so confident.

In general, all the typical firearms safe-handling practices apply to airguns as well. It pays to remember that the stronger ones - like the ones we're talking about - can easily be lethal at close range.

[longislandhunter]

Congrats on your new Hunter Elite.  I've looked at that rifle a few times, still looking at it and might add it to my collection one of these days.  Best of luck with your new rifle.

Jeff

[CharlieDaTuna]

I think it may be a good choice. I've only had one in so far and it turned out real nice. Hope you like it.

Sounds like great news...that's one nice lookin rifle.  Sounds like you already have the " air rifle does not equal firearm when it comes to shooting technique" down, but remember that you may have to try a couple of different brands  and styles of pellets before you find one that the rifle really likes.....yes, all pellest are NOT the same!  Stick with these forums, these guys won't steer ya wrong...I speak from experience in that they've helped me more than I can say.

Thanks! Yep, the library has been awfully helpful so far, and i'm really excited to shoot this thing.

I lost my first deer this year in VA with my 7mm-08 - I made a bad shot, followed blood for 200+ yards for 2 days and never found him..... I've been really beating myself up over it.  So, I was going to get a Remmington .22 to mimic my hunting rifle and practise practise practise. My bad habit is peeking after every shot, and ultimately sending my round low.

But after some reading, on how you're experiencing recoil as the pellet is still leaving the barrel.... well, that does sound challenging, just what I need to learn to keep my dang head down. I think I'm going to be more excited than him!!!

Anyhow, yeah I'm familiar with guns liking one particular round - I got some Gamo Pro Mags, Beeman CrowMags & Silver Stings, and some H&N Field & Target Trophy to start with. I'd read here, and also heard from Gamo, that this gun seems to like keeping in the 8's for weight - so these pellets looked like my best choices in that weight on Pyramid. Hope I chose wisely.

I did read in the library, you rarely clean air guns?

I got some gamo oil & some beeman quick cleaning pellets to start... he can buy some of his own stuff at this point : )

Can I use my regular bore cleaner on these?

[CharlieDaTuna]

Do not use Bore Cleaner's in airgun barrels.

Clean the barrel by using a nylon barrel brush and GooGone, moving back and forth the full length of the barrel several times.  Do not use a brass barrel  brush on any air gun as in can damage the rifling. Using a pull through, run a couple of .22 patches through it saturated with GooGone then clean patches until the final patch is clean.

Most airgun's barrels seldom need to be cleaned until they have had several thousand shots through them and even then do not necessarily need bore brushed. The exception to this might be in some cases where people lube their pellets. Barrels need to be cleaned only when the velocity has decreased enough to impact the accuracy. The little lead and deposits that is in the barrel acts as both a lubricant as well as sealing surface properties for the pellet. In most cases, cleaning (especially excessive cleaning) of the barrel will both decrease the velocity as well as the accuracy. It can take anywhere from 100 shots to several hundred shots for the barrel to "break" itself in again. Airgun barrels rarely need to be cleaned.

ah, very good thanks. I had seen the same bore cleaner I use on my other guns for sale in the cleaning section of pyramid, so I naturally thought it might be ok. thank you so much for the valuable advice.

I thoroughly clean my other guns of factory grease & dust and then oil them, before firing them for the first time.

when I get my air gun out of the box, it there anythign I should clean or oil (got the gamo oil)?

[vinceb]

By and large, Gamo's can be shot right out of the box... although some people do run patches through them to remove the protective oil.

I wouldn't oil it or do anything else (other than maybe cleaning the barrel) just yet - just shoot it first. That way, if something's wrong with it you have a clean claim with Gamo! Defective rifles aren't the norm with them, but it can happen.

You might notice some dieseling for the first several rounds - sometimes some factory oil makes its way into the combustion chamber where it will ignite when the spring piston compresses the air. This might also send the first few shots supersonic - which makes it sound like a HV .22, but isn't really the best way of shooting a pellet. This is also why you want to be careful about lubing a gun - if too much lube gets in the chamber, the resulting explosion can damage the gun.

And once it's broken in, if you wanna play with it a bit or send it off to CDT I suspect you'd find the effort worthwhile. Gamo's tend to have mediocre triggers and firing behavior (which is easily fixed), but they tend to be pretty decent where it is most important (like barrel machining).

Let us know how it shoots...

Yes BUCK,let us know how it shoots.....MINE is on back order from PYRAMID AIR.I have to e-mail them tomorrow to see (if and how many)THEIR supplier is going to send. :0  :0
   If I had some of your luck,we'll both be shooting by Christmas....
                                                            John in Ohi

I know, they're very scarce right now... I hounded my guy hard to get mine.... its nice being a girl.

[vinceb]

...when you get your Gamo, check the stock-to-action screws! Make sure they're tight.