Gamo Whisper Real Tree CSI W/Venturi Gas Spring-
I already had a Gamo Viper .177 with a Leapers 3-9x40 scope enhanced with the addition of the GTR III trigger mod. I really like the combination and I'm sure as soon as I send it off to Gene, the end result will be even better. But, since the Viper has no hard sites I decided it was time to shop. I found a great deal on a Gamo Whisper CSI in .22 cal with a gas spring installed. I received the gun, and all it's spare parts and was surprised how much lighter it was then the Viper. The sites are tru-glo and it was just what the doctor ordered.
We all know about the stock triggers so I won't repeat what we already know. I was surprised as to how stiff the safety is. I'm used to being able to flick the safety on my Viper subtly without much effort. The Whisper however is a different story. Perhaps when I replace the trigger, I'll be able to rectify the issue.
I started breaking it with some Gamo Match pellets that I had and noticed that the front site was slightly out of alignment. Not a lot, but enough to be able to see just a hair more of one side of the site than the other. Naturally, the site problems don't end there. After the 10th shot, I noticed the pellets starting going back and forth all over the target. The rear site had come loose. SO, I backed the elevation screw all the way out which allowed access to the mount screw. What I found here just urks me to no end. A single sheet metal screw is all that holds the base of the rear site. A sheet metal screw? Are you kidding me? It amazes me that the gun by in large, is of very high quality, then I find a sheet metal screw holding on the one thing that can make or break the accuracy of the gun. Why would a company rest it's reputation on something like that is beyond comprehension! I took the gun to the bench and removed the rear site and put a drop of med CA glue in the mount hole and carefully reattached the site mount, placed the site spring and elevation screw back in and away we go. So up to this point, I have a stiff safety, a glued rear site, and a someone not-perfectly-straight front site (which I have tweaked and is much better.)
So, now back to the shooting. After about 40 rds., target impact point started to rise again. This time, the elevation screw de-tent, doesn't seem to be enough to hold the elevation screw during shooting. The vibration makes the screw creep ever to often. I think I can fix this as well but again, I would have hoped for a little better quality.
As I started to shoot again, keeping an eye on the elevation screw, I put about 10 rounds into a quarter size space at 10M. Then, the pellets started to get really erratic and I noticed that after one shot, the front of the muzzle had been...SHOT OFF! It seems that at some point, a pellet either went a little sideways or the internal part of the muzzle break failed and took off the front and some of the inside of the muzzle break. When I shook the gun, you could hear some small plastic parts rattling around. SO I took the gun, with the muzzle pointed the ground, safety on, and nothing loaded, I shook the gun to get the little plastic pieces out of the break. I was successful. With the front face of the muzzle break in my pocket, I shot some more. What can I say, I like to shoot. After about a hundred rounds, It seems like my new whisper has settled down, and most of the bugs are at rest.
The gas spring. I love it. I don't know yet if the gas spring is “better” then a regular spring at this point, so I think I'll reserve that part of my observations for a later date. I will say this, the twang and double recoil is missing, but a new single...harder..”thump”...has replaced it. It seems to be steadier than a springer during follow through, though I wonder if in the long haul the vibration may be harder on the sites and other parts of the gun. Only time will tell. For now I give the gun 4.0 stars out of 5 overall.
