Newbe Questions

Great site!

I have a few questions and would appreciate any information.

1)  My wife got me a Gamo Varmint Hunter for Christmas.  Is that a decent gun?  I think she paid $199 for it and a scope (with light) combo.  I still have the invoice so if there is another entry level gun that is a way better gun for the money, please let me know.

2)  Are there some "no-brainer" mods I should make to the gun?  I have ordered a GRT-III trigger.

3)  Are there good pellets that don't cost an arm and a leg that this gun might like?

Any other advice would be appreciated.

I'm not looking at building a competition gun but want to get the most out of my rifle.

Thanks!

[shadow]

Welcome lawdog, as for mods for the gun the GRT- III TRIGGER is a good start and I know CDT does a fantastic tune on em. I've heard nothing but good reports of CDT'S tuneups.Pellet options, it depends on what makes your gun happy. My gamo shadow sport likes the gamo hunters,magnums and the preditors, each gun is different. There are many more experienced members on here that can guide you in the right direction. Hope this helped alittle for Im just a little worm on a big hook in the airgunning world he he. Ed

[daved]

Hi, John,

Looks like you're off to a good start!  If Gamo hasn't changed things, the scope is a BSA 4x32.  This is an okay scope, but the gun is capable of utilizing a lot more scope.  And it's not an AO (adjustable objective) model, so you can't "dial it in" for different ranges, plus parallax can become an issue.  So I'd consider a better scope to go along with your GRT III trigger.  Regardless of what you do scope wise, GET GOOD MOUNTS!  I've never been impressed by the mounts Gamo supplies with their guns.  Accushot by Leapers are good mounts at decent prices, around $15.  From there, you jump to the $50 range.  That gets you BKL's and the Beeman and B-Square adjustable mounts.  Any of these are far superior to what Gamo supplies.  Oh, and if you do decide to upgrade your scope, make sure you get one that's rated for springers.

Regarding pellets, chances are that a domed pellet in the 8-8.5 gr. range will be the best in your gun.  JSB Exacts and RWS Superdomes are two very good ones in this range that work well in a lot of guns.  Beeman FTS's are a little heavier, but work well in lots of guns, also.  Any of these would be a good general purpose pellet for ranges out to 50 yards or more (depending on how good the shooter is :-)!).  And a lot of guys like the Crosman Premiers.  They're a little lighter at 7.9 gr. but work well for some guns.  If you plan on doing any hunting, any of these will work, but try the JSB Predator.  If your particular rifle shoots them well, they are a devastating choice for small game, with very good range and retained power.  For shorter range hunting, say out to 30 yards, Beeman Crow Magnum HP's can be good.  For shorter range paper punching, out to 20 yards or so, I've had good luck with JSB Match Diabolo S100's.  They're a wadcutter design, and are very accurate in my CFX and bosses Varmint Stalker (older version of yours).  Gamo Match are okay, but most of the Gamo pellets are pretty variable in weight.  Crosman Premier Match pellets work well in one of my guns.  Beeman and RWS both have match style pellets in various weights.  You can also order pellet samplers.  I'd get the one from Straight Shooters.  Lots of variety at a decent price.

The only other suggestion is, shoot, shoot, shoot!  These things are a blast.  Just be aware, they ARE addictive!  Your wife may come to regret this particular Christmas gift :-)!   After you've had if for awhile and shot it a lot, then you can have it tuned.  You could do it right away, but you won't appreciate it nearly as much.  Oh, and learn the proper technique for shooting a springer.  Look around, the info is readily available.  Good luck, welcome aboard, and keep us posted on your progress.

Dave

[vinceb]

First off, the Gamo is a good gun. Accurate with a scope, good power, very nice handling. The trigger ain't so good (you've addressed that) and the firing cycle can be real twangy - but that's more an annoyance than anything. And not all of 'em do it.

And $200 for the Varmint kit is about right - but consider what you need.

At natchezss.com you can get a Shadow (or the 220, same gun with a wood stock) for $119, spend some money on a better scope - even a cheap $28 one like this: http://www.opticsgiant.com/ta3goanri2.html

...or maybe a $17 red-dot sight:

http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=522IA3BZB3UA4CWQNWTCCOYK0BW0CIWE?id=0036398712091a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=bsa+dot&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=bsa+dot&noImage=0&_requestid=121721

Of course, the Varmint kit has the pressure light and the scope.... if you're inclined to use these things, you may just want to keep the whole kit. But if you're not going rat-hunting at night, your money might be better spent on other equipment.

Also, does your rifle have open sights? IMHO they are worth having. Many newer Gamo's do not have them, and the ones that do might be NOS that are gone for good once they sell out.

If you want them and your current rifle has them - if you decide to do the return, I'd place the other order first before returning this one. That way you can make sure you can get what you want before giving up what you have, if you know what I mean...

[vinceb]

My pellet suggestion - cost considered (I can be a real cheapskate!) - are Crosman Premiers. There are 2 grades - the ones in the boxes and the ones in the cans.

The ones in the boxes are better. They go for around $15 per box of 1250, but pyramidair.com has a "buy 3, get 1 free" deal that brings 'em down to less than $12 per box. I'd go with the 7.9gr domed pellet. The heavier 10.5gr pellet might overstress your spring.

The ones in the tins aren't bad either. Walmart frequently stocks the 7.9gr hollow-point pellets for about $5 per can of 500. They're not as consistent as the ones in the boxes, buy my Shadow doesn't seem to mind. And they're better than the plain-jane Crosman Copperhead "premium" pellets, which Walmart sells for $4 per 500.

Thanks guys, great information!

A couple of follow up questions:

1)  On the mounts, I looked at the Leapers site and there are a few choices.  Do I get a seperate base and rings or do I the integrated base and rings like the "Airgun/.22 Full Length Integral Mount-Medium Profile RGPM2PA-25M4".  I want to make sure I get something that fits the gun and I didn't see a chart saying what did or didn't fit.

2)  Are there cleaning kits out there that work well?  I searched the site and didn't come up with anything.  I found a kit at Straight Shooters but didn't know if there was something else people use.

3)  Finally, I remember I had a BSA 4x32 AO scope.  It is labeled Bronze on the side and on the eye cup says BZ 4x32 AG.  I think this scope is made for air rifles and if so, is it an OK scope?

Thanks again for all of the great info.

[vinceb]

...look for something that has at least 4 screws for the scope rail clamp. If it's a one piece with 4 screws or a 2 piece with 2 screws each - either oughta work reasonably well.

And don't expect the Gamo scope stop to make up for cheaper mounts.

What sort of mounts did the Varmint Hunter come with?

It comes with a base that has 3 screws.  Then there is a scope stop.  There is a hole in the base for the scope stop.

[longislandhunter]

Hello and welcome Lawdog.  The others have all given you sound advice.  I personally like 1 piece mounts and use Accushot high mount 1 piece mounts on my almost all my rifles.  The original Accushot 1 piece high mount had 4 mounting screws however the new model only has 3.  I was a little concerned about the new model having 1 less screw but I have 2 of them installed on my rifles and they have held as tightly as the older version.  If you prefer medium height mounts then you're in luck as the Accushot medium height 1 piece still has 4 locking screws.  

I agree with David regarding the scope.  I have the same fixed 4x non AO scope that you have on your Varmint setup.  That scope came with a .22 caliber GAMO Black Shadow I ordered last year.  I left the scope on the Black Shadow for small game hunting because I've found it to be bright, clear, accurate and I sometimes I don't like to have to adjust the AO ring for each shot, but I agree with David that a better scope, perhaps a 4x12 or 3x9 with adjustable AO would be a nice upgrade.  It would certainly come in handy for more precise shooting at either target or "smaller" targets such as starlings etc, especially at longer ranges.  As for the laser/light combo that came with your scope, I just purchased a setup like that separately and mounted it on a Winchester 1000 that I have.  I really like mine and it works well.  I bought it for night time pest control at a commercial duck farm that I shoot at.  I don't know what kind of pest shooting you might do but that laser/light combo may come in handy.  If you don't need it right now you can always just remove it from the scope.

As for pellets, the others have given you good choices, I'll just add one more  because I've found them to be very cheap and accurate in my GAMO's.  They are the GAMO Tomahawk pellets.  750 for around $7 bucks.  Can't beat that and they shoot extremely well for me in a couple ofmy GAMO's. They are also suitable for pest control and work well on starlings, pigeons and such.  If you're going to do some serious small game hunting then I would reccommend the  JSB Predator pellets.  Absolutely awesome on small game and well worth the money,,, if they shoot well in your rifle that is.  Good luck with your new rifle, you've got a good gun there.  

Jeff

[daved]

Good morning!

1.  You can do 2 pc. mounts, but the 1 pc. is stronger and more secure.  Just make sure it's an 11mm mount, and that it has an integral stop pin.  Something just occured to me.  You said your Gamo mount had 3 screws and a hole for a threaded stop pin?  If that's correct, you just described the Accushot 1" 1 pc. mount.  Now that I think about it, I seem to recall a recent review on your rifle somewhere, that reviewer thought the mount looked like it was an Accushot.  So you may be in good shape.

2.  Cleaning air guns causes more controversy on this site than talking about Gene's spelling :-)!  I bought a Gamo kit when I got my CFX, it broke.  I've since purchased an Otis flex rod kit, haven't used it yet.  Other than an initial clean out of the box to clear shipping crud, air guns rarely if ever need cleaning.  And since I just recently got abused over this (HAH!), NEVER USE A METAL BRISTLE BRUSH!!!

3.  It is made for air rifles, and it is an okay scope.  4x is pretty low power, seems most guys shoot with variables, with up to 24x being fairly common.  If you do succumb to the addiction, you WILL want more scope soon!  So hang on, this roller coaster just goes faster!

Dave

Thanks guys for all of the great information.

I wanted to give a quick update on pellets.  I ordered the pellet sampler from Straight Shooters as Daved suggested.  Wow is that an eye opener shooting all of the different pellets.  I'm not close to being done but it is amazing that some shoot so well and some groups look like they were shot from a shotgun.