Gamo Whisper busting my scopes

[Bullfrog31581]

Hello,
I'm new to airguns, but not to shooting. I recently bought two Gamo Whispers, one in .177 caliber and one in .22. The .22 has the Gas Ram upgrade from Pyramid Air. I'm having serious problems with the .22 as it relates to scopes. So far, the gun has busted two scopes and won't hold a zero with two others. The first scope I tried on the gun was a Gamo Varmit Hunter. It would not hold a zero (it was mounted correctly and was not moving). I then replaced it with the scope that came with the gun. It held a zero fine but then the recticle inside broke after a couple of weeks of shooting. I then tried a Tasco Gold Antler, which would not hold a zero. I then bought a Bushnell Outdoorsman from Walmart, which held a perfect zero for a week. However, this evening it busted (it went out of focus after a shot and something came loose inside that I can see rolling around).

It seems that this gun really punishes scopes. My question is, can someone please recommend an ultra tough scope for this gun that can take the punishment? I like the gun itself. Its accurate and has a lot of power. But it won't do me much good if I can't get a scope to last on it.

[airiscool]

Travis,
No question that the air venturi packs a wallop. I installed one in my 22 Whisper.

Even before the air venturi, the gun trashed the Gamo scope that came with it. After that, a Tasco I had been using on 20 gauge slug guns.

I ordered a Leapers 30 mm Mini Swat with an Acushot one-piece mount. All seemed fine after that.

Then I installed the air venturi. After a few hundred pellets it would shoot a couple into the same hole, then the next few would be all over. The more I shot it, the more it got to be fewer stacked and more scattered.  I was begining to suspect that the Mini Swat was going too.

Then I read on here about how a blown seal can cause POI to change around like a broken scope.  So I opened it up and found the original Gamo seal had small chunks blown out of the edge with splits in the lip. Put in a new J. Maccari seal a few days ago.


I also found that the 10-32 locating pin in the underside of the Acushot mount,  which has only a 1/8 diameter tip, was cracked and bent over into the aluminum of the mount. The mount had been very well trightened down with Lock-tite on all threads before, but it still moved on the reciever. The locating hole in the Whisper's recieved is 1/4 and the mount had moved enough to push the pin into the edge of the reciever hole making a large burr inside and out before the pin broke.

I had to hammer the reciever burr smooth on a mandrel before I could get the air piston out. Re-drilled the recived hole round  again, then I  drilled out the 10-32 threads in the mount and pressed in a 1/4 mild steel pin to make use of all of the reciever hole edge surface.  

Now, after about 50 pellets it's much better at holding POI. The Leapers Mini Swat is no longer suspect and  I'm waiting see how it all is after it wears in more.

Paul.

[Bullfrog31581]

Thanks for the reply. I considered that I might have something wrong internally, especially because 2 scopes just plain wouldn't hold a zero (or appeared not to). However, the Bushnell held a zero fine for a week until it busted. I took the Bushnell back to Walmart today and exchanged it for a Centerpoint. I just came back inside from shooting... the new scope busted in less than 30 shots. I got the Centerpoint cited in and holding a zero, but somewhere around shot 25-30 it went out of focus and the zoom control is jammed. It also lost zero and is now shooting all over the paper. This is what happened to my Bushnell, except it never lost zero even though became unfocusable.

I can't have a gun that I can't scope. For my purposes (varmit hunting), I need a gun I can scope for longer shots and for night hunting. Plus I enjoy shooting a scoped gun over open sights. My options now are either sell the gun and get something else (maybe a PCP?) or replace the air-ram with the spring. Any suggestions?

[doc1310]

My Whisper wasted 3 scopes just like yours. The gamo scope and 2 centerpoint scopes from Walmart. I also have the Bushnel from Walmart and it's working well. If that scope goes I plan on ordering one from Straightshooters.com.  Check them out. They have scopes listed as light, medium and heavy recoil. Granted they will cost more than a Walmart scope, but if you like your rifle and how it performs I would get a heavy recoil scope from Straightshooters. Goodluck. Let us know what you decide to do.

Regards,

[airiscool]

So far, the Leapers Mini Swat is holding up fine.

The gun is calming down a bit as it wears back in. For the first few shots I left the scope off and just shot it at the coal bin next to  my basement range.  It was deiseling a bit. Blowing super domes clear through the  one inch rough-cut boards of the coal bin at about 6 yards. After about 6-8 shots it then only buried them about 3/4 way into the same board, as it was doing in past. Then I put the Leapers back on and re-sighted in. It's been fine since.

Paul.

[Bullfrog31581]

I've been researching PCPs, but realistically I won't get near as much money back if I sell off the Whisper that I've put into it and I can't afford to sink $700 plus for a new Marauder or Talon SS with scope and air tank. I'll do what I can to make this gun work. Otherwise its a good gun. I put the iron sights back on it tonight and it groups well. It only took 4 shots to knock the rear sight loose, but all it takes is a push down on the rear sight and it pops back into place for the next shot.

What about a scope rated for a shotgun? Are shotgun scopes more rugged than regular scopes? I don't mind spending money on an expensive scope, I just don't want to dish out alot to have it bust in 500 shots.

[Bullfrog31581]

Here's how it grouped with the Bushnell at 25 yards before the scope busted. This is 5 shots with Predators (top picture).
The bottom picture is how it groups with the open sites at 23 yards. The gun is pretty consistent. It just packs too much wallop for my scopes.

[doc1310]

Get this one and enjoy your rifle.

http://www.straightshooters.com/hawk/hawk3940airmax.html

Regards,

[eegarciajr]

I do not own a Whisper but I do own a Leapers Golden Image TS scope.
I can not say enough good things about them.  They seem to be good scopes
that can take some punishment.

[johnp]

I have the hawke airmax 3-9x40 on my .25 cal theoben gas rammed webley patriot
and a leapers gen 5 .3-9x40 on my 22cal rws 350 mag BOTH have given me NO PROBLEMS.

you could aslo try a dampamount , i had one on my patriot w/ a rws 6x40 scope and had no problems
with that setup either.

[JimL911]

If you have access to a chrony fire a string to make sure that you are shooting where you should be. A lot of scope problems are because of bad piston/breech seals. As mentioned if you can get a Dampa mount,this will help a lot. Try to get as small and light a scope as you can. It will have a better chance at survival. Hawke Air Max 2-7X32,3-9X40 are tough airgun rated scopes with a great warranty.

[doc1310]

What is a dampamount? and where would you get one?

[johnp]

http://www.pomona-airguns.com/Theoben%20Accessories.htm

scroll about 1/2 way down and it explaines what the dampa mount does

[Bullfrog31581]

Will busted seals cause actual scope damage? Other than shooting through a chronograph, what do I need to be looking for to determine is the seals are damaged?

Yesterday the vibrations from shooting caused the two side screws holding the gun to the stock to come out. They were last checked for tightness a week ago. I didn't seem to have problems this severe for the first couple of weeks I had the gun. I've got around 1000 rounds through the gun. It still diesels severely after a few shots. It smokes like a .22 longrifle.

[airiscool]

Sounds like what mine was doing. The original seal was damaged and the increased power of the air venturi just made it worse. The  seal had chunks missing from the edge. Replaced it with a new J Maccari seal. It's calmed down some and not dieseling like it had been.

Plus, now I can see that the scope was not having a problem holding zero. It was the inconsistancy of the dieseling that made it seem like the scope was at fault.

Paul.