I was at the range yesterday and I took two rifles as I usually do. Normally I would take my scoped Biathlon Basic (BB) and a CZ Special both pretty nice guns. This time I decided to leave the CZ at home and take my Charlie (Bob) tuned Gamo 220 in .22. I was just plinking, shooting mostly at used shotgun shells from 33 yards.
I found the iron sights gamo to be just as accurate as the scoped BB and the BB is pretty accurate. The main thing was that the Gamo is so light. After shooting a couple hundred rounds the light Gamo made for a less fatigueing arm. This made for less wobble when aiming. The other thing is that it's so pleasent to shoot, it's so nice and quiet and I like the single shot aspect to it. It souns funny but it's really as fast to shoot the Gamo as it's really easy to load. No clips to handel, I think it's actually fasterto shoot over say 100 rounds. It's nice not having to wear earplugs and having the birds contine to chirp while shooting. I honestly think after the first few rounds I was better with the Gamo.
The gamo iron sights are pretty nice actually. I was put off by the plastic but they work well. The slot in the rear sight is narrow and the front sight slim so you can really line it up. I find with iron sights that if I can see it I can hit it. 33 yards is more or less the limit for me with shotgun shells ( a favorite plinking target for me.)
Say what you want about cheap springers but that Gamo will shoot.
I thinking of selling off some powder burners based on this experience. One of the main things is how quite it is. Maybe a surpressed PCP.
The rimfires are really nice when reaching out to 50 or 100 yards. I also don't think I would hunt with an air rifle where I could with a rimfire. I do think air is a good choice to have when burners are inappropriate.
Also, that gamo is amazing. The tune made all the diffrence. Bob can can work wonders. It's a shame he won't be tuning anymore. Really, it's unreal. Every time I take the Gamo out I find myself shaking my head and saying wow.
Adam