O/T gamo airguns

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Dunn14
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Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:02 pm
Location: Grand Bend SW Ontario

O/T gamo airguns

Post by Dunn14 »

was reading a magazine and found an advertisement for these. I like the viper express, thinking of getting one but wanted some onfo on them.

1. Has anyone here ever shot one of these before?
2. What are the laws on airguns in ontario ?

heres a link
http://www.gamoairguns.com/
I already own a crossman 760 pumpmaster and was thinking of upgrading to something better for the squirrells :twisted: :lol:
GREYWOLF
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Post by GREYWOLF »

I have the HUNTER EXTREAM 1600 F.P.S. and it is deadly and packs a real pop. It sounds like a 22 mag when you shoot it COOL !!!
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Normous
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Post by Normous »

In ontario you need a FAC for anything over 495 fps . Over 500 fps has to be registered also.
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Dunn14
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Post by Dunn14 »

thanks enormous and greywolf

that sucks i cant get 1 now, my dad doesnt hunt so he has no PAL and i'm not old enough to get 1 :cry:
marmot
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Post by marmot »

Any spring piston air rifle that makes a loud bang is dieseling, which is not good for the piston seal!

IMHO, Gamo air rifles are junk. IMHO, the bottom-end decent quality break barrel air rifle is the Weihrauch HW95 (a.k.a. Beeman R-9). It is about as low as I will go on a spring piston air rifle. I own one of these rifles in .177 cal.

One last thing: manufacturer velocity ratings should be taken with a grain of salt, as they are taken using the absolute lightest pellet that they can find. What matters is kinetic energy. The kinetic energy on most spring piston air rifles is between 12 and 17 ft lbs at the muzzle. There are a couple of spring piston air rifles in the low twenties, but they are very difficult to shoot accurately and eat even the most rugged scopes. To get a shootable >20 ft lb air rifle, one needs to go to a pre-charged pneumatic. These hi-tech air rifles have little in common with a Sheridan "Blue Streak." They are usually charged to 200 bar using a SCUBA tank or a special high-pressure hand pump.

Here are couple of pre-charged pneumatic air rifles:

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Farmer
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Post by Farmer »

Those are some sharp looking air rifles.
Cossack
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Post by Cossack »

They are definitely butes. On the afordabel side, agree with you on the R-9, super trigger. I shoot a couple of scoped RWS springers. Them's accurate too. Dime at 30 yards, no challenge. Shotgun primers (stuck in a board), a bit harder.
Long Trang
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Post by Long Trang »

Wow, that viper express is supposed to shoot shot??? I cant see how they will have much velocity though....
Makomachine
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Post by Makomachine »

Wild hog with an AIR RIFLE??? Wow, things have come a long ways from where it was when I was a teenager. I might consider picking one of these up for 'varmint' management on my 2.5 acres but if it sounds like a .22 mag it's going to be too loud for the neighbors.
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Long Trang
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Post by Long Trang »

Makomachine wrote:Wild hog with an AIR RIFLE??? Wow, things have come a long ways from where it was when I was a teenager. I might consider picking one of these up for 'varmint' management on my 2.5 acres but if it sounds like a .22 mag it's going to be too loud for the neighbors.
Holy cow! I missed that part!
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wabi
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Post by wabi »

The only Gamo I shot was accurate, but had a horrible trigger pull.
I have an RWS/Diana mod. 48 (.177 cal. - 1100 fps) that has an adjustable trigger, but it eats scopes. Even the air rifle scopes soon fall apart. I put a Simmons (close to $200 retail price) on it, and the accuracy lasted for about 300 -400 shots. When accuracy went bad I checked things over and found the objective lens was about to fall out. I stuck a BSA air rifle scope on it, and it lasted about as long, but accuracy finally fell off. Right now I have a cheap BSA red-dot on it, and it seem to be holding up to the recoil but accuracy isn't all that great with it. About the diameter of the dot is the best I can do (about 3/4" @ 50 feet) but at least I can see the dot. :lol:
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marmot
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Post by marmot »

Makomachine wrote:Wild hog with an AIR RIFLE??? Wow, things have come a long ways from where it was when I was a teenager. I might consider picking one of these up for 'varmint' management on my 2.5 acres but if it sounds like a .22 mag it's going to be too loud for the neighbors.
Pre-charged pneumatic air rifles are serious, high-precision weapons that are designed and built for adults. The examples listed above are made by two British companies; namely, Daystate and Webley & Scott. Airguns of Arizona (www.airgunsofarizona.com) carries Daystate and Pyramid Air carries Webley & Scott (www.pyramidair.com). Sam Yang now offers a .45 caliber pre-charged pneumatic air rifle that develops 200 ft-lbs at the muzzle. However, IMHO, it is ugly as sin and very loud.


If you are looking to purchase a pre-charged pneumatic for stealth varmint eradication, I would go with either the Webley & Scott Venom Viper two-shot, Air Arms S410E, or Air Force Talon SS in .22 cal, as all of these air rifles come with shrouded barrels (i.e., they are silenced weapons that do not require a federal stamp due to the fact that the sound moderator is built into the barrel shroud; hence, it cannot be removed and used on a firearm). I took out ten groundhogs with a two-shot Webley & Scott Venom Viper (hence, the name “marmot”). Groundhogs are tough critters that require headshots for quick humane kills. If you have the marksmanship skills to hit one in the head, the Venom Viper in .22 cal will anchor it on the spot out to about fifty yards (the one I had had a Lothar Walther barrel). A center of mass shot from thirty yards will still result in a fairly quick death, but the hog will make it back to its den.
Jim C
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Post by Jim C »

I have dozens of airguns using all standard power systems. THE PCP are the top of the line but they require you have easy access to a dive shop or an expensive compressor (which I own-about 1200 US Dollars) or a Hill or similar "bike pump". I have two of the air arms rifles-one is a neat take down carbine. It gets about 60 or so full power shots, the other one is more powerful but only gets about 30 shots and the bike pump is a pain so using scuba tanks or a compressor is the way to go. I also have an anschutz target rifle, I have a pump with a special moisture trap since the target guns are more sensitive. This Anschutz gets about 300 shots per fill.

One of the best guns is the Logun-FX job that has a biathalon style bolt and one can get hundreds of shots in low power mode.

I have some single stroke Pneumatics like the former World champion level FWB 601-very accurate but not very powerful

Gamo-s as spring air guns go are decent for the money-I have a couple cheap ones for kids and their "air shotgun" which is fun but expensive carpenter bee eradication tool. Of the break-barrel jobs, the Weirauch (Beeman brand) jobs are the best-the air piston (rather than a spring) one is the best because it won't fatigue and you can vary the power by adding or deleting air to the piston. Air Arms makes a couple really good springers as well-some are lever cocking. RWS is like a chevy-good solid values but not as refined as the Beeman.

In the states, this is perhaps the best source of high qualifty airguns.


http://www.straightshooters.com/

For specialized target guns, Champions Choice and Scott Pilkington (former Olympic team airgun smith) in the Tennessee area are both great

http://www.champchoice.com/

http://www.pilkguns.com/

I have bought from all three places and can recommend all of them as class operations
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marmot
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Post by marmot »

Jim C wrote: Of the break-barrel jobs, the Weirauch (Beeman brand) jobs are the best-the air piston (rather than a spring) one is the best because it won't fatigue and you can vary the power by adding or deleting air to the piston.
Actually, the air rifles in the Weihrauch line that are "air piston" (a.k.a. "gas ram piston") are retrofitted spring piston rifles that use a Theoben gas ram (i.e., the Beeman RX-1 and RX-2 air rifles are basically the Weihrauch R-1 action with a Theoben gas ram installed and fancy stocks). The highest quality gas ram air rifles are made by Theoben. In fact, the Beeman "Crow Magnum" (a.k.a. Theoben “Eliminator”) and "SLR98" air rifles are re-branded Theoben air rifles.

http://www.theoben.co.uk/customer/home.php?cat=5


For those of you who are not happy with a stock spring piston air rifle, a local guy by the name of James Maccari offers a complete line of tuning and upgrade products (http://www.airguns.citymax.com/page/page/251327.htm). I used to shoot field target with a sporter tuned by Jim (sadly, he no longer tunes air rifles).
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Post by Jim C »

marmot wrote:
Jim C wrote: Of the break-barrel jobs, the Weirauch (Beeman brand) jobs are the best-the air piston (rather than a spring) one is the best because it won't fatigue and you can vary the power by adding or deleting air to the piston.
Actually, the air rifles in the Weihrauch line that are "air piston" (a.k.a. "gas ram piston") are retrofitted spring piston rifles that use a Theoben gas ram (i.e., the Beeman RX-1 and RX-2 air rifles are basically the Weihrauch R-1 action with a Theoben gas ram installed and fancy stocks). The highest quality gas ram air rifles are made by Theoben. In fact, the Beeman "Crow Magnum" (a.k.a. Theoben “Eliminator”) and "SLR98" air rifles are re-branded Theoben air rifles.

http://www.theoben.co.uk/customer/home.php?cat=5



For those of you who are not happy with a stock spring piston air rifle, a local guy by the name of James Maccari offers a complete line of tuning and upgrade products (http://www.airguns.citymax.com/page/page/251327.htm). I used to shoot field target with a sporter tuned by Jim (sadly, he no longer tunes air rifles).
Right you are, I have one of the original scirrocco Theobens which now is about 20 years old IIRC. I love the triggers on the Weihrauch, i have an old 55 break barrel target gun (circa 1973) that I earned the NRA Dist Expert rating when I was a teenager. I still have that gun and though its been reblued twice and has had three springs (I put a heavier HW 50 Spring in it) and a couple seals, after a couple hundred thousand pellets it still shoots well. You may remember Air Rifle Headquarters (RObert Law) which predated Beeman and ultimately was bought out by the good doctor-that was the source of this HW.

Not all Beeman Rifles are HW's as you correctly note.
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