Gamo Varmint Accuracy?

[Squid556]

I'm considering getting a first serious air rifle for bird control. My question is for the Gamo owners out there, what kind of grouping will an entry level Gamo 17 cal hold? It would need to be a fairly consistent shooter for me to really want one. Thanks.

 

[baranjhn]

Gamos are ok. What is your expectation for accuracy?

The Varmint is built as a price point rifle for big box stores. The ultra high velocity rating is accomplished by using non lead pellets, which are horrible for accuracy. Lead pellets will be slower and more accurate though.

Should be good for bird control depending on the type of bird and range

 

[Squid556]

Gamos are ok. What is your expectation for accuracy?

The Varmint is built as a price point rifle for big box stores. The ultra high velocity rating is accomplished by using non lead pellets, which are horrible for accuracy. Lead pellets will be slower and more accurate though.

Should be good for bird control depending on the type of bird and range

For targets small as birds I figure 1 inch at 25 yards would be a reliable performer.

 

[Bigtanker]

I have a WASP maxim. @15 yards, I can keep them under an inch. I forget which pellets that is though. To me, just like with rimfires, you'll need to find the pellet that works best.

 

[Bigtanker]

All things Pellet rifle thread

We had a little at home date night last night order some Texas Roadhouse and shot the pellet guns and she blew me away. Her first time shooting and she was blowing up chalk board chalk and her groups could be covered with a dime. I just went out and bought her another hatsan edge

www.indianagunowners.com

I posted some pics with some accuracy testing in #27 of the thread above.

(And moved that thread to the air guns section)

 

[Twangbanger]

I have this rifle. I find it totally satisfactory accuracy wise, as long as you're hip to the need to hold it loooosely like any spring piston gun. It came with a cheap azz scope, and it has not torn it up yet, in putting about 3 tins of pellets through it.

Something you need to be aware of, which is not specific to this gun, but still bears mentioning. You said you're interested in 25 yard accuracy. If you zero this gun to hit dead-on at close varmint distances, say across your porch, the trajectory is going to be 6" high at 25 yards. Even with real lead pellets, it's that fast. That pellet is going to be rising for a long time with that zero. I mention this, because much airgun varminting is done at closer distances than you'd imagine. If you zero for 25 yards, you're going to have to hold significantly over the kill zone to get precision shots up close. We're talking about enough required hold-over to cause you to miss, especially with a scope mounted well above bore axis, if you're aiming at something small up-close and you forget this trajectory fact. On the other hand, if you zero up close, you're going to have to "float" the target above the crosshairs a fair amount at 25 yds. You have to pick your poison. When you're working with less than half the kinetic energy of a .22 short, shot placement is key, so this really matters. It is not a .17HMR, and there's not a lot of hydraulic shock at this power level.

Food for thought: if you can get a .22 or .25 caliber that's in the 600 fps range, this significant mid-range trajectory issue is greatly reduced. People think "high velocity" translates to flatter trajectory and easier holdover adjustments. And when you're varminting with a .22/250 at hundreds of yards, this is absolutely the case. But with airguns at backyard distances, the velocity thing can bite you the other direction. Slower can potentially be better. You don't necessarily want the fastest gun with the flattest parabolic curve over the longest distance. A gun that will place most of its shots within a "best-fit" proximity to your line of sight, over the short 20 yard distance you're likely to be working with, is what you need. This is -not- automatically going to be the fastest gun, like it is with centerfire rifles at hundreds of yards. You actually want something that will hit up close, then "rainbow" back down and also hit tens of yards farther out.

In working the numbers, and confirming with empirical shooting, I have found that something in the 600 fps range, with a heavier pellet to keep the energy up, fits the need better. I can aim at something 15 feet away, dead-on, and drill it. I can then immediately aim dead-on at something 75 feet away, and not need near as much hold adjustment as with an 1100 fps .17 cal.

Again, food for thought. Watch your mid-range trajectory, compared to what distance you're zeroed at. And make sure your firearm habits don't take over on a spring piston gun, and you start to grip it too tight without realizing it. A close-range zero combined with a tight grip can make a milk jug completely safe at 25 yards, if a person is not experienced with airguns.

 

[rugertoter]

Personally OP, I have one .177 caliber rifle (Crosman NP Fire), and I can get 1" groups at 20 yards with it, but seem to do a bit better with both of my .22 caliber air rifles. One is a Springer and the other an NP.

You might want to think about stepping up to a .22 caliber...they hit much harder, and if you ever needed to hunt a close range rabbit or squirrel, the extra energy the .22 carries, makes it a more versatile platform. JMHO

 

[DragonGunner]

I have a Gamo, its shoots like 1600fps, was almost as loud as a .22 which defeated my purpose of being quiet like my sons older Gamo. Scope mount and scope wasn't good enough so replaced and got good accuracy and used the heaviest pellets I can find and that quiets it down. You gotta hold it the same way and in the same place and a firm grip tight on shoulder or it will be all over the place.....just gotta have good pellets, good scope and practice. I can hit a varmint and put it down at 50 yds no problem now.

 

[rugertoter]

I have a Gamo, its shoots like 1600fps, was almost as loud as a .22 which defeated my purpose of being quiet like my sons older Gamo. Scope mount and scope wasn't good enough so replaced and got good accuracy and used the heaviest pellets I can find and that quiets it down. You gotta hold it the same way and in the same place and a firm grip tight on shoulder or it will be all over the place.....just gotta have good pellets, good scope and practice. I can hit a varmint and put it down at 50 yds no problem now.

Yeah. That is certainly a "down side" to air rifles, compared to firearms...hold sensitive. Personally, I don't much worry about velocity so much, as a rifle being consistent from shot to shot. I find that in .22 caliber, I get best accuracy when the pellets are running around 800-850 FPS.

 

[jerrob]

I have this rifle. I find it totally satisfactory accuracy wise, as long as you're hip to the need to hold it loooosely like any spring piston gun. It came with a cheap azz scope, and it has not torn it up yet, in putting about 3 tins of pellets through it.

Something you need to be aware of, which is not specific to this gun, but still bears mentioning. You said you're interested in 25 yard accuracy. If you zero this gun to hit dead-on at close varmint distances, say across your porch, the trajectory is going to be 6" high at 25 yards. Even with real lead pellets, it's that fast. That pellet is going to be rising for a long time with that zero. I mention this, because much airgun varminting is done at closer distances than you'd imagine. If you zero for 25 yards, you're going to have to hold significantly over the kill zone to get precision shots up close. We're talking about enough required hold-over to cause you to miss, especially with a scope mounted well above bore axis, if you're aiming at something small up-close and you forget this trajectory fact. On the other hand, if you zero up close, you're going to have to "float" the target above the crosshairs a fair amount at 25 yds. You have to pick your poison. When you're working with less than half the kinetic energy of a .22 short, shot placement is key, so this really matters. It is not a .17HMR, and there's not a lot of hydraulic shock at this power level.

Food for thought: if you can get a .22 or .25 caliber that's in the 600 fps range, this significant mid-range trajectory issue is greatly reduced. People think "high velocity" translates to flatter trajectory and easier holdover adjustments. And when you're varminting with a .22/250 at hundreds of yards, this is absolutely the case. But with airguns at backyard distances, the velocity thing can bite you the other direction. Slower can potentially be better. You don't necessarily want the fastest gun with the flattest parabolic curve over the longest distance. A gun that will place most of its shots within a "best-fit" proximity to your line of sight, over the short 20 yard distance you're likely to be working with, is what you need. This is -not- automatically going to be the fastest gun, like it is with centerfire rifles at hundreds of yards. You actually want something that will hit up close, then "rainbow" back down and also hit tens of yards farther out.

In working the numbers, and confirming with empirical shooting, I have found that something in the 600 fps range, with a heavier pellet to keep the energy up, fits the need better. I can aim at something 15 feet away, dead-on, and drill it. I can then immediately aim dead-on at something 75 feet away, and not need near as much hold adjustment as with an 1100 fps .17 cal.

Again, food for thought. Watch your mid-range trajectory, compared to what distance you're zeroed at. And make sure your firearm habits don't take over on a spring piston gun, and you start to grip it too tight without realizing it. A close-range zero combined with a tight grip can make a milk jug completely safe at 25 yards, if a person is not experienced with airguns.

I read this post twice and it answered soooooooo many questions that I didn't know how to even ask.
I have a Gamo Varmit that I bought for the purpose of mass murdering chipmunks. I zeroed it in and would kill one dead and miss the next one by a mile. I messed with the scope, pellets and still hit and miss, literally. I figured I was just a really inconsistent shooter when it came to pellet guns.
My solution was to put out a bait pile, and zero the pellet rifle to the exact distance and it worked. Over the years, I got a little better and became somewhat consistent from 20-40 yards, but outside those distances, it's usually a miss for me................I get it now.
Thanks Twangbanger.

 

[Basher]

I have this rifle. I find it totally satisfactory accuracy wise, as long as you're hip to the need to hold it loooosely like any spring piston gun. It came with a cheap azz scope, and it has not torn it up yet, in putting about 3 tins of pellets through it.

Something you need to be aware of, which is not specific to this gun, but still bears mentioning. You said you're interested in 25 yard accuracy. If you zero this gun to hit dead-on at close varmint distances, say across your porch, the trajectory is going to be 6" high at 25 yards. Even with real lead pellets, it's that fast. That pellet is going to be rising for a long time with that zero. I mention this, because much airgun varminting is done at closer distances than you'd imagine. If you zero for 25 yards, you're going to have to hold significantly over the kill zone to get precision shots up close. We're talking about enough required hold-over to cause you to miss, especially with a scope mounted well above bore axis, if you're aiming at something small up-close and you forget this trajectory fact. On the other hand, if you zero up close, you're going to have to "float" the target above the crosshairs a fair amount at 25 yds. You have to pick your poison. When you're working with less than half the kinetic energy of a .22 short, shot placement is key, so this really matters. It is not a .17HMR, and there's not a lot of hydraulic shock at this power level.

Food for thought: if you can get a .22 or .25 caliber that's in the 600 fps range, this significant mid-range trajectory issue is greatly reduced. People think "high velocity" translates to flatter trajectory and easier holdover adjustments. And when you're varminting with a .22/250 at hundreds of yards, this is absolutely the case. But with airguns at backyard distances, the velocity thing can bite you the other direction. Slower can potentially be better. You don't necessarily want the fastest gun with the flattest parabolic curve over the longest distance. A gun that will place most of its shots within a "best-fit" proximity to your line of sight, over the short 20 yard distance you're likely to be working with, is what you need. This is -not- automatically going to be the fastest gun, like it is with centerfire rifles at hundreds of yards. You actually want something that will hit up close, then "rainbow" back down and also hit tens of yards farther out.

In working the numbers, and confirming with empirical shooting, I have found that something in the 600 fps range, with a heavier pellet to keep the energy up, fits the need better. I can aim at something 15 feet away, dead-on, and drill it. I can then immediately aim dead-on at something 75 feet away, and not need near as much hold adjustment as with an 1100 fps .17 cal.

Again, food for thought. Watch your mid-range trajectory, compared to what distance you're zeroed at. And make sure your firearm habits don't take over on a spring piston gun, and you start to grip it too tight without realizing it. A close-range zero combined with a tight grip can make a milk jug completely safe at 25 yards, if a person is not experienced with airguns.

Total airgun noob here, but why do you want a loose hold with a spring piston gun?

 

[Twangbanger]

Total airgun noob here, but why do you want a loose hold with a spring piston gun?

I myself don't totally understand the physics behind it, but I cannot doubt the results. The basics are, spring piston guns (as opposed to "pneumatic") don't compress any air until the moment the trigger is pulled. The trigger releases the piston which comes forward into a chamber with a hole at the front, and the air is compressed and let go sort-of at the same time. The forward movement of that piston is what gets you. It's happening after the trigger is pulled, and if the gun is gripped hard or placed on a hard surface, the vibration throws the shot off in a manner that's inconsistent. Others will explain this better than me, but try it for yourself. Holding the gun loosely, and allowing it to "find" its own vibration pattern freely, allows it to return to a consistent location in the shot cycle as the pellet exits.

I know it's a crappy explanation, but it's sorta like explaining to a fixed-wing pilot how to hover a helo

 

[Basher]

Hahaha, I’m pretty familiar with the reality of your analogy! Thanks!

 

[rugertoter]

I myself don't totally understand the physics behind it, but I cannot doubt the results. The basics are, spring piston guns (as opposed to "pneumatic") don't compress any air until the moment the trigger is pulled. The trigger releases the piston which comes forward into a chamber with a hole at the front, and the air is compressed and let go sort-of at the same time. The forward movement of that piston is what gets you. It's happening after the trigger is pulled, and if the gun is gripped hard or placed on a hard surface, the vibration throws the shot off in a manner that's inconsistent. Others will explain this better than me, but try it for yourself. Holding the gun loosely, and allowing it to "find" its own vibration pattern freely, allows it to return to a consistent location in the shot cycle as the pellet exits.

I know it's a crappy explanation, but it's sorta like explaining to a fixed-wing pilot how to hover a helo

No, not "crappy". This loose, but controlled hold they call the "artillery hold". I have struggled a bit with it, but it's no big deal. I just make sure I don't have a death grip on the rifle, and if I am shooting over a bag, I just let it sit on my flattened out forward hand and make sure I'm not putting too much pressure on the grip hand and into the shoulder. Seems to work.