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twalter · Veteran Member

Disclaimer...I may get rather long winded in this and opinionated in this, so here it is.

.177 in a Gamo hunter 220
Long story short, had a rodent problem around the house this summer and started to stealthily thin the herd out. I happened upon the rifle by chance as I realized the Daisy 880 was only accurate to 5 feet and 5 inches low and right. Now came the journey on pellets with the Gamo Hunter. I started out with Crosman pointed, Destroyers and CPHP. Surprisingly before I knew anything about anything related to air guns I actually manged a decent zero with a firm grip with the Crosman pointed. I continued research and tried the different holds and here and there I would get some great groups from each pellet, but they would come and go. Then I found the gamo rockets to which I was hitting way left of my zero for the other pellets but never really gave it a go. It wasnt till I was frustrated with a few dead on hits followed by not being able to hit the broad side of a barn that I gave the gamos a second look. The rockets were stacking a ragged hole, session after session. Shifted my zero and called them my pellet. Fast forward a few months, finding message boards like this and reading reviews on PA I got itchy feet to try a few of the big boys. I choose to go with the heavies due to the success of the gamo rockets, which are
JSB Exact heavies 10 gr
CP domed 10.5
Beeman Kodiak 10 gr
H+N Barracudas HP 10 gr

For awhile all was well, JSB, Kodiaks stacked/ragged holed @25 yards. CP's were decent with the 'cuda's not really doing anything for me.

Recently after installing the GRT III andcleaning the barrel with a few sprays of simple green with running a patch down the barrel to get some of the residue out that is still causing dieseling things have changed(I put about 250 back through the barrel after the cleaning).

JSB's could barely hit a 24 in by 24 in target at a measured 25 yards.
Kodiaks were high right/left and a down this way and that. Looked like a shotgun blast.

This is where things got a bit more interesting
CP were spreading like the kodiaks, something in the 5 inch at 25 yard grouping with artillery hold. Then I remembered that some heavy pellets smooth down the firing cycle, so I firmed up the grip.
The CP's group went down to about a 2 inch grouping, which is still more extreme than I care to deal with.

Now came the cuda's.
Artillery hold- all over the place. Snug up my grip.... ragged holes. I couldnt believe the complete reversal from earlier testing. Then to be through, I went with my go to pellet, the gamo rocket.

Gamo rockets- artillery hold-decent 1/2 group. Hold snug- ragged holes.

So I get the moral of this for my readers is this,
If you happen to find a pellet early on that your rifle fires very well... stick with it. Dont clean the barrel unless you absolutely have to. Just because a rifle is a springer doesn't mean you have to artillery hold it.

In my .25 Marauder

Benjamin 27.8 gr pellets- 25 yards ragged hole
Beeman Kodiaks 31gr pellets -25 yards ragged hole
JSB Exacts 25 gr pellet-25 yards shot gun pattern
HN FTT 20 gr-25 yards full choke shotgun pattern

If you made it this far, this is just my experiences with a little backstory

radar · Silver Status Member

My procedure is to clean the barrel if the other things aren't working.
I had my usual pellets (RWS Superpoint Extra, .22) start to scatter on the Beeman RS2, so I tried another kind. No better, so I checked stock bolts and found them loose. Fixed that, and shot the RWS again. Still not a good group, so I scrubbed the bore with the a few strokes of the brass brush and oil, and dried it with several dry patches. Burned off about 15 shots, and got the grouping back. The barrel sometimes just won't "condition" itself back after shooting a different type unless I clean it first--not often, but with some combinations.

-Rob

SMP · Silver Status Member

Wow you have entertaining things going on there. Fortunately you found your go to pellet.

It is surprising that the JSB's are behaving so badly. Not that I'm saying they should be the best but I have never seen them be the worst....unless there is lead fouling. JSB's are soft and have no lubrication. They get torn up easily.

However....don't touch anything Laughing

Now that you have found it repeatability is the key

NZ Shooter · Suspended

Hi, I found Gamo Round .177 slugs are decently accurate within 25 metres,they hit with devastating force and from my past .177 air rifles, have blown clean holes through the front of 6mm thick gin bottles,and left virtually no glass on the back exit side. Big 1125ml bottle, that'd be a 40 ounce in the USA. I used them on Possums, (New Zealand ones are the toughest on the planet,especially down in the South Island) and HOLY SH Exclamation

T they get dead fast. Give them a whirl. They are round, yes , but are a true lead air-rifle sized slug, not a steel BB.(Which are smaller in diameter) Mr. Green

P.S. All my .177 rifles have been Gamo Cool

twalter · Veteran Member

twalter · Veteran Member