by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
Gamo PR-776 pellet revolver.
This report covers:
- Hurrah!
- Pellets
- Cylinder swings out
- The grip
- Sights
- Single- and double-action
- Accuracy?
- A lot of interest
Hurrah!
Today, we’ll start looking at the Gamo PR-776 pellet revolver. Pellets, as in a 6-inch rifled steel barrel. And all-metal construction! With adjustable sights! For $100.
Many of our blog readers are interested in pellet revolvers, and this is a brand new one. It looks something like a Smith & Wesson TRR8, except the top of the barrel lacks the ribbed scope base that’s found on the firearm. The cylinder is unique in that it doesn’t house the ammunition. It accepts clips, instead.
Pellets are loaded into one of the two circular metal clips supplied with the revolver. When it’s time to reload, the cylinder catch is pressed forward — just like an S&W — and the cylinder swings out to the left. A circular clip containing the pellets is dropped into the rear of the cylinder, and it swings shut again. The gun is loaded.
Press the cylinder catch to the rear, and the safety is applied — just like Agatha Christie told us! Yes, this revolver does have a safety catch. The British mystery writers were simply decades ahead of the design curve.
Pellets
Did I say pellets? Why, yes I did! What holds the pellets in the chambers, you ask? Rare earth magnets? A flux capacitor? No. Just 8 ribs down the center of each chamber. It’s been done before in Gamo’s R77 revolver, and it works.
Eight ribs in each chamber hold the pellets in place.
Cylinder swings out
The cylinder swings out to the left on a crane, the same as a Smith & Wesson firearm revolver. And the ejector rod really functions. It pushes the whole circular clip out for reloading. So, in it’s own way, the circular clip acts similar to a speedloader on revolvers that use cartridges.
Cylinder swings out to the left.
The grip
Naturally, the gun is powered by a 12-gram CO2 cartridge that’s housed in the grip. The back of the grip pulls back, opening the CO2 cartridge container. The piercing screw has a folding handle that’s completely hidden inside the grip when it’s closed. And when it’s closed, the grip fits tight, without a hint of movement.
The grip slides straight back, and the CO2 cartridge is hidden inside.
The grip feels like one of the popular aftermarket grips that absorbs recoil. It has finger grooves at the front and a slight palm swell on either side that feels like a custom fit when you hold the gun. Although the controls are set up for right-handed shooters, the grip is ambidextrous.
This is a large handgun — like an L-frame Smith & Wesson, and it weighs just under 38 oz. when loaded. You know that it’s a large revolver when you pick it up.
Sights
As mentioned, the gun comes with fully adjustable sights. Gamo’s blister-pack graphics say the rear sight adjusts only for windage, but I adjusted it for elevation as well, so the words on the package are incorrect.
The front post has a white bead that makes precision aiming impossible, but I plan to color it over temporarily for the accuracy test. A dot is for quick acquisition and center-of-mass shooting — not precise aiming.
The top rib of the revolver is supposed to be a dovetail base for optical sights. I note that it’s extremely narrow, at just 7.84mm wide. Whatever sights you mount will have to take that into account, as most 11mm airgun mounts will be too wide. I’ll see if I can find something that works.
There’s a second rib underneath the barrel. This one is slightly wider, at 7.93mm. It’s also too narrow for many mounts, but I’ll look into it for you. This one would be for lasers and flashlights, only.
Single- and double-action
The gun is both single- and double-action. Once, again, single-action is when the hammer is cocked manually before the shot. That also advances the cylinder and gives the best trigger-pull. When you operate the revolver entirely by the trigger — cocking the hammer and advancing the cylinder — you’re in the double-action mode. The PR-776 double-action mode is short and quick with no stacking of the trigger (trigger-pull becoming much harder at a certain point in the pull). It feels light enough to make shooting double-action fun.
Accuracy?
We all hope for accuracy. The standard for pellet revolvers is set by the S&W 586 that puts 10 into about an inch at 25 feet. Sometimes, it’ll even do that at 10 meters, but not every time. I’d be happy to see the PR-776 put 8 into 1.25 inches at 25 feet. I do note that the entire barrel moves inside its outer shroud, so accuracy will be something I’ll look at very critically. Guns with barrels that move back and forth are not known for their accuracy, but I can always hope.
A lot of interest
The airgun world is watching this Gamo PR-776 and hoping for great accuracy. It has everything going for it, so let’s hope it can also hit the mark.
Note: I’m on the road this week filming instructional videos for Pyramyd Air’s Airgun Academy section. So my answers will be brief, or none at all until Thursday.
I like pellet pistols and have Beretta 92FS. This one looks nice, but the narrow rails throw a red flag. I mean really, if your going to build them in, then at least do ’em to the right width.
The ribs in the clip? Mmmmm,…not sure I would want my pellets to be “pre-rifled” before even seeing the rifling. You would swear from the pics.,.. that the ribs to hold the pellets look like needle bearings.
But hey, does not look too bad for a 100$ plinker. We’ll see if it can group.
Chris
Chris:
The “ribs” in the clip look similar to the ribs in a Crosman 1077 clip, which work fine (unless the pellet is undersized and fall through the clip).
I agree that narrow rails are a red flag. If they will not accept standard 3/8″ dovetails, then I would guess that were designed as proprietary rails in order to sale proprietary accessories at an inflated price.
Jim
Jim,
The FS clips are a press fit on the skirt. I like that idea better. No indents. And,…yup on the propiertary $ inflated goodies.
But hey, really,…for a 100$,…just shoot it and have fun.
On the FS,…I have only tried cheap pellets. I wonder if anyone has ever tried “premium” pellets on cheaper air hand guns, and have got any better results ?
Chris
So they are bringing back the Airgun Academy! Great! I always enjoyed those little video blurbs!
BB & RidgeRunner:
I too enjoy the Airgun Academy vidoes.
I’m looking forward to the new ones.
Jim
Hello, BB. Good to know you have resumed the Instructional Videos… I like those a lot.
About the Gamo revolver, I think of the pellet version of the Dan Wesson gun when I read the title, but the Gamo system of loading pellets on a clip instead of cartridges seems (to me, at least) a better solution. I only wonder how the cylinder portion of the pellet travel will affect its accuracy (assuming only the barrel is rifled and the cylinder is smooth). Hopefully, this gun will meet the demand for an accurate pellet revolver we have been waiting for.
The dovetail ribs on the Gamo are identical to my Win Gun 701 airsoft revolver, but mine came with two short rails that can be mounted above and below the barrel and accepts standard 20mm bases. I guess the Gamo version does not come with these rails in the box, but they should. I can’t seem to find them for sale anywhere else.
B.B. and Fred_BR,
I just measured a dovetail-to-Weaver/picatinny adapter of mine that I adjusted to its minimum fit, and with a simple metal ruler it looks like it would be secure on 8mm dovetails.
The adapters that are designed for the 8mm are included with most, perhaps all, Dan Wesson CO2 revolvers, be they pellet, BB, or airsoft.
Michael
Michael,
Thank you for that.
B.B.
Checking PA’S Site I notice the gun is available but not extra mags.When I spoke
with a rep.He said right now none are available and did not know when they would be.
I have learned it is better to wait and see then get the gun.
B.B.
Excellent introduction to the Gamo PR-776 revolver. As soon as I started reading, I thought it was very similar to the Smith and Wesson 586, and except for the difference in ammo, it’s also very similar to the Smith and Wesson M&P R8. I have both of those revolvers. If this Gamo Pr-776 proves to have good accuracy, I may have to consider adding it to my collection. But like Michael Machael said, until there are extra magazines available, I’m probably not going to buy it.
B.B.,
I am STOKED! I have a four-inch barreled R77, and it is a pleasure to shoot. The accuracy is only OK for pellets. but what accuracy it has extends to well beyond the usable range for a BB revolver.
I can’t wait for the second installment!
Michael
I figured that something physical like the ribs would be needed to retain the pellets. You likely be a rich man if you invented a magnet that would work with lead and tin
Personally, I’ve never really cared whether or not I can get extra clips/magazines for a CO2 gun. I figure the time it takes me to reload a just-emptied clip, is that much more time that the gun warms up from the CO2 cooling effect. This does look like a nice revolver. I’ve had my eye on it since PA added it to their inventory. But since it’s a Gamo, I’ve been waiting for reviews to see how accurate it is.
Chasblock, I couldn’t agree more with using the time it takes to reload to let the gun “warm up”. I’ve noticed that my pellet pistol works much better if I load the “clip/magazine this way. Every time I load up all five and shoot them back to back, the pistol doesn’t seem to shoot as well and I don’t seem to get them max. # of shots.
Hi Chasblock. I share your observations about extra clips and giving the co2 a chance to warm up. For tin can shooting not so important but for paper target shooting you need to let the co2 stabilize. I still need to learn to wait longer between shots. The most accurate co2 pistol I have is the Crosman 2240. The time it takes to reload, gives the co2 a chance to warm up . Good observation .
I’m not much of a pistol shooter. But I like this gun. The realism of the guns function is what I like.
The clip and the adjustable sights is what got my attension and also that it shoots pellets.
Now I want to know the accuracy and shot count.
Nice-looking gun. Revolvers are a good topic generally. I am starting to experiment with double-action on my SW 686, and I have a question about technique. When shooting in this mode, does one want a single smooth pull of the entire trigger stroke? Or do you want to prep the trigger until it feels like breaking? If you are using DA for rapid fire, you obviously are not going to prep the trigger. If you are using aimed fire, you are probably going SA. But supposing you are going DA, what is the best way? In my first serious trial, I found that prepping the DA works best. Groups at 25 yards were surprisingly good. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised at this method since that is what I have been using for my DA CO2 airguns.
On another point, I continue to be fascinated at how the moving cylinder of a revolver can line up so perfectly with the barrel. I guess that is what they are made to do. But another dimension is added with different cartridge lengths such as the .357 mag and the .38 special which can be fired from the same gun. There is a considerable difference in case length. So, it seems unavoidable that the .38 special bullet must leap a considerable distance before it engages the rifling. I thought this was supposed to impair accuracy, but not for the SW 686. If the .38 special there is inaccurate, I would hate to see accurate… Anyway, it is undeniable that the reviews of the pellet revolvers in the SW 686 series inspired me to get the firearm version, and no gun gives me more satisfaction than that one.
Matt61
As you found, prepping or staging the trigger is the most accurate way to fire double action. Pulling straight through is for close range firepower. Staging the trigger works best on Smith & Wesson or Ruger DA revolvers. Most Colt DA triggers “Stack” or become harder to pull, as you cycle the trigger. It makes hard to feel the stage just before let off. Back in the day when law enforcement used DA revolvers people were trained to always shoot double action. When the fat is in the fire, there’s no time for single action.
Mike
A few thoughts First ASG needs to refine the valve system to avoid the “hey I ‘m an airgun” with the overly long area behind the hammer. How about making some revolvers that look more like real revolvers , like the Webely. I would like to see a classic Colt Official Police, A S&W 1917 and a Classic S&W 19. or model 10 with an accurate profile and wood type grips
Looks like a descendant of the Gamo R-77 series. Except in full metal with functioning ejector and cylinder thumb latch. Actually, the Dan Wesson and Gletcher double action revolvers all seem to be cousins too. Was this design derived from the Gamo R-77? Or did it really all originate from airsoft revolver designs? I like the idea of the revolver clips loading into the cylinder. Those internal chamber ribs for retaining the pellets really do work well on the R-77 and should be fine for this model too. And this thing is not too fussy to load like the Dan Wesson pellet and BB revolvers, where you have to fiddle with shells. The pellet clips also allow for this wheel-gun to have a full load of 8 pellets. Like the R-77, the PR-776 should be very handy for rapid-fire pest control of fast moving small mice. The only downside to this would be the weight from being full-metal in construction. Probably close to the Dan Wesson series. In contrast, due to its polymer barrel shroud and cylinder, the R 77 feels like a lighter revolver, in spite of having the same size frame as the PR-776.
Everyone,
A week or so ago, I mentioned OnTarget software in a blog response. At the time, I mentioned that the software was very buggy on my computer, often stopping and kicking my out of the program.
I though I would give everyone an update on my experiences with the OnTraget software. After installing it, I began getting javascrip errors and notices of blocked viruses from my anti-virus software. After uninstalling the program I am no longer getting the javascrip error message of the block virus messages. I can’t say for sure that the software installation caused the problems but . . .
I have emailed the vendor but not yet received a response. The vendor would not have had time to respond at this point since I emailed him just prior to posting this message.
Jim
B.B.,
Reading michaelr comment above reminded me that I often wish that I could get wood or synthetic grips as appropriate for many of my replica and action CO2 handguns. I believe there is money to be made for manufacturers who might be interested. I have authentic grips for every gun that I have been able to find them for but aside from 1911 replicas there aren’t many. I also check grips for the firearms but most of the time they won’t work on CO2 guns for one reason or another.
I’m afraid this is not likely to ever happen. But I’ll keep looking.
G&G
I hope someone begins offering aftermarket airgun grips. first up , real wood ,checkered plastic ,stag and mother of pearl for the new Colt Peacemaker
Crosman heavyweight 10.5 gr pellets don’t fit in a 1077 clip unless you force them which I don’t want to do and enlarge the holes.
W8vega
That’s s a bit much for that kind of gun.
By the way, are you from back in the time that they stuffed a 350 in a Vega instead of the flaky aluminum engines ? And gas was way under a buck a gallon, and there were muscle cars with loud exhausts, mag wheels, and big tires ? Jacked up on the back too ?
The good old days.
twotalon
Hi BB. Off topic question. What’s up with Air Venturi (Mendoza) ? I’d like to order a Bronco, is it no longer available? I can add it to my wish list but can’t put it on my cart. All I get is a “product details” option. Seems like Mendoza is gone, or as we say here in New Mexico…Gonzales. Thanks, Toby.
Toby T,
Sadly the production of Broncos ended. Your only bet now is to get a used one.
B.B.
BB. Thanks for letting me know. That’s a shame. I have one and it’s one of my favorites. I wanted to purchase another for a friend. Doesn’t make sense to me. Accurate, easy to shoot rifle with a really good trigger and production ceases. Go figure. Thanks again, Toby
I can’t order it quite yet. I have to wait until July 1. On that day Michigan throws away all airgun restrictions and I can get what pleases me. I think I’ll test this with a Desert Eagle though. That has been on my wanted list forever. I counted!
I have this Gamo PR-776 for more than a week. It does have good accuracy. With a laser attached, I can get a 1 inch grouping at 15 feet using single action. The double action is a bit hard and the overall feeling is the same as the Airsoft WinGun, Dan Wesson or Black Ops guns. However the initial pull of the trigger moves the chamber, so with practice, even double action can be shot accurately as the trigger break is crisp as in single action.
The rails are not a problem for me as they are the exact ones from WinGun since it looks like made by them only. It looks like the same 6 mm Airsoft WG M704 in 4.5 mm pellet version. It has the exact same 8 shot clips seen here. Hence all the rail adapter from WG, Dan Wesson and Black OPS fits. I had spare rail adapter and I could easily fit a laser to the rail below the barrel. The same adapter looks like will fit the upper rail, but since it requires removing the rear sights, I did not try it.