0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Overall rating:5
Value for money:5
Accuracy:5
By Rick from USA on 2009-01-03 19:58:32
Things I liked:Weight, or the lack thereof, NO SHOT NOISE (of course you hear the ram and mechanical aspects of the gun when it fires), Did I mention how light it was!, Accuracy was way above average with multiple pellets types, The Trigger (yeah this trigger is just not like other gamo triggers!), Very smooth cocking, very little recoil, not nearly as hold sensitive as my other break barrel spring rifles. Things I would have changed:I wish it cost less. This is such a nice rifle but at $400 I know it will be out of a lot of people's price range. This is a real shame because if they had a chance to shoot this rifle, they'd finally see just how nice a break barrel can be. What others should know:The Air Venturi Gas ram is worth EVERY PENNY! If it is an option... just get it. The difference between a rifle with and without the gas ram is so noticeable that it is hard to believe. My wife has virtually claimed this rifle as her own and she doesn't even like shooting pellet rifles.. but she likes this one! The cocking force is very tolerable for all day shooting which is one reason she likes it so much. It is also very easy to shoot and hit your intended target.
If your shots are 35 yards or less, consider NOT putting a scope on this rifle. It is so light and easy to handle. I think you'll loose some of that if you scope it. Head shots on sneaky squirrels are easy out to 20+ yards. Just line up the sights and pull the trigger. The rest is history. You will not understand just how nice this rifle is until you have a chance to shoot one for yourself.
POWER - with the Air Venturi Gas Ram upgrade I got an average of 738 FPS with only a 3 fps spread using RWS 14.2 grn Super H Point pellets. Groups were about .5" to .75" at 20 yards with open sights. By the way, I have terrible eyesight so that is really saying something. That translates to 17.17 FT lbs of shooting force.
I know $400 is a lot of money, but if I could go back and return EVEY OTHER BREAK BARREL that I own and trade it for this one, I'd do it. I can't say enough about this rifle.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Overall rating:3
Value for money:4
Accuracy:5
By Guy from USA on 2009-07-10 13:42:22
Things I liked:This rifle is very light weight with tack driving accuracy, now that I finally got the bore cleaned. The fiber optic sights at least for me are more accurate than with a scope, shooting quater sized groups on shoot-n-see targets at 30 yards. The rifle isn't very hold sensitive at all as long I'm gripping the forestock a little bit. Shooting prone, standing, kneeling, or bench shots, when you pull the trigger things just fall down. All in all it is a decent and very accurate small game air rifle. Things I would have changed:First off my barrel came to me with lots of something caked in it. At first looking down the bore I thought it was rust but it was black. It just looked disgusting and pitted the entire length. I tried a bore mop and some JB paste to no avail. I ended up using hoppe's #9 bore cleaner and wearing out a copper .22 brush just to get most of it out. I then followed that up with a bore polishing using JB paste again. After that I pushed a patch with some cleaning solution on it through the bore and then dry patches until one came out white. Now with the bore finally clean I do notice some pitting here and there but since this is an exchange on another rifle and it shoots fine with the pitted bore, I'm not worrying about it. I do find it a shame though because Gamo has some great ideas and designs. The quality control just isn't where it needs to be. I would gladly pay a little more for tighter tolerances, better machining, and increased quality control on these same rifle designs. Like everyone else has already said, the trigger is very creepy. A small payment to Charlie Da Tuna fixed that problem though. Lastly, the click adjustments on the rear sight leave much to be desired. They could have a more audible "click" and be more positive locking. What others should know:For all of it's minor shortcomings I still find it to be a decent purchase for the money spent. The Air Venturi Gas Ram upgrade is well worth the money. The rifle is very accurate and fairly hard hitting, even out to 40+ yards with open sights. Do yourself a favor and just order the GRT-III trigger from Charlie Da Tuna when you order this rifle.
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Overall rating:4 4.0
Value for money:4 4.0
Accuracy:5 5.0
See all my reviews
Things I would have changed:I was really close to sending this rifle back to PA. The reason being that the Whisper I got had a very dirty barrel. When I look through the barrel of my Hunter, I see smooth chrome-like rifling, but this was not the case with my Whisper. The best way to desribe this stuff is hard, black, rust-textured gunk. With this stuff in the barrel, no matter how hard I tried I could not get a shot group under 6 inches even at 5 yards! I had to squeeze pellets into the breech, deforming them almost every time. Being too embarassed and depressed to ask my wife to return this expensive gift, I decided to try to fix it myself. Guy's review shows how to clean off this solidified gunk . I suspect it is actually overspray from the paint job, as there was alot of green paint on the breech. I managed to remove about 70% of the gunk, but it took forever - it has a dirty motor oil look when you you look at the brush and rod: thirtyfive dollars, 4 bronze brushes, and dozens of cleaning patches later, the pellets fit snugly without force into the breech, the barrel rifling is now visible / only semi-shiny, and accuracy is at what I consider 100%, though it does require more fequent cleaning due to the remaining stubborn gunk. Please look into this apparently common defect, PA. The stock trigger is fine, but upgrades are always cool.
What others should know:This rifle is accurate at short ranges (10 yards) with almost any wadcutter or dome pellet I've used, but it's favorite all-purpose pellet has been the Crosman Premier Ultra Magnum heavy 10.5 grain - awesome quality & value BTW. Although the elevation seems to be at its upper limit, and it needs to be tightened every once in a while (300-350 shots), i have not had any problem with the adjustments. You will get the original spring and parts with your order from PA. If you can get PA to clean this rifle for you or send you one with a clean barrel then you will not be dissapointed.