While the snow stopped delivery yesterday, Fedex did deliver my new Gamo Wildcat Whisper .22 to me today. After cleaning and lubing, I started sending lead down range in between shoveling and ice breaking sessions.
"Down Range" is in the basement shooting at 30 feet until the temps come up again. I managed to shoot 100 shots today with breaks for cleaning and getting my heart rate down again. I haven't shot a springer in at least 10 years so I expected to have some issues at first. Surprisingly though, after the first few shots, I was keeping a nice 1 inch group. This was a shock as for 1, springers used to take a couple hundred rounds to set in, 2, I am using the cheap 4 power scope and cheap rings that came with the gun and 3, I'm old and shaky. In fact, the basement smells like a candle factory as the gun continues to burn off the preservative oil in the air chamber.
Now for a little about the rifle. It is pretty clean as far as machine work and plastic stock goes. No sharp edges and everything fits pretty good. The barrel is nice and tight and has no droop to it. It is very quiet for the money. If I wasn't shooting into a Steel .22 Rimfire bullet trap, it would be quieter yet. I shot it into some tree stumps I have for vise benches and it was almost as quiet as my Prod with a cheap silencer on it. The gas strut is very smooth to cock since it doesn't stack like a spring. It is about 30 pounds cocking force and not too bad even for an old guy.
The only truly bad part of the gun is the trigger. While very smooth, it is a long pull never knowing when it is going to release. That said, if you practice good trigger finger discipline, you will have no problems keeping tight groups. I knew the trigger issue going in and I know how to fix it by putting a longer adjustment screw in it. However, I had planned to replace the trigger with a Charlie DaTuna GRT4 anyway and I have one on order. if you own inexpensive springers, you owe it to yourself to put a Charlie Da Tuna trigger in it. His trigger changes the geometry and gives you a good two stage adjustable trigger. For less than $40, it is well worth it. His web site is https://www.charliedatuna.com
Well, time to have a cup of hot chocolate after a hard day in the cold.
"Down Range" is in the basement shooting at 30 feet until the temps come up again. I managed to shoot 100 shots today with breaks for cleaning and getting my heart rate down again. I haven't shot a springer in at least 10 years so I expected to have some issues at first. Surprisingly though, after the first few shots, I was keeping a nice 1 inch group. This was a shock as for 1, springers used to take a couple hundred rounds to set in, 2, I am using the cheap 4 power scope and cheap rings that came with the gun and 3, I'm old and shaky. In fact, the basement smells like a candle factory as the gun continues to burn off the preservative oil in the air chamber.
Now for a little about the rifle. It is pretty clean as far as machine work and plastic stock goes. No sharp edges and everything fits pretty good. The barrel is nice and tight and has no droop to it. It is very quiet for the money. If I wasn't shooting into a Steel .22 Rimfire bullet trap, it would be quieter yet. I shot it into some tree stumps I have for vise benches and it was almost as quiet as my Prod with a cheap silencer on it. The gas strut is very smooth to cock since it doesn't stack like a spring. It is about 30 pounds cocking force and not too bad even for an old guy.
The only truly bad part of the gun is the trigger. While very smooth, it is a long pull never knowing when it is going to release. That said, if you practice good trigger finger discipline, you will have no problems keeping tight groups. I knew the trigger issue going in and I know how to fix it by putting a longer adjustment screw in it. However, I had planned to replace the trigger with a Charlie DaTuna GRT4 anyway and I have one on order. if you own inexpensive springers, you owe it to yourself to put a Charlie Da Tuna trigger in it. His trigger changes the geometry and gives you a good two stage adjustable trigger. For less than $40, it is well worth it. His web site is https://www.charliedatuna.com
Well, time to have a cup of hot chocolate after a hard day in the cold.