Comments on: Gamo Tactical SOCOM Air Rifles

By: BigAl

BigAl — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:55:06 +0000

I recently purchased a Gamo Viper Express from a local gun shop that had it discounted down a bit since it was their last one and they were getting out of the air rifle business. I should have known better! The first 25 pellets were dead on and hit like a rocket, but the next day, it wont even dent an empty can. I used to do gunsmithing as a hobby, so I am not ignorant of the inner workings of a gun. I cannot for the life of me see what is wrong, but I suspect the seals are blown already and that puts a bad taste in my mouth for Gamo products. I guess I will just toss this one off to a bad purchase decision. Now, I wish I had saved my money toward a REAL air rifle! I suppose you get what you pay for.

By: Erik_E

Erik_E — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:49:46 +0000

I have to agree with most of you guys in here that gamo doesn’t make that good of a airgun. But with a little bit of work they are sufficient (and fun) for rabbits and squirrels at 50 yards!
You do need to tune it a bit otherwise jou get the same stuff as Dick_P has!

@John Hardin
take a look at these guns.
http://www.beaumont-airguns.nl

(I assume you in the US so you can hunt with these.
here in holland you’re not allowed to hunt with a airgun. no matter what the power of the thing! He makes them up to .50 and 500+ joules)

By: Kasper

Kasper — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:55:33 +0000

Also, don’t forget that some states classify a .22 cal airgun as a firearm. So shooting a in city limits can bring steep fines and or jail time.

By: Dick_P

Dick_P — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:53:28 +0000

I have a Gamo Viper 22 cal/shotgun combo. I have had the same problem as Gunner. The accuracy of this gun is terrible. I didn’t expect too much with pellets considering the unrifled barrel, but it is worse than I expected, even with a scope. It will bunch shots within a 2″ circle at 50 ft., but I never know where the 2″ circle will be. Every time I use it, it is different. It may be low/right or high/left. Sometimes, it changes during the same shooting session. Shot shells are not much better. I have had squirrels dead-to-rights at 25 ft and missed!!! I’m not that bad.

Now, after about 150 shots, the gun seems to have lost a lot of power. I don’t know what is causing that, but overall, this has not been my best gun purchase.

By: MongooseSniper

MongooseSniper — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:00:21 +0000

The only way I would get this gun us if they sell it with the gas srping conversion. I have a whisper with the gas spring and it is by far one of the best break barrell pellet rifle I’ve owned. Actually the only thing I like about the SOCOM version is the stock/raised cheekpeice. I really hope they end up selling the stock seperatly. Gamousa.com would be the place to look for anyone interested in getting a different stock for your gamo rifle depending on the type of rifle. Aloha.

By: Gunner

Gunner — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:00:49 +0000

Two years ago I purchased a Gamo Big Cat 1200. I shot this thing about 100 times and have to say that accuracy is not one of the strong points of this gun. Matter of fact, it is terrible.
Every time I shoot at a target, the thing shoots into another direction.
I noticed that, when loaded, the barrel can be rocked sideways because the mounting is really of poor design.
The swivel-bolt that mounts the barrel to the spring chamber is fastened to only one side of the V-receptacle on the spring chamber. This receptacle appears to be of soft poor quality material and has a tendency to spread open when loading. This then allows the barrel to move sideways, resulting in loss of (all) accuracy.
It was a terrible investment.

By: pigeon Hunter

pigeon Hunter — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:54:22 +0000

I am very interested in SOCOM Gamo air rifle tactical, I think the model is fit to hunt pigeons in my place (tropical forests of Timor island) and that was important, its price is quite cheap.

By: Erik

Erik — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:43:47 +0000

I agree with you John, Air guns have come a long way and I remember growing up there was not much to choose from. These days airguns really are a great substitute and practice tool to keep your accuracy “intact” and the pellets are ten fold more affordable than AMMO ammo.

With that said I enjoy going down to the range and blasting off some real rounds but if you are just getting into shooting an air rifle is a good start. If you want your kids to learn accuracy before dealing with heavy recoil, what better way than with an airgun. Yes there are better quality air rifles than Gamo, bit for the price of some of their models I think you get a lot for your money. I just tried the Hunter Extreme and WOW what a nice rifle indeed.

Erik

By: John Hardin

John Hardin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:11:34 +0000

JohnK:

An air rifle can be used many places a firearm cannot. And pellets are easier to resupply than loaded ammunition.

That said, I agree the higher-end ones are getting a bit silly.

By: John K.

John K. — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:47:47 +0000

No offense to air rifle shooters, but if I’m going to spend $400 on a rifle I’d better be useful in some way. Buying a cheap and fun plinking rifle is one thing but $400 is way more than I’d spend on a toy with little to no real-world application. And I’d much rather buy myself some ammo or reloading equipment than a “tactical air rifle”.

By: Komrad

Komrad — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:04:34 +0000

I own a Gamo and my grandfather owns three. We did find that PBA ammo is less accurate but when using standard lead pellets they are all powerful and accurate within their range. They have much more power and accuracy than most airguns and the more powerful .22 pellet guns may even be appropriate for rabbit or squirrel. All of them are a great value and fun and cheap to shoot.
@ War Wolf
Gamo airguns are made in Spain.

By: Vak

Vak — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:01:40 +0000

Tactical.

Air rifle.

It feels like something’s off, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it.

By: War Wolf

War Wolf — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:21:42 +0000

Nas, I agree with your statement for the lower end stuff but if a buyer is considering spending $400 on a Gamo they need to buck-up a few more dollars and get the RWS. The lower power Gamo rifles are fine but when Gamo tries to push a .177 at speeds exceeding that of .22LR CCI Stingers the accuracy absolutely goes out the window. My RWS punches a single ragged hole from 150 feet all day long. A hyper speed .177 would probably not even hit a paper plate at that distance. I shot my friends and I actually questioned if there was not something wrong with it because there were times when the target didn’t even have a hole in it. Then he tried my RWS and shot bullseye 10 out of 10 times.

By: Nas

Nas — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:21:09 +0000

WW, As much as I agree with you about the quality of the RWS rifles, I must say that the Gamo rifles are excellent entry-class air rifles. They make a nice starting point for people just getting in to air guns. Maybe not these models, but the $150-$250 models provide a nice level of bang for the buck.

By: War Wolf

War Wolf — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:23:24 +0000

Gamos hype their FPS like CD-ROM makers hyped their “x” speed in the 90’s. 1650 FPS is of little utility if you can’t put the pellet on target. The PBS ammo leaves a lot to be desired too. In fact I learned to avoid .177 altogether because of the significant loss of muzzle energy at 50ft as compared with a .22 pellet. This loss is even more significant when using PBS pellets because they are so light. Being an urban bound resident it is impossible to use a traditional firearm to dispatch pests where I live. To solve this problem I looked at many air rifles and finally settled on an RWS Model 54 “Air King” with side cocking lever. The barrel stays fixed so accuracy is never compromised. She throws .22 lead at 900 fps through my chrono and does it in style. Every critter from skunk to squirrel to rat is a confirmed 1-shot-kill every time. The rifle is 99.5% recoilless and simply a true work of fine German craftsmanship. The wood is beautiful and the bluing is perfect. At $625 it wasn’t cheap but it has a lifetime warranty and it looks and feels every bit as substantial as my regular firearms. If any of the readers are considering spending money on a Gamo I would suggest they spend the extra money and get the RWS instead and save themselves from what will surely be a case of buyers remorse.