Review of Gamo Pro Hunter Pellets ( 177 Calibre)

[Lightspeed]

Several hours frustration with a new .177 air rifle last week.

I couldn’t place shots within 15cm of target, and had absolutely no consistency of placement at all. Range was a little under 150 ft, in dead calm conditions.

I was getting despondent, so tried the same range with an equally new .22, using the same brand and model of pellet (Gamo Pro hunter) ….. after zeroing in I was getting consistent groups of less than 2cm diameter….. not marksman standard, but good enough for starters.

After the session I sorted the remains of the tin of 177 pellets and found that more than 30% had deformed skirts. . Quite badly deformed in many cases. I guess this is what was causing the inconsistency. This is the first .177 I’ve owned, having grown up with .22s I thought everything would be the same.

I was surprised at the % of damaged .177 pellets I found, so took an hour more inspecting my whole store. For sure the tin I’d picked to start shooting with was brand new and undamaged, it was the most horrible one content- wise. But for sure, in my reserve of 10k pellets, there was consistently greater damage to .177s and in fact almost no deformation damage to any of the .22s. Among the .177s the Gamo Pro hunters were worse by a long way.

I inspected the following:

Brand/ Calibre Quality Comment
Gamo Pro Hunter .177 Very Bad Recommend everyone check and replace
Gamo Pro Hunter .22 Good Completely different quality to the .177s
Gamo Long Range .177 Good
Gamo Long Range.22 Good
Gamo Expander .177 OK Some deformities but not too bad
Gamo Expander .22 Good
Gamo Marksman .22 Good Came in card cartons but still v. few deformities.
Ulmarex .177 Good Same shape as Gamo Pro Hunters. Few deformities.
Ulmarex .22 Good

Conclusion:

.177 pellets seem consistently to suffer greater manufacturing / storage damage than .22s

Gamo Pro Hunter .177s are rubbish and only any good as barter items.

Among .177s that I’ve inspected Umarex brand seems to offer best cost / quality ratio.


I’m not giving up on the .177 and will try it again very soon, but for sure not with Pro Hunters!

[Highlander]

It was one of the factors I took on board when choosing my .22,... .77 are quiet a lot thinner material, and you cant really inspect them before you buy

[bigpaul]

with pellets you get what you pay for, most of the cheaper/ordinary stuff is ok but I stock DEFIANT pellets, better quality, better results..they fit the bore better as there is 3 sizes of .22.

[Lightspeed]

(8 July 2013, 07:53)Highlander Wrote: It was one of the factors I took on board when choosing my .22,... .77 are quiet a lot thinner material, and you cant really inspect them before you buy

Our choice was .22 because that's what I have experience of, and .177 as reviews raved about greater velocity and flatter trajectory. We also wanted a gun that would do less structural damage when ratting in the barns.

I am disappointed with .177 it seems very much inferior....but we'll reconsider after I've gotten the thing to shoot straight.

---

(8 July 2013, 08:17)bigpaul Wrote: with pellets you get what you pay for, most of the cheaper/ordinary stuff is ok but I stock DEFIANT pellets, better quality, better results..they fit the bore better as there is 3 sizes of .22.

Hi BP

Are you using the Defiants in .177 calibre or just .22?

The systematic problem I am reporting is that .177 calibre is seemingly more prone to damage than .22 and that in particular the Gamo Pro-Hunter .177 ( domed) pellets are complete junk.

The Gamo Pro Hunters in .22 calibre are performing adequately and are cost effective for us.

[bigpaul]

(8 July 2013, 08:19)Lightspeed Wrote: Hi BP

Are you using the Defiants in .177 calibre or just .22?

The systematic problem I am reporting is that .177 calibre is seemingly more prone to damage than .22 and that in particular the Gamo Pro-Hunter .177 ( domed) pellets are complete junk.

The Gamo Pro Hunters in .22 calibre are performing adequately and are cost effective for us.

all my 3 rifles are .22, I don't like .177's and I don't see the point in stocking 2 different calibre's, I have some ordinary pellets but the defiants perform the best.

[Binnie]

I've tried many different pellets for my .22

i find H&N hollowpoints very well made and ultra consistent. in general i find H&N pellets very well made and would reccomend them to anyone

[Lightspeed]

(8 July 2013, 08:39)bigpaul Wrote:

(8 July 2013, 08:19)Lightspeed Wrote: Hi BP

Are you using the Defiants in .177 calibre or just .22?

The systematic problem I am reporting is that .177 calibre is seemingly more prone to damage than .22 and that in particular the Gamo Pro-Hunter .177 ( domed) pellets are complete junk.

The Gamo Pro Hunters in .22 calibre are performing adequately and are cost effective for us.

all my 3 rifles are .22, I don't like .177's and I don't see the point in stocking 2 different calibre's, I have some ordinary pellets but the defiants perform the best.

You're right on this BP. Looks like the .177 was a mistake. The reliability of ammunition is the big surprise to me.

[Highlander]

My .22 [5.5mm] pellets are `Accu-Pell`, they were recommended to me when I bought the gun, as being the best for the rifle I purchased,.. and I have had no problem with them at all

[Skean Dhude]

I use .22 only because I didn't want to have two calibres. Pellet consistence wasn't one of the reasons although I'll add that to the list. I have a few tins of .177 because you never know.

[Stewart]

try rws superdomes.very good quility and extremly consistant.you get what you pay for.gamos are more for plinking than hunting