I have the GAMO MAGNUM .22

[rking22]

Late nineties, I was deeply involved and shooting a bit of field target too. Guy showed up with the first of the Korean lever cocked 2 tubed high power 22 calibers. Lots of PCP use so we were equipped to charge it. It was huge, 4 feet long, probably 9 pounds, and LOUD. Louder than a 22! It seemed interesting but after fooling with it over that weekend, I decided that for that power level I was good with a 22lr. Above that level, powder just seems more practical, to me. A muzzle loading big bore could be interesting in the way a flint long rifle is. I live in the country and can shoot a 45/70 or anything else I want out the back door. We shot clays in the front yard on Christmas. Air guns are for fun relaxed and simple plinking in my current world. Am pondering getting back into field target and enjoy my 10 meter guns tremendously. I enjoy the mechanical design and utter Precision that they exhibit. We Americans get awful wound up chasing more power. Glad for the guys who enjoy it, but I have stepped off to the side. Dr. Beeman wrote an article about that aspect related to the popularity of the little R7. The old Beeman catalogs are great reading. If you don’t have one look around online, should be one scanned somewhere on the huge www world!


Forgot to mention, but memory says it took about 40 pump strokes per shot on my S300 5mm setup. Don’t remember if that was when I had it pretty hot, or after I dropped it back to 800 FPS with a 14.3 premier. Suspect it was the reason I dropped it back I do know it doubled my available shots from 20 to 40!

[Tripplebeards]

All I can tell you is my fingers are sore!!! I made the mistake of ordering some more JSB pellets off amazon. I got suckered in with free prime shipping. The first order came with the tin broke open the other day with damaged pellets loose in the 6” square shipping box with no packaging. I sent them back for a refund and they offered to send me two in return for the price of one. They came like the first package. One opened with damaged pellets. The other never opened up but I would say at least half the skirts top are bent in the tin. The tin itself had no dents in it but it must have got tossed around enough to cause the pellets to deform. Amazon refunded me this time without having to return them. So instead of throwing them in my smelting pile I found a post on how some person drilled a hole in a block of wood just deep enough for a Diabolo pellet head to stick out. Then they took all the bent skirted pellets and pushed them down over the pellet head sticking out of the block of wood to round them back out. I spent about an hour and a half on the first tin of 250 pushing each one down and giving it a twist a couple times like squeezing and orange. I bet there were less than a dozen pellets that were not damaged. I’ll wait till tomorrow or the next day to do the other tin to give my fingers time to heal. Hopefully they shoot good after rounding the skirts back out.

Teaches me not to be cheap and order from pyramidAir like I’ve done in the past. I have not ordered from pyramid air in almost a decade but when I ordered the buy three get the fourth free all my pellets came perfect packaged and undamaged in foam cut outs.

[rking22]

Thanks for sharing that, saved me the pain! As I started reading the ole “cheapskate” light began to glow, then I saw the shipping. I must admit, I am not surprised, they have idiots packing boxes! I have always bought from airgun suppliers, Pyramid most recently. As you stated, probably the best practice! My experience is good quality pellets come with a foam filler in the tin to keep “monkeys” from bending the skirts by shaking or dropping the tins. Wouldnt help when they throw them hard enough to open the taped tin! Good grief, good job on the save! Let’s hear it for frugal folk!!!

[W.R.Buchanan]

3B: back in the day Beemans offered a little tool for smoothing out pellet skirts as you seated them in the chamber. It essentially was a 3/16" ball on a stick made of aluminum but you could make the same thing by simply turning a radius on the end of a piece of rod in a drill motor.

You put the distorted pellet in the chamber and push it home with the tool. The lead is so soft that you can literally form it with your fingers, but this tool makes it simple and easy..

Randy

[Tripplebeards]

I remember that tool. I believe someone still offers a seating type tool. I read it helps with accuracy as the pellets get seated to the same depth every time so the skirts don’t stick out and get pinched when the action closes.



The other thing I noticed on the first tin of damaged Amazon pellets is that there was no foam padding on the bottom of the tin but just the top. My 10 year old jSB’s with the grey sticker has foam on the bottom of the tin as well and I’m sure it has to help with less pellet deformation and damage. I’ll have to see if the 2nd tin has one on the bottom.

[Tripplebeards]

I couldn’t find a 22 cal pellet seating tool on amazon this morning as I had $20 credit from the damaged pellets. I used my credit on a 22 cal pellet pen and a tin of .22 cal 200 H&N terminators for my browning 800 pistol. I’m sure the pellets will come damaged but it’s an “order only” pellet in my neck of the woods and the tightest grouper on my pistol. I’ll have to make a pellet seating tool. I saw a shooter on another forum made one out of an amp jack.

[trapper44shooter]

Here is a pic of my Gamo Magnum 22 cal

[Tripplebeards]

Just finished up bending my second tin of pellets. There were quite a bit that had the cones folded over. Instead of tossing I plunked with them at 10 yards on some water bottles a few minutes ago. I think there were 7 that weren’t damaged in the tin of 250. There also was not a piece of foam in the bottom of the 2nd tin either. I wonder if jsb only puts one piece on the top now and nothing on the bottom? There was fining on every Rear cone of every pellet. My 10 year old pellets I ordered from PyramydAir have zero finning and look perfect. I don’t believe the finning is a packaging issue. I’m guessing their quality isn’t what it use to be. I’ll have to order some from PyramydAir before I pass judgment.

I tried a crow magnum out of my rifle on a water bottle at 10 yards. It spun it around and knocked it down. I then tried my JSB heavy jumbos. It lifted the bottle straight up about a foot and then backwards! They hit a lot harder imo.


I found this video on pellet seating. Looked like the old school finger method works pretty good...


https://youtu.be/nFudoqwsJbc

[clodhopper]

Pyramyd packs pellets good, closed cell foam cut out to can size, and the box filled with foam. About two pellets per 500 round can have noticeably bent skirts.
I bought 12,500 Crossman premier magnum domed, 14.3, 22 caliber for about 165 bucks. With a 10 percent off, pay for 4, get five, and free shipping on orders over 150 dollars.


I'm OK paying just a smidge more that the lowest price amazon offers.

They might last a year, the Airspeed spits them out

[Tripplebeards]

After testing my repaired pellets they group horrible. About an 1.5” to 2” at 10 yards vs my old labeled pellets will shoot pellet for pellet at 23 yards. There is a design change as well for some reason.
The old pellet that shoot well is on the left...