TargetTalk

Hey everyone, interested to know what fellow Gamo compact owners bought after realising they needed to upgrade. Also, what sort of scores out of 600 they achieved with their Compacts before they did upgrade.

The Gamo Compact was my first AP.
Tweaked the trigger a lot, changed springs, added weight, putty on the grip, the complete works...
My personal best it it was a lousy 526/600.
Then I got an Styer LP10 mechanical.
First 60 shots fired (including those to adjust the sights), gave me 535!
From there, I went in a couple of years, to 568 in competition.
I still love the Gamo Compact (and would never sell it), but it's a piece of junk as a match gun!

Hope this helps

Thanks for your reply, it’s interesting the journey you’ve made. I’m dreaming of getting 526 at the moment! I was hoping to get the Compact up to about 540 (my increased skill permitting) before I upgraded (thinking of a Walther LP500 or Styer LP2, or even a Hammerli AP20 Pro, although I’m not sure if I’d be happy with that, as I’ve seen a few people have one and quickly upgrade again). Encouraging too, to see your score go up so quickly, after you upgraded. Could I ask you how often you practiced when you got your Styer LP10?

Keep in mind that the 526 was my personal best in competition with that pistol. On average it was about 515...
Upgrade as soon as you can. If you can't afford a new AP, get one second hand.
Even a beat old top tier gun will be a massive improvement over the Gamo.
Back then, I trained about three times a week, plus matches on weekends, with the Gamo and then with the LP10.
For me, the only thing that changed was the gun. I've got an 20 to 25 points increase just by switching AP. And this only happened because of how bad the Gamo was/is.
The Gamo Compact will only make your progress way longer and harder... specially if it's still stock, with that awful trigger. (But I still kept mine!)

I tried hard with one, but only because of the nice grip.

I agree with RMCA, it is a piece of crap.

Buy yourself something nice.

Thanks rmca for your reply, it’s great to hear about peoples real world experiences with the Gamo Compact - it really is helpful and encouraging. I’m new into the sport of 10m AP, so I need to be sure I’m going to stick at it before I fork out a considerable sum on another pistol: although I am having to fettle with the trigger all the time to get any sort of consistency/improvement - it’s definitely a challenge! I’ve not joined a club as yet (covid is rampant around here), so I’ve not been able to try any other peoples pistols - another reason I’ve not upgraded yet, as I know it’s important to try before you buy. 568 is an epic score, if I’m not wrong that would be national level shooting - well done!

Thanks Rover for your reply, I know your an experienced shooter, so appreciate your input.

Steevyg wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 4:48 am I’m new into the sport of 10m AP, so I need to be sure I’m going to stick at it before I fork out a considerable sum on another pistol

This was what I though when I bought mine. But it was a mistake.
If I was starting today, I would get a second hand LP10 or a CM162.
If I didn't stick with AP I could resell it for about the same amount I've payed. And it makes the experience so much better...

Hope this helps

Thanks rmca, I appreciate your wisdom. Best place(s) to look for such pistols, would you say (if at all your in the UK).

Best place is to find a club and ask around. Someone always has something for sale or knows of someone who is selling stuff.
In Europe, egun.de is a good place to start, but if you are in the UK, I'm not sure if you can still buy without some sort of paper work...
If you already own the Gamo, don't rush the purchase and wait for a good one. Awful as it is, the gamo should suffice to scratch the hitch in the meanwhile...

In the uk if you do not belong to any club or organisation where you do get to hear of stuff for sale you can look at airgunbbs.com under in the target / competition section and the adds section, many use Gunstar.com if nothing is turning up for them through the normal channels.
Both my wife and I started off with pistols like the gamo and still have them but but we are very happy with the modern stuff.
Where in the uk are you just in case you are not far from our club? We are in Norwich

Buying from a club member seems like the way to go - able to try it out, person to person purchase etc. Likely the best option, all I need now is to join a club! I’ll check out Egun too, thanks again rmca for your great advice. I’m hoping to crack 500 this weekend for the first time on my monthly 60 shot!

Appreciate your input Thirdwheel, I’ll check out the options you mentioned, although I’m pretty sure buying one through a club member is my preferred route now. I’m about an hours drive to my nearest club which is in Warrington: thanks though for offering the use of your club.

Glad I could help.

Steevyg wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 5:57 pm I’m hoping to crack 500 this weekend for the first time on my monthly 60 shot!

Don't focus on the number (500 or whatever number), and do not add points while shooting. That will mess with your head...
Just shoot, one at the time... do the math AFTER the sixty shot...

Haha, yes I’ve done it both ways: added up after each card and also added up the cards at the end.
Adding up after each card is definitely more challenging! Can I ask did you play around with different pellets with your Gamo Compact, as I’ve just read a review on Pyramid Air, which gave Gamo Match pellets a big thumbs up (10 shot rested gave a score of 97/100!)? Thanks again rmca.

RMCA is right again. Buy him a Sagres. Don't even think about your scores until the match is over.
I remember one match where a shooter was getting frantic and complaining to his wife about his ongoing score. Not a good way to compete.

RE: Pellets. Due to the GAMO's low power, you would want to use a light pellet, like RWS Hobby or RWS Blue for cleaner holes.

Yep, go as light as you can on the pellets.
The pistol is rated at 120m/s, that is quite low.
As you use it, the seals degrade and velocity drops even more...
Velocity up to 160m/s is your friend. Past that it's too much... Most competition pistols are setup around 150 to 160 m/s

I did not test pellets like I did with the LP10, because there is no way you can clamp the pistol AND cook it without losing zero.
You can check the test with the LP10 here viewtopic.php?f=4&t=51440&hilit=pellet+testing+again

Thanks Rover, that sounds like good advice, I’ll count up at the end of shooting from now on. Thanks for advice on pellets too: I’m getting good holes using Kruger targets and RWS Basic’s, which are 7gr, and cheap!

Rover wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 7:19 am RMCA is right again. Buy him a Sagres. Don't even think about your scores until the match is over.
I remember one match where a shooter was getting frantic and complaining to his wife about his ongoing score. Not a good way to compete.

RE: Pellets. Due to the GAMO's low power, you would want to use a light pellet, like RWS Hobby or RWS Blue for cleaner holes.

What are RWS Blue?

RWS Blue is Meisterkugeln Pistol (7 grains).