Gamo centre rebuild
John rebuilt our GAMO Centre pistol after a rumage through a box of old leather washers produced something that could be forced into service and then used a knife to cut away the solidified grease that must have been inside it since the Spanish factory slapped plenty of it on everything way back in the seventies.
The leather washer needed plenty of soaking in thin oil followed by John "treading" it like he was in a barrel of grapes to coax it into a more supple format - followed by shaping it to size in a Jubilee clip until it conformed to a suitable size.
The old piston washer was as hard as a brick and complely useless - how the pistol spat lead until now is a mystery.
The trigger adjusting screws were "welded" into place and immovable until the kife cut away the solidified grease from this area as well!
With a bit of TLC, a rebuild and a relube with his secret "special grease(s)" and a lot of work forcing the leather washer into a shape that would fit into the cylinder the pistol now shoots amazingly well for such an old and well used example of this 70's classic.
The measured muzzle velocity is so consistant that it puts some of the PCP pistols we have measured to shame - amazingly good - but the cocking lever drops away when the pistol is shot as the cocking lever itself has a large oval slot where the pivot pin should be giving a lot of "slop" in this area.
Since the pistol is working so well, John is hoping to get a bush made so we can fit it where the original drilled hole has elongated, and keep this pistol alive for a few more years. If he succeeds this weekend, then a few of us are tempted to use it in the MPL next week as it will be fun and "in keeping" with the spirit of the competition.
It is hard to believe that we paid for this pistol to be serviced, adjusted and lubricated a year ago by a local dealer - but we checked the bill again last night - and it definately says it was - so it must be true!
Anyway - if we can find the source of the alloy loading hatch to replace the worn moulded plastic original then we will have a very nice recoiling pistol for our club to use in the MPL series. The nylon one we have on our Centre now is as worn as the rest of the pistol is/was to the extent that some pellets drop straight through it - but a replacement is not available anymore, although I have placed a couple on back order with Chambers in the hope that they may get some more in stock soon.
Last edited by zooma; 21-09-2012 at 09:03 AM.
Rossendale Target Shooting Club. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening 7 - 10pm.