Gamo Compact experience

[CB200]

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.

[zooma]

The GAMO Compact is a remarkably accurate SSP air pistol at a remarkably low price, so it can be a very good first choice for a budget target air pistol.

The wooden anatomical grip with an adjustable palm shelf is also excellent (especially for the money) but fairly chunky, and this can easily be re-shaped to give a better individual fit if required.

We had two of these in our club for some years and they both performed really well, and gave really good results with no failures. One was sold some time back and we still have one in the club.

Upgrading may not automatically give you higher scores than you could achieve by working with the GAMO to get the best out of it, but many do upgrade when funds permit to a higher quality air pistol when they find something that works better for them.

What people buy after a GAMO depends entirely on what they can afford and what fits and works best for them, so I suggest that you don't upgrade by buying anything else until after you have tried as many different types as possible at your local club to find out what type works best for you.

[CB200]

The GAMO Compact is a remarkably accurate SSP air pistol at a remarkably low price, so it can be a very good first choice for a budget target air pistol.

The wooden anatomical grip with an adjustable palm shelf is also excellent (especially for the money) but fairly chunky, and this can easily be re-shaped to give a better individual fit if required.

We had two of these in our club for some years and they both performed really well, and gave really good results with no failures. One was sold some time back and we still have one in the club.

Upgrading may not automatically give you higher scores than you could achieve by working with the GAMO to get the best out of it, but many do upgrade when funds permit to a higher quality air pistol when they find something that works better for them.

What people buy after a GAMO depends entirely on what they can afford and what fits and works best for them, so I suggest that you don't upgrade by buying anything else until after you have tried as many different types as possible at your local club to find out what type works best for you.

Thanks Zooma, I appreciate your reply and your wisdom. I look forward to the day when I get an upgrade.

[bootneckbob]

Hi, I'd actually considered down grading. I used to have a Compact years ago when they first came out. Not sure why, I wasn't doing comps back then. Anyway, now I do shoot pistol. My best with my Steyr Evo10e is 573x600 in practice. Not shot a shoulder to shoulder comp since Covid kicked off.

If I could, I'd let you try my Walther LP400 and I'd shoot your Compact, but I'd need £750 to let you do that!

[bootneckbob]

Biggest reason to upgrade or why SSP didn't last long is they were / are more tiring to use over a 60 shot comp than PCP. Zooma would probably know the answer to this but I wonder if the times for a 60 shot comp have changed since the introduction of PCPs? My first comp at Bisley was over in 24 minutes and I think we had 75 mins overall.

[bootneckbob]

Having refreshed my memory by watching a couple of reviews spending your money on a top end one will give you far more adjustment on pretty much every aspect of the pistol, grip, trigger and sights, which in turn will help consistency and ultimately your accuracy. It will also give your arm a rest between shots without all that pumping!

[zooma]

Zooma would probably know the answer to this but I wonder if the times for a 60 shot comp have changed since the introduction of PCPs?

Definitely - we needed a lot longer when we used flintlocks

[trajectory]

The Compact is a very capable pistol, but it's true it has its limitations in adjustability that the more modern (& expensive) match pistols have. That can be a bit of a disadvantage but it can also be an advantage too. The desire to tweek & adjust insessently in the pursuit of perfection can be a distraction in itself & can cause a dip in your average score thus unsettling you to the degree you might try further adjustments to get back to where you were. Whereas with a more basic bit of kit you struggle through concentrating on technique which usually pays dividends in the end. You have to persist with subtle changes to see the true effect.

I reprofiled the grips on my compact & also made up a new trigger blade as I wasn't keen on the profile or position of the original which improved the general feel & handling characteristic. Scores crept up a bit, but then with time & practice they might have done so anyway, but a comfortable well suited grip is pretty essential so the grip reprofiling was a must, the trigger, well that was more personal preference.

SSP are different to PCP or CO2, (muscle v gas), theres quite a few match pistols available, current & secondhand to choose from, maybe not much to choose in the way of performance differences between them so maybe it's down to what feels right, money, aesthetics, spares/ service support/ availability.
Personally quite liked Steyr lp10 but the compact helps with muscle tone too. Pistol shooting isnt all about the kit.

[bootneckbob]

[QUOTE=trajectory;8106875]The Compact is a very capable pistol, but it's true it has its limitations in adjustability that the more modern (& expensive) match pistols have. That can be a bit of a disadvantage but it can also be an advantage too. The desire to tweek & adjust insessently in the pursuit of perfection can be a distraction in itself & can cause a dip in your average score thus unsettling you to the degree you might try further adjustments to get back to where you were. Whereas with a more basic bit of kit you struggle through concentrating on technique which usually pays dividends in the end. You have to persist with subtle changes to see the true effect.


This is very true, and I originally put in my reply if your Compact fits you, there will be very little benefit to the upgrade to a top end pistol (cost Vs scores) but I deleted it.

I've got arguably the best (one of) 10m match pistols you can buy, with the Steyr Evo10e, but after 3 years or so of use I'd reached a plateau and was unable to break through 550x600 with 546 frequently being my PB. I ended up getting the Walther LP400 as I'd had one before the Steyr and despite my reasons for selling it, I remembered it / I used to 'seem' to group tighter with it. My records show I wasn't as good back then (around the 525) and the Steyr had moved me on; although far more likely it was just better practice. Anyway, long story short, I shot them both at home on my 10m range to death during the lock down and my scores with both pistols were almost identical with less than 1% variation using my target score app. So in the end I read up on pistol shooting technique again, from the start with all the things I knew (natural alignment, breathing, position & hold etc etc) but this time I went back to the range and religiously stuck by them. Broke my PB straight off with my Steyr, I think from memory from 546 to 563,, and then I shot another series with the Walther and increased it to 569. The 573 came much later with the Steyr.
The point being it was me that was the barrier, not the pistol/s.

[trajectory]

Success depends on many things, equipment is just one component.

Beginners to pistol shooting seem to either love it & dedicate time effort & money to it if they get the bug. If they have the good fortune to have an accurate pistol & get good instruction or coaching progress & results can improve quickly which is both pleasing & encouraging. This is similar to many sports or most learning processes. However as time progresses the rate of improvement usually slows down. Now this is where I think it gets interesting. Some just can't understand why they don't seem to be getting better & interest wanes. Others persevere & gradually improve albeit slowly, but steadily. Others might think its not them & it must be something else that's holding them back. Perhaps if they have bought good entry level equipment & see better shots using something more expensive they can convince themselves that more money = better scores more easily, & so they buy the latest gear thinking that's the answer. There's other reasons why progress might be impeded but I think some may recognise these.

There's psychological barriers too, whether it's pressure in a competition or in practice where you know you can beat a PB score or something like that. Different people might impose their own 'barriers' & there are different ways to try & get around them. Sometimes you can sort it out yourself, sometimes a bit of advice or coaching can help.

Sometimes a break for a few weeks can help.

Sometimes revisiting basic principles is worthwhile.

Some may think that an average of x points per card is ok for them & are content, counting up their points to see what they scored.others look at how many points they lost ie instead of counting a 9 as a 9 they count it as 1 off the possible 10. That's the way to do it there 100 points per card available to everyone & that's how you have to think of it. You are after 10 points per shot.

Good kit is better than most of us can shoot, excellent kit certainly is better than most of us, & so as has been said already the impediment to progress is the shooter.

It's a tricky discipline & that's the appeal in all it's complexities.

[harvey_s]

The Compact's biggest limiting factor is it's standard trigger.
This however is really easy to upgrade yourself with just basic hand tools and a little care.

This might help : http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread.....-Gamo-Compact

[CB200]

Hi, I'd actually considered down grading. I used to have a Compact years ago when they first came out. Not sure why, I wasn't doing comps back then. Anyway, now I do shoot pistol. My best with my Steyr Evo10e is 573x600 in practice. Not shot a shoulder to shoulder comp since Covid kicked off.

If I could, I'd let you try my Walther LP400 and I'd shoot your Compact, but I'd need £750 to let you do that!

Thanks BnB, that’s a persuasive offer, although I live 250 miles away in the northwest! Your top score is indeed a top score! - it’s national standard! Are you still shooting comps?

[CB200]

Having refreshed my memory by watching a couple of reviews spending your money on a top end one will give you far more adjustment on pretty much every aspect of the pistol, grip, trigger and sights, which in turn will help consistency and ultimately your accuracy. It will also give your arm a rest between shots without all that pumping!

Yes that’s right, and will probably be easier to load the pellets to, some of the Gamo Match ones are a b.....r to load in the breach: and some don’t even fire when they are loaded! I have to scrape them out!

[CB200]

The Compact is a very capable pistol, but it's true it has its limitations in adjustability that the more modern (& expensive) match pistols have. That can be a bit of a disadvantage but it can also be an advantage too. The desire to tweek & adjust insessently in the pursuit of perfection can be a distraction in itself & can cause a dip in your average score thus unsettling you to the degree you might try further adjustments to get back to where you were. Whereas with a more basic bit of kit you struggle through concentrating on technique which usually pays dividends in the end. You have to persist with subtle changes to see the true effect.

I reprofiled the grips on my compact & also made up a new trigger blade as I wasn't keen on the profile or position of the original which improved the general feel & handling characteristic. Scores crept up a bit, but then with time & practice they might have done so anyway, but a comfortable well suited grip is pretty essential so the grip reprofiling was a must, the trigger, well that was more personal preference.

SSP are different to PCP or CO2, (muscle v gas), theres quite a few match pistols available, current & secondhand to choose from, maybe not much to choose in the way of performance differences between them so maybe it's down to what feels right, money, aesthetics, spares/ service support/ availability.
Personally quite liked Steyr lp10 but the compact helps with muscle tone too. Pistol shooting isnt all about the kit.

Thanks Trajectory, I understand what you are saying and it makes sense, although even after fettling the trigger on the Gamo, It’s still too heavy: as soon as I can upgrade, it’s going.

[CB200]

[QUOTE=bootneckbob;8106923]

The Compact is a very capable pistol, but it's true it has its limitations in adjustability that the more modern (& expensive) match pistols have. That can be a bit of a disadvantage but it can also be an advantage too. The desire to tweek & adjust insessently in the pursuit of perfection can be a distraction in itself & can cause a dip in your average score thus unsettling you to the degree you might try further adjustments to get back to where you were. Whereas with a more basic bit of kit you struggle through concentrating on technique which usually pays dividends in the end. You have to persist with subtle changes to see the true effect.

This is very true, and I originally put in my reply if your Compact fits you, there will be very little benefit to the upgrade to a top end pistol (cost Vs scores) but I deleted it.

I've got arguably the best (one of) 10m match pistols you can buy, with the Steyr Evo10e, but after 3 years or so of use I'd reached a plateau and was unable to break through 550x600 with 546 frequently being my PB. I ended up getting the Walther LP400 as I'd had one before the Steyr and despite my reasons for selling it, I remembered it / I used to 'seem' to group tighter with it. My records show I wasn't as good back then (around the 525) and the Steyr had moved me on; although far more likely it was just better practice. Anyway, long story short, I shot them both at home on my 10m range to death during the lock down and my scores with both pistols were almost identical with less than 1% variation using my target score app. So in the end I read up on pistol shooting technique again, from the start with all the things I knew (natural alignment, breathing, position & hold etc etc) but this time I went back to the range and religiously stuck by them. Broke my PB straight off with my Steyr, I think from memory from 546 to 563,, and then I shot another series with the Walther and increased it to 569. The 573 came much later with the Steyr.
The point being it was me that was the barrier, not the pistol/s.

That’s an interesting insight, thanks BnB. I’m sure it is mostly about skill and technique etc, providing one has
a decent pistol to start with!