gamo silver shadow 1000 review

Have a picture of Gamo Silver Shadow 1000?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of max.

Average Ratings

Accuracy	9.2/10
Handling	9.2/10
Value for Money	9.4/10
Reviewer Rating	9.1/10
Overall Rating	9.1/10

93% Recommended13 out of 14 Reviews

• Overview
• Reviews
  • jordanolsonm's review
  • 3 Comments
• Write your review
• Ask a Question

By jordanolsonm on 30th Oct 2005

jordanolsonm's Ratings

Accuracy	9/10
Handling	8/10
Value for money	9/10
Overall value	9/10
jordanolsonm's recommendation

Good Points

Good looks, decent power, and accurate for price.

Bad Points

Stiff heavy trigger. Cocking is not smooth until broken in. Hold sensitive. Couldn't group well with many pellets.

General Comments

OK, first this review on the Gamo Silver Shadow 1000 air rifle really must be broken into two sections: before and after tuning.

BEFORE: When I pulled the rifle out of the box, I was pleasantly surprised by the looks of the stock and its weight. Basically it feels and looks good in your hand. I mounted a cheap scope on it and tightened all the screws, knowing that this wasn't going to be the final product (explained later). I got a box of 1250 Crosman premiers and immediately started firing as many as I could; oh and I cleaned the barrel real good before I started, because it is full of anti-corrosive oil. I fired about 1000 of the rounds, not aiming at anything in particular. The cocking effort was by no means difficult, but the trigger is not smooth, but after 1000 shots I was getting pretty good at knowing when it was going to break. The power was decent, and I chronied an RWS super h-point at 940 fps (only 6.9gr), but the 10.1gr kodiak only went 790 on average. Both were still able to break through a 1/2 inch piece of plywood at 30 yards with no effort. The last 250 shots, I tried to get an approximation of the accuracy, but the scope I used was garbage so the groups were about 2" at 30 yards.

OK, here is where the review changes! This is the whole reason I bought the gun. I now considered the gun "broken in", and it was immediately sent off to be tuned (www.charliedatuna.com) where everything was polished and lubricated. A new macarri spring and apex seals were installed, and most importantly the GTX trigger assembly. When I got the gun back it was a complete change. Cocking was absolutely smooth as silk, and the trigger was now a true two-stage trigger, with both stages adjustable. It now breaks about a little under 2 lbs, and can be predicted with great precision. Then I put the scope on that I bought for it. A leapers 4-16x56 illuminated reticle mil-dot (you need risers or the objective will get in the way of the cocking pivot point). Then I retested accuracy with the CP's, and with little effort had a 5 shot group of less than an inch at 30 yards. I experimented with different pellets and finally got a .537 ctc grouping (5 shots) with Beeman golds. I also picked up a 20 fps gain as a result of the tune.
So in conclusion, if you have a little extra money and aren't getting the results you want, a tune should definitely be on your to do list. It turned a $160 gun into a gun that performs like a $500 gun.

Total Respect: +4