Where can I learn about scopes?

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jmax

Member
Dec 28, 2018
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Utah
I will start by apologizing for my long-winded-ness here.. I'm just excited to find a bunch of folks that are excited about airguns that I can bounce ideas off of! I'm new to the forum and just getting into air guns (again). I had one as a kid and loved it, but just recently ran to Cabelas to buy something to get rid of pigeons at my parent's house and forgot how much fun they are! I just bought a Gamo Swarm Maxxim, so nothing too special, but the pigeons hated it and I had a blast shooting it! 😜 Anyway, I'm looking at getting into PCPs now and have realized that the scopes that come with a lot of these guns are pretty bad. In looking around at airgundepot and pyramidair, I realize that I know NOTHING about scopes and have a lot to learn. I don't know what parallax is, don't understand when you all say FFP & SFP, etc. I want to learn about scopes so that I can make an informed decision in replacing my scope, as well as for getting a good one when I purchase a PCP. I would love any recommendations on a budget friendly scope for the Gamo Swarm Maxxim (around $100 or less?) Where is a good place to learn about scopes and all the stuff I should know before buying them? I am on a budget, so I can't afford a lot of the nicer stuff that I see you all talking about, but I also know there are also some good items (guns & scopes) that are reasonably priced out there. Happy to be here!

Jason
 
UTG 4-16X44 30mm Scope, AO, 36-color Mil-dot, w/ Rings https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005NHA122/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TQOjCb2Q6EJ81

I got this bad boy for my Gammo Maxxim. It held up to the punishment of that recoil for a year and a half. Don’t get the 36 color fruitcake model as that is just ridiculous. It now sits atop my Gammo Urban pcp rifle. I got it and a cheap foot pump off eBay for around $235.00 combined with the credit card application discount. I couldn’t be happier with the Urban as my introductory pcp rifle. 

Best wishes on your new addiction. 
 
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man... you guys are awesome. Cyclops Videos is just what I've been hoping to find. Thanks! Also, I was happy to hear that UTG are in good graces with most of you - lol. I had been looking at a 3-12X44 but it looks like the 4-16X44 you pointed out is a little better. What about CenterPoint scopes? I have seen a refurb 4-16X40 for around $60. Are CenterPoint scopes any good? I'll watch some of Joe's videos and learn a thing or two and then make my purchase. 

Yarddog- are you able to get pretty good groups with your Swarm Maxxim now? With the scope that came with it, I'm lucky to stay within 4-5 inches at 20 yards. I'm hoping for something a lot more respectable than that... (and yes, I can create groups in about a half-dollar size with my son's gun that somehow has a gun/scope combo that works well together).

Golfer70 - I'm happy to hear about your Urban... I've been looking pretty seriously at that, along with the Umarex Gauntlet and the Diana Stormrider. Lots of great reviews on the Urban for sure.

Thanks again for the help so far!
 
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Jmax, I'm able to shoot as good a groups at fifteen yards as I am with my TX200 and R1. Certainly, not as good a groups as some of the guys here, but within a half inch or less in one hole. I was able to do that with the OE scope too, but there are a LOT of factors in shooting straight that have to do mostly with the shooter.

For example, I was able to shoot those kind of groups with my first Swarm, as well. No difference in accuracy between the two, and I can print the same way with my buddy's .177 as well. Yet, the guy I sold my first Swarm to is shooting about as well as you do! That's not to say that I'm a great shot...it tells me that he isn't doing the things he needs to do to keep his strings together. Maybe he's using too high a power in the scope...I use 4X at fifteen yards, and I gotta tellya, it's more accurate for me than 6-8X. Maybe he's not breathing right. Maybe he doesn't have his hold figgered out. Maybe he jerks the trigger, although it doesn't look to me like he does. Who knows? But the rifle isn't the problem.

I will tell you that the trigger, and whole setup, as well, is different between all of my rifles. It's just a matter of finding how what it likes! All of my .22's just LOVE JSB Jumbo Heavy 18.33 grain pellets! That makes ammo buying pretty easy. Finding out the right pellet for YOUR rifle is all part of the game. And, the fun!

Get you over to Tom Gaylord's blog at the Pyramyd Air website, and read everything he has to say. To my thinking, he's pretty much spot on most of the time. Mr. Hector Medina has a lot to say, and pretty accurate. I very much respect Joe Wayne Rhea's opinions. And there is a TON of information on this forum! 

Bottom line...for me...your rifle is more than adequate, don't know if it's .22 or .177, but clean the bore, put that Hammers scope on it, find the pellet that it likes to eat, have a great time with it! Yeah, I got a couple high zoot rifles, but that Swarm is just plain fun to shoot! (Well, they all are...I ain't gonna lie!)
 
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I will definitely admit that I am still learning how this gun likes to be held and shot....and I really do enjoy it. I need to give it a good cleaning like you said and just put some pellets through it. I just learned about Parallax today and have noticed a lot of that with the stock scope. Is fixing that just a matter of moving the scope forward or backwards since it doesn’t have any sort of parallax adjustment?
 
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So, I'm feeling a little embarrassed. I knew that I was a much better shot than 4-5 inch groups at 20 yards and was blaming my gun / scope when talking about the Gamo Swarm Maxxim. I just couldn't understand why a gun that SHOULD be fairly decent was having such a bad spread.... I finally took the time to actually LOOK at my gun and see if I could tell what the problem was and there it was.... in plain sight! The little hole that the scope mount sits it's pin into, to keep the scope mount from moving back and forth had come up (I assume from not being tightened properly by some stupid schmuck when mounting the scope (yes, me)) and had crawled up out of it's little retaining hole and had slid all the way back to the end of the rail.... this would also explain the crazy number of clicks I was having to dial in to even get it somewhat close, as well as it changing every time I moved the gun around. I took it out and shot it after re-positioning everything and TIGHTENING it all down good and snug and I'm now shooting my half dollar easily at 20 yards.... Thanks for getting me to think and not just blame the equipment. I still want to get a decent scope to put on it, but for now, this one is working MUCH better. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself.
 
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