Gamo Swarm Maxxim

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Tulecreeper

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Mar 4, 2019
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Arkansas
Hello, I’m new to this forum so excuse any idiotic-sounding questions or statements. I just need some advice from those of you who have been doing this for a while. Also please excuse the length of the post, I need to set the scenario so y'all know what the heck I'm taking about.



I’m an avid hunter and shooting enthusiast, I also reload my own ammo, but I just recently decided to try to get into the air rifle field. Last week I purchased a Gamo Swarm Maxxim in .22 caliber. I will say that I was quite happy with it – quiet, accurate, low recoil, no feed issues with the 10-shot magazine - until I saw the factory sticker on the box which I failed to notice until I had the rifle for several days and had put a couple hundred rounds through it. The advertised velocity is 975 FPS, using the PBA Platinum 9.7 gr. pellet; however, the factory label on the end of my box lists the specs and it reads only 722 FPS. This is not even in the ballpark of 975 FPS. I would expect that low of a speed from a pellet weighing twice as much, but I don’t understand how this rifle even made it out of the factory with such a low FPS velocity, whether maximum or average. Pretty much all the reviews I’ve read on this rifle say that those who tested it using the PBA Platinum pellet and a chrono have gotten real close to the advertised FPS so I don’t know what’s up with this one. Has anyone run into this issue with their Gamo rifle before?



I don’t have access to a chrono, and I’m not going to go buy one just to see what the actual velocity is, I am just relying on the huge difference between the advertised FPS and what the factory sticker says. I am in touch with GamoUSA about this but they are starting to give me the runaround, throwing out numbers about pellet-speed averages and telling me that muzzle velocity and FPS is not the same thing – which we all know is bull. I’m starting to think I may have ended up with a rifle that was meant for the European market, there being many more restrictions on muzzle velocity, joules, and FPE in many of those countries.



Not to offend anyone, but please don’t give me your opinion on the Gamo brand itself or this topic will end up taking a wrong turn somewhere. I am quite aware that there are higher end air rifles available; I just figured $200 was enough to spend on my first one. I’m only trying to gather information so when I get back to GamoUSA about this I have something under my belt and don’t sound like an idiot. Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.
 
Yote: I already bought the rifle. My question is in regards to why the factory sticker lists the velocity as being 253 FPS/26% below the advertised velocity. If they used the Gamo PBA Platinum pellets as they say the factory sticker should at least be in the ballpark. I would consider anything above 900 FPS in the ballpark.

Bajahunter: I read all the reviews I could find on the rifle, and I did see the one from Hard Air Magazine. From their review they say, " The manufacturer claims that the Gamo Swarm Maxxim air rifle in .22 caliber will achieve 975 FPS when using Gamo PBA Platinum pellets. The gun tested by HAM achieved an average of 960.59 FPS with these pellets. It also achieved a higher muzzle velocity of 980.45 FPS using heavier H&N Field Target Trophy Green pellets. So it’s clear that the Swarm Maxxim shoots pretty-well exactly to the manufacturer’s muzzle velocity claims."

As I mentioned in my above post, pretty much all the reviews I’ve read on this rifle say that those who tested it using the PBA Platinum pellet and a chrono have gotten real close to the advertised FPS. So why does the factory sticker list a velocity waayyy lower than the advertised FPS?

Thanks for the replies.
 
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OP...with all due respect, I believe you're gettin' all sweaty over nothing! I've had two of those in .22, they are kicks in the butt to shoot, and very accurate! And ain't it all about fun and relaxation?

There's a TON of information on the World Wide Web about the disparity between manufacturers velocity claims, and the real world figures. If you think you got ripped off, just return the rifle and be done with it.

...with all due respect. ..
 
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My Swarm .22 shoots JSB 15.89gr @ 730-745

Plenty of energy out to 60+ yards.

View attachment MTU1MTc0MDU0NV8xMTYxMzg0Nzg3NWM3ZGFlODE1NDk4NDkuMjMwMDU3MzVfU2NyZWVuc2hvdF8yMDE5MDMwNC0xNjU5Mjd+Mi5wbmc=

And accuracy after I installed the solid piston seal from Australia (Blue and doesn't look like a donut) is really improved. 1" groups at 50 yards vs. the almost 3" groups at 45 yards that I was getting before the seal swap.

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And I would expect a rifle with 975 FPS using the lighter pellet to shoot in the mid-700's like your does with the heavier one, so that would be acceptable. However, if mine only shoots 722 FPS to begin with using the lightest pellet I'm pretty sure using the 14.3 grain pellet I settled on is probably only giving me maybe 500 FPS, at best.
 

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OP...with all due respect, I believe you're gettin' all sweaty over nothing! I've had two of those in .22, they are kicks in the butt to shoot, and very accurate! And ain't it all about fun and relaxation?

There's a TON of information on the World Wide Web about the disparity between manufacturers velocity claims, and the real world figures. If you think you got ripped off, just return the rifle and be done with it.

...with all due respect. ..
Click to expand...


Thank you, I also found it to be quite accurate out to 50 yards. Power, however, is another issue. I also noticed a steep drop-off of power after about 30 yards. At 30 yards it would tear through an aluminum can and rip it all to pieces, and punch through both sides of a steel coffee can. At 40 yards it will usually still go through both side of an aluminum can, but would only punch through one side of the coffee can about half the time. At 50 yards it wouldn't even penetrate a single side of the aluminum can more than half the time, and it just bounces off the coffee can. I can't use a rifle with that little power for hunting, I would be irresponsible and wound most of what I hit.
 
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I have a Gamo Bone Collector Maximum in .177. I used a friends chrono after I bought it.

It advertises shooting 1300fps with the Alloy pellets. I was shooting an average of 1150 to 1200fps
using Crosman Premier Pointed 7.4gr pellets which is really good. The Premier pointed pellets is
all I shoot out of my gun. The Gamo Red Fires are good too; But not as accurate out of my gun
as the Crosman's. The Red Fire's tend to fly at any given shot. 


 
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"Thank you, I also found it to be quite accurate out to 50 yards. Power, however, is another issue. I also noticed a steep drop-off of power after about 30 yards. At 30 yards it would tear through an aluminum can and rip it all to pieces, and punch through both sides of a steel coffee can. At 40 yards it will usually still go through both side of an aluminum can, but would only punch through one side of the coffee can about half the time. At 50 yards it wouldn't even penetrate a single side of the aluminum can more than half the time, and it just bounces off the coffee can. I can't use a rifle with that little power for hunting, I would be irresponsible and wound most of what I hit."

Good deal. Honestly, I didn't get my own airguns for 'hunting'...meaning when I get out in the brush and look for something to harvest. I figured on shooting rats when necessary, stuff like that where I set up and wait, as a diversion only. If I were to hunt, I'd use the appropriate firearm, so my Swarm is strictly for just plinkin' and target shooting in the back yard. For that, it works great. I got a chronograph early on, since it's one of the best diagnostic tools there is for airguns, so I echo the above comment. So, yeah, if you're looking for something that will kill animals farther out, there may be better choices than the Swarm, and you should maybe start leaning thataway. In the meantime, I say shoot that Swarm and enjoy it for what it is! It's a goodun'!!!
 
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Tulecreeper, yeah, I wonder why they would even put a sticker like that on the box? My first air rifle was a Gamo Fusion .22 that was advertised at 1020 fps. The box was marked the same. Why not just stick to the party line / propaganda? I cannot answer your question, I doubt anyone can other then some guy at Gamo somewhere. I have bought some rifles where a distributer had done their own chrony test and will include the shot string in the box. A factory sticker seems weird .
 
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Thanks for the above replies. Gamo has agreed that something is probably be wrong with the rifle; weak piston, nicked piston seal, etc., and they are sending me a return label to send it back to them as it should not be 26% below factory specs. If it test-fired at a measly 722 FPS at the factory using the light 9.7 grain PBS Platinum, then the probability is I am only getting somewhere in the 500's using the 14.3 grain Crosman Premier HP - which, by the way, happens to be the most accurate pellet with this particular rifle. Going by chart above the 9.7 grain Crosman Raptor Premier got 960.58 FPS, and the 14.3 grain Crosman Premier achieved 741.88 FPS, which is what I would expect.

I have no issues regarding the accuracy, just the visible major power drop-off. With only 722 FPS at the muzzle, out there at 40+ yards I'm down to BB gun energy. I'll update when they get the gun (or a gun) back to me. I'm quite sure I will have to start all over again and find a different pellet for this rifle after they bring it closer to specs.
 
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Tulecreeper, yeah, I wonder why they would even put a sticker like that on the box? My first air rifle was a Gamo Fusion .22 that was advertised at 1020 fps. The box was marked the same. Why not just stick to the party line / propaganda? I cannot answer your question, I doubt anyone can other then some guy at Gamo somewhere. I have bought some rifles where a distributer had done their own chrony test and will include the shot string in the box. A factory sticker seems weird .
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Yeah, when I first contacted Gamo about it they didn't know what I was talking about regarding the sticker - I had to take a picture of it and email it to them - so it might be a new thing they're doing at the factory. And you're right, why not just stick with the marketing thing and not advertise the fact that any particular gun is not to specs.
 
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Good deal. Honestly, I didn't get my own airguns for 'hunting'...meaning when I get out in the brush and look for something to harvest. I figured on shooting rats when necessary, stuff like that where I set up and wait, as a diversion only. If I were to hunt, I'd use the appropriate firearm, so my Swarm is strictly for just plinkin' and target shooting in the back yard. For that, it works great. I got a chronograph early on, since it's one of the best diagnostic tools there is for airguns, so I echo the above comment. So, yeah, if you're looking for something that will kill animals farther out, there may be better choices than the Swarm, and you should maybe start leaning thataway. In the meantime, I say shoot that Swarm and enjoy it for what it is! It's a goodun'!!!
Click to expand...



By 'hunting', I mean shooting pesky squirrels and possums getting into my stuff. Just because they're varmints doesn't mean I don't want a clean kill. I've been an avid hunter and shooter all my life and I have many shotguns, rifles, and handguns of all makes, models, and calibers so I do have something for every occasion. Even though I live fairly remotely, I don't want to fire a .22 LR up in the air at a squirrel and have it come down on one of my neighbors a half mile away so I thought an air rifle would be just the ticket. And a shotgun would just be too easy. As for the chrono - maybe. These days I only reload shotgun ammo, but I used to do rifle rounds also and I did have a chrono at one time, but I gave it away with the rest of my centerfire stuff a number of years ago. Right now, all I can go by is the huge difference between the advertised velocity and what they achieved at the factory when they test-fired it. We all know these companies over-hype their products, but to actually list on a factory sticker on the end of the box that a gun is sub-par - and in direct conflict with the printing on the front of the box - is kind of nuts from a marketing viewpoint.
 
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Get a chrono. My advice ends there. Enjoy the rifle.
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I 2nd this, if you plan on getting into airguns you need to own one. Surprised you don’t have one already being you are into reloading.
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spladd1ct,

Thanks for the post. As I said in my above post, I don't/didn't have a chrono because I only load shotgun shells now and am not as interested in muzzle velocity as I was when I reloaded center-fire ammo. I did, however, buy one not long after my last post and I was correct - I was only getting about 520 fps muzzle velocity at 5' with the 14.3 grain pellets. An interesting turn of events happened after my last post, though. While I was waiting for Gamo to get back to me with the pre-paid mailing label I was still shooting the rifle. At one point, when I cocked it and it hit the stop, it all of a sudden 'broke' more and the barrel moved down another half an inch. I thought I had broken the rifle but I went ahead and shot it anyway. I immediately noticed a difference in sound and recoil, as in more of it, so I put it back on the chrono. I was now getting 725-730 fps at 5', which is as good or better than what got in his chart above. I assume there was something 'hanging' and keeping the barrel from traveling all the way down and it had let loose when I cocked it that time.

I immediately got back in touch with Gamo and let them know what happened. I assumed they would still want to take a look at the rifle to see what the problem actually was - to this day they have never responded, so that tells me a lot about their customer service. So, I will keep this rifle until it stops working and then I will throw it away and that will be the end of my air rifle days. Way too much trouble to have to go through as a first-time buyer to take a chance on that again.

I want to thank everyone for their advice and support. Keep shootin', folks!
 
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the .22 i had came with 3-9x40 gamo scope, was a c.a.t. trigger , gas rammer, and mostly plastic. i bought it the combo at acadmey sports for $120 ....... with in 200 shoots, i was breaking at 765 fps with crosman 14.3 grain premiers. it was shooting in a 1/2" area at 35 yards as it was breaking in.... i thought it was a good deal with 3-9x40 scope but when i saw they had a 3 year warranty - i was impressed. idk how gamo gets away with using so much plastic (especially in the lock-up area) , but they have longer warranties now.... trip. i took mine back the next day - i guess that since it was on clearance and i needed a lesser gun to play with here.............it was raining that day and i didnt wanna get out the more expensive airguns in the water drops to ruin.. - paul..
 
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