GAMO NRA 1000 REVIEW

When I saw the Gamo/NRA Special Edition 1000 in "our" American Rifleman magazine I made room for one more springer in my gun rack. I'm not so attached to the metal and wood look so I wasn't put off by the synthetic black stock.
Kinda stealth looking with that covert sniper appearance that makes a guy a much better shooter, at least in his own mind.
The NRA logo and serial number (one of 1000) put it a notch above the Gamo of ordinary man. My own number 000247 just does put me in the upper quarter of the class. The official NRA medallion does give the rifle status. It comes equipped with a 4 x 32 adjustable objective scope with a much appreciated scope stop to keep it where you place it on the scope rails. It will focus all the way down to 7.5 yards, for those whose long distance shooting amounts to one end of the living room to the other, all the way to infinity at the other extremes in range. Testing proved it truly could push a very light pellet to almost 1000 fps but it favored it's own Gamo Pro Magnum pellet at 8.9 grains for the highest ME of all pellet weights tested at 16.33 ft/lbs. Velocity at that power is 909 fps. Trajectory for a 1/2 inch rise and fall above and below the line of sight gives a point blank range of 43 yards. In it's role as a sporting weapon, it does well with the 4 power scope. Not so powerful that the quarry at that max range develops a personal relationship with you before the shot. Less to fool with, just aim and shoot without adjustments other than distance. The only bug, and don't we all know it, is the trigger. Not a big selling point with the beloved Gamo line. Thankfully, Charlie Da Tuna (Bob Werner) has solved the Gamo's weak link with his GTX drop in trigger. With less than 30 minutes work I had a slightly more than 1 pound trigger pull that is crisp and light. I have more than a few HW's and can compare the GTX to the Record trigger give the edge to the GTX mod. These really nice rifles are still available and, if you don't have a Gamo, this is an excellent choice. Make room on that rack for one.

Review by Gary Anthony