Gamo Varmint .177 Cal Air Rifle Review

So, you are looking for an air rifle that is high-quality but with an affordable price? Are you tired of investing in low-end rifles that need more repairs than they offer in efficiency? Want an air rifle that will finally put a stop to those annoying varmints that are terrorizing your garden greens? Well, the Gamo Varmint Air Rifle might just be the answer to all your problems.

The quick and dirty summary of this rifle would be: “Extremely efficient and easy to use for an unbelievably affordable price.” However, if you want the longer version, make sure you keep reading this review to the end!

Before we go neck-deep into all the bells and whistles of this air rifle and see why it should be your top purchase choice, let’s first take a look at the history of the Gamo company and find out why this brand is such a popular choice.

History behind Gamo Air Rifles

Gamo is by no means a rookie in the air rifle industry. In fact, they have been present and highly successful in the marketplace for more than 60 years. This Spanish manufacturer is well known for the quality of their products and their constant desire to improve their weapons by actively listening to their customers.

Also, even though their air guns are quite affordable, the build quality is on par with many similar higher-end models that are sold with significantly higher price tags.

Main Features of the Gamo Varmint

Here are the main features of this very popular air rifle:

Now, let’s get more in-depth. The Varmint is best used with .177 PBA Platinum alloy pellets, and the speed that they exit the barrel is staggering 1250 feet per second. This means that this rifle isn’t just for your regular paper target practice. It is extremely effective when it comes to hunting smaller game and pest control – the Varmint definitely lives up to its name!

Furthermore, you won’t have to struggle with naked-eye aim because the rifle comes with its own 4x32mm scope and a Monte Carlo cheek pad that aligns the scope with your eye.

Gamo Varmint stands out from its competitors

As mentioned earlier, the Gamo Varmint Air Rifle is a great option for those who are looking for an excellent performing spring powered break barrel rifle at a really affordable price. In fact, for the price you pay, you will be getting a rifle that performs on par with much more expensive models in this category.

Furthermore, at a weight of just 6 pounds, the stopping power that this air gun delivers is much higher than you would expect. Also, the design itself and how Gamo thought about the comfort of the shooter is amazing.

The Synthetic Monte Carlo stock Gamo includes in the basic package has dual raised cheekpieces so you get maximum comfort when shooting. Also, the stock allows both right and left hand users to aim and shoot without a problem.

Furthermore, you also get the rubber butt with vent holes, which helps to minimize the recoil whilst maximizing the grip. With Gamo you don’t have to compromise on full comfort or effectiveness.

In addition, they also took safety into serious consideration. The rifle comes with an automatic safety when cocking the rifle, so that accidents are less likely to happen.

In this price range, most manufacturers offer pretty much just a “naked” rifle and additional accessories need to be paid for. As you can see, the Varmint air rifle comes with some included accessories to get you started straight away (which we will talk about further below).

Pros and Cons of the Gamo Varmint Air Rifle

Gamo air rifles are all superb, however, even great products aren’t always completely perfect and they will all come with both a range of pros and cons. We will start off with the positive aspects of the Gamo Varmint air rifle:

Pros

Cons

Includes 4×32 scope & mount accessories

The rifle comes with an included 4×32 scope and yes, the mounts are included as well. Again, Gamo has made it extremely easy to buy the entire package for a very affordable price. Sure, the scope is not super high-end, but it does the job excellently if mounted and zeroed in properly, and it is a great scope for a beginner to get started with.

To get the Varmint airgun to complete shooting perfection and to take advantage of the scope, you will need to take the time to break it in. That is done with some 200 shots and with a second zeroing in at the end. Also, make sure you pay attention to the small retention pin in the rear scope mount. If not properly set, your scope will move with every shot.

Handy Advice: Try out the so-called artillery hold when shooting because that really improves the precision and allows you to group your shots at 30 yards without breaking a sweat.

Other useful accessories we recommend

Sure, the Varmint air rifle comes with everything you need to start hunting. However, it’s never a bad idea to invest in some extra additions that will help make it even more effective plus keep your rifle working properly for years to come.

Here’s some additional accessories that we recommend:

• Tactical rifle bipod
• Gamo air rifle cotton cleaning pellets
• Gamo .177 cleaning kit for air rifles and pistols
• Gamo air gun oil
• GAMO Red Fire .177 caliber pellets

Similar models

For those of you who want to check out similar models and possibly compare the specs, here are another two great similar air rifle models from the house of Gamo:

Gamo Varmint Stalker

The Stalker includes the 4×32 scope, but unlike the original Varmint model, it comes with a totally new designed fluted polymer jacketed steel bull barrel. It also has a noise dampener (though the original Varmint didn’t really need one as it’s already really quiet).

Gamo Varmint Hunter

The redesigned Varmint Hunter comes with all the power and precision of the previous model, including the flashlight and laser sight combo. However, with this new model, you also get many of the Gamo premium features.

The Varmint Hunter is a rifle that is durable and offers maximum performance no matter the weather. In addition, its match grade fluted barrel, light weight synthetic stock, and PBA speed of 1250 fps make this rifle the perfect choice not just for small game hunters, but great for target practice as well.

Gamo Support and Warranty

As with most reputable companies, Gamo customer support is top notch. Even though there is no Live Chat customer support, you can contact them via their email form and they are really fast to reply. There’s also the option of browsing through a huge list of FAQ and possibly finding a solution there.

As for the warranty period, Gamo offers a 1-year warranty for most of their products. However, for certain rifle models, you can also get 3, or 5 years warranty. You just have to check their warranty page and see which category your air rifle falls in.

Wrapping Up The Gamo Varmint Air Rifle

If you are wondering what game you can take down with this rifle, you will be surprised that beside the usual squirrel and bird shooting, the Varmint air rifle is quite capable of taking down rabbits, possums, and even racoons.

With all things considered, the Gamo Varmint is a great air rifle. It’s lightweight, yet offers unbelievable stopping power, and it’s really comfortable and easy to use. In addition, the quality that comes with this price is one of the best deals you will find.