The Gamo Silent Stalker Whisper
Well, it happened again: I ran into another air rifle that I seem unable to shoot well. The first one was about ten years ago, a Beeman Crow Magnum air rifle built by Theoben with a gas ram in it instead of a spring. It was, quite simply, the prettiest piston powerplant air rifle I’ve ever seen. The quality of the bluing on the barrel and receiver was phenomenal, and the stock, carved out of some exotic wood, was gorgeous. And I couldn’t shoot it for beans. In fact, I was lucky to hold inch-and-a-half groups at 10 yards with it.
The second air rifle to flummox me is the Gamo Silent Stalker Whisper, and that happened just last week. We’ll get to my tale of woe in just a little bit, but first let’s take a tour of this new air rifle from Gamo.
The Silent Stalker series, available in .177 and .22, is apparently Gamo’s first venture into the world of gas-ram powerplants. Gamo calls theirs IGT – Inert Gas Technology. All that means is that, instead of the spring that you would normally find in a spring-piston powerplant, there is a gas-filled cylinder. When you break the barrel of the Silent Stalker to cock it and load a pellet, instead of compressing a spring, you are compressing the gas within the cylinder until the trigger latches. When you pull the trigger, the gas is permitted to expand, driving the piston forward, compressing air in front of the piston, and providing the power to drive the pellet out of the breech and down the barrel.
The advantage of the IGT (gas ram) powerplant is that there is no spring to fatigue, kink, or wear out. There is no spring noise during cocking and no twang, vibration, or torque when the shot is triggered. I believe that Theoben originated the use of this technology in air rifles, and, in addition to Gamo, Weihrauch, Theoben, and Crosman all offer versions of gas ram powerplants.
In addition to the gas ram powerplant, the Silent Stalker Whisper also incorporates Gamo’s ND52 noise damper technology which is essentially a non-removable silencer built into the muzzle end of the barrel.
The Gamo Silent Stalker Whisper features a thick rubber butt pad and an ambidextrous polymer thumbhole stock.
At the back end of the Silent Stalker Whisper (SSW) is a thick black rubber butt pad. Forward of that is a matte black polymer thumbhole stock that is ambidextrous and finished with a very fine grain pebbly finish for easy gripping. Forward of the buttstock, the trigger guard is molded of the same material as the stock and surrounds a black plastic trigger and a black metal non-automatic lever safety. Push the safety toward the muzzle to enable firing and pull back toward the trigger to safe the action.
The fiber optic front sight sits on top of the ND52 noise damper.
Underneath the forestock near the forward end, there is a slot that provides clearance for the linkage when cocking the SSW. Moving ahead is the barrel. The muzzle end holds the ND52 sound suppressor and a hooded red fiber optic sight. Moving back toward the receiver, the barrel is surrounded in fluted polymer right back to and including the breech block. (Peering at the breech block when the action is fully broken, I think I can see circular metal wear plates on either side of the breech block.) On top of the breech block is a rear fiber optic notch sight that is adjustable for elevation and windage. Moving back again, there is an elevated dovetail for mounting a scope at the rear of the receiver. The SSW includes a 3-9×40 scope with one-piece mount. That’s all there is to the Silent Stalker Whisper. Because of liberal use of polymers, the entire package – rifle, scope and mount, which stretches 46 inches from end to end – weighs only 7 lb. 2 oz.
Next time, we’ll take a look at what it is like to shoot the SSW.
Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.
– Jock Elliott
Are you using the artillery hold? If so stop, and try holding the gun tighter. I know it flies in the face of conventional spring/gas ram shooting wisdom, but it worked for my Trail XL
Nathan,
Thanks for the suggestion!
I have to agree with nathan. I have an old beeman rx-1 in .22 cal, and it took me forever to figure out how to shoot it accuratly. The method I found to work best was to hold the rifle very tightly and practice good follow through after pulling the trigger. with this method, I can hit the back of soda cans all day at 65 yards, bench rest with a 4-16×40 scope. In contrast, the artillery hold yielded mediocre results at best . Hope this helps!
Harald,
Thanks for your comments and suggestion.
I am 67 , a retired Law Enforcment Management type with a very strong shooting background. When I was a 10 year old kid. I was able to shoot doves on the fly with my Sheridan Silver Streak 5 MM air rifle, open sights. I am no longer that capable but still enjoy ALL shooting venues. My ro In Law bought a GAO Whisper 1200 FPS Air Rifle and we are experiencing less than acceptable accuracy results. Question #1. Is there a desired pellet in the 122 configuration that is most accurate? 2nd Q. If I wanted to buu (and I do) a pellet rifle) what is your recommendation (withing limited $$$? Any info greatly appreciated. Dave Silliman
Dave,
Question 1: You have to let the airgun chose the pellet. I usually start with Crosman Premier pellets or JSB pellets.
Question 2: You didn’t specify how many $$ is limited $$. I suggest you check out these two blogs: http://www.airgunsofarizona-temp.com/blog/2011/03/so-what-are-your-favorites-now.html and http://www.airgunsofarizona-temp.com/blog/2009/10/some-of-my-current-favorites.html . Other than that, the first gun list here: https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/rws.html is an excellent deal for a German springer with scope and mounts.
I got a gamo silent stalker whisper I can not get it to shoot straight for the life of me, me and my father have sat in the back yard for hours and only hit a 3 inch circle a couple of times out of around 60-75 hollow point preimer .177 pellets any advise would help.
Thank you for your time.
Tyler,
Thanks for your question. First, let’s start with the basics: shoot from a rest, but not a hard rest. Use something that has a bit of give to it but is not super soft. A chair cushion or a boat cushion might do.
You’re going to have to let the gun choose the ammo, which means testing several different kinds. Check out part II of the blog: http://www.airgunsofarizona-temp.com/blog/2011/06/the-silent-stalker-whisper-%e2%80%93-part-ii.html and notice what ammo Kip used and what he said about keeping your head in the same position each time you make a shot.
I would suggest trying the Dynamic non-lead pellets and see if they improve your results.
Throw away the scope. It makes no sence to mount a scope on the stock and have a barrel that moves even the slightest, up, down, left and right and never aligns with the scope. Use the rigid sights. You will do much better.
Ronnie,
You could still have a potential problem with a front sight that is mounted on the barrel and a rear sight that is mounted on the receiver, but with the rear sight mounted on the the breech block, everything stays in alignment. Having said that, i have seen competitors shoot field target with scope-mounted break barrel rifles and do quite well.
(at a range of roughly 15 meters)
I have to agree with several of the other guys….I bought the Whisper and loved it for about a year but have now gotten to the point I struggle to keep the pattern in a 12 inch paper plate! I have no clue what has happened!!
I purchased the silent stalker whisper and the only trouble i had siting it in is the adjustment dial was not accurate. i was patient and got it grouping bulls eye and could shot bottoms of coke can at 50 yrs with gamo tomahawks pellets. We shall see about long term. i chose this gun because i previously purchased 2 gamo spring driven and both broke within 2 months. i hope i have better luck with the gas cylinder one!!
I wouldn’t recomment this gun to anyone. The sights on the gun are fragile and always unaligned. Scope is always moving causing the pin to bend. Not what I would expect for spending that much money. I have a .22 caliber and the energy from the gun broke my rear sight. Now its just sitting there I had it for 3 months only then some pellets got stuck in the silencer chamber. It just wasn’t worth the money.!
I would suggest checking your warranty and perhaps taking the issues up with Gamo. An airgun should certainly last longer than three months if it is not abused.
My scope mount pin bent as well. I have since drilled it out and will see if the scope can hold zero without it. As for ammo, most ammo I use is complete rubbish, but the Gamo redfires with the polymer tip are AMAZING. Definitely worth the money and makes this gun a blast to shoot. No point in shooting if you can’t hit what you’re aiming at.
I bought the Gamo Silent Whisper and have had no problems what-so-ever with it and have found it to be quite accurate. I am regularly eliminating bird feeder robbing squirrels with it and when there are three in the freezer they are then transferred to my cast iron skillet.
Can you leave a IGT air rifle loaded for a long period of time without damaging the gun ? grtz
Olivier,
Yes, you can leave a gas-spring air rifle cocked for long periods without damage.
Interesting posts here. I just ordered a silent stalker with IGT and also a whisper G2. Will be following up after I shoot them a bit. Thanks
Hi. I bought this rifle some time ago without the scope cause I read from others it was just rubbish. Now Im interested in buying a decent scope with kind of night vision for this rifle. However, I have no idea what kind of mounting will fit (mm) and which rings buy… regarding the scope, Im considering the UTG 30mm SWAT 3-12X44 Compact IE Scope with AO Mil-dot, but not sure it will fit on this Gamo. Pls advice.
A. Colin,
I suggest you contact the knowledgeable sales staff at http://www.airgunsofarizona.com They can help you out.
I suggest you guys try cleaning your barrels thoroughly. My new Firefox 500 took me over an hour to clean all the residue from inside the barrel, I can only assume it was some sort of anti-rust preservative in there. My friends gun had a similar problem, also from new.
John,
I suggest using a pull-through and patches soaked with a cleaner like simple green.