What is one of the biggest secrets to eliminating pests with an air rifle which you may not be thinking about? The answer is quiet. The Gamo Whisper air rifle is designed to reduce the amount of noise created by a high powered air rifle. Many first time buyers expect an air rifle to be nearly silent, but high powered air rifles are not. Their report can be quite loud and may spook pests before you can finish your job. A quiet air rifle is important when you intend to shoot within earshot of neighbors. They may not appreciate the constant pop of a high performance air rifle. Let us take a closer look at the Gamo Whisper and see if it fills all of your shooting needs.
Gamo Whisper Air Rifle Main Features
- Quietness
- Break-Barrel Cocking
- High Quality Stock
- Precise aiming tools
- Dual Safety Options
The Quiet Pop of Power
Since the Gamo Whisper air rifle has laid its claim to fame on quietness, this is the first feature we must take a look at. The air rifle is equipped with the ND52 noise dampener. The ND52, as you might guess by the name, eliminates approximately 52% of the muzzle noise from the air rifle. This reduced level of sound can reduce spooking of your prey and keep neighbors from complaining when you are doing a little backyard target shooting. The noise dampener is non-removable. You will have the pleasure of quiet shooting with every shot and never have to worry about adding and removing an aftermarket dampener.
It is critical you keep in mind the noise dampener reduces muzzle noise but does not eliminate pellet noise. What does this mean? The powerful Whisper air rifle fires the pellet at a speed of up to 1200fps with a PBA pellet or 1000fps (feet per second) with a lead pellet. These speeds are close to the speed of sound. When a pellet breaks the speed of sound it makes a tiny sonic boom which can be mistaken for rifle noise. Keep this in mind if you believe your Whisper is too loud when using PBA pellets. The lead pellets normally remain just below the speed of sound allowing for quieter shooting.
When using pellets which remain below the speed of sound you get a small pop of sound from the rifle which is quiet enough to keep neighbors from complaining. Imagine being able to eliminate more pests from your property before they are even aware you are shooting. The noise dampening system helps avoid spooking pests and allows you to be more effective.
Break-Barrel Cocking for Easy Power
The Gamo Whisper air rifle uses a break-barrel cocking mechanism to make it easy to prepare for your shots. The rifle is a single shot rifle, so you will be cocking and loading between each shot. The cocking action requires 30 pounds of power. Most adults find the cocking action easy to use but it is stiff enough to thwart the efforts of younger children. This is not considered a safety feature, but is a nice bonus to the firm cocking action.
The break-barrel style of cocking has become one of the favorites of shooting enthusiasts. It is effective, fast, and requires less moving parts than many other systems.
The Whisper uses a spring piston system to produce the power which propels your pellet at over 1000fps. A break-barrel cocking rifle with a spring piston is preferred by shooters who like to keep their costs low. You will never need to buy CO2 cartridges or waste minutes pumping multiple times to build pressure.
High Quality Stock for Shooting Comfort and Accuracy
How much attention do you pay to the stock of an air rifle? It is a component which is easy to overlook in our hunt for power and other features, but may be one of the most important features of all. The stock provides us the stability and comfort to aim carefully at our target and pull the trigger without the barrel moving.
The Gamo Whisper air rife is equipped with a high-quality stock molded out of synthetic materials. A synthetic stock has distinct advantages over a wood stock. The synthetic stock can hold up to any type of weather and requires very little maintenance. A wood stock can require special cleaners and oils to keep the stock in perfect condition. If you like your air rifle to require minimal maintenance and be ready in any type of weather stick to a synthetic stock.
The stock is equipped with a ventilated rubber butt plate to absorb recoil. If you are new to buying a high-powered air rifle you might be surprised by the need for the rubber butt plate. When a gun can fire a pellet at over 1000fps it is powerful weapon with a little kick. You will appreciate the added padding instead of an unpleasant bruise.
Gamo paid close attention to the needs of shooters when designing their stock. The included a molded cheekpad on both sides of the stock for added comfort and accuracy for both right and left-handed shooters. The stock is molded with a non-slip checkered surface on the grip and forearm areas on both sides, also. The rifle is easy to hold and aim.
Focusing on Your Prey or Target
Shooting accurately requires precise aiming tools. The Gamo Whisper air rifle provides you with two options for zeroing in on your target. The first sight option is the fiber optic site built on the rifle. The front site is stationary and wrapped in a sight guard to avoid damage. The rear sight is made using fiber optic technology, also. The rear sight is fully adjustable to allow you to dial in the rifle to meet your own style of shooting.
The second sight provided by Gamo is a scope. The Gamo Whisper air rifle comes bundled with a 39×40 scope which uses a one-piece solid mount. The scope is a nice added bonus which increases accuracy of the rifle. Do not expect this to be a top of the line scope, but it is a very solid offering. Once you get the scope adjusted to your gun, ammo, and style it will allow you to closely group shots. Many users report using Gamo pellets they are able to get a tight pattern of shots grouped within 1” of each other. That is amazing accuracy for any type of rifle.
Dual Safety Options to Protect You and Your Family
The Game Whisper air rifle comes with dual safety options. The first is the dual stage trigger. You can feel the slight difference between the stages to give you one added opportunity to stop your shot. This is not the safety feature you should rely on.
The main safety utilizes safety switch mounted at the front of the trigger assembly. Please note this is a manual safety switch. Make sure you engage the safety when moving with the rifle, or not actively preparing to shoot.
In Gamo’s users manual and online documentation they make it very clear the safety mechanisms of the Whisper are not intended to replace your own common sense. You should never point the rifle towards another person or yourself while loading, cocking, cleaning, or carrying. With the amazing power of this rifle it is a dangerous weapon. Use the rifle safely.
Dimensions, Colors, and Physical Characteristics of the Gamo Whisper
The Gamo Whisper is available in only one color, flat black. The stock, trigger, and barrel are all solid black. Other physical characteristics of the rifle include:
- Overall Length – 46.0 Inches
- Barrel Length – 18.0 Inches
- Weight – 5.28 pounds
- Ammunition/Caliber: .177 Pellets any type. (See Below)
- Power for Cocking Rifle: 30 pounds
- Power for Trigger Pull: 3.74 pounds
NOTE: The Gamo Whisper also comes in a .22 caliber version. Statistics and Physical Characteristics vary slightly on the .22 caliber rifle.
The Gamo Whisper will work with any .177 pellets on the market, but that does not mean you should be indiscriminate. In reviews from numerous shooters it is made very clear that the accuracy of the rifle is much higher when using Gamo ammunition. There is very little cost difference to buy Gamo ammo instead of other third party pellets. The difference might shock you, keep that in mind as you evaluate the Gamo Whisper air rifle.
Included and Optional Accessories
The Gamo Whisper air rifle comes bundled with only two basic optional items. These are the aforementioned scope and a package of 50 PBA Gamo Pellets. Optional accessories and supplies you should consider buying with your Whisper air rifle include:
- Gamo Assorted Pellet Pack – Provides you with a variety of Gamo Ammo to test. 1000 pieces.
- Gamo Air Gun Oil – Keeping your Whisper in perfect shooting condition requires routine maintenance, be prepared.
- Gamo Cone Pellet Trap – This low cost pellet trap will allow you to safely shoot and practice without the danger of pellets escaping from your yard. Very low cost insurance.
You can find other accessories and cleaning kits for Gamo and other supplies you may wish to add to this list, but those items will give you a great start at a low cost.
Pros of the Gamo Whisper Air Rifle
This rifle is packed with positive points. Here are a few of the most commonly mentioned ones:
- Extreme accuracy when using Gamo Ammo.
- Good quality scope included in bundle.
- Quiet when using lead pellets.
- Powerful air rife with up to 1200fps with FBA pellets from Gamo.
- Solid construction, able to withstand heavy use.
- Easy cocking, sighting, and shooting.
This air rifle will satisfy almost every shooter except for extremely serious target shooters. The 1” shooting pattern it can fire is adequate for nearly everyone except competitive shooters.
Cons of the Whisper Rifle
- Manual safety – The safety mechanism is not auto engaged when cocked.
- Noise – When using PBA pellets which obtain a speed of 1200fps the Gamo Whisper sounds like any other powerful air rifle. The tiny sonic boom from the pellet defeats the noise dampening system. If you need quiet stick to lead pellets.
- Not as accurate with alternative pellets. Many reviewers mention the fact the shooting pattern widens dramatically when using Crossman, Daisy, and other brands of pellets. For best accuracy stick with Gamo ammo.
- Hard cocking action. Yes, the cocking action is in both the Pros and Cons lists. The 30 pounds of effort may seem easy to most adults but will be difficult for young shooters, smaller women, and seniors.
Consumer Ratings
The Gamo Whisper air rifle has caught the hearts of many shooters. It has received above average reviews from users around the world. The rare average review is always accompanied with comments about the noise level. This is somewhat expected since Game elected to include their PBA ammo in the bundle. The PBA ammo will hit the top rated speeds for the rifle, and by doing so breaks the sound barrier and produces a loud pop.
If the rifle had been bundled with lead pellets the sound issue would not be as prevalent and consumer ratings would move from above average to excellent.
Conclusion
The Gamo Whisper air rifle is a powerful weapon with a quiet twist. The non-removable noise dampening system effectively eliminates up to 52% of muzzle noise. The combination of power, accuracy, and improved quietness make it perfect for shooters who live in residential areas.
The Gamo Whisper air rifle is not targeted for use by children. It is designed to be used by farmers, enthusiasts, and property owners who wish to control pests or have great accuracy and power for work and play. The Whisper is a reasonably priced air rifle with features not found in cheaper models. The noise dampening, high power, and accuracy put the rifle near the top of its class and should be one you consider carefully. Gamo’s reputation for producing high quality air rifles is evident in every inch of the Whisper.