have any of you used gamo round balls in your RWS airguns?
i have an (original)? rws45 in 177. i always load with the
gun merely "broken", then cock it. never trust a safety or
anti-beartrap !! thanks in advance for any input.

 George,

 I would suggest that you alter your cocking process. Cock and hold the open barrel with one hand at all times throughout the cycle. No breakbarrel can be trusted, nor any other action for that matter. Anti-beartrap safetys are merelly a back-up for good gun handling habits.

 You could rightfully load the rifle as you do then cock it while holding the barrel through the cycle, or cock first, load second (still holding the bbl).

 The round lead ball shot is common throughout Europe and is sold in bulk in many places. Some prefer it to Diabolo pellets because of it's low cost. Their weight is very low, and may be too low for a powerfull Magnum rifle like yours. Accuracy is lesser. Richoet hazards are many times worse! I have shot the Gamo Balls from my Gamo AF-10 pistol (10 shot Ball Magazine) and even at 400fps they bounce back and all over badlly! I prefer wasted pellets to try and control richoet.

 If I were you, I'd stick with a 8 gr. or heavier Diabolo pellet for that big gun. It's better for the mainspring.

 HTH,

 ZVP

I have used both Gamo and Beeman round balls but I don't think I would use them for anything but plinking. Originaly they were for my Gamo PR15 pistol which they do o.k. in. It's a smooth bore so groups aren't very tight. I don't shoot that pistol very much (I have 30 other pistols) so it's been a while since I bought ammo for it. The round balls I do have are over 10 years old. They are solid lead and over 7 grains but I don't remember if the ones I weighed were Gamo or Beeman. I have heard that many of the new round balls are just lead coated BBs which would explain the difference in weight. They are very hard and don't mushroom at all unless your hitting a steel plate. My Diana 34 snapped the base off one of my chicken silhouettes at 30 yards. I do not use them for hunting as I'm sure they would just pass through small game and not transfer any energy.

steel balls are identical.  Check them with a magnet and confirm what they are.  I do not understand why but I have confirmed it a few time  Do not rely on the container label.

In addition to the concerns the others mentioned, I've found that round balls consistently chronograph slower for their weight than any other pellet. In both my Diana 48 and my Gamo CFX, the calculated muzzle energy for the Gamo round ball was the lowest of any pellet I've fired. I suspect it's because a ball presents the same rounded aspect to the compression chamber as to the target, resulting in a much less efficient bore seal and resulting transfer of the gun's energy into flight velocity than any skirted pellet. I've considered testing this theory by 'wadding' a cleaning pellet behind a round ball to seal the bore, but I worry that I might end up jamming the gun. I had hoped the round ball would work well, especially for the CFX that has a rotary breech block with a rounded ramp. Dropping a pellet in and hoping it ends up with the skirt to the rear is about like dropping a peanut butter cracker and hoping it lands with the peanut butter on top, and having a projectile that rolled right in sounded like a good idea. Oh well....

http://www.pyramydair.com/site/articles/pellets-vs-round-balls/




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