Hi guys, I'm fairly fresh to the air gun world, and looking at getting a decent entry-level rifle to get proficient before moving onto something higher end.
As a happy CFX owner, I'd say the CFR is promising. A lot of people online liked them. In fact, I got the impression that people in Australia and New Zealand seemed particularly fond of them, judging from the number of times they turned up in the forums. Do some searches for the CFR and CFX and see what else turns up in your area--someone may have one you can try out.
I have the Accu177 which is what they call the underlever here in the U.S. I have the .177, and it is accurate. A lot depends upon pellet selection, so try a variety and see what it likes best. You may need to look at the heavier pellets if you plan on shooting at 55 yards. Have targets set up at 35 yards in my yard, and it does quite well at that distance.
I don't know Gamo at all but if you are shooting 55 yards consistently you should probably go for .22 caliber. It is more stable at distance than .177 - less affected by breezes. You WILL have to compensate for pellet drop over distance, though.Hawke Chairgun Pro (free on their website) will give an idea of the difference in drop. Velocities are lower with .22.
I have both .177 & .22 Accu's (US) version. I bought the .22 because I liked the .177 extremely well. They are light yet accurate. The guns are worthy of a good quality scope but the supplied tru-glo sights are considered some of the best offered, being small, they don't obscure the target.I purchased an aftermarket GRT IV trigger but modded the oem SAT triggers on both guns by adding a longer adjustment screw and now much prefer them to the GRT. Caution must be exercised doing this because too much adjustment can release the sear unexpectedly.I did the usual tune for springers, polishing, deburring, sleeving etc. and both guns are smooth and quiet, no problem with 50 meter targeting.Expect to replace all seals after deburring and don't expect to not debur and install new seals without ruining them.850-900 fps in .177, 650-700 in .22.By far, my favorite springers...
When considering .177 vs .22, the rotating breech design has a longer transfer port than normal. This has a negative impact on speed and .22 is penalized more than .177. Expect an @ 75-100 fps loss in .22 when compared to a springer that shoots .22 somewhere around 750 fps. That is the downside of the Accu in .22
Are you looking to get proficient in tuning/troubleshooting or shooting?I have an Accu in .22. It took a lot of work and more money to make it decent. But it helped me get proficient in troubleshooting/tuning. If you don't want that aspect of the sport, I'd recommend just starting out with something better like this:
The Gamo CFX/CFR in .177 is better for paper punching, really is a good accurate gun. The trigger is pretty bad but can be fixed or replaced.
It really depends on how much you need/want the gun. If you really want it get the .22, at 50 yards it will require more hold over than the ,177. If you can wait until Christmas then I would wait, the ,177 is a flatter shooting gun so memorizing hold over is less. As for the trigger, either order one from the Netherlands or one of us over here can send you one, I have shipped several to Au, shipping is about $30. If you are going to replace the trigger you should go ahead and clean it out and relube and put in a new seal. Custom Air Seals of Australia sells parts.