The Hornet is rated at 1200 FPS while the Recon is only rated at 525 FPS
The .177 Hornet is Medium loud
Get the Silent Stalker, it is far superior in quality. The IGT system is much better.
They are both Excellent Rifles but I personally feel the Gamo has the edge on the Crosman. Both shoot lead pellets at 1000 FPS. Both will shoot the PBA pellets at 1200 FPS. The Gamo has a 38lbs cocking effort while the Crosman has a 31.5lbs cocking effort. The Crosman with scope is a little less expensive than the Gamo with scope. So it this isn't a big deal to you then I would go with the Gamo Big cat. Take a look at: http://www.pyramydair.com/p/gamo-big-cat-1200-air-rifle.shtml http://www.pyramydair.com/p/crosman-quest-1000x-kit.shtml
Currently there are 3 in production. Daisy Avanti 717, Powerline 008 and the 617x. Crosman, Benjamin and Gamo make a larger selection of pellet pistols.
The Gamo Silent Cat fires .177 caliber Pellets not BB's.
Every Pellet gun has to shoot over 200 shots before it is broke in. And then you have to try different pellets to find one that fits the situation, every gun is different. However I suggest starting with H&N, Beeman Kodiak or JSB. They all have different pellets to choose from (Look for Match grade pellets.) I do suggest you stay away from the Gamo Raptor pellets. They may be fast but they are too light and are effected by crosswind.
Gamo offers instruction manuals for all their rifles. That include correct aiming with the sights. See the link below
If you do you will destroy a perfectly good rifle. The Whisper is designed to shoot Pellets not BB's. It has a rifled barrel (Grooves in the barrel to catch and spin the pellet) this makes them fly straighter. Pellets are a soft material. BB are a hard material. Forcing them through a rifles barrel will destroy the rifling. This is why BB rifles have smooth bore barrels. If you have started to shoot BB then you have already started to destroy the accuracy of the rifle and dropped it's value. So don't do it.
Yes But I suggest you use hollow point pellets for a clean kill.
No. it is a single cock spring system. You only need to break the barrel once to cock it and fire it.
Some pellet guns are designed to shoot BB and pellets like the Gamo P23 and there are several rifles that also shoot both. (I'll talk about them later) But if the instructions call for Pellets and not BB's then it is NOT wise to force the gun to shoot BB's. Here's why. Pellet guns that are designed to shoot Pellets have grooved barrels called Rifling. The soft Pellet, when fired, catches the grooves in the barrel and this makes the pellet spin as it leaved the barrel. This makes it fly straighter and further. BB guns have a smooth barrel (Not Rifled) and the BB slides out the barrel and tumbles as it flies. This makes it inaccurate on any target beyond 15 to 20 feet. The BB is hard and when forced to fire through a Pellet barrel it actually destroys the rifling in the pellet barrel and over time the barrel becomes smoother inside.. The Gamo P23 shoots both BB's and Pellets through the Rifles barrel. But if you read the instructions on the Gaom P23, it state to use ONLY Gamo BB. Because they are made out of soft material NOT Brass or Steel. These BB conform to the grooves in the barrel and act like pellets. BB/Pellet rifles usually have smooth bore barrels and this is why they can shoot either projectile. But they are also not as accurate as a rifled bore barrel So if you want to keep your pellet gun or rifle in good working order Don't force it to shoot the wrong projectile.