When I picked up the GAMO P-27, I thought it looked a lot like the GAMO P-430, which I reviewed here. There are some similarities, but there are some differences as well. The P-27 retails on the GAMOUSA.com site for $62.90, while the P-430 currently is retailing for $39.90.
Both guns operate on a semi-automatic CO2 powerplant. Both guns have a really neat double-ended magazine holding eight BBs or pellets on each end, totaling 16 shots.
The P-27 has three white dots on the fixed sights. The gun is double- or single-action. However, it is not blowback operated. That means if you want the lighter trigger pull, you will need to cock the hammer for each shot. Blowback guns allow the second and following shots to be at the single action trigger pull, since the blowback/cycling of the slide allows the hammer to be cocked. The P-27 trigger pull is around 8 lbs. on double action, and about half that when single action pull is used.
The safety is a lever located on the upper left rear of the slide. (The safety is not ambidextrous.) Loading the CO2 is easy, as the rear of the grip is pulled downwards and away from the gun, exposing the area inside the grip where the CO2 cylinder goes once the screw is loosened. The magazine is in this area as well, and drops out when the magazine release is pushed.
This gun is constructed of polymer with a smooth bore barrel. It does sport an accessory rail under the slide up front. Most of the time when shooting air pistols I choose not to use the rails, but I plan to install a laser on it. Why? Well, the accuracy on the particular gun I have puts the point of impact high and left fairly consistently. So I am literally aiming about 3” low and about 2-3” right to hit the cans I am tearing up. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, but it would be nice to aim right at the target. I did find out that I am pretty consistent with my windage and elevation holdovers!
The gun was not tested for accuracy with a paper target as I normally do because at a maximum of 430 fps, I did not see the point. I was shooting at a can about 25 feet away and hitting it regularly, but it was a tall can and some of the BBs and a few of the pellets did fly astray from each magazine to the point I could see them curve. I attribute that to the smooth bore. So, for backyard plinking at cans or targets larger, this gun’s accuracy is sufficient out to about 25 feet.
The trigger pull, although long, has no rough spots and the sights on this gun are easy to see and line up.
The grip on the P-27 seems more slender than the P-430, particularly in the webbing near the top than the P-430, but measuring the two yields very little difference from what I can see. The gun weighs about a pound and a half.
When I shot the gun, I was pleased that the trigger was not rough and the gun fired very smoothly. Other than the sights being fixed and not on target (no matter what pellets or BBs I used), the only other snag I noticed was that, when loading BBs, the magnet sometimes allows two BBs to load in one of the ports. So, shooters should be careful not to double load a BB. Also, do not load pellets into this magazine and gun unless they are standard-size, low-dome skirted pellets. Longer or pointed pellets can jam and damage the gun.
Pros
This gun offers dual ammo and a smooth trigger, and it fits well in average- to large-sized hands. The textured grip makes it easy to hold and shoot, and its three white dots are easy to acquire. The magazine is easy to load and lightweight. The P-27 fires in double or single action; the hammer moves freely. There’s an accessory rail underneath and the gun is very quiet.
Cons
The air pistol’s fixed sights may require some “Kentucky windage” when shooting. Like many CO2 guns, rapid fire depletes the CO2 quickly. This means that it’s not super accurate, and not very powerful.
In summary, if you want a backyard plinker that is a lot of fun, easy to operate, lightweight, and not loud at all, this may be your gun. I loved how simple the air pistol was and that I could burn through 16 BBs or pellets while tearing up a can for some relaxing shooting without aggravating anyone sleeping in the house or neighbors. Gamousa.com
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