Gamo P-430 Dual Pellet/BB Air Pistol air Pistol

My first pistol of any type, and the first BB gun that I've shot in half a century. The GAMO P430 is fun. I've gone through only a couple of magazines with steel BBs. Thought I was misfiring after a couple of shots, so took a closer look at the paper target: nope, the BBs were going through the same hole, ha! Yeah, I was only 6 feet away, but the sights are pretty good. I too am considering painting bright or fluorescent markings on them. The magazine release, as everybody says, is unexpectedly slick. I like that. When I loaded with pellets (GAMO ammo) the magazine stuck a little; I really had to give it a shove. The gun would fire, but the rounds wouldn't always advance. Weird. One time with pellets the magazine wouldn't drop with a button-push, and I knifed it out easily. I replaced the pellets with BBs, and the magazine performed with its usual grace and ease. I'll try different pellets someday. Good gun. Not wasting CO2 on slide blowback. Rapid fire was fun (I'm a newb, remember). BTW--I taped a paper target to an Amazon box, and put two more boxes behind it (shooting indoors). BBs went through the first box and landed inside the second. Kind of a punch. Nice. You squirrels are on notice.

Great product 😁

I own several air guns, including spring piston, gas piston, CO2 and PCP models. They all work wonderfully with the exception of this Gamo P-430. Upon arrival, the pellet clip did not rotate, thus only a single shot could be fired without removing the clip and turning it manually before reinserting the clip. I immediately tried to return the gun to Amazon. But unlike every item I have ever needed to return to Amazon in all the years in which I've been a frequent purchaser, Gamo does not allow this gun to be returned for a refund. They run you through a Q & A process and lead you through a trouble shooting procedure. None of those suggestions helped, as I knew they wouldn't. As mentioned above, I am not a neophyte when it comes to air guns and their operation. Upon contacting Amazon, the representative was exceptionally accommodating. I was told I did not have to return the item and my money would be refunded. I could keep the defective gun or discard it. Kudos to Amazon customer service! I decided to keep it and play around with it until the CO2 cartridge ran out, manually removing and turning the pellet clip after each and every shot. Within less than twenty shots, the safety inexplicably stopped sliding from on to off. It was stuck in the on position. So I then had in my hands not only a defective gun, but a dangerously defective gun. The CO2 cartridge has been removed and the gun has been tossed in the trash. That is the ONLY place the Gamo P-430 belongs. In fairness to Gamo, of all my air guns, by far my favorite is the Gamo Swarm Magnum. Thus, not all their products are inferior, but the P-430 most certainly is.

I shot 3 magazines worth of pellets. Then I decided to add bb's. omething went wrong. The trigger wouldn't pull as if the lock was on but it was off. Or no bb's/pellets would comed out. Magazine acted funky when inserting it. And one bb sits further into its magazine then the others which might be causing problem. It spits co2 with each pull of the trigger but no bullet comes out. I'm about to contct manufacturer for advice. I've had more experiance shooting this with both b';s and pellets. It's fun and reliable gun. But the magazine could have more strentgh. Pellets fire better than bb's. And watch out for the bouncing BB. Backatch!! lol

I own this CO2 gun for over a year and I really like it for it’s ability to shoot pellets and BBs. The gun is very light weight in the hands and shoots extremely fast to where I can’t see the BBs fly out of the pistol. I kept thinking if shots have been fired or am I shooting dry? Haha The gun is very accurate, but you have to compensate for the downwards of the gun when pulling the trigger. There is no recoil, so the gun doesn’t bounce when the trigger is pulled, compensating for the finger pull; expect to be shooting further down from the target. I kept three extra magazines so reloading is much faster. Each magazine holds 2 sets of 8 Bbs in a revolver style, holding 16 BBs/pellets total. It’s very easy to empty half the mag and having to flip it around which isn’t my preference for shooting airsoft; less reloads the better. Reloading can be tedious because you can’t pour the BBs into the magazine, but instead place each individual BB or Pellet into a revolver style slot. The construction is plastic on the outside and metal on the inside. It’s fairly easy to insert a CO2 cartridge, but expect to use tools when screwing it in place, unless you have very strong fingers. Each CO2 cartridge will last about 100 BBs or Pellets which is considerably good. I never had to deal with BBs jamming or misfires, so I’d say it’s reliable to use for target practice and efficient enough to use where you’re not draining your pockets by buying CO2 cartridges. I left one in for months and hardly notice a drop in pressure. I wouldn’t recommend this, but just a perspective of how well it can hold gas pressure inside the gun. I would definitely recommend as a first CO2 entry level pistol, but not as your “go-to.” I prefer a CO2 pistol with weight, realistic trigger pull, and a faster way of reloading the mag. Hope this helps with your purchase and ALWAYS remember your gun safety rules: 1. Treat Every Gun as if it was loaded. 2. Never point the muzzle towards anything you’re not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your eyes are on the sights and ready to fire. 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it. This is not a toy. It’s a CO2 gun; treat it with respect as if it was a real firearm.

After about the fourth CO2 cartridge every cartridge after that would leak out and the gun was useless

The trigger is a bit clunky but it has no negative effect on accuracy. The gun is surprisingly accurate. With 10.5 grain pellets and a fresh cartridge at 10 meters, I've been getting quarter-sized groupings. As far as power - I don't have a Chrono but at 10 meters it easily punctures 2-liter bottles of soda with the same pellets. Something to remember - when tightening the screw to puncture the cartridge make sure you tighten it firmly otherwise the hole in the CO2 cartridge will be too small which will affect your ability to take shots in quick succession. As far as the sights, they are very hard to get on target. White nail polish or a brightly colored marker helps. I have glow-in-the-dark tape that I attached to the front and rear sight to make them easier to locate. My only issue has been accidentally pressing the magazine release button. It's not a knock on the gun as the button has a hair trigger and the mag flies out with oomph! I just seem to press it every time I touch the gun. It was frustrating in the beginning but now it's pretty funny. All-in-all it's a cool little air gun if you can find it for around $40. Remember, you can't diesel a CO2.

Great little gun man powerful right on the money you go from BB's to pellets I love this gun.