Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 Caliber Pellet Test Review
Overview
Testers: Doug Wall
Caliber: .22
Test Date: Oct 21, 2018
Source of Supply: Supplied by Gamo USA.
Condition: New
We Like
Very low price
Clean
Excellent tin
We Don't Like
Waaay too few pellets in tin
Poor consistency
Large head diameter
HAM RATING
- Comparison to Makers Claims:20%
- Most Common Head Diameter 35%
- Variation in Head Diameter 30%
- Most Common Weight 35%
- Variation in Weight 35%
- Most Common Length 45%
- Variation in Length 45%
- Dirtiness 70%
37%
HARD AIR MAGAZINE TEST CONCLUSIONS
Let’s be clear, Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets are sold at a bargain price. If you want cheap pellets, here they are! So HAM test expectations match that positioning.
High points are the excellent cleanliness of the pellets and the outstanding tin they are packed in.
Unfortunately, the manufacturing consistency of the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM was low, even considering the price.
In spite of this, they may still have gained a HAM Award if the product marketing claims been not so far removed from reality.
HAM’s not going to say that these pellets cannot shoot well in some airguns. However, the chances are low and the shot-to-shot consistency will probably be poor, as we found.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets seem to be great value for money. They are among the cheapest .22 caliber pellets available at just 2 cents each, based on a full tin and the retail price. This is fully half the Median price per pellet!
Cheap is good, right? Well, in this case, unfortunately not, as we’ll discover in this comprehensive test review.
Gamo Match .22 caliber pellets are wadcutters with a flat head and fluted skirt, so they’re obviously intended for short-range use in plinking and target shooting. However, at a specified weight of 15.43 Grains, they are rather heavier than most other wadcutters of this caliber.
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Gamo Match .22 Cal, 15.43 Grains, Wadcutter, 250ct
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Gamo Match .22 Caliber 15.43 Grain Pellets, 250 Ct
TEST DATA SUMMARY
| Price per Pellet | 2.00 cents |
| Most Common Weight | 15.42 Grains 15.68 Grains |
| Pellets at That Common Weight | 8% 8% |
| Variation in Pellet Weight (Smallest to Largest) | 5.14% |
| Most Common Head Diameter | 5.57 mm |
| Pellet at That Common Head Diameter | 26% |
| Variation in Head Diameter (Smallest to Largest) | 1.99% |
| Most Common Length | 6.96 mm |
| Pellets at That Common Length | 18% |
| Variation in Length (Smallest to Largest) | 2.63% |
COMPARISON TO MAKERS CLAIMS
The claimed weight for Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets was met fairly closely by the pellets tested by HAM. The average was 15.40 Grains. However, as will be seen below, no pellet tested by HAM actually matched the claimed weight of 15.43 Grains.
The manufacturer claims that there are 250 pellets in a tin of Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets. Unfortunately the tin tested by HAM fell waaaaaay short of this with just 203 pellets in the tin.
Of these 203 pellets, 4 were damaged and unusable. This means that there were just 199 usable pellets in the tin of Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets HAM tested. That’s 20% below the manufacturer’s claim.
As we can see from the rear of the retail packaging, Gamo claims that “consistency, uniformity and performance are what makes GAMO ammunition superior to all others.” Unfortunately it’s not easy to see that claim is supported by the results of the HAM test data.
Also note that Gamo claims “extreme velocity and greater penetration” on the rear of the packaging. Unfortunately, there’s no way that any heavy lead wadcutter pellets will ever have “extreme velocity” compared to other types of airgun pellets.
And , although penetration in HAM’s standard soap block test was not bad compared to other pellets tested, it was about average for the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets we tested, not greater.
CONSISTENCY
Consistent head diameter is usually a prime quality control aim for pellet manufacturers. Unfortunately, the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM displayed poor head diameter consistency.
Moreover, the average – and most common head diameter was 5.57 mm. The maximum was 5.62 mm. This is far higher than the nominal 5.50 mm diameter of .22 caliber airgun barrels. In extreme cases, this could even result in some pellets failing to fit into the barrel!
26% of the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM had the most common head diameter. The variability between the smallest and largest head diameters tested was 1.99%. This is a very large spread compared to most other pellets tested by HAM.
A similar level of manufacturing consistency also was seen in the weights of the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM.
As we can see from the chart below, the difference between the lightest and heaviest pellets tested by HAM was 5.14% – from 14.97 Grains to 15.74 Grains. Again, this is a much wider spread than we normally see in HAM pellet testing.
Relatively speaking, the length consistency for the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM was rather better.
18% of the pellets has the most common length of 6.96 mm. The shortest was 6.85 mm in length, the longest 7.03 Grains. This is better than we expected for the price.
The variation in manufacturing consistency shown above was confirmed by the high Standard Deviation (variation between fastest and slowest pellets in a string) of 11.42 FPS found in HAM testing.
DIRTINESS
There’s always a certain amount of lead dirt and dust that makes it into the final tin of pellets.
However, the Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets tested by HAM were remarkably clean. There was just 0.028 Grains of dirt in the tin tested by HAM, as you can see below. That’s an excellent result.
DOWNRANGE PERFORMANCE
As rather heavy, wadcutter pellets with a Ballistic Coefficient of 0.017, Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets are not intended for long range use.
Using our standard Beeman 1074 test gun, Muzzle Velocity averaged 687.6 FPS, giving an average Muzzle Energy of 16.18 Ft/Lbs. The large Extreme Spread of 36 FPS between the fastest and slowest shots would be likely to make considerable differences in the point of impact at reasonable ranges, however.
Like most wadcutter pellets, the loss in energy is very rapid. No less than 30% of the Muzzle Energy has already been lost at just 26 Yards.
This is, of course, not a criticism of the Gamo Match pellets. It’s just the way things are…
HUNTING USE
Gamo markets many of its pellets for hunting use. It does not include these Match pellets among them. HAM agrees and does not recommend Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets for hunting use at anything but very short ranges.
Penetration into HAM’s standard soap block was about average, but the pellet did not expand significantly. It measured 5.72 mm diameter after firing, compared to 5.57 mm before.
Often, wadcutter pellets can show considerable expansion, equating to a huge wound, but that is not the case here. The un-fired pellet can be seen on the right in the photograph below.
BUYING AND OWNING
Gamo Match 15.43 Grain .22 caliber pellets are available widely both online and in big box sporting good stores. So they’re easy to find.
Also, the screw-top tin is really excellent…
It’s a model for some other pellet manufacturers to aim for. It screws-on easily but is not too tight. It’s also very well marked with the name of the product inside. Just a sheet of foam to prevent pellet damage through movement in shipping would make it perfect. This is a great pellet tin at any price!
TEST DATA
For background details on HAM’s Pellet Test Review methodology, check out this link.
Chairgun is a product of Hawke Sports Optics LLC and is used with permission. Check out http://www.hawkeoptics.com
BUY FROM PYRAMYD AIR
Gamo Match .22 Cal, 15.43 Grains, Wadcutter, 250ct
BUY FROM AIRGUN DEPOT
Gamo Match .22 Caliber 15.43 Grain Pellets, 250 Ct
Understanding HAM Pellet Awards
HAM Pellet Awards come from the most rigorous, professional and comprehensive pellet testing by any independent publication. They are the result of much precise measurement and analysis using high precision measuring devices and highly-experienced testers.
Note that accuracy is a product of the complete “system” of airgun, scope, atmospheric conditions and shooter ability – not the pellet alone.
This means that no pellet test review can predict the accuracy of a particular pellet with YOUR individual air rifle. That’s why we do not measure accuracy in these pellet tests.
What HAM Pellet Awards do recognize is manufacturing consistency. Inconsistent pellets definitely will be inaccurate, consistent pellets are much more likely to be accurate.
HAM Awards also recognize value. There’s considerable variation in the price of airgun pellets. This means that an 8 cent pellet needs to score higher than a 2 cent pellet to achieve an award.
For full details of the HAM Pellet Award scoring methodology, please check out our Pellet Testing page.
For a full listing of HAM-tested Ballistic Coefficients, please see our Ballistic Coefficients page.
This entire article including scoring, data etc is Copyright Hard Air Magazine and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the publisher.
