When hunting at short to mid-range distances, a silent air rifle could be hugely beneficial. This is because you might not hit your intended target the first time, but with silence on your side, second and third chances are made more possible.
Also, there could be multiple targets you want to take out discreetly without startling the entire ecosystem around you. A standard hunting rifle isn’t going to be subtle at all, and many air rifles will still make enough of a pop to prick ears up and trigger an adrenaline spike in small critters.
The Gamo Silent Cat Air Rifle seems a likely contender for varmint and small game hunting at short to mid-range distances. It’s a simple yet powerful design that can deliver an impressive fps performance.
But we want to look at all the features and aspects of this design, to see whether it’s really worth anyone’s time and money. And, to find out how quiet this rifle really is.
Gamo Silent Cat Air Rifle Review
Features
- Warranty: One year limited warranty
- Skeleton Stock & 4x32 scope!
Gun Specifications
The Gamo Silent Cat Air rifle is 46 inches long with an 18-inch barrel length. It has a one-shot capacity and weighs in at 5.28 pounds. It uses .177/45mm caliber pellets and comes with 4×32 scope and one-piece mount. There’s also a one year warranty with the rifle when bought new.
It’s a single shot, spring piston, break barrel design. The rifle will only need to be cocked one time and the muzzle brake will act as a handle and lever for cocking the rifle. The rifle’s power is made through a combination of the spring piston compressing and air that’s taken into the air rifle in the cocking process.
The cocking effort of 30 pounds is pretty lightweight when you compare it to other similar air rifles in its category. Bear in mind, the cocking effort is not necessarily the determining factor for how powerful an air rifle is. It’s more to do with cocking lever geometry, which Gamo has a very solid reputation for getting right.
Gamo has added its Automatic Cocking Safety system into this design, which is a nice touch. As well, there is a manual safety on board to help prevent unintentional discharge of the Silent Cat.
Most impressively, this air rifle is capable of approximately 1200 fps at maximum velocity. This is only achievable, however, when Performance Ballistic Alloy (PBA) .177 caliber pellets are used instead of lead ones. If .177 lead pellets are used, a respectable 1000 fps should be achievable.
Another great feature is the two-stage adjustable trigger with a preset pull weight of around 3.79 pounds. You can also adjust both windage and elevation on the rear sight to achieve better pinpoint accuracy in various conditions. Upfront Gamo has used a fiber-optic sight, which does help for more precise targeting.
The lightweight 5.28-pound weight of this rifle is most likely due to the rugged, all-weather, ambidextrous, synthetic skeleton stock used. Moreover, the simplicity of this air rifle design makes it very dependable as there are fewer moving parts that can go wrong.
Is it Really Silent?
With a 3-Medium loudness rating, there is no exact and definable decibel level to be expected from the Gamo Silent Cat Air Rifle. Theoretically, it could range anywhere between 75-85 decibels – give or take.
Yet, given that normal conversation is around 60 decibels, vacuum cleaners are about 75 decibels and lawnmowers 90 decibels, we can say that the Gamo isn’t going to be silent from the shooter’s perspective. The question you have to ask is, would an animal take threat or even notice the blip of a vacuum cleaner 30-40 yards away?
Our conclusion on this question is that this Gamo is more than adequately silent for hunting small game and varmint from minimal distances away. It also shouldn’t cause alarm when used in a neighborhood backyard.
Sighting in the Rifle
As recommended by Gamo, the ideal sighting in distance for this rifle is 40 feet. This is also conveniently a good range for accurately hitting small game and varmints effectively while achieving hard impact shots this rifle is capable of.
The 4×32 scope that comes with this package will allow you to see targets more clearly and beyond 40 yards.
Maintenance
Maintaining the rifle is incredibly simple. Since a very basic powerplant system is used, there’s not much to clean and or lubricate with this very durable design.
One handy little tip is to put some gun oil on the O-ring where your pellets are inserted to keep it in good shape.
What game is it suited for?
It has to be reiterated that this pellet gun is powerful. It can cause a lot of damage between a 20-50 yard range and possibly further. It should definitely work for all small critter forms, and at the very least, it should act as a strong deterrent against larger animals such as coyotes and hogs.
Pros
- Powerful one-shot action.
- Capable of 1200 fps.
- Lightweight cocking effort.
- Works well for shooters of all levels.
- Easy to use/lightweight construction.
- 3-Medium loudness rating.
- Great functioning sights.
- Very little maintenance needed.
- Very affordable.
Cons
- It’s not silent like advertised.
- It’s important to sight in properly to achieve the excellent accuracy this rifle is capable of.
Bottom Line
Firstly, it’s quite clear the Gamo Silent Cat Air Rifle isn’t actually silent, but it’s quiet. And, we believe it’s quiet enough for you to use in the back yard for plinking, or to shoot small game without startling it with every shot.
It’s a well-built air rifle that is super affordable and offers great value for the money. Also, we think both beginners or seasoned shooters should be happy to get to grips with this air rifle when used for its intended purposes.
All-in-all, we would recommend this rifle because of its high-quality features and the immense power and accuracy you can achieve with it at low noise levels. If you want complete silence though, you might want to look elsewhere, but there isn’t much to compare the Gamo Silent Cat with price-wise.
Finally, if you aren’t convinced about this rifle, consider our extensive reviews of the best air rifles.
The Review
Gamo Silent Cat Air Rifle
Deciding if this is the right air rifle for your shooting needs is easy with our detailed review and ratings.
Review Breakdown
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Quality
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Accuracy
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Value for Money
Gamo Silent Cat Air Rifle DEALS
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