What’s in a name? Gamo could not name their new Co2 revolver the Striker as they intended, so they added a ‘c’ for its full title of GR-Stricker. It’s a revolver so it has a swing-out cylinder and an exposed hammer, and it shoots lead pellets as opposed to the BBs normally found with Co2-powered pistols. The gun is very modern-looking thanks to the molded-on accessory rails on top of and below the barrel, as well as the open sights, which have high visibility add-ons.
The pistol grips add to a very modern look. They are the rubber, super-grip-type fitted to most top-end revolvers these days. The plastic cylinder takes eight pellets, and to gain access to it there is a spring-loaded latch under the barrel. Do not be fooled by the faux cylinder release catch molded onto the metal casting of the main frame. The plunger has to be held forward in order to swing the cylinder out to the left, and please note that this can only be done when the gun is not cocked.
The gun has a safety catch positioned right at the back of the action, tucked in behind the rear sight. The firing thumb for a right-hander can slide the catch to the right to set the gun on safe; it effectively blocks the hammer from striking the Co2 valve release, and I found I could use the same thumb to take it off. It displays a red dot when ready to fire. The very grippy grips come off to reveal the 12-gram bulb compartment on the right, and a simple thumbscrew pierces the Co2 canister.
CHRONO’ SUPRISE
Over the chronograph, the gun had a major surprise for me. I examined the Stricker when I got it out of the box and thought that the sealing system between the Co2 valve and the cylinder did not look too clever, and I expected that it would waste gas on every shot, by escaping out of the sides. I was so wrong. The gun gave me 14 full cylinders’ worth of useable shots, that’s 112 shots - just amazing! The velocity ranged from 330 to 260 fps, giving an average of 1.3 ft. lbs. using 7.7-grain match pellets.
Because it’s a revolver with an exposed hammer, you can use the gun in either single- or double-action mode. Single-action requires pulling of the hammer backwards with your hand, whilst double-action controls the cylinder and the hammer automatically when you pull the trigger. Single-action is more accurate and gives a lighter trigger weight - 2.7kg, as opposed to 4.5 kg in double-action mode. When you cock the hammer to set it into single-action mode, the trigger sets back to the rear of the trigger guard.