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The second generation GAMO Swarm Fusion is an amazing upgrade of an already largely innovative break barrel airgun. The GAMO Swarm Fusion 10x Gen2 is GAMO’s way of letting consumers know they were listening. The company largely fixed many complaints people have had with the previous generation while keeping the features that put this airgun off the map.
The Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen2 is the perfect all-around airgun. The lightweight design, softer cocking mechanism, and of course, the 10X rotary magazine make this a convenient and fun airgun. It’s ideal for occasional plinking and or vermin hunting. At less than $300 SRP, it’s a hard bargain to beat for the quality you’re getting.
Gamo Swarm Fusion 10X Gen 2 Pros & Cons
- Great value airgun
- Lightweight and Accurate
- Very quiet and reliable
- Sleek, cool design
- Comfortable and fun to shoot
- Perfect for hunting small game or casual target shooting
- Loading the magazine takes some time getting used to
- You will need to try different pellets to find one that works for this mechanism
- The included scope has been described as cheap and sub par
- Pellets can sometimes shift while shooting/cocking and can cause magazine issues
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Quick History of Gamo Airguns
In 1961, the first Gamo airguns were introduced to the Spanish market. They received immediate acceptance due to their inherent quality and superior performance. The manufactured airguns are also designed with interchangeable parts.
Gamo’s principal goal was to create a high-quality product at a low to medium price. Another goal was to make the sport of airgun shooting more accessible, which subsequently led to an increase in its popularity.
In 1995, GAMO expanded its manufacturing and distribution to the United States, where it would eventually receive positive acceptance in the American market.
Today, Gamo is the largest manufacturer of pellets globally and the largest manufacturer of airguns in Europe. You can find Gamo airguns in more than 50 countries, and it is still one of the leading innovators in the Airgun market.
Types Of Air Guns
Let’s first take a quick look at the five main types of air guns.
Spring Powered
Spring-powered airguns are also called springers. They are simple, inexpensive, and accurate. However, they tend to produce more recoil than other types of airguns. It generates compressed air inside a cylinder, also called the piston body, via the spring and piston. The gun is cocked, and the spring is compressed to create the charge.
When the trigger is pulled, the spring is released, driving the piston forward, forcing air out of the piston body/ cylinder, and propelling the pellet out of the barrel. Most spring-powered airguns use a break action barrel to load the round. However, this design tends to cause barrel lock-ups and cause slack within the joints, which will inevitably affect accuracy.
Springers also tend to produce snappy, unpredictable recoil and require a more gentle touch to get better control and accuracy. The good news is they are incredibly cheap compared to other options, extremely convenient to use, and typically require less maintenance than other airguns.
Gas Piston
Gas pistons are also commonly referred to as gas ram. Instead of spring and piston, gas piston air guns use compressed gas to drive the pellet out of the barrel. The cylinder is pre-filled with semi-compressed gas, compressed even further when the gun is cocked. After pulling the trigger, the pressurized air forces the pullet of the barrel, resulting in a swifter and more accurate mechanism.
Generally, they are quieter, lighter, and last longer than spring-piston air guns. Although not ideal, you can leave gas piston air guns cocked without wearing down your airgun. They often work better for beginners since gas pistons tend to cock easier than springers and require less maintenance overall.
Pre-Charged Pneumatic (PCP)
Pre-Charged Pneumatic air guns use an external air source to provide and compress gas in the internal reservoir. These can be via diving cylinders, air compressors, or manual chargers such as hand pumps. To charge your air gun, you either pump air via an external pump or external air system.
When you pull the trigger, a hammer strikes the internal reservoir release valve allowing a small amount of pressurized air to discharge and force the pellet out of the barrel.
PCP air guns have fewer mechanical internal parts. However, they require special cylinders and charging systems, which means lower operating and maintenance costs. They are more expensive than springers and gas ram systems. However, they have significantly less recoil than the two air gun systems and can shoot upwards of a hundred rounds per charge.
The constant availability of pressurized air has also allowed for PCP designs in semi-auto and full-auto configurations.
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Variable Pump
These are also known as pump guns or pump pneumatic air guns. These guns use a lever-operated air pump to pressurize an internal reservoir in the air gun. They come in single or multi-stroke designs.
Single stroke pump air guns only require a single cocking motion to mechanically compress air and shoot the pellet at a desirable range. On the other hand, multi-stroke pumps require around five strokes per shot and can shoot up to five shots.
CO2
CO2 guns, similar to PCP guns, can offer multiple rounds and use compressed air in the form of CO2 to propel ammunition. These guns can also come in semi-auto and full-auto designs.
Most CO2 guns use small disposable Powerlet cartridges. However, premium models will offer air guns with large refillable CO2 canisters built into the rifle. They’re also relatively inexpensive compared to other air guns, especially HPA/ N2 systems.
Who is the Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2 for?
While some airgun fans get a kick out of shooting high-end precision guns, others are just looking for an airgun that works. If you’re looking for a robust, dependable, and reasonably priced airgun for occasional small game hunting or pest control, the Gamo Swarm Fusion 10X Gen2 fits the bill nicely.
Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2 Specifications
Let’s take a closer look at the GAMO Swarm fusion 10x Gen 2.
Caliber | .22 (.177 available) |
Velocity | 1000 fps with alloy pellets |
Trigger | Two stage independently adjustable Custom Action Trigger (CAT) |
Action | 10X Gen2 Quick-Shot technology enables you to shoot up to ten pellets without reloading; Singling Cocking system |
Noise Dampening | Whisper Fusion |
Powerplant | Inert Gas Technology (IGT) gas piston |
Barrel | Fluted Polymer jacketed rifled steel barrel with Whisper Fusion noise dampening technology. |
Stock | Automotive grade glass filled nylon all-weather |
Checkering | Non-slip texture design on grip and forearm |
Recoil Pad | Shock Wave Absorber (SWA) Recoil pad with up to 74% recoil absorption |
Safety | Manual safety and automatic cocking safety system |
Optics | Gamo 3-9x40 air rifle scope with shockproof and fogproof rings |
Rail | 11mm aluminum rail, Recoil Reducing Rail (RRR) |
Sights | Adjustable windage and elevation fiber optics rear sight., Fiber optics front sight |
Warranty | 5 years |
Weight | 5.48 pounds |
Length | 45.7 inches |
Length of Pull | 15 inches |
Ammunition | Any .22 cal pellet |
Trigger Pull | 2.6 - 3.2 pounds |
Barrel Length | 20.5 inches |
Cocking Effort | 30 pounds |
Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2 Hands-On Review
Unboxing
If you buy this online, the company will ship this to you in a separate cardboard box to keep the item hidden for personal privacy. The Gamo packaging has an almost similar look and feel to a water gun or nerf toy box.
Inside the box you’ll find the airgun wrapped in plastic, lying inside the outlined foam. You’ll also find the 3-9×40 scope, user manual, one 10-round quick-shot magazine.
Appearance
Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2 has a unique rifle profile similar to its Gen 1 counterpart. It spans the length of a full-sized rifle, providing a similar, intimidating look and feel.
The stock looks purposely made, with a futuristic sci-fi look that makes it appealing to hold and draws you to shoot. The textured body adds a rough contrast to the overall smooth polymer and polished metal design.
Also, the fluted barrels end on an intimidating muzzle attachment that mimics a shortened suppressor adding power to a purposeful gun. To complete the look, a 9×40 scope mounted on a “Picatinny style” Recoil Reducing Rail system (RRR) adds to the overall allure of this revolutionary airgun design.
Let’s look at the gun.
Trigger (above) and adjustment screws (below). The safety lever is in front of the trigger.
Loading the magazine is easy — it pops off the gun and then simply turns into an open hole, drop a pellet in nose-down. Repeat 10 times. It is very handy, plus it displays the number of pellets remaining.
A couple of photos of the magazine and rear sight.
Front sight.
Even with this, the gun still peaked at around 100 decibels. But, it did quiet it enough (and the muzzle was far enough away) so I didn’t need hearing protection. Your experience may vary, of course.
It takes about 30 pounds of effort to cock the gun. The compensator at the muzzle makes for a good hand-hold and keeps you from grabbing the front sight by mistake. Notice the “10” at the magazine — this shows how the magazine is positioned to feed a pellet into the chamber. Very ingenious. (The Gen 1 guns used a vertical magazine, which precluded the use of iron, open sights — it was a scope proposition only. Gen 2 guns fixed that problem by moving the magazine to the horizontal).
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Handling
The Gamo Swarm Fusion, 10x Gen2, is surprisingly lighter than it looks, making it easy to maneuver. The thumbhole stock and pistol grip give you a tight and secure hold onto your airgun.
You’ll also find some nice rubberized texture and the handrest and pistol grip for added safety. The cheek rest is at an excellent comfortable height, and the length of pull on this gun, altho not adjustable, will be okay for people with longer arms like myself.
My only gripe would be with the two-stage trigger and trigger guard, which can be claustrophobic for your fingers, especially if you’re wearing gloves.
Features
The main feature, and primary reason, most people buy this gun is the convenient and innovative 10x Quick-Shot assembly. The new, lower profile quick shot assembly allows you to use the GAMO Swarm Fusion Gen 2 with or without a scope, which was previously required by the Gen 1 fusion.
The break barrel cocking mechanism also allows you to quickly get follow-up shots, and while the Rifle recoil Reducing Rail assembly does a great job at preventing the scope from slipping while shooting the airgun, meaning more accurate follow-up shots.
The buttstock comes with Shock Wave Absorber (SWA) recoil pads that are adjustable via three insert blocks, giving you a softer or harder buttcheek depending on your preference.
You’ll find Custom Action Triggers (CAT) on the trigger that allows you to completely adjust the first and second-stage trigger pull. However, keep in mind that you’d want to have at least a 3-lb trigger pull to prevent.
Finally, the Gamo barrel features Gamo’s patented Whisper Fusion sound suppression technology designed to silence their spring and gas-piston airguns and reduce the noise of the pellet exiting the barrel.
Shooting the Gamo Swarm Fusion 10X Gen 2
Accuracy
Once you’ve replaced the cheap scope included with your purchase, the Gen2 GAMO Swarm fusion airgun shoots accurately. No matter how much you adjust the clicks on your recital, the scope just doesn’t work well.
However, the iron sights were phenomenal, and even with the repeating action of cocking the barrel, you will still be able to get decent groupings out of this gun. Just put on a better scope, and you should be able to plink your targets at a good distance accurately. Also, consider running heavier pellets. The magazine and the overall rifle shoot better with a heavier load.
Here is the target I shot with Crosman Premier lead hollow-points (you read that right — there’s a dimple in the nose) pellet. These pellets weighed an average of 14.3 grains each, as stated on the container.
This group measured an inch and one-eighth, and this was in a pretty windy backyard. The target was not still very often, so I just waited for the wind to die down and took another shot. The group could probably be under an inch in better conditions.
Neither of these pellets would bother a larger game animal or varmint much but would be just the ticket for small game and similar-sized pests. The accuracy is there, and if you put the little lead pill in the right spot at a suitable range, you’ll be rewarded.
Recoil
Although a lot less powerful than a powdered rifle, airguns still get recognizable recoil, especially with heavier grain and high-pressure air rifles. It’s significant enough for Gamo to feel the need to engineer the RRR system for their scope mounts and add a soft rubberized buttstock.
The recoil on the Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2 is more like a scattered join than a recognizable hefty kick. You will feel it slightly. You’ll most like complain about the noise before you can really say that there’s actual performance damaging recoil.
Performance
After shooting a few hundred rounds out of this rifle, I can honestly say that this is an adult rifle in all senses. It will kill small game. Maybe you can get away with a few kill shots on medium to large hunts.
The cocking mechanism takes a little time to get used to. But at 30lbs of force, it’s light enough for even a younger child to use.
The scope is a tad bit underwhelming. I found it refreshing to use the built-in iron sights on this Gamo Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2. The highlighted bead is very visible, and it’s effortless to zero in on this sight. However, if you do need a scope, switch to a higher quality scope, making things a lot easier.
With enough practice, you can get good groupings at plus 100 yards without a scope.
Reliability
With simplicity comes reliability and this modified break barrel air gun from Gamo combines the reliability of a break barrel with the innovation of modern semi-autos. You won’t need external tanks of canisters, nor would you ever run out of air while hunting.
Additionally, you’ll be able to set follow-up shots quicker. The visible counter on the magazine will also let you know exactly how many rounds you have till you’re out of ammo.
Extra magazines are also readily available, albeit a bit expensive, but reloading on the spot is easy. The only issue is sometimes, especially with lighter pellets, they tend to shift around in the magazine, which may cause loading issues, but they’re typically easy to fix.
Competition
Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk
The Crosman Nitro Dusk is a general-purpose starter model, gas piston airgun similar to the Swarm Fusion Gen 2. While the Crosman Nitro has a better scope and smoother cocking stroke, the Swarm Fusion outshines in almost every category.
You will need to test out a few pellets before finding the accurate one that’ll work for the Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk. Even without the twang of Spring piston airguns, the Crosman Nitro also makes a significant amount of noise compared to a side-by-side shooting comparison with the GAMO Swarm Fusion Gen2. You’re also not getting the same convenience of a “Semi-Auto” style reloading system. So expect to load a new round in the break barrel compared to shooting 10 before reloading from the Swarf Fusion.
The Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk is a great plinking beginner gun. However, I’d be hard-pressed to get it over the Gamo Swarm Fusion Gen 2.
Webley Stingray Hunter OS Quantum
The Webley Stingray Hunter OS Quantum comes from a long line of high-quality airguns produced by the Webley Company, a long-trusted manufacturer in the industry. With the Webley Stingray Hunter OS Quantum, they’ve taken the old, traditional break barrel system and upgraded it to work for the modern shooter.
Like the Swarm Fusion stingray, the Webley Stingray Hunter OS Quantum has a thumbhole stock that offers less comfort room than its Gamo counterpart. The butt cushion is also a lot stiffer than Gamo’s, but Webley has better texturing overall, something you’d want to consider if you find yourself outdoors or in wet conditions.
The Webley Stingray Hunter’s metal finish is less polished than other counterparts and is prone to scratching. But the metal and polymer materials are tougher than other air rifles. So you might scratch your air gun, but it will definitely take a beating. It also runs around the same weight as the Gamo Swarm Fusion.
Even if it looks and functions as an adult airgun, it’s definitely something you can use to train younger children with. However, I find the traditional look, with the full-length barrel silencer, a little more appealing to the more modern, futuristic appeal of the Swarm Fusion.
Accessories
Gamo 10X Gen2 Quick-Shot Mag .22
This is a must-have if you’re looking for a convenient hunting season. I always like to think you can never be too prepared, so in a sense, you can never have too many magazines when out hunting. Get ready to spend a little money because these extra magazines will cost just about the same as, if not a little more, than actual rifle magazines.
However, that’s a small price for convenience, especially considering how easy to store and carry these magazines.
Crosman Premier .22 Hollow Point Pellet
If you’re searching for the best all-around pellet without breaking the bank, there is no denying that Crosman’s Premier .22 Hollow Point pellets are some of the best out on the market. These pellets are accurate and reliable at a price tag that’s hard to beat.
Conclusion
The Game Swarm Fusion 10x Gen 2 is a great air rifle for hunting and pest management. With a cocking effort of 30lbs, it almost boils down to preference for cocking.
It’s light enough to get me through a day’s worth of shooting, whether tin targets or common farm pests. With what you get, for the price you pay, most of the complaints you’ll find yourself in are almost justifiable, if not negligible.
Hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist or a doomsday type but ANY survival tools should include an air rifle. The most plentiful food source besides dandelion’s and cattails is birds, rats and squirrels. Snakes too. Pellets and BBs are cheap and last forever. And, its cheap for just fun on targets.
Marvin, not a bad idea. Your argument for its inclusion seems sound – I’ll bet many folks have a air rifle ready to grab if needed. Thanks for writing!
I own 3 different air rifles in 3 different calibers. I have been shooting these for about 10 years now. I am not ayoung man (63 yrs.) but I enjoy shooting these rifles whenever I can. They keep me in practice when I can’t use my hunting rifles (as you stated when ammo is low or money is low. The pellets are quite inexpensive so I don’t have to worry about using them. My .25 caliber Hatsan is very good for rabbits and other small edibles. Pellet rifles also make a good bug out add-on for hunting small animals and not giving away your position with gunfire. All in all they are very fun to shoot and inexpensive.
Gary
I have a hatsan 95 spring action .25 cal .purchased for small game although i have not used it bought it about 8 yrs ago for shtf senario.. also 64 yrs young.
which is your prefered hunting type of pellet rifle. for small game. ?
Bill, I honestly don’t do enough hunting to have a favorite but the two I mentioned above were accurate and decently fast. I do like the poly tip on the Gamo pellets – that may be for looks only but who knows? It might aid penetration. Thanks for writing!
Gary, sounds like you have it figured out. You make some good points – glad you enjoy your air guns. Thanks for writing!
Gary, you make some good points. Fun and inexpensive – two good things! Thanks for writing.
Please, STAY AWAY from Gamo! They are total junk (or at least compared to what you could get for $260). You could get a Weihrauch HW50 S from Krale for that money and have a rifle that, though not having a ton of power, will last you four generations to come and be WAY more accurate than this Gamo. Yes, it doesn’t have a magazine, but a springer shouldn’t have a magazine.
If you want to get a serious air rifle and have some multi-shot action, get a PCP. Not the springer, not the stupid over-advertised “gas piston”, not the multi-pump, but the PCP. Yes, hand pumps are needed especially if you’re a beginner, but you can pick one up for $33 on AliExpress (same thing as the Air Venturi GS7 and since most if not all hand pumps are Chinese the AliExpress hand pump is the way to go). They’ll be also pretty darn reliable if you use them properly. A great budget PCP is Nova Vista Liberty in .22 (for $300). Expect .7-8″ 5 shot groups at 50 yards consistently (with the right pellets, which usually are H&N Baracuda 5.53 head pellets). At 100 yards you’ll be able to pull off some amazing groups with that gun – some people even get sub MOA 5 and even 10 shot groups (given they turned the power up to 40 ftlbs)! Also, that gun is regulated so you’ll get about 70 consistent shots from a full 4,350psi tank.
Air rifles are amazing – you can spend $100 on a Hatsan or $2,600 for a beautiful, amazingly accurate and reliable Daystate Red Wolf.
Again, please, stay away from Gamo, Ruger, and Crossman. They are OK (other than Ruger – that stuff is junk) but not a representation of what a good air rifle can do.
Just some information from an avid airgunner 😉
AK, looks like you’ve had a lot of experience with air guns. I appreciate your viewpoint, and thank you for your comments. Thanks for writing!
Air Guns /Air Rifles go back Centuries. Lewis an Clark carried 30 shot repeaters Air Rifles that could and did kill Deer sized game.
There are numerous styles of pellets made these days far from the flat or pointed pellets of years ago.
Over recent years, I have heard a good pellet rifle should have a MINIMUM of 1200 FPS to be effective as a small game hunting weapon or an addition to a survival collection of weapons. Some are Single Piston Stroke and can be difficult for some to cock.
For those that have the $$$ there are large bore Air Rifles of different styles and prices readily available on the market. just do a search for them.
I forget the manufacturer ATM, but I want to say it was Beeman made an air rifle that you could change calibers/barrels from .177 to .22 all in one box and the price was under $100.00 USD at the time.
Yosemite, your points are well-taken. I’m not sure if 1200 fps is needed for all small game, but the faster, the better in most cases. And, I’d read about L&C’s adventures in Stephen Ambroses’ book “Undaunted Courage” – a great read. That airgun got a workout for sure. Lastly, that Beeman sounds really interesting. Thanks for writing!
Just to help you onto the right path, the FPS should be always maintained under 1000 fps to avoid destabilization. A pellet weighing 21.14 grains going at 900 fps will be much more accurate and much more powerful than a 9 grain pellet going at 1200 fps. Again, for a real source of information, always go to the forums. Don’t trust YouTube or any of those “Airgun Maniac” blogs, their usually full of themselves and post sponsored junk just to get a few bucks. I could go on for ages talking about air rifles and pellets, but that would take me half a week to write. Good luck and I hope you all come to enjoy the addiction and teach yourself to love PCPs because there is no shooting activity more fun than shooting a good PCP at 60 dbs and getting 1/2″ groups at 50 yards!
AK, that sounds great! I would love to be able to shoot MOA or better groups at 50 or 100 yards. You make sense about pellet weight…it’s pretty much the same in the firearms world to a certain extent where a heavier bullet stabilizes at ranges where a lighter one may not…notice I said “may not” – with guns, nothing’s carved in stone! Thanks for writing back.
I picked up a .22 Cal Ruger Air Magnum for Christmas last year and boy has it been a blast to shoot! It’s a single-shot, gas piston operated rifle with around about 40 pounds of cocking pressure. It has plenty of power to take small game out past 100-200 yards easily if you’re comfortable shooting that far. It’s advertised velocities and ft./lbs. are on par with a .22LR with it being about 3/5 as loud as one so plinking in the suburbs might be loud but not too alarming. I’ve used this primarily as a pest control rifle to get rid of pesky squirrels and to plink around when there’s not much else to do. As far as taking squirrels, this thing is a beaut! I’ve had a consistent 3/4” grouping out to 25 yards with its fiber optic iron sights and have kept a 1/2” grouping out to 50 yards (the extent of my backyard) with a Vortex scope I had laying around.
Parker, sounds like you have the accuracy aspect figured out! Those are amazing groups. What pellets do you use? Thanks for writing!
I use Crosman Premier Hollow Points for practice/plinking and H&N Barracuda Green Lead-Free pellets for hunting. The accuracy of the Barracudas has been pretty nice and consistent, but would like to test further than 50 yards. The accuracy on the Crosmans can be hit or miss and open my groups up by a whole inch of I get some bad rounds, but it’s hard to beat getting 500 rounds for about $13!
Parker, I’ve had good luck with the Crosmans and the Gamo Red Fires. If I had a PCP gun or another, more powerful one than I have now, I might experiment with many different types. For what I do, using the ones I’ve tried out works for me. But…a more powerful gun would beg the tryout of several different brands! Glad yours works for you. Thanks for writing!
I have been going thru the net looking at the different air products-
I was looking for some 12 ga and 45-70 ammo and saw the .22 on the shelf- 149.99 – it felt so weird just walking out of Walmart with it –
After all the BS with a regular weapon-
Cheap and available ammo so I hope it’s a fit for at home pinking-
I live in town so I can’t shoot What I’m use to-
Greg, sounds like you made a good choice. At least you can this one without having to go to a range. Let us know how it turns out- thanks for writing!
as always you are a great person, you understand everything very well
Valerio, thanks for the kind words. I truly appreciate your comments – grazie!
I know this post is kinda old, but I had to chime in. i grew up in the 60s and 70s, and the gun I had was a benjamin 310 pumper. To this day I have not found a more accurate air gun. I love that you can vary power and the 310 shot hard enough in .177 to put down hundreds of birds, squirrels and even bigger game such as a skunk. But now I am older and cant pump the gun without it causing pain in my arthritic wrists. Co Co2 guns became very interesting and fun with no pumping. I have always challenged anyone with a break barrel gun to be as accurate as I can be with a gun that has no recoil like my true and trusted benji. Now, fast forward to last week, I accidently won an auction I didnt plan on winning and it was the Gammo fusion 10x gen 2 in .22 cal. I have to say, this gun has totally changed my mind about break barrel ags. This thing is powerful, accurate and I can get 10 shots off waaaayyyyy faster than my old pumper. I love the auto load option, and the scope, for what it is, is fine for my purposes of shooting cardboard targets in my back yard. Its not as quiet as some say, but I actually love to hear the report as I shoot it. Props to Gamo. This is an excelent air rifle. Now, this is keeping in mind that I am on a budget and I am sure that someday when prices come down, I will purchase a pcp ag. But for the budget oriented, I found this to be an awesome purchase at $125 from ebay. Have fun most of all and be careful. Thanks for all the info guys, most useful!
Tim, glad we could help. I have a lifelong friend who has a very old Benjamin rifle that we would shoot when we were younger – it was a lot of fun. i agree – the Gamo guns are powerful and accurate. I can shoot a group, even with the fiber optic open sights, that you can cover with a quarter at 15 yards. I’m glad you discovered it – thanks for writing!