First time for everything

[Highspeed]

I'm not in a position to offer advice on pistol shooting, but like Denis says, anything spring powered will really hone your trigger technique.
I have handled the Gamo pistols and found them quite toy like, I wouldn't have much confidence in their accuracy. The Weihrauch in Denis's link is an excellent choice in terms of quality and accuracy. Ok, I'm biased, Weihrauch is my favourite mass production manufacturer of airguns

[Erik]

The Gamo Compact was supposed to be an exception among the Gamos, the others are as you say really more toys then anything else.
I read up on it online before I went shopping, and the two I read about that seemed to be both good quality in a decent price range was the Gamo Compact and the Baikal IZH 46. The Gamo was available in a local store, so I went with that one.

Thanks for the tips, time to go googling and check them out.

[Highspeed]

Just a thought, have you experimented with different pellets in the Gamo ? airguns can be quite fussy about ammunition, far more so than firearms.

[Denis]

The Weihrauch in Denis's link is an excellent choice in terms of quality and accuracy.

Wow, two people agreed with me today! I think I should buy a lottery ticket, while my luck holds...

I'd love to try an IZH-46.. I've been lusting after one of their biathlon rifles in .22lr for a while too...

Erik, you might enjoy this series of posts on the Pyramyd Air blog comparing the Gamo Compact and the IZH-46.