Posts Tagged ‘Crosman’

A sure cure for the end-of-the winter blues

Monday, March 11, 2013

Back in 1974, your Humble Correspondent was recorded picking his banjo on an album entitled “Alternate Plan B” recorded by Bert Mayne. I remember there was a line in the album notes that stuck with me: “Winter has been too long in my hills.”

I can relate. Despite relatively low snow fall, winter has, indeed, been too long in my hills this year. Maybe you have a case of the I-can’t-wait-for-spring mullygrubbs as well. If you do, don’t despair, help is just around the corner.

What you – and I – need is a little quality trigger time with an airgun. And if the weather outside is inclement (here is upstate New York, it has been just plain cold and damp), no problem . . . here’s your recipe for putting a smile on your face.

What you need is an air pistol, some pellets, some paper targets, and a pellet trap. (If you live someplace where folks might complain about noise, get a pellet trap that is lined with putty at the back to absorb the sound of the pellets hitting the trap).

The lovely thing about shooting an air pistol is that you don’t need a lot of space to provide a challenge. If you only have 15 feet to shoot in the basement (or even a hallway . . . make sure that no one can walk into your line of fire), that still can be mighty entertaining. Print out some ten meter pistol targets at half scale, and you’re all set.

What’s that you say? Shooting at 5 yards would be just too easy? Okay, try this: try shooting one-handed with your non-dominant hand. That’s right: if you normally shoot right-handed, try left left-handed. If you want to turn it into a game, try fanning out some playing cards on the face of your target so that only the corners are exposed and now try shooting a winning poker hand for yourself. Or fan out two sets of cards and turn it into a contest with someone else.

The Browning Buck Mark URX fills the bill for a basement plinker at a very reasonable price.

The Browning Buck Mark URX fills the bill for a basement plinker at a very reasonable price.

There are a bunch of pistols that will fill the bill for satisfying indoor shooting at close range. The Browning Buck Mark URX immediately comes to mind. It’s a break-barrel, spring-piston, .177 caliber air pistol that looks like the powder burning Buck Mark URX offered by Browning. You can read my full review of it here: http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/blog/2012/07/browning-buck-mark-urx-the-plinkmeister.html It is a relatively quiet, slow pistol that is just perfect for messing around indoors.

For some additional pistol suggestions, check out this blog: http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/blog/2012/12/the-greatest-christmas-gift-part-ii.html  The Daisy Avanti 747, the Crosman 2300S, the RWS LP8, and, of course, any of the Weihrauch HW45 series pistols are all excellent candidates for indoor practice that will help to cure those –end-of-the-winter blues.

In addition to a pistol, pellet trap, and some pellets, you will also need some eye protection in case an errant pellet ricochets. Finally, as always, you need to keep safety first and foremost. If you are shooting indoors, take care that no person or pet can inadvertently come between you and your target. I sometimes shoot in the basement at El Rancho Elliott between the washing machine and the workbench. I put my pellet trap on top of the workbench, and everything usually works just fine except one day when I triggered a shot before I had carefully taken aim. One of the drawers in the cabinet where I keep nuts, bolts, and screws now has a .177 caliber hole in it! So be careful . . . please.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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The greatest Christmas gift — Part II

Monday, December 17, 2012

Last time I suggested that if you really want to put a grin on someone’s face this holiday season, you might want to make them the gift of an air rifle, combined with the gift of your time shooting with them.

The excellent Daisy Avanti 747 pistol.

But for some folks, an air pistol might be a better choice. If you want an air pistol that is suitable for casual plinking and backyard shooting yet could be used for silhouette competition or club-level ten-meter competition, the Daisy Avanti 747 is an excellent choice. It is a single-stroke pneumatic that is completely self-contained, is easy to cock and shoot, make a mild “pop” when it goes off, has virtually no recoil, and is wickedly accurate with the right pellet. The 747 is so mild-mannered that it probably could be shot in an apartment with a silent pellet trap and a little covering music. About the only thing that the 747 is not good for is pest control. It is simply too low powered to be used for humane pest control.

The CO2-powered Crosman 2300S has excellent sights.

If you want an air pistol that doesn’t even require a cocking stroke, consider the CO2-powered Crosman 2300S. It has a Lothar-Walther choked match barrel and meets IHMSA rules for “production class” silhouette competition. It uses 12-gram CO2 cartridges but delivers around 60 shots per cartridge. This pistol features a Williams rear notch sight with target knobs for easy adjustment and is extremely accurate with the right pellet. I would not recommend the 2300S for pest control, except for very small pests at close range.

An LP8 pistol equipped with an optional red dot sight.

If you want an air pistol that recoils, there are two really good choices that immediately come to mind. The RWS LP8 is a break-barrel springer pistol that can be readily fitted with a red dot, and is powerful enough for defending the bird feeder at close range.

An HW45 in the Black Star configuration.

Any of the HW45 series of pistols are also excellent. They are slightly more difficult to fit with a red dot, but they are extremely well made and deliver enough power for pest control at close range. I have personally terminated a squirrel using a .177 HW45, and I have heard stories of folks killing much possum-sized game with an HW45 at close range.

One of the interesting things about the HW45 is that the piston works backwards. A pistol like the RWS LP8 is like a scaled down breakbarrel rifle. You crank the barrel down to cock the gun, and you’re driving the piston and spring back, toward the palm of your shooting hand. When you trigger the shot, the spring and piston rocket forward, just like a break barrel rifle.

But cocking the HW45 is totally different. You pull back the ‘hammer’ to release the rear of the upper, and then you pull the rear part of the upper up and forward to cock the pistol. While you’re doing that, you’re actually dragging the spring and piston toward the muzzle of the pistol until they latch. When you trigger the shot, the spring and piston leap toward your hand. The shot cycle feels different than the LP8, but both the LP8 and HW45 are a lot of fun to shoot, and I have spoken to several airgunners who really enjoy the challenge of learning to shoot these spring-piston air pistols well.

With any of these air pistols, you’ll likely need a pellet trap, a selection of pellets, some eye protection, and perhaps a red dot sight. Ask the good folks at www.airgunsofarizona.com, and they’ll fix you up with what you need.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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The surprising Crosman TR77

Monday, December 3, 2012

The Crosman TR77 is a break barrel air rifle with some surprising characteristics.

Recently, the good folks at Crosman Corporation sent me a sample of the Crosman TR77 air rifle. Right on the box it says “Tactical Break Barrel Rifle,” and that got me to wondering: what makes an air rifle “tactical?” Then I read further: “military-style all-weather synthetic stock” and “tactical muzzle break.” Then I got it: “tactical” is really marketing shorthand for “military look.” Okay, I’ll accept that.

This is what a “tactical” break barrel looks like.

The TR77 certainly is an interesting looking rifle. It stretches 43 inches from end to end and weighs just 7 lb. 6 oz. including the CenterPoint 4X32 scope and mounts. At the extreme aft end is a rubber butt pad which is attached to a molded black synthetic stock. The stock is fully ambidextrous and has a slight rise toward the rear that functions as a cheek piece. Ahead of that is a short section of stock that has a cross section like an I-beam. Ahead of that is the main receiver with a pronounced pistol grip at a fairly steep angle. The same black polymer forms a trigger guard around a black polymer trigger and lever-type safety. Forward of that, there is a slight indentation on either side of the stock, followed by a section of forestock that has fat ridges for easier gripping.

Underneath the forward end of the forestock is a long slot that allows clearance for the barrel during cocking.  Forward of that is the barrel, which has a fluted polymer muzzle break on the end that can be gripped during cocking. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the breech block and main receiver. Near the aft end of the receiver, there is a dovetail for mounting the CenterPoint 4X32 scope and mounts, which are included with the TR77.

To ready the TR77 for shooting, grab the muzzle break and pull the barrel down and back until it latches. I estimate that cocking effort is in the 30-35 lb. range, and the cocking stroke is surprisingly free of creaks or groans or other noise. This opens the breech for loading. Slide a .177 pellet into the aft end of the barrel and return the barrel to its original position.  Push the safety lever forward to the FIRE position, and squeeze the trigger. The first stage requires about 2 lb. 5 oz. of effort, according to my digital trigger gauge. The second stage is long, with lots of creep, and ultimately requires 6 lb. 7 oz. of pressure.

While this is clearly an air rifle that could benefit from some trigger improvement – either a trigger job or an aftermarket trigger – I found that I could shoot reasonably well with it and produced nickel-sized five-shoot groups from a rest at 13 yards using Crosman Premier 7.9 grain .177 pellets. I suspect that I could have achieved tighter groups with a higher-power scope, but the TR77 came with the CenterPoint 4×32 scope, so that is what I used.

What really surprised me was the speed and consistency of the TR77. It put 7.9 grain Crosman Premier pellets through my chronograph at an average speed of 943 fps, and the variation from high (946) to low (940) was only 6 fps! I find that quite remarkable in an unturned, inexpensive factory air rifle. Despite the TR77’s speed, the shot cycle was not harsh, and the report was typical of a medium-power springer.

 

The butt pad can be peeled off . . .

, , , to reveal storage spaces inside.

The other surprise that the TR77 has for the shooter is that the butt pad can be peeled off to reveal two small storage chambers inside the butt stock. This really spoke to me.

Ever since I was a kid, I have had a fascination with survival scenarios. Starting with Robinson Crusoe and the stories I would read in Boy’s Life and Outdoor Life, I loved reading about people who find themselves in survival conditions and the tools and ingenuity they use to stay alive.

In particular, I remember the story of three young men who decided to paddle the length of one arctic river. They had planned pretty well, but lost some of their gear (if I recall correctly) and found themselves in a subsistence situation. It seems to be that if game were available, an air rifle might be pretty useful for keeping body and soul together. I have even written about this idea a time or two in this blog and elsewhere.

So I could envision setting the TR77 up as a survival rifle, storing a supply of pellets, an allen wrench for the scope mounts, and some fire starting materials in the cavities in the buttstock. Maybe I would wrap some parachute chord around the I-beam section of the stock. The possibilities are endless, and I think the TR77 would be a fun gun for this type of project, defending the garden, or hunting small game.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 16 Comments »

The Crosman 1720T Target Pistol

Monday, October 8, 2012

The Crosman 1720T is the only air pistol that I am aware of that was purpose built for Pistol Field Target. It can be used for unlimited class air pistol silhouette as well.

One of the cool things about being an airgun writer is that occasionally you get to hear some background on a product that you probably might not have known about otherwise.

The Crosman 1720T Target PCP Pistol is a case in point. Russ Page, Crosman product design engineer, was sitting at his desk one day when he gets a call from Ray Apelles. Ray and his father Hans are enthusiastic field target competitors and represent Crosman Corporation at various FT events as “Team Crosman.” Crosman, in turn, supports Ray and Hans with parts, guns, and so forth.

“Pistol field target is growing in popularity,” Ray says, “and we would like a PCP pistol specifically designed for pistol FT. Ideally, it would have a little longer barrel  and more air capacity than the Crosman 1701 silhouette pistol and would shooter faster too – over 700 fps with light pellets and over 600 fps with Crosman Premier Heavies.”

According to Page, “So we built a couple of prototypes using most of the lower from the Marauder and some parts from the silhouette pistol. We had to get a special barrel, a 12-inch choked Lothar Walther barrel, and the result, after some tweaks, is the 1720T.”

The 1720T is quite some air pistol. A single-shot, .177 caliber, precharged pneumatic, it stretches nearly 18 inches from end to end and weighs 2.8 pounds. It is the first pistol that I am aware of that is purpose built for pistol field target.

The 1720T can be set up with the bolt on the left or right hand side.

At the extreme aft end of the 1720T is the black metal bolt which can be set up for right or left hand usage. Below that is the pistol grip which is ambidextrous. Forward of the pistol grip is a push-button safety and a black metal trigger guard which surrounds a gold-colored metal trigger that is fully adjustable. Forward of that is a polymer forestock which has a circular pressure gauge set into the bottom.

The cap at the end of the air reservoir slips off to reveal a male foster fitting for filling the reservoir. The barrel above the reservoir is shrouded for a very neighbor-friendly report.

Above the forestock is air reservoir. At the end is a black plastic cap which slips off to reveal a male foster fitting for charging the 1720T. Above the air reservoir is a shrouded, choked Walther Lothar barrel. Moving back along the barrel, there is a band that connects the air reservoir with the barrel shroud. Moving back again, you’ll find the receiver, which has a dovetail in front of and behind the breech for mounting a scope. There are no sights on the 1720T, so you have to mount a scope or red dot for aiming.

To get the 1720T ready for shooting, charge it to 3,000 psi with a high pressure pump or SCUBA tank. Pull the bolt back, insert a pellet into the breech, and return the bolt to its original position. Click the safety off and squeeze the first stage out of the trigger. This took 1 lb 2.1 oz of effort on the sample I tested. At 2 lbs., 0.3 oz., the shot goes down range. With the shrouded barrel, the report is extremely muted – not dead quiet, but certainly quiet enough for suburban use.

In factory trim, the 1720T launches 7.9 grain pellets at 715-720 fps and will get about 30 shots per fill. It will send 10.5 grain pellets down range at 630-640 fps for the same number of shots. Page says, “You can play with the tuning to get 750 fps with light pellets, but you won’t get as many shots or as flat a shot string.”

The 1720T also comes with an additional transfer port that can be installed by an airgunsmith to lower the velocity to 550 fps with 7.9 grain pellets and about 70 shots per fill.

I shot this 5-shot group at 25 meters (27 yards) off a very casual rest with the 1720T.

In stock factory trim, shooting off a rest, I got a 5 shot group at 27 meters that measured 0.6 inches center to center, and Crosman claims they typically shoot 5 shot groups at 10 meters that measure .375 inches. Clearly, the 1720T has the accuracy necessary for field target and silhouette.

The plastic shoulder stock normally used on the Crosman 1377 pistol turns the 1720T into a very neat and handy ultracarbine. I used this rig to test the 1720T for accuracy.

To test the 1720T for accuracy, I mounted the shoulder stock that is often used on the 1377 pistol (it is not included with the pistol and is available at additional cost from Crosman), and I “discovered” that the 1720T makes a really cool ultracarbine, perfectly suited for defending the birdfeeder.

In short, I think Crosman has come up with a real winner in the 1720T – a pistol suitable for field target, unlimited class silhouette, plinking, or even close range small game hunting. What’s not to like?

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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And a good time was had by all . . .

Monday, July 16, 2012

On July 6, 7, and 8, I spent three days in Bloomfield, NY, at the Crosman facilities attending the Northeast Regional Field Target Championship, and I thought I share some of my thoughts, photos, and impressions of the experience. (If you simply want to see the results, you can check them out here: http://www.crosman.com/croswords/?p=2704 )

The shooter’s meeting under the large tent.

To start, the match was incredibly well run and organized. It was as if Crosman were conducting a clinic on how to host a field target match. Red shirts, worn by Crosman folks, were in evidence everywhere, helping out, making sure things went well. And they did. The Regional Field Target Match was scheduled to start at 9 am Saturday morning, and by 8:50 am, everything was in place and ready to go.

By the time I arrived shortly after noon on Friday, a number of shooters were already on the sight-in range. It was very warm and humid, and the Crosman folks had large coolers filled with ice and bottled water available next to the sight-in range and also under a large tent where shooters could escape from the sun. By the end of the day on Friday, there was a 55-gallon drum filled with empty water bottles.

The two field target courses were about 1/3 of a mile apart. Many shooters drove from one to another, but Crosman also had an ATV and trailer for transportation between the two courses.

Almost every type of field target rig imaginable was in evidence, from Remington Nitro-Piston break barrel rifles being shot off shooting sticks to multi-kilobuck full race match rifles.

Hans Apelles’ rig featured a very tall scope mount.

Hans Apelles was shooting in Hunter Division with a very tall scope mount. When I asked about it, he pointed to his son, Ray. Ray explained, “Dad’s shooting in Hunter. Scopes are limited to 12x. That makes it hard to range-find beyond 35 yards. With this setup, everything from 33 to 55 yards is basically the same mil-dot.”

Here’s what Hans’ mil-dot chart looked like.

When I spoke to Kevin Yee, who had flown in from California to shoot in the Open Division, Piston Class, he complained that he wasn’t doing so well, but he posted a 50 out of a possible 60 on both days and beat the highest score in Open PCP.

Kevin Yee has, easily, the world’s funkiest sidewheel scope knob. It’s built that was so he can adjust it with his trigger hand while shooting offhand.

 

Larry Bowne shot the entire match offhand.

The match on Saturday was interrupted by a spectacular but short-lived storm.

Dan Finney shot prone most of the time in Hunter PCP.

Ray Apelles designed the championship courses with 1.5 inch killzones throughout, but no one cleaned the course.

In the middle of the WFTF shoot-off for first place, Greg Sauve grins for the camera while Ray Apelles focuses on a shot.

The pistol match featured almost every imaginable style of pistol shooter.

The B course (lanes 16-30) was cooler under the trees, but all shooters agreed that it was harder to dope the wind there.

Hector Medina (white hat with neck cloth) won Hunter Piston by nearly 20 points. That’s Art Deuel shooting an HW98 in the foreground.

Richard Bassett (tan hat) is congratulated by Hans Apelles for winning the Quigley Bucket Challenge. Over 40 shooters took a crack at the 1.75 inch bucket at 55 yards with non-glass sights.

Dan Brown not only took third in WFTF and won Hunter Pistol, but gets the “Nice Guy of the Year” award for providing much needed navigational help to Your Humble Blogger.

In all it was a wonderful match!

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

- Jock Elliott

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The return of a classic, the Crosman 1322 pistol

Monday, May 7, 2012

I have written elsewhere that I think the Crosman 1377 is the most widely customized airgun in the world. It’s a .177 caliber multi-stroke pneumatic pistol that is surprisingly affordable and quite easy to customize or upgrade on an incremental basis. Crosman introduced the 1377 in 1977 and it has been in continuous production ever since.

The Crosman is a handsome and very affortable air pistol.

What some folks don’t realize is that the 1377 has a bigger brother, the 1322. The 1322 was also introduced by Crosman in 1977 and was produced until 2004.

Now, starting in January, 2012, the 1322 has been brought back by Crosman so that both the 1377 and 1322 are now in production. Both guns are virtually identical. The only differences are that the 1322 has black grips and forearm (the 1377 has brown), and the 1322 is .22 caliber.

The 1322 measures just a bit over 13 inches from end to end and weighs 2 lbs 1.5 oz.  At the aft end of the 1322 you’ll find molded ambidextrous black polymer grips on either side of the pistol grip. These grips are textured to make the pistol easy to hold, and there is a groove at the top of each grip that serves as a rest for either the shooter’s thumb or forefinger. Forward of the pistol grip you find a pushbutton safety that displays a red stripe when the safety is turned off.

Moving forward again, the black metal of the lower grip frame forms a guard around a black metal trigger. Ahead of that is the black polymer forearm which is used for pumping up the 1322. Beyond the end of the forearm is the pivot point for the pumping arm and above that is the barrel and the polymer blade-type front sight.

The rear sight is fiddly to adjust and can be flipped to select between notch and peep sight.

Moving back along the barrel, you’ll come to the black polymer breech which houses a gold-colored bolt and bolt handle. Finally, at the extreme aft end of the receiver, you’ll discover the rear sight.

The main body of the sight is made of black polymer. There is a screw on top of the sight that, when loosened, allows the body of the sight to be moved from side to side for windage adjustments. There are some lines molded into the front edge of the sight body and a small line molded into the top of the receiver so that the shooter can see how much adjustment he or she is applying to the sight. There are no click-stops for adjusting the sight, but the molded-in lines help. On the back of the sight there is another screw which, when loosened, allows one of two things to happen: (1) a metal tab on the rear of the sight can be flipped to select either a notch-type rear sight or a peep sight and (2) the metal tab can be slid up and down to make elevation adjustments.

Intermounts can be clamped to the barrel for mounting a scope or red dot.

The rear sight on the 1322 is ticklish to adjust, and I would love it if one day Crosman would choose to include a click-adjustable rear sight on the 1322/1377. Having said that, I have interviewed IHMSA silhouette shooters who have done quite well with the 1322/1377 in stock configuration. If you would prefer a different aiming system, PC77 intermounts can be clamped to the barrel, allowing a red dot or a scope to be mounted.

Before each shooting session, it's a good idea to lubricate the pivot points on the pumping arm.

To ready the 1322 for shooting the first time, put a drop of Crosman Pellgun Oil the pivot points on the pumping arm and the pump cup. The manual included with the 1322 shows where. If you don’t have Pellgun oil, a dab of NON-detergent 30 weight motor oil can be used for lubrication.

The 1322 pumping arm, fully extended.

Next, put the pistol on safe, pump the 1322 3-10 times, cock the bolt to open the breech, insert a pellet, close the bolt, and squeeze the trigger. At about 6 lbs effort the shot goes down range. At 10 pumps, the 1322 launches 14.3 Crosman Premier .22 pellets at around 420 fps, which works out to about 5.6 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle and could be used for hunting small game and pest control at short range. With the right pellet, you can expect roughly nickle-sized groups at 10 yards.

In all, I am well pleased with Crosman 1322. I like its stealthy all-black good looks, and there is a lot to like for an air pistol that retails for just under $60.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

- Jock Elliott

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Defending the Garden – Part III

Monday, April 2, 2012

My first job was to check out the guns for 10-meter accuracy. While all of them come equipped with iron sights, I decided to test them with optional scope or peep sight mounted. As you might expect from telescopic sights that cost less than $30, neither the Crosman nor the Daisy scope would make any of your shooting friends insanely envious, but at the same time, if what you are looking for is a sighting device that is adequate to the task of removing vermin from the garden at relatively short range, these scopes are up to the job.

When it got down to the actual evaluation, I decided to test the air rifles at two pumping strokes less than the maximum the factory allows. Experience has shown that the extra two strokes add only a little to the velocity. Incidentally, despite what you might have heard from other sources, pump up airguns are extremely consistent in their velocity. You can even pump one up, let it sit for half an hour or more, and still get very consistent results.

At eight pumps, the Daisy 22X happily shot 1-inch (edge-to-edge) groups at 10 meters with most pellets, including Daisy MaxSpeed .22 wadcutters and Crosman .22 Premiers. Group size dropped to 3/4 inch with RW Meisterkugeln flat-nosed .22 pellets.

At 8 pumps, the Crosman 2200B was extremely finicky about pellets. It shot huge groups – some over three inches — with every pellet but the RWS Meisterkuglns. With these pellets, groups settled down to 1 1/16th inch, not a great showing, but sufficient to the job. (Crosman tells me that its quality standard for the 2200B is 1 1/2 inch groups at 10 yards, with 1 inch being typical.)

The Benjamin 392, at 6 pumps, was the least pellet-sensitive gun tested, shooting half-inch groups with almost any pellet I fed it.

Then it was time for the can test. Shooting from a sitting position at 20 meters, I shot at steel soup cans with each gun, using Meisterkugln pellets and the same number of pumps as I had used at 10 meters. All three guns easily hit the can in the center mass and punched through one side. The 392 dimpled the backside of the can trying to make an exit hole.

At 15 meters, the Benjamin 392 went in one side and out the other. The Crosman 2200B went in one side and made a large dimple on the back side. The Daisy 22X pierced on side and made a smaller dimple on the back side.

At 10 meters, both the 392 and the 2200B blew through both sides of the can like a hot knife through butter. The Daisy 22X pellet lodged in the exit hole on the backside. Note well: these shots were made with wadcutter pellets. They generally do not penetrate well, but when they do, the typically leave large wound tunnels. Dome-headed pellets certainly would penetrate more efficiently.

It is also important to note that two air rifles of the same model, but two serial numbers apart, can perform better with radically different pellets. So, just because my Crosman 2200B achieved a certain level of performance with Meisterkugln pellets, that doesn’t mean your 2200B will perform similarly with the same pellets. Testing with different pellets is the only way to find out what works in your gun.

The bottom line: The Daisy 22X pumps the easiest, offers moderate accuracy, but penetrated the least on the can test. The Crosman 2200B offers moderate pumping effort, good penetration in the can test, but the lowest accuracy. The Benjamin 392 pumps hardest, hits the hardest, and offers the most accuracy, but costs nearly twice as much as the others. As the man said: “Ya pays yer money, and ya takes yer choice.” Any of these guns could be used for defending garden at 60 feet or less, but my first choice would be the Benjamin 392 if my wallet could stand it.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 5 Comments »

Defending the Garden – Part II

Monday, March 26, 2012

But before I get to my take on the actual air rifles, some words about my selection. I decided to go with American pump-up .22 caliber air rifles for several reasons. The first, quite frankly, is that I have a weak spot for pump-up air guns. I own several, and I enjoy shooting them frequently. In addition, pump-up guns are generally easy to shoot; they don’t jump and buck the way many spring-piston air rifles do. Pump-up rifles are also typically less expensive than their spring-piston counterparts, and they are usually a fraction the cost of pre-charged air rifles which are filled from a SCUBA tank or high pressure pump.

Lastly, I was inspired. Recently I received a copy of an excellent book American Air Rifles by James E. House (Krause Publications). In it, he evaluates more than a dozen American-made air rifles. His words reminded me that you don’t need an expensive European or Asian model to enjoy a great deal of shooting satisfaction – and utility — with an air rifle. Thanks, Mr. House.

One of the first challenges that I faced was generating some sort of performance standard. What kind of performance would be necessary to send Jabba the Chuck to that Big Salad Bar in the Sky? Since I didn’t have three equal National Institute of Standards-certified pest animals lining up to be shot for evaluation purposes, and at that time I did not have a chronograph, I chose the next best thing . . . soup cans. Yup, good oldCampbell’s to the rescue.

My reasoning was thus: a steel soup can is small enough and tough enough that, if you can hit it and cleanly pierce at least one side, you can probably hit and punch through the skull of a varmint. I have killed animals with air guns that wouldn’t pass this test, but I wouldn’t recommend it. If possible, I prefer to drop ‘em where they stand. (I chose .22 caliber for all three guns for the same reason.)

So let’s have a look at our three candidates.

Daisy 22X.

The Daisy 22X is 37.75 inches long and weights 4.5 lbs. It is the lightest of the three guns. It has 20.8 in rifled steel barrel. The manual says it can be pumped up to 10 times and claims 530 fps with 8.6 fp energy but doesn’t specify what weight pellets are involved. The 22X is a handsome gun with a wooden buttstock (with plastic buttplate) and wooden forearm. The receiver is metal.

The 22X is loaded by dropping pellets into the breech on top of the receiver. The bolt is opened by pulling a plastic lever on the right side of the receiver. Opening the bolt also cocks the action. With a scope attached to the rail on top of the receiver, loading requires placing the pellet in the slot on the top of the receiver just to the right of the breech and rolling the pellet into the breech. The 22X is the easiest to pump of the three rifles, but, as we’ll see in a bit, it comes at a price.

In 2002, the suggested retail price of the 22X was $73.95. The Daisy 2-7x scope that I used for testing carried an SRP of $29.95.

Crosman 2200B

The Crosman 2200B measures 39 inches long and weighs 4 lbs. 12 oz., just a few ounces more than the Daisy. The 2200B has a 20.79 inch rifled steel barrel, and the factory manual claims 525-595 fps at 10 pumps with 14.3 gr. pellets. The buttstock and forearm are plastic, and the receiver is metal and is equipped with a scope rail. Overall, the appearance is clean and appealing, and it looks like a “real” rifle. The entire plastic forearm moves to pump up the gun, and the 2200B requires only slightly more pumping effort than the Daisy.

The 2200B loads by dropping pellets into the breech on the right side of the receiver. A plastic lever opens the breech and cocks the action. Loading requires tipping the gun on its side. The slot leading to the breech is somewhat deep, and there is no elegant way to control the descent of a pellet to the breech itself. As a result, sometimes nose-heavy domed pellets arrive at the breech sideways or backwards. Sometimes jiggling the gun or dumping the pellet out and starting over is necessary to set things right.

The suggested retail price of the 2200B was $69.95, and the 4x Crosman scope that was used during testing was $9.95.

Benjamin 392

Benjamin 392, manufactured by Crosman Corporation, is 36.25 inches long and weighs 5.5 lbs, making it both the shortest and the heaviest of our three candidates. The 392 manual states this gun will produce velocities of 685 fps at 8 pumps but does not reveal the weight of the pellets used in making that determination.

It doesn’t take Holmesian powers of observation to figure out the 392 is solidly built. The only plastic used on this air rifle is the buttplate. The buttstock is solid wood, and so is the forearm which also serves as the pumping lever. (The 392 is also the hardest of the three guns to pump.) The breech and bolt are made of metal, but unlike the Daisy and the Crosman, there is no scope rail on top of the receiver. Holes for attaching a Williams peep sight are tapped into the side of the receiver, and that’s what I used for a sighting system.

The 392 can be scoped using intermounts from Crosman for around $15.00 and attach a scope (or a red dot sighting device) forward of the receiver. In the case of a scope, this requires either a long eye relief scope (a la Colonel Jeff Cooper’s scout rifle concept) or putting both scope rings forward of the turrets and letting the body of the scope hang over the receive.

The suggested retail price of the Benjamin 392 was $149.95, and the Williams peep was $27.95, making this combo by far and away the most expensive of the three guns tested.

Next time, we’ll see how these three rifles perform.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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Defending the Garden – Part I

Monday, March 19, 2012

Back in 2002, my wife and I decided that we would like to grow some fresh veggies. The next couple of blogs recall what happened then and make some recommendations in case you need to defend your garden.

There is no way to confirm this with rock-solid certainty, but according to my back-of-the-ammo-box calculations, it was the most expensive salad bar ever. And I had not tasted so much as a single bite of it – not a morsel of wax bean, not a sliver of tomato.

My wife and I had labored hard through sun and rain over the darn thing. We hired the roto-tiller guy (who showed up with a commercial-grade Troy-Bilt tiller and a business card that read “I dig my work.”) to pulverize a section of our lawn. Then we raked, picked rocks (lots of ‘em), ran strings and pegs, and planted: tomatoes, corn, squash, a couple of kinds of beans, peppers. It was a work of art. We were regular Arlo Guthries out there: “inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow . . .”

Then, by the sweat of our brow, we surrounded it with steel fence posts and sturdy critter-proof wire fencing. And we watched it grow and tended it. Then, just as the tender new plants were seriously establishing themselves, we went away for a weekend.

When we came back . . . someone . . . something . . . had given our garden a crew cut. Where once there had been vibrant plants bursting with the promise nature’s bounty, there was stubble. I was in utter shock: for the amount of money, sweat and effort we had put into this thing, we could have had veggies FEDEXed to us fromChile. Who was the culprit?

Then I saw him. Not one of the deer that wander through the yard. No, this was smaller, more insidious – good old Marmota monax, a woodchuck. And what a woodchuck this was! Round, firm, fully packed, he was so swollen and porcine he could barely wriggle through the hole he had dug under the fence. He was so fat he had a roll behind his neck. I had worked my butt off all spring so this groundhog could enjoy some mitey fine gourmet meals at my expense.

I wanted to shoot him so baaaaad! “Honey, call the supermarket and see if they got any Woodchuck Shake ‘N’ Bake, will ya?” (I never did terminate this particular woodchuck with extreme prejudice. Instead I took my revenge in laughter – he was so obscenely corpulent, likeGarfieldthe cat, his legs barely reached the ground. I referred to him as Jabba the Chuck.)

If you’ve got a problem with a woodchuck, a rabbit, a squirrel or other varmint munching on your garden or prize azaleas, and you live in or near a populated area, there is a problem. The law generally takes a very dim view of popping off any kind of firearm near dwellings, and many jurisdictions have specific prohibitions about shooting guns. Besides, any reader of this blog worth his or her salt will naturally be conscious of the safety of neighbors and their property.

In my case, I live within one-half mile of a major technical university. Shooting any kind of powder is strictly verboten. There is hope, though. Many places have absolutely nothing to say about shooting airguns. Recently, I’ve had my hands on three vintage American .22 caliber pump-up airguns that will dispatch vermin quite well at short ranges.

Next time, we’ll talk about them.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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The Crosman M4-177 Pneumatic Air Rifle – Tactical looks at a very affordable price

Monday, November 28, 2011

The M4-177 with the stock collapsed.

Recently Crosman Corporation brought out a new air rifle – the Crosman M4-177 Pneumatic Air Rifle. As the “M4” in the name strongly implies, this new rifle looks like a tactical carbine, the same look that a lot of powder-burning varmint rifles have adopted in recent years.

The M4-177 is a .177 caliber multi-stroke pneumatic air rifle capable of launching both .177 pellets and .177 BBs. Almost all the visible parts of the M4-177 are molded of engineering polymer. Not surprisingly, it weighs just 3 lbs 9 oz and stretches just 30.3 inches from end to end with the stock collapsed, and 33.75 inches with the stock fully extended.

The M4-177 with the stock extended.

At the extreme aft end of the M4-177 is corrugated butt plate that has slots top and bottom for attaching a shoulder strap. A lever underneath the adjustable stock allows to be slid in and out to adjust the length of pull (LOP – from trigger blade to butt plate) to the shooter’s preference. The LOP can be as short as 9.75 inches or as long as 13 inches.

Forward of the butt stock is the black polymer receiver which has a black polymer pistol grip attached below it at roughly a 45 degree angle. On the left side of the receiver is a tab that can be rotated sideways to allow a generous supply of BBs to be poured into the M4-177 and a BB retainer button.

The hole into which up to 350 BBs can be poured.

Ahead of the pistol grip is the trigger guard which surrounds a black plastic trigger and which houses a push-button safety. Forward of that is a magazine housing. The faux magazine can be dropped out of the housing, and serves as a storage place for the 5-shot pellet clip and the tool for adjusting the front sight.

The faux magazine serves as a storage place for the pellet clip and the front sight adjustment tool.

Forward of the magazine is the forearm, which serves as a grip for holding the M4-177 while shooting and also as a pumping arm for charging the multi-stroke pneumatic action. Toward the front end of the forearm, on the underside, there is a short section of Picatinny rail which could be used for attaching accessories such as a laser or a flashlight.

The front sight attaches to the Picatinny rail near the muzzle.

Beyond the end of the forearm, you’ll find the barrel, which has a plastic molding on it that provide Picatinny rail sections top and bottom. The post type front sight clamps to the top section of Picatinny rail. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find another section of Picatinny rail on top of the receiver. The peep type rear sight (which has two different apertures and flips from one to another) clamps to this section of rail or a scope can be mounted. On the right side of the receiver, you’ll find the bolt for cocking the action and a slot for inserting the 5-shot pellet clip.

The right side of the receiver, showing the bolt (pulled to the rear) and the slot for inserting the pellet clip.

Adjusting the sights on the M4-177 is a bit unusual. For elevation adjustment, use the special tool stored in faux magazine to move the sight up or down as needed. For windage adjustment, you’ll need a screwdriver to move the rear sight left or right as required.

The rear sight attaches to the Picatinny rail on top of the receiver.

To load BBs into the M4-177, slide the BB loading port cover to one side, pour in up to 350 steel BBs, and slide the port cover back to its original position. Next, push the BB retainer button forward (toward the muzzle), point the barrel at the ground and twist and shake the air rifle to until the “visual magazine” on the left side of the receiver is filled. Push the BB retainer button back toward the butt stock to keep the BBs in the magazine. Insert the empty pellet clip into the breech slot so that the bolt will pass through one of the pellet chambers. Pump the M4-177 at least 3 times but not more than 10. Pull the bolt all the way back (two clicks) and push it forward again. The magnet on the end of the bolt will pick up a BB from the BB magazine and slide it into the barrel.

Squeeze the trigger. The first stage comes out at 3 lb. 13.4 oz. At about 4 lb. 14 oz., the shot goes down range. At ten pumps, the M4-177 launches steel BBs at around 650 fps. I found that’s enough to blow through both sides of a soup can at 13 yards.

Loading pellets requires inserting 5 pellets into the 5-shot clip (make sure the M4-177 is empty of BBs first). Pump the M4-177 up to ten times, pull the bolt back, slide the clip into the breech until it reaches the first detent, and slide the bolt forward again. Pull the trigger. At 10 pumps, the M4-177 launches Crosman Premier 7.9 gr pellets at about 625 fps and delivered a one-inch edge to edge 5 shot group at 13 yards from a sitting position under relatively lousy conditions. Good enough, I think, for terminating pests in the garden at short range.

In the end, I liked the M4-177. It’s fun to shoot and will definitely put a smile on someone’s face on Christmas morning. For an airgun that will probably sell for under a hundred bucks, that seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

-          Jock Elliott

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