Posts Tagged ‘Crosman’

One man’s tale of survival with the Crosman 2100

Monday, September 6, 2010

Ever since I was a kid reading Boy’s Life magazine, I have been fascinated by stories of people who got themselves in a tough spot and how they survived the ordeal. As a result, it is my habit to check out www.survivalblog.com almost every day. It is a fascinating website with lots of information about survival and preparedness.

On August 6, 2010, I was checking out survivalblog when I ran across a post by “D.M.” on “Pellet Rifle Hunting.”  In it, D.M. claims that, due to economic circumstances, he found himself living out of his pickup truck on public lands in the Southwest. During that period, he hunted extensively with a pellet rifle, and it “put at least 70% of the meat on the spit over my fire throughout that summer.”

Further, he adds that “Living in the field for a while really proved out my gear. Sadly and expensively, most fell to the way side, but the [pellet rifle] turned out to be an unlikely sleeper candidate for one of my personal top 10 gear awards!”

So what was his pellet rifle . . . a Weihrauch, an RWS, perhaps a PCP with a pump or maybe a Sheridan? Wrong! – none of the above. The air rifle that sustained D.M. in putting game on the spit was the humble Crosman 2100. The 2100 is a multi-stroke pneumatic (MSP) air rifle that shoots both BBs and .177 pellets and that can be purchased for well under $70.

D.M. has a number of reasons why he favors the 2100:

  • Reliability. He figures he put 3,000 BBs through it at an average of 6 pumps per shot with no failures.
  • Accuracy. He was easily able connect with game within 25 yards.
  • Handling. Just a bit over 5 lbs fully loaded and scaled to be handled by adults.
  • Critter “bagability.” Birds at 50 yards, rabbits at 30 yards, turkeys at 25 yards, raccoons at 10 yards.
  • Variable power. Birds at 5-6 pumps; 10 pumps on bigger game.
  • Stealth. A modest report means greater opportunity for a second shot if needed.

I was fascinated by what D.M. had to say. (You can read his entire report on the survivalblog here: http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/08/pellet_rifle_hunting_by_dm.html). So I called up the folks at Crosman and asked them to send me a 2100 for testing, which they did.

The 2100 stretches 39.75 inches long and weighs 4 lbs, 13 oz. The buttstock is made of brown plastic with a wood grain finish. At the extreme aft end is a hard black plastic butt plate, attached to the stock with a white spacer. There is a black cap on the pistol grip with a white space. If you slide the black plastic cap toward the buttstock, a hole is revealed into which you can pour BBS. More about this in just a bit.

Moving forward, you’ll find a black metal receiver, metal trigger guard, and metal trigger with pushbutton safety. Moving forward again, there is the brown plastic forearm which serves as a pumping arm for pumping up the MSP action. Ahead of that is the black plastic pivot housing and barrel clamp. Above that is the barrel which has a fiber optic sight on the muzzle end. Moving back along the barrel, you’ll find the rear sight mounted on the barrel just forward of the receiver.

Slide the grip cap at the end of the pistol grip toward the rear of the air rifle to load BBs through this hole into the BB reservoir.

This shows the "visual magazine" with the BB follower stem in the forward position.

The BB follower stem in the rear position for loading BBs into the visual magazine.

To load BBs into the 2100, slide the black plastic cap at the end of the pistol grip back and pour up to 200 BBs into the hole. Next, slide the “BB follower stem” on the left side of the receiver toward the buttstock and hook it in the slot. Next, point the barrel at the ground and twist and shake the air rifle to fill the “visual magazine” on the left side of the receiver. Now unhook the BB stem follower and allow it to move forward to hold the BBs in place. Next, pump the 2100 up to ten times, pull the bolt back (it will pick up a BB from the visual magazine on the magnetic tip of the bolt. Slide the bolt forward to its original position.

Now, you’re good to go. Squeeze the trigger. The first stage comes out at 1 lb. 5.7 oz. At about 4 lb. 14 oz., the shot goes down range. At ten pumps, the 2100 launches steel BBs at an average of about 650 fps. But the speed is highly variable. The high was 670 fps, and the low was 637 fps.

The breech closed.

The breech open, ready for loading a pellet.

Loading pellets is much simpler. Pump the 2100 up to ten times, pull the bolt back, roll a pellet laterally into the breech, and close the breech again. Note well: if you plan to shoot pellets, you can’t have any BBs in the visual magazine. Otherwise, the 2100 may try to load both a pellet and a BB. You can, however, have BBs in the buttstock reservoir and shoot pellets at the same time. I found that, at 10 pumps, the 2100 launches Crosman Premier 7.9 gr pellets at an average of 620 fps (high 627, low 616).

So how does the 2100 stack up as a survival tool? I found I could shoot half-inch groups (edge to edge) at 13 yards with Crosman Premier 7.9 pellets, and they would penetrate one and sometimes both sides of a baked beans can at that distance. Groups with BBs were problematic, possibly because of the variation in speed, but the BBs always penetrated both sides of the can at 13 yards. Still, I think the BBs could be effective for ambushing game at close range at places where they come to feed or drink.

The clack-clack-clack sound the gun makes while pumping is non-stealthy and could frighten off game, but gluing a piece of felt inside the pump arm might solve that problem. Nevertheless, the pumping effort was easy.

The iron sights that come with the 2100 work well enough, particularly with the fiber-optic front sight, but older folks (like me) will want some sort of scope. Still, I liked the light weight of the “naked” 2100, and in that form, it makes a dandy plinking rifle.

So, could the Crosman 2100 be used as a small game getter in hard times? I certainly think so. If D.M.’s comments about the reliability of the 2100 are correct, and when you factor in its very modest cost, it makes sense to have a 2100 tucked away, just in case.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 11 Comments »

The amazing customizable Crosman 1377

Monday, June 14, 2010
This blog is dedicated with respect and admiration to those beady-eyed, fanatical airgun customizers out there; I like what you do.

I suspect that many of the people who read this blog may be old enough to remember the old air-cooled, rear-engine Volkswagen Beetle. Back in the day when I purchased a new Pontiac Firebird 326HO for $3700, you could purchase a fully equipped Beetle for $1800. They were cheap, pretty reliable, and it wasn’t long until a very healthy market in custom parts for Beetles sprang up. People began modifying them to suit their tastes, and pretty soon you could find Baja Bugs, Meyers Manx dune buggies, and even Beetles that looked like truncated Rolls Royces tooling around the streets.

The 1377c as it comes from the Crosman factory.

The Crosman 1377c is a lot like the Beetle, and I think it is probably the most widely customized airgun in the world. It’s easy to understand why: you start with a multi-stroke pneumatic .177 caliber air pistol that costs about $60 and is perfectly adequate for bouncing cans around the back yard. With the exception of the rear sight (the adjustment of which drives me nuts, but others seem to deal with it), everything about it is straight down the middle of the road – not great, but not awful either – and, like the VW Beetle, it’s a great platform to build on.

The 1377 with a Crosman aftermarket breech and a red dot.

The first basic step that most customizers take is to add a steel breech and maybe a red dot to improving the aiming system.

The "Kip Karbine" was assembled from readily available factory parts.

From the steel breech, it’s not much of a step to add the pumping arm from the 1389 backpacker, a Crosman .22 caliber barrel, and a Crosman plastic rifle stock. Now you have turned the 1377 into a .22 caliber carbine. This one was built for me by Kip at Airguns of Arizona, and I have added a Leapers Bug Buster scope and a muzzle break from a Daisy 753 target rifle to protect the crown of the barrel. But this is barely sticking a toe in the water, because these are all modifications done with readily available factory parts.

What follows below is what happens when you take a walk on the wild side and really start to customize the 1377.

Michael Chavka's 1377 carbine.

For example, Michael Chavka created this beautiful 1377 carbine. He says: “I don’t do much to them other than to add some comfortable wood.  These examples have Blue Fork Designs barrel bands, Crosman breeches, and a few of my own accessories to dress them up a bit.  The barrels usually need a new crown and some leade work, but other than the trigger, I don’t modify the internals.”

Chris Dowling's 1377 rifle.

Chris Dowling put together this 1377 rifle that has been converted to .22 caliber. It has a 24″ barrel, lighter valve spring, angled and enlarged valve and barrel ports, reduced valve stem, and poly port.  It’s getting 530 fps with Premiers, but he hopes to increase this with a flat top piston. The stock is by RB Grips; I asked for unfinished walnut and put around seven coats of tung oil on it.  It sports a Crosman steel breech, TKO trigger and muzzle brake, Grant Stace polished aluminum endcap, Blue Fork Design barrel band, Mountain Air bolt, and RJ Machine bolt handle.

Erik W's .22 stick gun.

Eric W’s “stick gun” is also a .22 caliber. It has a Daq breech, Mountain Air flat top valve and piston. Mountain Air bolt and probe, Blue fork Barrel band, TKO shroud, Crosman 24″ barrel, Muzzle mac stainless steel screw kit, Muzzle mac wire stock, RB laminate grips, Air gun Smith trigger, Mountain Air trigger guide and spring, Barska scope, and BKL mounts.

Who would guess this started life as an inexpensive pistol?

Walther built this beauty that actually started as a 1322, which is the .22 cal version of the 1377. Purchased parts include RJ Machine long riser breech with stainless bolt handle in .22, Larry Rowlins Barrel shroud 1 inch diameter 13.75 inch long, and flat top delrin piston from Derek Vineyard. Custom or modified parts include: Laminated maple thumbhole stock and pump arm with adjustable cheek piece, stainless cheek piece hardware, stainless escutcheons and 3mm socket head bolts all custom checkered and lathe trimmed to length, dtainless Trigger and sear pivot pins, custom pump pivot plug, lighter trigger spring with custom plunger, checkered stainless rear breech cap, RJ’s bolt handle reshaped and checkered, weaver mount, and brazed on brass trigger shoe. In addition, this airgun has been extensively tuned to improve performance.

Zoned's ultra-carbine.

“Zoned” created this beautiful ultra-carbine with custom wood, a wire stock, and a flat top aluminum piston and valve from A.C. Custom parts. In his blog,  he reports that it shoots around 50% faster than the unmodified factory 1377.

TWhooper's 1322 pistol.

“TWhooper” created this highly functional custom pistol with 11″ .22 barrel, Airgunsmith brass flat top piston and valve, old Cutters alloy breech, Simmons variable pistol scope, and unknown alloy barrel band.  It is fitted with old style two power cocker knob, and a two-stage sear from Big Ed, green grips and 1389 fore end.

Sculpture that shoots.

 He didn’t explain how it did it, but Brad turned a 1377 into a side-pumping bullpup designed that, to me, looks like sculpture that shoots!

James Perotti's self-contained PCP pistol.

Finally, James Perotti modified a 1322 turned it into a self-contained PCP pistol that, after an initial charge of 20 strokes, is capable of delivering three shots of 7.4 to 8.9 foot-pounds of energy before it requires an additional 15 strokes to recharge it again. It incorporates a  hammer debounce device,  aftermarket breech, custom piston rod, custom trigger, hammer spring adjuster, guide, and custom spring, and full custom (2x volume) valve as well as a number of other modifications.

This brief look barely scratches the surface of the remarkable custom work being done by airgun enthusiasts. If you want to learn more about how and why they do what they do, please visit the new Crosman Airgun Forum .

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 22 Comments »

Benjamin Trail NP All Weather – Part II

Monday, May 10, 2010


The third most interesting aspect of the Benjamin Trail NP All Weather – and the one that is bound to be most controversial – is the trigger. Now, I need to preface the following by explaining that I shot the All weather for a while and got some pretty nice accuracy results (which I will reveal below) before I ever attempted to measure the weight of the trigger pull.

That’s when things got interesting. When I first measured the trigger pull with my Lyman digital trigger gauge, I saw the following: at 1 lb 11 oz, the first stage appears to come out of the trigger and there is a hard stop. Then there is a long creepy pull and another hard stop at about 4 lbs 13 oz. Finally, at around 5 lbs, 4 oz, the shot goes off.

I had never encountered anything like this before. Weird, I thought, this air rifle appears to have a three-stage trigger. So I called Crosman about it. No, they said, what you think is the first stage is simply pulling against the trigger return spring. The second section that ends at 4 lbs 13 oz is actually the first stage, and 5 lbs 4 oz is where the second stage releases, they explained. They added that if you comparatively test breakbarrel rifles produced by Crosman, you’ll find that the Quest, the Phantom, the Summit, the Vantage, and others all have very similar triggers.

Now, I’ll grant you that All Weather’s trigger feels unusual at first, but I’ve shot it for a while now, and I’ve found that it is quite consistent and doesn’t interfere with accurate shooting (and it’s not as heavy as some military triggers I’ve been told about). For those who don’t want to deal with the All Weather’s trigger, after market triggers are available, but take note: if you fit one to your All Weather, you will void the warranty. So my advice is shoot your All Weather until your one-year warranty is up, and then put in an after market trigger if you still want one.

To cock the All Weather, grab the end of the barrel and pull down and back toward the buttstock. This is where the All Weather begins to show the advantages of the Nitro Piston powerplant. You’ll hear a “snick” when the breech unlatches and another snick when the powerplant is fully cocked and . . . nothing in between. The cocking stroke is one smooth, noiseless glide. It’s like cocking a break barrel springer that has been fully romanced by one of the master spring gun tuners.

With the breech open, slip a .22 caliber pellet into the aft end of the barrel and return the bullbarrel to its original position. The safety is non-automatic. If it is pushed back toward the trigger, push it forward toward the muzzle to ready the rifle for firing, and pull the trigger.

The sample of All Weather that I tested launched Crosman Premier 14.3 gr. pellets at 687 fps average, which is just a teensy bit below 15 foot-pounds of energy. When the shot goes off, the weight of the All Weather becomes your friend, helping to gentle the shot cycle. The recoil is quick and surprisingly smooth, with no torque, twang or vibration. Further, the report is quite subdued, even for a breakbarrel air rifle. The accuracy is very, very satisfactory. At 35 yards, I was able to put three Crosman Premier pellets into a little tiny group where all the holes touched each other before my technique went to blazes. I think a really good spring gun shooter (which I am not) could achieve some impressive results with this rifle.

In the end, I liked the Benjamin Trail NT All Weather. As I have explained before, I am not a trigger Nazi – what I care most about is how the overall system performs. In my view, the All Weather delivers a lot of performance and accuracy in a reasonably-price package. As such, I think a lot of shooters will enjoy it.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 51 Comments »

Benjamin Trail NP All Weather – Part I

Monday, May 3, 2010

Ever since I got caught in a light summer shower with an airgun, I’ve had an interest in all-weather airguns. It just seems to me that, in general, it’s a good idea to have airguns be as impervious as possible to bad weather.

So when Crosman offered me the opportunity to evaluate the new Benjamin Trail NP™ All Weather air rifle, I said “You bet!”

The All Weather, which is available only in .22 caliber, is a break barrel air rifle, and there are several interesting things about it. First, it has an all-weather synthetic stock. Not only that, but the all weather stock is fully ambidextrous, nicely styled, and downright swoopy looking.

The catalog says that All Weather weighs 8 lbs (and stretches 43 inches long), but it comes with a scope and mount, so the whole package weighs 9 lbs 12 oz when fully assembled. That might seem like a lot to tote around for a day afield. Fortunately, also included in the package (at least during an introductory period) is a sling. It easily attaches to the swivels that are provided and makes carrying the All Weather so much easier that it makes me scratch my head and wonder why I hadn’t tried a sling before now.

Let’s take a tour of the All Weather. Starting at the back, there is a soft black ventilated butt pad, separated from the synthetic stock by a gray spacer. The buttstock has a cheek piece on either side, which ought to make lefties happy and a stud near the end for mounting a sling. Forward of that is a large thumbhole and nearly vertical pistol grip that is checkered and has a pronounced flair at the end. Moving forward again, the trigger guard is molded into the synthetic stock. Inside the trigger guard is a metal trigger and forward-and-back lever safety.

The forestock stretches out in front of the trigger guard. There is checkering on either side near the end and a long slot underneath to provide clearance for cocking the break barrel action. The other attachment for the sling is fastened to the breakbarrel mechanism near the end of the slot. Beyond that is the bullbarrel/shroud.

The barrel attaches to the breech block. Moving rearward, you’ll find the receiver, on which is mounted a picatinny/weaver scope rail. That’s it. The result is an air rifle that looks and feels good in the hand and balances very well.

Included with the All Weather is a CenterPoint 3-9 x 40 scope and weaver rings. When I saw the beauty and simplicity of how the scope rail and rings worked together, it made me wonder why all airgun manufacturers don’t standardize on the slotted weaver rails. You don’t have to worry about whether your rings will hold, whether your anti-recoil pin is seated deeply enough in the socket or whether you have to really crank down your mounts. All you have to do is drop the bars on the weaver rings into the slots on the scope rail, snug the mounts down, and you’re done. Hats off to Crosman for doing this!

Another key aspect of the All Weather is that it is powered by the Nitro Piston powerplant. (That’s what the NP stands for.) Unlike a conventional breakbarrel springer, which uses a spring to drive a piston that compresses the air which in turn launches the pellet, the Nitro Piston technology uses a gas strut, much like the strut used to elevate the back window on many automobiles. As a result, there is no spring to wear out, no twang when the shot goes off, no vibration or torque on discharge. Further, you can leave a Nitro Piston powerplant cocked for as long as you want without worrying about damaging the spring.

Next time, we’ll take a look at how the Benjamin Trail NP All Weather performs.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 9 Comments »

Crosman’s Nifty New Silhouette PCP Target Pistol

Monday, April 19, 2010


Recently, Crosman Corporation sent me a sample of its new Silhouette PCP Target Pistol (Model 1700P) for evaluation, and, to spare you any further suspense, I think it’s pretty neat.

The 1700P is a single-shot, .177 caliber precharged pneumatic air pistol that weighs 2.5 lbs and stretches 14.75 inches from end to end. The 1700P meets requirements for silhouette air pistol competition with both the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association and the National Rifle Association.

At the extreme back end of the receiver is the bolt, which comes from the factory hanging to the left so that right-handed shooters can cock and reload without taking their shooting hand off the grip, the bolt but can be switched to right hanging if the shooter prefers. Below that is a fitting at the rear of the receiver with a port through which adjustments can be made to the hammer spring and hammer stroke for velocity string tuning.

Below that is the ambidextrous pistol grip assembly with plastic grips on either side. These grips can be removed to a trigger weight adjustment (more about that later). Forward of the pistol grip is the cast metal trigger guard, inside of which is a die cast trigger that is adjustable for weight and over-travel and can accept an aftermarket trigger shoe. A push-button safety can be found between the trigger guard and the pistol grip.

Forward of the trigger guard, on the underside of the air reservoir, is a 3000 psi air gauge. At the end of the air reservoir is a snap-off plastic cap that protects a male foster fitting used to charge the 1700P. Above the snap-off cap is a black metal muzzle brake that also serves as a mount for a post-type front sight. (Originally, Crosman planned to mount a ported muzzle brake on this pistol, but the design engineers discovered this would violate IHMSA rules, so the plan was scrapped.)

Aft of that is the German-made Lothar Walter barrel which attaches to an anodized aircraft aluminum receiver that is fitted with 3/8 inch dovetails fore and aft of the breech. The breech has a .177 loading tray to make sliding pellets into the breech easier.

An important note: because silhouette shooters have so many varying preferences for sighting systems, the 1700P does not come with a rear sight or scope. Available extra-cost options include a William or LPA notch rear sight (favored by IHMSA Creedmoor style shooters) or a Williams peep sight (often used by standing silhouette shooters). In addition, this pistol may be easily fitted with a rifle scope, pistol scope, or red dot. Mine is shown below with the Williams notch rear sight.


To get the 1700P ready for shooting, charge it to 2900 psi with a high pressure tank or SCUBA tank. As it comes from the factory, the 1700P is set up to deliver 50+ shots from a fill, launching 7.9 gr. Crosman Premier pellets at 450 fps. I shot the pistol through my chronograph and found it was launching the 7.9 gr. pellets at 460 fps average. It takes about 35 pump strokes to refill the reservoir from 1700 psi to 3000 psi using a Benjamin HPP3k pump. If desired, the pistol can be tuned to shoot as fast as 550 fps, but with fewer shots per fill.

When I first tested the trigger on the 1700P, the first stage came out at1 lb 14 oz, and the second stage went off at 5 lb 13 oz, which is not so hot. So I removed the plastic pistol grips, ran the trigger weight adjustment up as high as it would go, and then dropped it back down to the lowest weight. With the next measurement, the second stage tripped and the shot went down range at a much more manageable 4 lbs.

Note: if you want to lighten the trigger by cutting coils off the trigger spring or polishing the trigger parts, you run the risk of voiding the warranty. Why? Because every air rifle and air pistol Crosman makes must pass the ASTM drop test. But if you modify the trigger in any way, it might not pass the test, and therefore Crosman accepts no responsibility.

I saved the best part for last: the accuracy of the 1700P is excellent. My pal, IHMSA champion Steve Ware is a steely-eyed pistol silhouette competitor. He clamped his 1700P into a vice and fired 5 shot groups at 18 yards. His best group, shot with H&N Finale Match pellets, measured just .071 inches ctc. No wonder Crosman claims this pistol will shoot quarter-inch groups at 30 meters.

In all, I find the Crosman 1700P to be an entirely worthy competition air pistol that delivers a whole lot of performance and accuracy at a price that is just a fraction of its high priced competitors.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 16 Comments »

The Incredibly Versatile Challenger

Monday, September 21, 2009

Back in April, I had the opportunity to take a fast early look at Crosman’s new three-position, sporter level PCP match rifle, the Challenger 2009. I was impressed. Based on the Discovery chassis, the Challenger incorporates some goodies – notably the trigger – from Crosman’s Marauder air rifle and some of the Marauder’s tuning capabilities. The result is an entry level match rifle that does a lot of things well.

One of the things that slipped by me when I first looked at the Challenger 2009 is how incredibly versatile this air rifle is. To start, you can shoot three-position air rifle with it, and you can use it as an entry level rifle for shooting Olympic-style ten-meter competition.

But the Challenger also qualifies for the new competition developed by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, called National Match Air Rifle (NMAR). Shot indoors or outdoors on 10-meter ranges, NMAR events simulate highpower rifle shooting and are shot at reduced highpower rifle targets. There are two official NMAR targets. The AR-SR is an exact, proportionate reduction of the standard highpower rifle 200-yard short-range target. The AR-MR is a similarly reduced version of the 600-yard mid-range target.

Three classes of air rifles qualify for NMAR competition: AR Class, Match and Sporter. The AR class – or so-called “clone” rifles – are modified sporter or precision class air rifles with stock systems configured similar to M16/AR15-type rifles. The NMAR Match air rifle class includes any precision air rifle that is ISSF legal. The Sporter class includes air rifles of 7.5 lbs maximum with 1.5 lb minimum trigger pull. That’s where the Challenger 2009 fits in.

There are two basic courses of fire for NMAR. The standing course consists of two sighting shots and 20 shots for record on the AR-SR (200-yard) target in the standing position. The full course/half course consists of 20 (full course) or 10 (half course) shots each in the standing, sitting or kneeling, and prone position, fired in that order of the AR-SR (for sitting and standing) and AR-MR (600-yard) (for prone) targets.

For the UJ Quigley Bucket Challenge, you'll want a post and bead front sight insert like this one.

There are lots of other things you can do with the Challenger. Get yourself some of Lee Shaver’s blackpowder silhouette sight inserts (available from many gun shops), slip the post-and-bead insert into the Challenger’s front globe sight, and make like Matthew Quigley shooting at the UJ Quigley Bucket Challenge.

A Challenger with a scope is an excellent setup for minisniping or NRA air rifle sihouette.

(I feel like one of those silly infomercials here) But wait! There’s more! If you mount a scope on the Challenger, which is really easy to do, thanks to its scope rails, and put some spent 9mm brass out at 35 yards, you can minisnipe with the Challenger. With a scope, you also can (and some folks have already done it very successfully) shoot NRA air rifle silhouette in the “match” category. Beyond that, the engineers at Crosman are also exploring the options for turning the Challenger 2009 into an entry-level field target rifle.

At this point, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out some of the Challenger’s other admirable qualities. First, it’s really, really accurate. With a big scope mounted, I found I could hit the exact spot on the target that I wanted at 20 yards . . . for example, that little spec of white still showing where I had already blown the center out of the bullseye. That’s the kind of accuracy that puts a grin on my face.

Second, the trigger is excellent and makes it easy to shoot well. Third, the Challenger delivers 100 shots from a 2000 psi fill. That means if you fill it with a high pressure hand pump, it will be relatively easy to get it up to pressure (certainly easier than going to 3,000 psi) and you won’t be refilling the Challenger every two seconds. And if you fill the Challenger from a 3,000 psi SCUBA tank, you’ll get a lot of fills before you have to go back to the dive shop for a refill.

In addition, the Challenger is makes very little noise, which if you live close to others, is excellent for maintaining good neighbor relations. Last but not least, the Challenger has a highly adjustable stock, including a length of pull that is adjustable from 12.5 to 16 inches, which means it will fit a wide range of different size shooters.

In short, the Challenger is a very versatile air rifle, offering its owner the ability to compete in many different shooting disciplines, and providing access to a whole lot of fun in formal competition and the back yard.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 13 Comments »

First Impressions of the Crosman NPSS Part I

Monday, June 29, 2009

There has been a lot of buzz on the Internet lately about the Crosman NPSS (that stands for Nitro Piston Short Stroke) air rifle. Crosman sent me one in .177 caliber (.22 is also available) for review, and I found it pretty interesting in a lot of ways.

The first thing that sets the NPSS apart from the herd is its looks. It has an ambidextrous composite “thumbhole” stock that has a carbon-fiber-look “soft-touch” covering. A digital camo version is also available. Starting at the rear of the NPSS, you’ll find a ventilated soft black rubber butt pad. Moving forward, a soft rubber cheek piece wraps over the comb of the stock and down both sides. Moving forward again, there is a triangular hole in the buttstock that serves as the thumbhole.

The pistol grip has small bumps on either side (as does the forestock) that provide additional gripping surface. Just ahead of the pistol grip, the trigger guard is made of plastic and has a hole toward the rear edge, through which a screwdriver can be inserted for adjusting the length of the trigger’s second stage. The black trigger is made of metal, as is the Gamo-style safety lever (push forward to fire, pull back to safe the action).

Moving forward again, you’ll find the forestock, which has a screw hole on either side for securing the receiver and a slot down the middle on the underside to provide clearance when cocking the break barrel action.

Ahead of the forestock is the barrel, which swells from the breech block into a 7/8-inch matte-black-finished bull barrel. Moving back on the top of the NPSS, you’ll discover the breech block. Move back again, the shiny black metal receiver is fitted with dovetails for mounting a scope and a hole for engaging an anti-recoil pin from a scope mount. The extreme rear of the receiver is covered by a black plastic cap.

Included in the box with the NPSS is a CenterPoint 3-9 x 40 scope and a one-piece scope mount. To mount the scope, of course you have to take the tops off the scope mounts, and when you do, you need to take the smaller allen wrench included with the mount and use it to run the anti-recoil pin down so that it will engage the hole on the receiver. The NPSS weighs 9 lbs, 7 oz with the scope mounted and stretches 43 7/8 inches from end to end.

To cock the NPSS and open the breech for loading, pull the bull barrel down and back until it latches. Cocking requires about 27 pounds of effort, and this is where you’ll encounter the second thing that sets the NPSS apart from the herd: the gas-piston action (sometimes called a gas spring, and which Crosman calls a Nitro Piston) action. Because of the gas-piston action, there is no spring noise during cocking, and the air rifle can be left cocked for extended periods without worry about spring fatigue. Slide a pellet into the breech, return the barrel to its original position, and you’re good to go.

Next time, we’ll shoot the NPSS.

Til then, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Posted in Airguns | 6 Comments »

Crosman 600 – File this under “Classic”

Monday, April 27, 2009

The left side of the Crosman 600, showing the built-in magazine just forward of the rear sight and the cocking slide just below the magazine.

For years I had been hearing about the Crosman 600 pistol, how neat it is, how it is a classic. I had seen pictures of the 600, and I had read rave reviews of them in the online forums, but I had never shot one until just the other day.

The good folks at Airguns of Arizona had picked up a 600 as part of a massive buy of vintage airguns. This particular 600 had some seal problems that needed to be sorted out. When the repair was completed, AoA asked me if I’d like to give it a try before it went on to its rightful owner.

Sure, I said, and a few days later Brown Santa delivered a box containing the Crosman 600. The 600 stretches about 9.l75 inches from muzzle to the end of the receiver and 5.5 inches from the top of the receiver to the bottom of the pistol grip. The sample I played with weighed 2 lbs 10 oz unloaded. The entire 600 is amazingly solidly constructed out of metal. The only plastic that I could detect are the target-style grips.

The 600 was introduced in 1960, and, according to DT Fletcher’s book, 75 Years of Crosman Airguns, was produced until 1970. A flyer or advertisement from 1960 reproduced in his book calls the 600 “the world’s most advanced pellet pistol. . . Revolutionary! . . . 10 shots in less than 3 seconds . . . with match target accuracy.”

It goes on to say: “Patented, fast, boltless Swing-Feed loading . . . Gun holds on target; no lag, no sticking, no jump . . . Top target accuracy.”

The built-in magazine with the slide back, reading for loading.

Having now shot the Crosman 600, I can only say that it lives up to the marketing material. To get it ready for shooting. Unscrew the cap on the end of the air tube under the muzzle. Insert a CO2 powerlet with the neck facing outward. Screw in the cap which has a piercing pin. Next, push the slide on the built in magazine all the way back and lock it in place. Carefully feed in 10 .22 caliber flat nose pellets (I used Beeman .22 H&N match wadcutter pellets) so that the head of pellet faces toward the muzzle. Release the magazine slide and pull back the cocking slide just below it until it latches.

The righthand side of the Crosman 600.

Now you’re good to go. Ease the first stage out of the trigger. Squeeze a bit more, and at 2 lbs 3 oz, the shot goes down range with a solid “Pop!” In the same instant, the action cycles, readying the next shot and cocking the action. Squeeze the trigger as fast as you like, and the pellets go effortlessly down range. This is quite simply the fastest, easiest rapid-fire air pistol I’ve ever shot. (Although, of the modern crop of repeater air pistols, the Beretta PX4 Storm acquits itself very well. I’ll be writing about it in another blog.)

The Crosman 600 truly is a classic. If you are luck enough to own one, take good care of it and enjoy it often, because it is absolutely a pleasure to shoot.

Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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Installing the Crosman 13xx/22xx Adjustable Trigger Sear

Monday, March 9, 2009

I cocked the unloaded, uncharged Crosman 2240 and handed it to my testing partner. “Give the trigger a squeeze and tell me what you think,” I said.

A few seconds later, the action clicked, and he said, “It’s kind of crummy.” I tried it and agreed. With a trigger gauge, we measured the weight of the trigger pull at four-and-one-quarter pounds.

To improve the trigger, we decided to install the Adjustable Trigger Sear for the Crosman 13xx and 22xx. Along the way, we learned a bunch of things that will help you install one on your own airgun. (Note that the Adjustable Trigger Sear [ATS] is not a factory authorized part.)

To get ready for installation, Make sure the gun is not cocked or loaded. Lay the 2240 on its left side with the pistol grip pointed toward you, and the muzzle pointed to the right. Next, remove the grip by removing the screw that holds it in place.

With the grip removed, you’ll see a view like the picture below.

With a pair of needle nose pliers or the blade of a screwdriver, slide the coiled spring off the post. When the spring is off the post, tug gently on the spring, and you will be able to remove it completely from the pistol. Additional note: you can defer removing the coiled spring until after you have removed the trigger side plate, but having the side plate still in place reduces the chances of parts being launched into the air (see note about cranky uncles below).

Before you do anything else, make sure the safety is in the FIRE position – protruding fully from the left side of the pistol with the red stripe show. Prop the pistol’s air tube up on a pad of paper or a paperback book – something that will elevate the air tube about one-half inch. This will prevent the safety from being pushed into the SAFE position. If the safety is pushed into the SAFE position when the side plate is off the trigger assembly, a tiny silver ball bearing and teensy spring will fall (or worse – FLY!) out, and YOU WILL HAVE THE DEVIL’S OWN TIME TRYING TO GET THEM BACK INTO POSITION! (Please believe Uncle Jock on this. It happened to me, and it made me very cranky).

Next, remove the two screws that hold the trigger side plate, and gently remove the side plate. In the picture below, you’ll see the original sear that sits on a pivot pin just to the rear of the trigger (in this picture, the original sear is overlaid on the ATS.) Remove the original sear but leave the pin in position. (Just to the right of the sear, you’ll see that teeny spring that I told you about.)

Put the ATS in position as shown below. Notice that it wraps below the pin that the original sear pivoted around, but unlike the original, the ATS doesn’t have a hole that the pin can be inserted into. This is true despite the fact that some ATSs have holes that might appear to fit over the pin. They don’t.

Put the trigger side plate back in position. Slide the end of the coiled spring over the end of the sear, and then slide the other end over the bottom post. You’re done, except for adjusting the trigger and replacing the grip. (Note: you can attach the coiled spring to the ATS and the post with the side plate removed, but I think it is easier with the side plate holding the sear and post in place.)

To adjust the trigger, follow the instructions that came with the sear.

In the end, the ATS tranformed the trigger in my 2240 from a creepy 4-1/4 lb affair into a very crisp trigger that sends the shot down range at just 1 lb 15 oz.

What to do if the little ball bearing and spring fall out. Make sure the safety and trigger are in proper position. Replace the trigger side plate. Remove the two screws that hold the trigger assembly to the air tube. As you look down on the trigger assembly from the top, you’ll see a small hole just above the safety. Drop the small ball bearing in the hole, then place the small spring on top of it. Now reattach the trigger assembly to the air tube. This will compress the small spring and hold it in place.

Note about Screw Starting Point Adjustments

The final, optimum adjustment of the 1st and 2nd stage screws will be determined by experimentation and a combination of the shooter’s personal taste with the particular manufacturing tolerances of the specific gun. Still it’s sometimes useful to have a starting point for the fine tuning process – kind of a home base – that represents average reasonable settings that the sear can be easily set to in order to begin the process in an orderly way, and reset to if the process goes awry.

Starting Point settings are defined so…

1. Turn the screw being set so that the tip is exactly flush with the surface of the sear.

2. Turn the screw clockwise by the number of turns (and fractions of a turn) indicated in the figure.

Here are Starting Point settings for the three styles of Crosman sears. To identify which style you have, check for:

1. Presence of the two fabrication alignment holes present in styles A and C but not B.

2. The square “heel” of style A that B and C lack.


Til next time, aim true and shoot straight.

– Jock Elliott

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