Crosman 2300S aka Crosman 2300 Silhouette

CAUTION: Airguns are Not Toys and must be handled with Extreme Caution and Safety at All Times. Handle any Airgun as if it were loaded. Always keep it pointed down range or away from any people. Read all directions and cautions before handling. Adult Supervision is strongly advised. Make sure your back stop is adequate to stop any stray rounds or flyers. Never shoot at a hard surface as your bb or pellet may  ricochet and strike someone or something unintentionally.

Above: A few years ago I received this Crosman 2300S as a gift. My vision is not very good these days, in fact it is pretty bad. Iron sights are useless to me now. So I removed the sights and sold them. Then I started to customize the 2300 Silhouette. My plan was to play up the metallic finishes. When I got to this point (above) I looked at the pistol and said to myself "that is really fargin ugly". So I decided to put it away for a while. I figured eventually something would inspire me.

Then one day I saw these grips on ebay. My first impression was that they were a little "over the top". But I started to visualize the 2300S with a whole different look. Instead of adding more metallic finishes, like I did with the power adjuster and the muzzle brake. I would minimize the metallic finishes. I wanted to go black and blue with a lesser amount of metallic finishes showing. So I removed the muzzle brake and the power adjuster and started  over again. First I ordered the grips.

Above: While waiting for the grips (which were being made in the UK)  I installed a stock Crosman power adjuster. Not a big metallic monstrosity, but a small, dark and functional piece. It doesn't stick out, it just "blends in" and does it's job. At this point the grips were almost  finished. Latter I would find out they were made in a place called "Brick Kiln". Being of English descent and a retired Journeyman Mason, I took these things as good omens. The company that made these grips is Hirdhawks Design. Mr Hird kept me posted as to how the grips were progressing. Having never ordered anything from the UK before (except for a flash suppressor that didn't make through customs) I was just a little worried. So the updates were appreciated. I have a link to Hirdhawks Design in the right column under  "Some of my Favorites". Oh yeah. I almost forgot to mention Hirdhawks Design has a Facebook page as well.

Above: I remembered seeing this Muzzle Brake on ebay. Just the right size. And the satin black finish contrasting the aluminum accents on the vents and crown face made this muzzle brake perfect for this pistol.  The muzzle brake comes from Alchemy Air Werks. (alchemywerks.com) I have a link to they're online store  on the "Some of my Favorites" list as well.  Now I need to apologize. There was nothing wrong with the first aluminum muzzle brake or the aluminum power adjuster for that matter. They just weren't right for this particular pistol. Both are high quality components. And both were snapped up quickly when I listed them on ebay. 

Above: One of the choices for grip screws was stainless steel. I thought "perfect this is coming together even better than I imagined". And that never happens! See how the grain shows through the black and blue finish, I think these grips look amazing. They are wider than the standard Crosman grips. I really like that because I have large palms. I am sure Mr Hird will work with you (as he did with me) to make sure you are totally satisfied with your new grips.

Above: I could not find this TRUGLO  4 X 32 mm scope in my very poorly kept records. I am  99% sure it came from Optics Planet. Along with the high profile rings. These rings have 6 machine screws each. I highly recommend purchasing good quality rings. An especially good choice for a pumper or a break barrel with  a spring action. Many a ground squirrel owes his life to poorly mounted optics :)

Above: This is the Crosman 2300 Silhouette finished. Not just another pretty face. This pistol with the Lothar Walther match grade rifled barrel is deadly accurate.

Above: With the extra long bolt handle there is now fumbling around when it is time to reload. As I mentioned before, this is a really sweet pistol right out of the box.

The trigger has two adjustments. It comes with the trigger sear spring adjuster which allows you to adjust trigger pull from 1 to 4 pounds. The 2300 Silhouette also comes with a over travel adjustment screw. This allows you to shorten the trigger pull after the firing point. It really gives the trigger a short and precise pull . Something this shooter has come to appreciate.

And once again the power adjuster comes standard on the 2300S . It really has Four functions (in my opinion). One it allows you to dial down the power when target shooting or plinking to get the most from your 12 gr powerlet (Co2 cartridge) Two, you can dial up the power for shooting small rodents and such. And three combined with a chrony it allows you to tune your pistol so you can get the max fps using the least amount of Co2. Four You can adjust your power to suit whatever pellet you are using. I am assuming here that different pellets perform differently at different speeds.

A nice view of the other side. Look at the length of that steel breech. Now that's a solid anchor point for a pistol barrel. And topped with a machined dovetail for mounting the optics of your choice. And I should mention, If you prefer iron sights. The standard rear sight is a Williams micro adjust tournament grade sight. Matched with a threaded post sight up front. Not too shabby!

This shot shows the exposed machined aluminum on the face of this awesome vented muzzle brake. Alchemy Air Werks. They really knocked it out of the park with this muzzle brake!

I couldn't be happier with the look, feel and performance of the pistol. Thanks to Crosman for making it. Thanks Alchemy Air Werks makers of really special custom parts and mods. Thanks to Hirdhawks Design. It was your grips that inspired me to finally finish this pistol. And thanks to Mr Hird for keeping me up to date on the progress of the grips. And thanks to Optics Planet for offering quality products at very reasonable prices. That pretty much covers the evolution of my Crosman 2300S.

For the last few years, whenever the Ground squirrel or Chipmunk population gets out of hand... the Hawks shows up and thin out the herd. Better the hawks eating them than me shooting them. (I guess😒)
Until next time. Have Fun! but Shoot Safe, I'm outta here, Hugh

Crosman 2289 Backpacker & Some Mods for the P1322

CAUTION: Airguns are Not Toys and must be handled with Extreme Caution and Safety at All Times. Handle any Airgun as if it were loaded. Always keep it pointed down range or away from any people. Read all directions and cautions before handling. Adult Supervision is strongly advised. Make sure your back stop is adequate to stop any stray rounds or flyers. Never shoot at a hard surface as your bb or pellet may  ricochet and strike someone or something unintentionally.

Above: Just the other night I decided to clean up my 2289 Backpacker carbine and put it up for sale. I had an idea that being a fairly nice, slightly modified backpacker that it might sell. They are no longer in production so I thought it might sell rather quickly. I had no idea just how quick that would be.

Above: When ever I get the chance, I like to clean my barrels when the air guns are taken apart.  It is always better to clean the barrel from the breech end of the barrel. This way I avoid doing any damage to the crown. I used a product called "Break Free CLP" to clean the barrel. I originally purchased it for my 9mm Beretta PX4, but wasn't satisfied with the results. So I thought I would give it a go on my .22 rifled backpacker barrel. Concerned that it might damage the "o ring" on the probe, I made sure not to leave any residue, CLP stands for Clean Lubricate and Protect. I am always suspicious of products that claim to do everything. And while I don't think it worked very well on my 9mm, it did a nice job on the air gun barrel.

Above: To clean up the steel breech I used a little bit of Crosman Silicone Chamber Oil on a Q tip. It did a bang up job, I will be using it more in the future.I cleaned the inner breech by incerting the Q tip from the back end. That's another advantage to cleaning the air gun when it is broken down.

Above: I like to use a wee bit of the BLUE LOCTITE on some of the machine screws. Just make sure you use the Blue loctite. If you use the red one, you might not be able to remove the machine screws. So remember Blue is Best.

Above: The re assembly went ok, except I mounted the breech and realized I hadn't installed the hammer...oooops. And that tiny breech screw can be a real pain in the arse. Almost without exception it falls off the Allen wrench just as I am trying to put it in place. And trying to hold the breech in place while replacing the tiny breech screw on to the end of the Allen wrench is always a joy!

Above: I eventually finished assembling the 2289 Backpacker carbine. Before posting it up for sale, I took a few shots out in the garage range , just to make sure everything was working properly. So why sell the Backpacker carbine?

Above: I have been doing a few mods on the new P1322.  And I think I would like to keep it for a while. And having two Crosman .22 carbines which are bisically the same air gun is not practical.

Above: The scope I removed from the 1377 custom carbine (to make the sale)  looks awesome on the P1322. This scope ended up on the 2289 Backpacker. I really like the P1322 as a long barrel scoped pistol. Maybe I'll make it sort of like the backpacker with a removable stock. Except in this case it will have pistol grips as well. A pistol scope with at least 12" of eye relief might be a good choce. At times the P1322 will be in the long barrel pistol mode and a minimum of 12" of eye relief will be necessary. I will look for a scope with an eye relief of 12 to 18  inches. Eye relief is basically the distance between your eye and the scope at which the scope is still effective. With the P1322 in pistol mode I will want to be able to extend my arms and still be able to use the scope. A friend of mine who was a sniper during the Vietnam conflict advised me that "18 inches of eye relief should work for me"

Above: I wanted to try a different stock this time. A custom wood stock was one idea. But I do not want to spend quite that much money. So I thought I would try this collapsible A-R style stock with the power adjuster / adapter. I took the barrel adaptor and air stripper off the 2240 custom. (I have a different muzzle brake ordered for the 2240) I wanted the new 14" rifled barrel to look a bit longer. I think the adapter and Air Stripper accomplished that nicely. And in pistol mode I can remove the Air Stripper to "shorten it up" a bit.

Above: I'm not sure if I am going to replace the pump lever grip. It seems there is a real shortage of Backpacker style pump lever grips. I suspect they have stopped producing them. I hope I am wrong about that.The Backpacker pump lever grip is an awesome upgrade. It looked really good with the crosman skeleton stock and was a really comfortable fit for larger hands. This new design pump lever grip is really sharp and I like how they design matches the new style grips. But I just want something that looks beefed up & fills the hand a little better. I am considering purchasing an unfinished wood pump lever grip and smoothing out the edges and painting it satin black.

Above: About the 2289 Backpacker Carbine. I listed it for sale at 2:00 am Sunday. When I got up at 9:30 am it had already sold. I really enjoyed owning and shooting the 2289. But I have a few other airgun projects going, so it was time. I also recently finished my Custom 2300 Silhouette so I'll be blogging about that soon. And I have something in the works with the Crosman Custom Shop. Until next time, Have Fun but Shoot Safe. I'm outta here, Hugh