Cleaning & Talking about The New Crosman P1322 American Classic

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: My brand spanking new Crosman P1322 American Classic. You might assume that your new pistol is nice and clean and ready to shoot. Well it might be ready to shoot (I said might) but it might not be as clean as you think.

Above; These dirty patches are from cleaning my new P1322. Now don't get me wrong this is normal for most new airguns. At least those in the under 100.00 price range. But what better way to get familiar with your new air gun than to clean it?

Above: After cleaning it I took the P1322 out to the garage range to fire it a few times. I fired fine, but I did notice there was a little more resistance than I expected when I was pumping it up. A few drops of pellgun oil on the side of cup (see pic above) took care of that. I will have to go back and check the specs. Because this P1322 feels more powerful than my 2289 Backpacker. Now for the new stuff on the P1377

The newest style grips. I like these grips a lot as far as "the look" goes. They are very stylish for sure, and match the new design of the fore grip / pump lever. But the feel is not as good as the grips on the modern 2240's. But both feel more solid than the old grips that had the Crosman Logo embossed on the grip. Those definitely needed to go. Overall I like these grips. And who knows, I might even get used to the new feel.

Above: As for the new Fore grip / lever design, I like it. It is a huge improvement over the skinny wood grain brown plastic one on my old 1377. And the new style matches the new style grips nicely. And this pump lever is more comfortable to use than the skinny ass woodgrain plastic one was for sure.

Above: The aforementioned 1377 American classic plastic/wood pump lever next to the new design P1322 American Classic pump lever.
But is it as comfortable as the fore grip / lever was on the 2289 backpacker? Well... I have big palms, so for me definitely not as comfortable as the backpacker grip. But I do think it is a huge improvement over the old plastic wood ones for sure. And for smaller hands, maybe just as good? I don't really know.

Above: Those are screws baby! Not pins, but actual screws! I had to double check before saying this. Both my 2289 Backpacker and my 1377 modified carbine with the backpacker style pump lever have pins. Not sayen pins are bad, but change is good too! I should also mention the Phillips Head screws on the Grips match the fore grip / pump lever perfectly.

Above: Ok I checked the 2289 Backpacker had a claimed Max Velocity of 480 fps. And the new P1322 American Classic has a claimed MAX Velocity of 460 fps. Being the 2289 has the longer barrel I'm gonna say they are about equally powered. The specs on the 2289 Backpacker come from Pyramyd Air.

Above: My 1377 American Classic Carbine. I would like my P1322 A.C. to be a .22 caliber version of my .177 carbine. If I go with the same breech and same length barrel it could make for some good comparison tests. Like fps vs Brute Force, which is really more effective? I would like to do a custom wood stock on this one but OMG they are expensive. But then again, the new grips on my 2240 Co2 Pistol (with the finish work) cost as much as the 2240 pistol originally cost me. And I have no regrets about that. Maybe I'll do a tactical stock that would be a little more cost effective. And that would be a first for me.
Until Next Time, Have Fun But SHOOT SAFE, I'm Out, Hugh

Crosman Arms Co. Inc. V-350 Slide Action bb Air Rifle. Produced from 1962 1969

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: MY Crosman V 350 SLIDE ACTION B.B. RIFLE. If what I have read so far is correct, the V 350's were produced from 1961 through 1969. But the technology goes back well into the 1800's.

I have also read that the V 350 indicates that this air rifle was capable of launching a bb down range at 350 fps. And the SLIDE ACTION describes the cocking mechanism.

Above: The Loading Directions. This was taken from a PDF file that Crosman has made available.

Above: This was taken from a PDF file that Crosman has made available online. The Shooting directions. I wonder how many people failed to read the instructions and shot themselves in the palm of the hand. I think the indicator holes for checking if the bb is chambered and another to indicate if the rifle is cocked are both great design features. When I was given this bb rifle from a friend who inherited it, I really had no idea about these features. He knew how to load it and cock it and fire it and that was about it.

Above: Top line reads CROSMAN ARMS CO INC bottom line reads FAIRPORT, NY. MADE IN USA. The engraving on the barrel is deep and also serves as a hand grip surface for cocking the bb rifle.

Above:This was taken from a PDF file that Crosman has made available online.  How to lubricate the V 350 . Which I did immediately after reading this.

Above:This was taken from a PDF file that Crosman has made available online. This diagram shows the lubrication points as well as identifying other parts such as the loading port.

Above: Here you can see the holes that are shown on the diagram above. The extra hole (third back from the front) is the mounting hole for the missing rear sight. I check ebay from time to time for the rear sight, but haven't found one yet.

Above: A view of the V 350 from the other side.

Above: A view of the trigger guard and trigger. I really like that vintage trigger and it is surprisingly comfortable to use.

As for the stock I have not refinished it. I have touched it up with a "Furniture Repair Marker" . These markers come in a set with about 6 different shades. They are great for touching up all your wood work around the house as well.

Above:This was taken from a PDF file that Crosman has made available online.
These safety instructions are pretty basic, but all good advice. I think if you could you go back in time in America, especially in rural America. I think you would find that people were more familiar with firearms, as they were more apart of everyday life. Being a city kid, I first learned to shoot at our Local "Boy's Clubs of America". We might have been shooting air rifles just like this one, but I honestly don't remember. That was after all 50 years ago, but it is definitely possible.

Above: The old V-350 does show some wear. My friend did tell me it was on a farm that he visited regularly as a boy. I am sure it was put to good use.

Above: I do shoot this air rifle from time to time, just enough to keep it from freezing up. At some point I would like to Shoot it through a Chrony just to see how close to 350 fps it can still shoot.
BELOW: I hope you are able to blow up or zoom in on the next diagram. (Also from a pdf file Crosman has made available online) The prices are unbelievable !

Until Next Time. Have Fun but Shoot Safe! I'm out Hugh

CNC Walnut grips and a Stripper!

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: Here I had this muzzle brake / adaptor with 1/2 x 20 tpi (threads per inch) UNF. All well and good, but 1/2 x 20 tpi UNF is not all that common in the USA. So I ordered this really cool Flash Supressor (what every air gun needs lol) from the UK. Unfortunately it never cleared customs. And now I'm probably on someone's list of international arms dealers! Sister Marie Therese would be so proud :)

So one night while scouring the internet for something cool to attach to my 1/2 x 20 adaptor. I spot this Hatsan Air Stripper .22cal 1/2 x 20. Be still my heart! Could this be real? Hey, what do I have to lose? I ordered it. It finally arrived, and then the moment of truth. Will the threads match. Halleluyah! It fits! It doesn't really take much to excite me these days.

Above: Here's that part number. How does an Air Stripper work you ask? Have you ever seen the explosion of Co2 gas that comes out of the barrel, especially when you have a fresh powerlet and the power adjuster is dialed up. That explosion causes turbulence. And just like on an airplane, turbulence can make for a bumpy ride. Anyway, as the pellet or other projectile exits the barrel it immediately enters the cone shaped tube. This separates the pellet from the turbulence. And because the cone gets wider, it diverts the turbulence out the vents and away from the projectile. This allows the pellet to fly flat or correctly. This minimizes wobble and prevents the pellet from tumbling. Is it necessary? Maybe not, However, with the Air Stripper attached and using the new pistol rest, I was able to do something I have never done before while shooting any air pistol in my garage range. Let me find the pictures brb.

Above: After getting dialed in and hammering the kill zone of this silhouette, I took one shot at each of the over the shoulder targets. The bull's eye on these is about the size of a dime.

Above: I hit both sides on the bull's eye with one shot. Then I called it a night. The distance is 8 yards or 24 feet.

Above: this is my garage range shooting table or station. This night I was shooting seated using the pistol rest.

<~This is the view of the target from behind the shooting table. While the distance isn't great, these silhouette targets are roughly about 1/5  the size of the silhouette targets at the indoor range. So I guess this would be like shooting a full size silhouette target at a much farther distance. That is one of the reasons I like these SplatterBurst targets. Having silhouette targets available that are designed for the smaller home range is awesome. And being able to see where you are hitting the target is priceless. Sometimes I like getting out the 9mm  or the .22  cal target pistol and heading off to the indoor range. But it seems like I always end up next to the guy shooting a cannon. It is not only cheaper to shoot airguns at home, it's a whole lot quieter too.

On the left the Walnut CNC machined grip. I like how these grips go over the safety. And how the grip follows the curvature around the back of the trigger guard.

Here is a better shot of that grip. You can find these on ebay. Today I spotted (on ebay) some custom grips made in England and they were "off the charts cool". Hey that's all I've got for now. I am working on a Crosman 2300S that I am real excited about. I ordered the muzzle brake for it today. And hopefully I'm going to be ordering the grips tomorrow. Until Next Time, Have Fun! But Shoot Safe. I'm out. Hugh

1 Crosman 1377 Carbine, 4 Targets, 4 Different Pellets

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.

Today I will be shooting four very different pellets at 3 inch splatter targets. 5 shots each using my Crosman 1377 Carbine at 8 yards.

I took 5 shots at each target in a standing position partial rest. This time I did stabilize my shooting table before starting.

ABOVE: Target No 1 Five shots using the .177 Crosman Premier Hollow Point Lead Hunting Pellets 7.9 gr. I was not at all surprised with the results. For some reason this carbine does not like this particular hollow point. I took extra care to shoot my best, but the result was the same.

ABOVE:Target No 2 (On center) Pellet RWS Diabolo Basic 7.0 gr. I wasn't expecting these to work this well. This 1.77 wadcutter works pretty well with my 1377 American Classic. This is good news. They did not work well in the last airgun I tried them in.

ABOVE: Target No 3 Crosman Lead Premium Grade Pointed Hunting pellets 7.4 gr Not surprised at all. I have always had good results with these pellets shooting my Crosman 1377 as well as the old Crosman Model 66 C rifle. It is true, Crosman Airguns like Crosman Pellets. This is about as good a group as I ever shoot. I have used these pellets in the past on small rodents and some birds with great success. Hey sometimes you have to protect the garden.

Above: Target No 4 The JSB Match EXACT RS--DIABOLO 7.33 gr. I expected these might do well, as they are somewhat similar in shape (skirt) to the Crosman Hunting Pellets. Other than my one bad shot, these grouped the tightest today. I knew the one shot was bad as soon as I squeezed the trigger. I'm sure you know that feeling. So judging by the other 4 shots, I think we have another winner! I can't wait to use these pellets again, and see if I can't match or better this result.

I would like to say first I don't know the folks who make these fine targets. And I don't get them for free or anything like that. I would however like to recommend these Splatterburst Targets 100%. Both the Splatterburst Silhouette Targets and the Splatterburst Spot targets. I have found these targets make it easy to make windage and elevation adjustments "on the fly". No more walking back and forth to see where I am hitting the targets. They have made my garage airgun range even more fun than it already was. And by the way, They are Made in the USA. Until Next Time Have Fun but Shoot Safe. Only Fools Ignore the Rules. I'm out, Hugh

CALDWELL PISTOLERO PISTOL REST REVIEW

Hello and Welcome,
 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: The Caldwell Pistolero Pistol Rest. Price $24.95 including shipping. The first thing you will notice is it is made of plastic.

Being made of plastic the rest is lightweight. It doesn't have a rock solid feel when you rest your pistol on it. If they made the bottom a hollow compartment so you could fill it with sand or pea gravel that would be a huge improvement. I did get comfortable with the rest after using it a few times. Hey, we are talking about 25 bucks here.  I didn't expect perfection.

The butt rest adjusts forward and backwards fairly easily. The top of the butt rest is a rubber piece that keeps the butt from sliding around too easily. The rest slides along two channels and has a tab that is pushed into the selected groove. This can be a little finicky. But once you get the tab inserted it works pretty well.

The cradle or barrel rest is height adjustable. The cradle also has a soft rubber insert that prevents the barrel from sliding around easily. And it protects the barrel from damage. Now as I said before, the pistol rest is all plastic. So the cradle isn't going to feel rock solid either. Once you get it adjusted to the desired height you can lock it in using the threaded bolt on the side. You only want to tighten the bolt a little. Too much pressure and the cradle post will move. You will see this looking through the dot sight or scope when locking the post into place. Again this is a 25.00 rest, So I'm not complaining. The description says it adjusts to fit almost any pistol. So lets try a few and see.

Above; Here is my Beretta PX4 Co2 Pistol which is considerably smaller than the Crosman 2240 . It seems to fit the in the Pistolero rest pretty well. Lets try a few more.

Above: Here we have the Colt Defender Co2 bb pistol. The Colt Defender is a fairly small pistol. So I am impressed. I wish I had a revolver handy but I don't. So lets try something even smaller.

Above: My TAURUS TCP PT 738 .380 ACP. Even with the extended grip (magazine) this is a really small "pocket pistol". If it were a BB or Pellet pistol, this might work ok. But I don't think the muzzle flash would do the Pistolero rest any good. But this does show just how adjustable the Caldwell Pistolero Pistol Rest is.Now I'll try to show you some results.

Left: This is about as good as can I shoot my 2240 standing in a semi rest position. I am using an old throw pillow on top of a stool which is on top of a table. LTMS Sounds like a bloody circus act. But it is more stable than it sounds.(but not much) Distance about 8 yards. My air gun range is set up in my garage. I shoot across the front of the Garage. There is an 8 ft door and a 16 ft door with a two foot pier in between. And about 2 foot on each end. The lighting is fair to poor, But I am working on that. Soon I will have to put away the Co2 pistols until spring. But the pumpers and break barrel rifle will be fine in the colder months. Also I can take my "other firearms" to the indoor range during the winter months. I like to shoot at Peacemakers Indoor Range in Howell MI. Very modern set up and very professional folks running the place as well. I haven't been in a while I hope they are still there.

Today I cleaned and tightened up the 2240. Using the Caldwell Rest, I took 3 shots, then adjusted my BSA dot sight right about 4 clicks. After that I just hammered the kill zone on this silhouette target. I took my time, as it is a single shot bolt action pistol. I did use the rest once before just to get the feel for it. It wouldn't have been fair to review it using it for the first time. In closing I would say the Caldwell Pistolero Pistol Rest did help me shoot better. My vision is 20/40 so I never use open sights. But considering my situation I think I am shooting pretty well. As I heard someone say recently on Youtube, "I'm not tournament good, I'm combat good".

I would like to say two more things before I finish up. First, This is a Pistol Rest Not a Work Stand. If you use it for a work stand it probably won't end well. Also I think (for the price) I would say the Caldwell Pistolero Pistol Rest a good investment.
Until Next Time, Have Fun but Shoot Safe. I'm out. Hugh

The never ending Evolution of my Crosman 1377 American Classic Pistol

Hello and Welcome

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: The Crosman 1377 American Classic as it comes from the factory. There is nothing wrong with the stock 1377.A.C. It has good power right out of the box (around 600 fps) and is pretty accurate as well. Very capable of taking care of any small rodents or birds that may be raiding your garden.

The very first change I made to my 1377 was to add a carbine stock. This made it much easier for me to keep the pistol on target. Which after installing it  immediately made my groups noticeably tighter. At this point I started searching google for images of modified 1377's. I did some research and learned that in order to successfully mount decent optics in the future (scopes ,dot sights etc) a steel breach with a machined dove tail mount is the best option. Being on a budget my first electronic dot sight cost about 10.00 US. Actually i think it was a little less than that. I think we already had the basic cleaning kit we used to clean our Crosman 760 pump pellet / b.b. rifle, which we still use for pest control. The steel breech upgrade also makes a better sturdier mounting point for a longer barrel than the original plastic breech ever could.

After being inspired by other modified 1377s I had seen online I decided to install a longer rifled barrel and a beefier black fore grip / pump lever handle. And I went through a couple muzzle guards before deciding on the one shown. It made sense to do the barrel and fore grip at the same time. No sense in taking the pistol apart twice if you don't have to. The scope shown was borrowed off my Ruger AirHawk brake barrel rifle.

The the Crosman 1377 eventually got it's own scope. I didn't want a full size (or longer) scope. I only use this for backyard pest control and short range target shooting and plinking. I wanted the carbine to have a tactical look as well. This is also why I kept everything black.

The scope I chose is the NcStar Model#SC430B P4 Sniper. (about 20.00 US) I was shooting in the "garage air pistol range" today with it, and in low light it is really tricky to load. Now I am seeing the down side of the shorter scope. I will try to reposition the scope forward a bit and hopefully that will help. If not I think this scope might work out well with a Co2 pistol project I have in mind.

Above : Just to see how they would fly I look two shots with the RWS Diabolo Basic 7gr pellets. Then 4 or 5 shots with the Crosman Pointed Premium Grade Lead Hunting pellets, which weigh in at abou 7.50 gr (I am guessing). Anyway what they say is true "Crosman air guns shoot well with Crosman pellets" As you can see I was more accurate shooting the Crosman pellets. And the group was noticeably tighter. The RWS pellets sure make a nice hole though, looks like a .22 cal. hole. For reference, that is 3 inch RangeMaxx spot target.

<~ LEFT: Once I decided on the Crosman Lead Pointed Hunting Pellets I decided to do a little silhouette shooting. Ok, this is going to sound like an excuse. But at least 1 of those low shots was a bad pellet. With Crosman lead pellets (or any brand) you really want to take a quick look at each pellet before you load it. One of the pellets that didn't want to chamber ended up hitting low. The other low shot, well that one was probably just me. It was hot in the garage range so I didn't shoot long. I did also shoot my Beretta PX4 Storm Recon, Not all that accurate but a blast to shoot. I was shooting baseball size groups with the Beretta. And that's acceptable to me, as it is a (replica) close combat weapon. And I wasn't taking my time. I like to practice rapid fire shooting from time to time. Something they do not condone at the indoor pistol range. They like a minimum 3 count between shots. Another advantage to shooting air pistols at my home air gun range.

Above: My Beretta PX4 Storm Recon. The Beretta has the blowback action which is nice for teaching purposes. The RECON version came with a Tri or Quad Rail and I had all kinds of cool stuff attached to it...LOL. It looked really cool but was a pain in the ass to shoot. So now I just have the little laser and the Faux silencer.
Until Next Time, Have Fun but Shoot Safe, I'm  out, Hugh