My new Crosman (not a pistol)

[seagullplayer]

I was so impressed with me new 1377 that I decided to get a new pellet rifle. 

I thought about moding my 1377 into one, lots of folks do it would seem.  But I like having the pistol.

This weekend I brought home a new Crosman Storm xt from wally world.

http://reviews.walmart.com/1336/5913352/crosman-storm-xt-177-break-barrel-rifle-reviews/reviews.htm



It comes with a 4x32 scope that I found to work pretty good.
Last night I got a chance to zero the scope.  The open sites look very nice, but I put the scope on and bypassed them all together for now.
I am told that these guns need to be shot a few times before they "settle in".

I set my board up at 25 years and shot 25-30 shots, before doing any adjustments on the scope.
I have not used a scope on a rifle in many years, so I needed some break-in myself!
After 15-20 shots they began to group in a tighter pattern, low and left.

It took me a few more shots to dial in the scope, but I have it pretty close I think.  I ended up with 75-100 shots when all said and done.  I had about a 1.5" - 2" group when I ended.  I will work on it a little more latter.  The gun seemed to group pretty well, but it is hard to tell right now how much deviation is machine and how much is operator.    I want to shot a couple hundred more shots before I fine tune any further.

I am happy with the gun.  The fit and finish seem very nice, it looks good and feels solid.  It is a heavy gun, I like that.  I think the scope is well fitted to the range one should expect to shot with this gun.  It seems hard hitting, I think the squirrel's should be afraid this fall, very afraid!   

Some people have complained about the scope mounts, mine came loose after three shots, but I only had them hand tight, after I tighten them with a tool, I had no further trouble at all.

I gave a little over $100 for the gun, now I have the long gun I wanted and get to keep my pistol.
Although I am pretty sure if you are looking for light weight, moding the 1377 would have saved a few pounds.

[Crosshairs]

Nice little springer just watch that trigger when its cocked half way.
                                       Mike 

[sandpiper]

Nice little srpinger just watch that trigger when its cocked half way.
                                       Mike 

Nice! Gotta love the springers. Have fun with it

[farrlarr]

"I set my board up at 25 years and shot 25-30 shots, before doing any adjustments on the scope."

I guess we are going to have to wait a while before we find out how your new gun shoots!   

[seagullplayer]

Lots of folks complain about the triggers on these things, I guess some are worse than others, but I think it is something I can get use to.  I was getting the feel for the break point no longer than I shot last night.

I really like the location of the safety!  This is one gun that I wouldn't mind if it had an automatic safety, but it does NOT.  You have to do that yourself if you are not going to shoot right away.

I heard that the pellets will break the sound barrier when coming out of the muzzle, I guess I was thinking fast enough for time travel, started thinking in years not yards...   

[arkmaker †]

"I set my board up at 25 years and shot 25-30 shots, before doing any adjustments on the scope."

I guess we are going to have to wait a while before we find out how your new gun shoots!   

Can't wait to see how much you improve at 30 years!!

[ginoe]

While shopping at the local Walmart, I noticed the varied selection of airguns on the shelf. Not knowing much about them, I started reading the descriptions written on the box of each model. I knew I wanted a CROSMAN rifle with a very high FPS. There were many models there with just the rifles, combos with scopes, kits including ammo, targets and shooting glasses. I decided to put off the impulse buy and research a little more on them.

Searching the internet, I discovered the many types of powerplants these airguns use. I narrowed it down to either the spring piston or pneumatic pump. After reading a few reviews on the internet, I decided on the spring piston/break barrel CROSMAN STORM XT with the 3-9x31 CENTERPOINT OPTICS scope.

Once home, I read the owners manual to familiarize myself with the rifle and its' workings. Mounting the scope, I went to the backyard to zero it in. After a few corrections I was satisfied with the adjustments.

WOW!

The first few rounds out of the rifle actually sounded like a .22 rimfire!!! I was afraid the neighbors would call the police but after the third shot, the rifle quieted down. It wasn't until recently, I discovered the loud crack was due to residue oil within the barrel causing detonation increasing the FPS to break the sound barrier. I can consistently hit small groupings from as far away as 50 yards using either CROSMAN .177 wadcutter or pointed pellets.

WAAH?!

I began to notice the rifle coming loose from the wood stock. It seems that the recoil or the act of reloading causes the main screws that hold the rifle together to come loose. I will have to BLUE LOCTITE them to keep the screws from working their way loose again.

I also noticed the scope creeping from two places; from within the scope mount and from the mount to the rifle. I did read that the break barrel has a two-way recoil of backwards/forwards. I tightened the mount onto the rifle and also tightened the scope within the mount. After a few shots the scope started to creep again. I could not tighten the screws further for fear of stripping them.

I now notice my particular rifle did not come with the scope stop as described. After going back to Walmart and explaining my situation, the kind man at the sporting section allowed me to remove one from a defective/returned model. When I tried to attach it to my rifle, the mounting hole had no inner threads for the screw to bite into. I used electrical tape to cover the screw/scope stop in place.

Instead of mounting the 3-9x31 CENTERPOINT OPTICS scope (the one packaged with the XT), I bought a BSA 3-7x20 scope. With the scope stop in place, I figure the lower weight/low profile BSA scope would not creep as much as the bigger CENTERPOINT scope. After zeroing in the BSA and tightening up the rifle screws on the wooden stock - the STORM XT is on target!



I shot these before I cleaned the rifle; 10 meters, crosman premier supermatch wadcutters 7.9 grains

I must have shot over 1000 rounds and recently decided to clean the barrel using the 'goo-gone-soaked-patch-on-a-weedwacker-line' method. The 1st patch was gunked completely black, successive patches started to come cleaner & cleaner until the final few dry patches were coming out clean.

chrony results before cleaning: 889fps/13.89fpe
chrony results after cleaning: 895fps/14.06fpe

Not too bad for $99 rifle, a bit of fiddling/cleaning & using a downgraded scope (for an additional $17) - I dig it 

[Trial and Air]

I am flying back to st. louis tomorrow and I can't wait to get my titan GP sighted in. I was having so many problems with it until I watched this video:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf5GiF9BP9Q#]Artillery Hold - Kasen[/url]

total game changer!

I've got a centerpointe 4-16 x40mm scope and I am really anxious to see if I use chargun, how long it will take to make an accurate 50 yd + shot

[farrlarr]

Loading a break barrel without holding the barrel!!!  Anti-bear trap device or not, that just isn't a safe practice; sooner or later, any mechanical device will fail and the barrel will snap closed, damaging the rifle and who knows what else. 

[Trial and Air]

Loading a break barrel without holding the barrel!!!  Anti-bear trap device or not, that just isn't a safe practice; sooner or later, any mechanical device will fail and the barrel will snap closed, damaging the rifle and who knows what else.

I know! I didn't know that it was a big deal until sooo many people were making that comment. I don't want to find out the problems that could cause first hand but I sure do appreciate the comparison in regard to grips.

[NorthStaR]

Yup, seen a barrel bend on a springer from someone pulling the trigger when it was in the cocking position. Makes you jump a mile too! 

The oil igniting is dieseling, worse if oil is in the innards and not just the barrel. Smell of burning? A muzzle flash?
That alone can cause the gun to break up.

Not sure of your technique but hold the rifle as if it was made of water. Literally let it float.
It'll help on the shock factor and tighten up the grouping. Holding the rifle like a bullldogs on the end can cause damage too.
Could be why screws et cetera started to come out. Just let it go.

Like I said I don't know your Kung-Fu, just saying.     No offence or criticism intended. 

Look like cool guns at a cheap price.  Have fun. 

[mustangmike]

the best mod you can do for crosman break barrel rifles is the charlie da tuna grt3 trigger.. best money you can spend on that 800x even better then a nice scope