by B.B. Pelletier
Sorry, my friends, but the Beretta CX-4 Storm that I scheduled to blog today has been delayed. It will be a couple more weeks before I can get to it.
Today, I’ll conclude the Remington Genesis report. I told you how well the Gamo Tomahawks shot compared to all others, and you’ll remember that the RWS Supermags were okay, but not great.
Crosman Premier lites
The final pellet I tried was the Crosman Premier 7.9-grain, which shot 2″ groups at 25 yards. It also loaded very loosely in the breech and would be the perfect example of a pellet that doesn’t fit the bore very well. It also noticeably increased the amount of mainspring buzz.
If you own a Genesis, don’t stop there. There are plenty of good pellets that I didn’t try, and I think you should give them all a chance in your gun. I do believe that the heavier pellets will probably not shoot as well as the lighter ones, because that’s how it usually goes in breakbarrels.
Trigger and powerplant
Back in parts one and two of this report, I said the powerplant and the trigger acted like they would probably smooth out over time and use, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. The trigger is still single-stage and still drags and creeps, but it’s lighter and smoother than it was in the beginning. In part two, I said I could feel the beginning of a first and second stage, but that hasn’t materialized. After a few thousand shots, the trigger should be very smooth. The spring buzzes very little now compared to when the gun was new. I think this rifle might respond well to a tuneup. All detonation (which I called dieseling in parts one and two) has ceased.
The Bug Buster 2 was just the right scope for this airgun. It mounted easily and was all the magnification I needed to get the job done.
The Bug Buster 2 was good on the Genesis. It fit well and went on quickly. The power was sufficient to give the accuracy shown in Part 3 of this report. Notice the flat portion of the stock just forward of the triggerguard. That’s where the rifle sat on the gel pad.
Best pellet
I was most impressed by the performance of the Gamo Tomahawk pellet in this rifle. It saved the day like the cavalry! That will lead me to do a special test of the Tomahawk at some time in the future. With 750 pellets in the tin for as little as they charge, this pellet is one heck of a good deal!
The Tomahawk is a hollowpoint with a raised cone in the center. I don’t know how well it expands, but it certainly made the Genesis a shooter!
Velocity
The velocity has dropped and gotten more uniform now that the rifle is no longer detonating. I had gotten 785 to 811 fps with Heavy JSB Exacts in part two last year, and now the gun gets 734-747. RWS Hobbys go 887 to 901. Gamo Tomahawks go anywhere from 838 to 865, so their accuracy should decline at longer ranges.
Gel pad and stock shape
The Gel Shooting Support was another lifesaver for this rifle. Who would have thought that such a small thing would have such a dramatic impact on group size? The Genesis stock is perfectly shaped for the gel pad, too. It has a wide flat spot on the bottom, just ahead of the triggerguard. That’s how field target rifles are shaped. While the Genesis will never be a field target rifle, the shape makes it easier to rest the rifle almost anywhere.
I think the reason the gel pad works so well is that it gets your other hand off the rifle. The Genesis is very hard to hold softly because the thumbhole stock design invites squeezing. Using the gel pad isolates the gun from your body to make a noticeable difference downrange.
Bottom line
The Genesis is in a price range with some tough competition – the toughest of which is the Gamo Shadow 1000 which is $20 cheaper. The Shadow can do anything the Genesis can do, but it doesn’t have the nice grippy synthetic stock. So, buyers have to choose.
B.B. Is the Bug Buster 2 ok for powerful springers,e.g.,the RWS 54 or the AA Mklll? Don
Don,
The Bug Buster 2 is built on the TS platform. That’s Leapers toughest scope. Whenever you see the TS next to a scope, it will take the recoil of any airgun made.
B.B.
BB,
I have a BugBuster scope (6×32)non adjustable objective that has a very coarse reticle. I personally think that the scope I have is junk. The entire field of view is never in focus (the edges are very distorted, and I find it hard to pinpoint the ten ring with such a thick reticle. Is the reticle on the new Leapers Bug Busters improved? Does it compare with the fine reticle on the Leapers 3x9x50?
Thanks,
Michael in Florida
Michael,
You don’t have a Bug Buster. By definition, all Bug Buster scopes have adjustable objectives. You have a Leapers Compact scope. They have the corsest reticles of any Leapers scope.
The reticles are all different thicknesses on Leapers scopes, so I can’t say whether one has a thick one or not without examining it..
All Bug Busters have hunting reticles which are thicker, but I doubt they are as thick as you compact scope reticle.
B.B.
can anyone out there that has a remington genesis test the new crosman destroyers in it to see if they work also?
Dave
Hmmm…. do you think the Tomahawk pellets will start showing instability when they get into the 900+fps range?
Also, I was glad (and surprised) to see Gamo offering the Shadow with open sights again. Some time ago they informed me that they were phasing them out – all guns were gonna be scope-only
when are u going to leave your next post on airsoft?
Vince,
I will test Tomahawks at 900 and long range. I might go a little faster, but that’s where most diabolo pellets start to loose it, so I won’t do much at that speed.
B.B.
Airsoft,
I have a couple posts in the works right now.
B.B.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hi BB,
Sorry for the off topic question, it was a toss up between raising the dead or putting it here 🙂
I’ve noticed that certain specifications on scope mounts is near impossible to find on the Pyramid website and on the internet in general. In particular, the maximum objective sizes for certain mounts, like the B-Square 17101. I know its a good idea for people to call with their tech questions, however when assembling a wishlist at 2 am its a bit difficult.
Even the B-Square website has no specs on their models. Pyramid would be the ONLY website with this info if they decided to add it to the description. I’m guessing that ther 17101 is for objectives up to 44mm, and the High Mount version 17701 is for 50mm and above. I’ve already emailed Pyramid on this, I just thought I’d share it with the readers who may also be scratching heads.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
Paul.C
bb,
so, do you expect the crosman phantom to for the most part be the same rifle as the genesis?
Dave
bb,
do you think the jacketed steel bull barrel gamo offers on the viper and hunter elite and extreme models will help calm recoil significantly?
Dave
Dave, I’m not BB, but…
The Phantom is a synthetic-stock version of the Quest, which is a Chinese version of the Gamo built by BAM (the B30 and B40 guys). The Genesis is based on the same action as the Benjamin Legacy 1000.
They are similar in general design (as are most breakbarrels), but that’s about it. All the major parts – springs, seals, compression tube, barrel, etc. are different.
I had a Legacy (and have a Phantom), and personally I prefer the Chinese gun. In my experience, the Quest-based guns are easier to shoot reasonably well and tend to hit harder. Plus, the Quest has an articulated cocking link that reduces side-loading on the piston.
But that’s just based on my own limited experience.
As for the bull barrel – I think those only work for recoil when it’s a solid steel barrel that adds weight. I suspect that Gamo does this for looks and/or production costs (plastic jacketing cheaper than bluing?)
It would be REALLY nice if Gamo addressed spring twang, rather than meesing around with gimmicks…
Paul,
Thank you for suggesting Friday’s posting!
B.B.
Dave,
I do think that, though the price difference gives me cause to wonder. All I know is that Pyramyd sells a boatload of Phantoms.
B.B.
Dave,
The plastic jacket doesn’ty do anything to recoil, but it probably does reduce vibration. The Viper Express is pretty quiet.
B.B.
BB and Vince,
I’ve been following your discussion of vibration and twang. I have very limited experience with airguns but have a Gamo Shadow 1000 that I’ve been using as a “project gun”. Spring twang, a poorly designed and sloppy pivot bolt, and bad trigger seem to be the trademarks. After much time and energy I’ve pretty much fixed all of them and now have a reasonably accurate and consistent gun. It would have been faster, and maybe cheaper, if I had just started out with a decent gun, but I have definitely learned a lot. I followed all of BBs tuning instructions from the great series he did a while back and that helped a lot. But the gun was still a sow’s ear. The spring twang problem was an interesting one. I started by using one of Rich-from-Mich’s UHMW spring guides, top hats, and thrust bearings. That helped a lot. New piston seal, Mac spring, and velocity tar, more improvement. But the spring still rattled around inside the piston tube like marbles in a trash can. BB had mentioned possibly using shim stock inside the tube to take up the clearance but said he didn’t particularly like that fix. So I found some UHMW adhesive backed tape ( http://www.mcmaster.com/ part number 76445A744 ) at work that is excellent stuff. Flexible, tough, slippery, and the adhesive backing bonds well. I degreased the inside of the piston tube, cut the tape to fit, and lined the tube. It took a few tries to get it to fit correctly and get it fully bonded by pressing it into place with a wood dowel rod. The spring fit well, and that metallic rattle was gone. I reassembled the gun and the difference in noise level and vibration was major. And checking with a chrony, the velocity was super consistent- 8fps spread from a half dozen BKs. Damping the recoil was next but that’s another story. BB, do you know if any of the manufacturers use a lining inside their piston tubes? I guess longevity might be an issue, but I’ve got at least 1000 shots on this modification and diassembly and inspection shows no degradation of the UHMW tape.
Best regards,
Pestbgone
bb and vince,
…wait…the jacketed bull barrel is plastic??? gamo says on their website that its steel.
Dave
Unless I’m sorely mistaken, the jacket is plastic. The barrel itself, of course, is steel.
Pestbgone,
I am so happy that you were inspired to do this tuneup! I could not have done more.
And working on a sow’s ear is often the best way to learn.
Wow!
B.B.,
Thank YOU very much, otherwise i would not have had the confidence to dive in. I feel fortunate to have found this blog where the information and advice is solid, and I don’t have to wade through tons of posts to get one tid-bit of info. This is heaven for an incurable tinkerer like me.
And I’m really looking forward to your blogs on competition shooting.
Thanks again,
Pestbgone
Hey B.B.,
I’ve got sort of an off-topic question for you. I just bought a Quest 1000X (I did consider the Genesis), but I don’t think the Crosman scope that it came with is very good. Can you recommend a better scope under $50? Or maybe I should just consider getting a one-piece mount to better hold a zero?
Also, have you heard anything about what kind of pellets the Quest 1000 likes?
Love your blog.
Thanks in advance,
Ethan
Ethan,
Try the Leapers 4 X 32 range estimating AO Full Size Sniper Scope. It has a TS platform and is a great value.
Before you get to mpellets, clean that barrel with JB paste, the way I have been recommending. Then try a Crosman Permier 7.9 and a Gamo Hunter.
B.B.
if i wanted to mount a centerpoint 3-9×40 scope, which scope rings should i use?
well smith, that all depends on your gun. if its to a pellet gun, then you need dovetail mounts, 1 inch, medium.
if its for a firearm, or airsoft gun, you need weaver/pitcanny mounts(still 1 inch medium).
Dave
Smith,
Since the Genesis already comes with a 3-9×40, it’s a safe bet that the rings that come with the gun will fit the Centerpoint scope, unless it’s a 30mm tube. The Genesis mounts appear to be medium height, so I’d say medium-height rings will work. Be sure to ask the sales person to check before you buy.
B.B.
hello b.b.
i’m looking for some spring piston airguns for under $200 that are not hold sensitive have good longevity and dont require alot maintenance and does not require me to buy replacement parts like springs and seals for a couple years
thank you
jeremy
Jeremy,
The IZH-61 & Gamo CF-X.
B.B.
I am new to airguns though am an old timer with shotguns, rifles, revolvers, etc…. Recently I bought a Crosman Sierra Pro, which I am told is really a Remington Summit,it came with a scope, 3x9x40.I took it to the range to sight the scope in(at 25 yrds) and after an hour was very unhappy. Reasonable groupings at 25yrds, however, all 8 inches left and 12 inches low. After several scope adjustments I am close to the bull but not consistently.
Question: Should I return the gun and get the Gamo shadow 1000 or stay with what I have? I wastoldI can returnthe gun and get a different one.
Thanx, Bernie
thank you very much b.b.
i will get the cf-x
jeremy
Bernie,
I can’t tell from your question whether your problem is sighting-in or accuracy. If sighting-in, know that all breakbarrels droop and you probably need to use an adjustable scope mount. If accuracy, are you holding the rifle very loosely and letting it recoil as much as it can? That’s the only way to be accurate with a breakbarrel spring rifle. It’s the same hold used by rimfire target shooters, except aigunners never grip the stock. They allow the stock to float on their open palm. Never rest the gun directly on sandbags.
B.B.
Thanx BB,
I doappreciate all the help I can get. The experienced airgun shooter in the store had suggested either the GAMO or the Beeman over the sierra Pro, which I was told was really a Remington Summit.
The question was about accuracy. I had my hand on the sandbag and I thought I used a soft hold. I didn’t have this kind of trouble with any other rifles, especially my 22 winchester 61 pump.
The other question was do to the fact that the gun is hard to cock, and has a verystrong/hard trigger pull, I’m an short old timer.
Sooo – the question is whether I should return the Sierra Pro and get the GAMO Shadow 1000, with scope,or the Beeman 1062 with scope?
Thanx, Bernie
Bernie,
Okay, you’re doing everything right.
Now you want more accuracy. Let’s get you into a Gamo CF-X or stretch a little farther and get a .177 BAM B40. These two are very accurate, with the B40 outshooting a tuned 10/22 at 40 yards.
B.B.
Wow OK, I willreturn the Sierra Proand I will see if they can order the B40, does it needa scope?
Thanx SoMuch BB..
Bernie
Bernie,
The BAM B40 has no sights, so it does need a scope.
B.B.
B.B.,
If the Genesis is American made, and the Quest/Phantom is Chinese, where is the Sierra Pro/Summit made (or, which rifle is it based on?).
Thanks,
Andrew
P.S.-You’re running a great blog, it’s very informative.
Andrew,
I think it’s made in China, but I’m not sure.
Glad you enjoy the blog.
B.B.
B.B.,
I think I’m about to buy the Leapers 4 X 32 range estimating AO Full Size Sniper Scope for my Quest 1000, as you suggested. However, I need to buy separate mounts to fit on to the Quest’s 11mm Dovetail rail.
My question is, would you recommend a one-piece mount as opposed to two rings? Something tells me the one-piece would be better at handling the Quest’s recoil.
Thanks again,
Ethan
Ethan,
I seldom recommend one-piece rings over two-piece. Both are equally strong and two-piece are much more flexible.
B.B.
For the folks discussing the Remington Summit/Crosman Sierra,
I bought the Crosman Sierra Pro combo, and I have to say that the ONLY thing I liked about it was the Centerpoint 3-9×40 scope.
For one thing, this was a classic example of major barrel droop exacerbated by the non-adjustable scope mounts, necessitating a pretty major scope turret correction.
Then, once I was able to get the scope in the ballpark, I was dismayed to see that it absolutely would NOT hold a zero for more than 20 shots.
Yes, I used the integral scope stop in the rear ring, and yes, I thoroughly degreased mounts, screws, rings, and scope itself.
The only thing I didn’t do was to apply Michael’s “Gun-Tite” brand of Loc-Tite, but I didn’t want to make it problematic to return it, and I am glad I didn’t.
I also discovered that ALL of the screws on the rifle itself were loose and worked themselves back out immediately after I had tightened them and shot more than once or twice.
Here I DID apply the Loc-Tite, and that halted the screw backout.
However, it didn’t make a wit of difference, as the 25 yard groups quickly opened up from approximately 3″ (yes, that’s right) to 12″+!
I checked all screws, including the scope mount, but none was lose.
I used my traditional .30-06 death grip, then switched over to the “artillery hold.”
Neither helped.
I returned this dog to the local Wal-Mart, but it still took me over a half hour to get them to honor their return policy, as their clerks seemed to be under the impression that an airgun is under the exact same category as true firearms, which are not returnable.
Anyway, I am eagerly awaiting the enormously talked about Gamo CFX.
btw…too bad that Crosman has already discarded the Legacy 1000 and (I assume) the Genesis, as those were the only yankee springers out there.
Those Spanish/Brits/Germans still have their edge in that category, at least it looks that way for now.
-Scott
Scott,
Good report! These are the comments our readers need to make up their minds.
I hope the CF-X you get lives up to everything you have read.
B.B.
I bought the Remington Genesis 1000x, yesterday. Not my first choice on my list but dealers around here are very limited on what they carry. I was really looking for something in .22 cal..
After getting it home, I open the box with excitement. The rifle looks really good, the Centerpoint 3-9×40 AO looked just as good.
I decided to try open sights first, using the Crosman primere target to see if she would group. Not well out of the box. Way over an inch at 6 yards. So rembering BB’s comments on the break-in and the poor results with those pellets I proceeded to clean the barrel with JB’s bore cleaner.
The next round with those pellets they where almost all touching, shooting with open sights. (The rear sight spring is soft and moves easy).
Time to mount the scope. I needed to shim the rear scope ring to compensate for drastic droop. The groups where good. The mount seems rather good with the anchor pin holding well in the receiver.
Today I adjusted the cheak peice higher. (The instruction sheet now tells you how.) Started shooting and the groups where really poor. Shots where strung out up and down over 1.5″ but correct windage and also had random flyers 4″ low with correct windage.
I remounted the check peice back to the default low position, and proceeded to shoot one hole groups.
Again I shoot 6yards in my garage and can only imagine how bad that would have been at 20 yards or more!
The pellets I tested so far are the Crosman Premire Target @ 856-866 FPS; Beeman Laser @ 974 FPS; Beeman CrowMag @ 760-766 FPS; Beeman Silver Arrow @ 635 FPS. The arrow is a heavy pellet at 11.5 grains. and the Gamo Rocket @ 735 FPS. I tried the Crosman Silver Eagle and stoped after getting a supersonic crack. Well the rifle still has to break-in so will see what it does in a few month and at a longer range. Overall I like this rifle.
Joe G in Jersey
Jersey Joe,
Way to go! Keep us posted.
B.B.
Accuracy problems of the Genesis 1000x found and revealed.
During a week of shooting the rifle at 13 yards indoors to sight in, i came across a few problems. Groups would come and go, at best about an inch, 50 shots later 3 inches and then random low flyers 4 to 10 off the mark.
After a good inspection, I found the set screw that locks the barrel in place was backin out causing the barrel to become lose in the block. This problem was fixed with blue thread lock; and seems to be holding tight.
Another problem was the barrel not latching up secure, and every now and then it would tilt down about 1/8″ or so. The fix for this was to place the yoke of the receiver into a vice, and try and get a little more pressure by pinching it togeather. This also allowed me to tighten the hinge screw better. The process did take up slack, and the barrel now had good tension when opening and closing.
After an hour of shooting CrowMags today, everything is still tight and my groups for the most part are as thick as a pen.
I hope she holds !
Joe G in Jersey
Jersey Joe,
You are now a leader in Genesis tuning. Keep us updated from time to time.
B.B.
I just picked up a genesis it is crap. Out of the box it wouldn’t cock. I began poking around and found the rod or should I say folded sheet metal the pushes in the spring was bend bad. I had a gamo wisper but someone helped themselves to it out of my trunk. So, off to the store to trade it for a gamo cfx. The scope on the gamo looks like crap, ahh who cares I think from this blog it is a solid gun. Bill
Hi B.B.
Hope all is well with you.
I bought a Remington Genesis 14-15 years ago and recently I took it out and enjoy shooting again.
Even I own the rifle for many years but I just shot it for maybe 600-700 times only and I’m not sure if the rifle was broken in yet. I found this rifle is so loud and my question would like to ask you is will the rifle be quieter if I do the tuning per your “Spring gun tuning (13 parts)”
And since the rifle is discontinue, I can only find some tuning kit for Remington express. My question is do you happen to know if the kit can be used on the Genesis. In case it can, will the rifle be smoother and quieter?
Thank you in advance and thank you for giving us so valuable knowledge about air gun.
Tomcat