by B.B. Pelletier
The Crosman 2250 XE is a fine example of what the Crosman Custom Shop can do.
We’ll look at the 2250XE today for velocity. I just want to remind you that I predicted this carbine would shoot faster than the advertised 550 f.p.s. and, indeed, it does.
This CO2 air rifle uses a single 12-gram CO2 cartridge as a power source. Normally, I would guess that we would see about 40 good shots from a cartridge, but today I counted them, so we’ll all know for sure.
Trigger-pull
I mentioned in Part 1 that I really liked the trigger-pull. Today, I’ll say more about it. At first examination, it feels like a single-stage pull, and that’s what the specs say it is. After using it a while, I could feel a definite hesitation in the pull that turned it into a two-stage pull for me. You have to be careful to not fire the gun by pulling too fast; but if you pull in a controlled way, the trigger does have a two-stage feel, which makes it much more precise.
I measured the trigger-pull at 5 lbs., 2 ozs. several times, and it did not vary from that weight. With the trigger shoe that came on the gun, this trigger will really help in the accuracy test because I will know exactly when it’s about to break.
Velocity
I tested the potentially fastest pellet first. The RWS Hobby is one of the lightest lead pellets on the market, and yet it’s often very accurate, too. We’ll see about that in Part 3, but for today the average velocity was 584 f.p.s., with a spread from 578 to 591 f.p.s. So, there’s your faster pellet. It generates 9.01 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle, on average.
Next, I tried the ever-popular Crosman Premier in the cardboard box. This 14.3-grain pellet averaged 546 f.p.s. with a spread from 541 to 552 f.p.s. That’s a nice tight spread and a 9.47 foot-pound average muzzle energy. Of course, this is a CO2 carbine; and like a pneumatic, CO2 guns usually generate more energy with heavier pellets.
The last pellet I tested was the 15.9-grain JSB Exact dome. These pellets should be very accurate in this carbine. They averaged 516 f.p.s.; but this was the third shot string, and I noticed a definite decrease in power during the string. The first shots were in the low 520s and the final five were at or below 516. From what I saw, I calculate that this 2250 gets about 25 stable shots from a CO2 cartridge before the power starts dropping. You can shoot it for 30 shots, but after that the velocity starts dropping fast.
On shot 31, I went back to the Hobby pellets and now got a velocity of only 567 f.p.s. Shot 35 was going 549 f.p.s. and shot 40 went 462 f.p.s. After that, you’re risking getting a pellet stuck in the barrel.
I loaded a fresh CO2 cartridge in the gun and ran a second string of JSB Exact pellets. This time, the average velocity was 530 f.p.s. with a spread from 528 to 534 f.p.s. At the average velocity, the carbine is putting out 9.92 foot-pounds of energy.
There aren’t as many shots as I would have expected from a CO2 cartridge, but the gun is definitely faster than advertised. I expect to see some good accuracy from this carbine, based on the fact that it has a Crosman barrel and such a good trigger.
Hi guys (by the way Slinging Lead nice avatar 😉 i have calico cat and she would make nice avatar )Great pistol/rifle ,i am sucker for wood works and this is ….well extraordinary 🙂 ,but i like better self contained units-you know CO2 needs to be refilled and air is widely available but this is just my two cents(CO2 guys don’t judge me it is hard to find CO2 cartridges around here 🙂 )
This one is for all of you experts down there (especially B.B.)should i buy a spear barrel for D34 in 177 cal(since my rifle is 22 cal) and would it make any difference in target shooting (don’t get me wrong i am good with 22 cal)but would different cal be like different rifle?
It will be faster and shoot flatter in .177. The pellets will only cost about half as much as .22.
It will probably have a different feel when fired, depending on how the power plant gets along with the different caliber.
twotalon
twotalon-thank you 🙂 !
Milan,
First, welcome back. We haven’t heard from you in a while.
On the barrel question, I think you should try it. In your situation airguns are hard to get and you worked hard to get that 34, so this would be like a second rifle for you.
B.B.
B.B. thanks for an advice .Here most of air rifles are Turkish-made or Germany and Czech even Daisy Winchester but i would like to have the best from both worlds 17 and 22 from Diana34 .For now like i said before Slavia 634 is my favorite airgun but….- Cowboy Star Dad there is one secret -634 is best scoped (who would say ) unlike 631 ….
Hey Milan, good to see you back.
If you’ve been away a bit you may not have seen that last weekend I purchased and installed an new Hawke Airmax OA scope on my 631.
Last night I shot a 10 shot group at 30yds that could be coverd by a dime (akay, a big dime the edges of a couple of the holes were visible).
Gotta admit, I’m really impressed.
Now if I only had the extra 150fps that the 634 has 😉
CBS it is not the power that is important trust me… if you are satisfied nothing else matters
Forget stronger spring or lubing- 631 will give you more or less the same power ,there is one way to increase power on 631 but trust me it isn’t worth it you would destroy the fine rifle …
I am impressed with your groups and your avatar -teach good your cowboys 🙂 -be a good dad 🙂 (that comes from me 26 yrs old dude : ) )
First let them shoot without scope ,then let them use the scope -God i hope i’ll be a good dad (i hope… 🙂 )
Milan
Great to hear from you as always. I was able to find a used 631 here in the states late last year, and it has peep sights on it! 😛 It is a wonderful rifle and would be a crime to ruin that smooth shot cycle trying to make it into something it is not. It’s a shame that the trigger guard always seems to crack on them, but what can you do?
Does the spare barrel for your 34 come with the breech block? That would certainly make it easier to switch back and forth. Sounds like a good idea to me.
Keep shooting my friend.
Milan,
Welcome back!
Edith, there appears to be an extra “s” in the title word “Outdoorsman”.
Fred PRoNJ
Fred,
Corrected. That’s what I get for proofing the blog while watching TV 🙂
Thanks!
Edith
Still there in the rss feeds html–or was for me. Thank you, Edith!
Willmore,
It’s not in the RSS feeds for me. It’s possible that the server for your internet provider caches pages and it won’t change until that cache changes.
Edith
That could be so, but, oddly, when I fetch the file manually with wget, it comes in at about 250K/s (way less than my normal download speed) and still shows the error. Hmm, just tried it again with the “–no-cache flag”–which sends the proper header to the server (or proxy) to not cache the page. That specifically intended to address the situation you suggest. Still no joy. Hmmm…..
The really odd part here (and maybe a clue) is that these comments between us are showing up in my RSS reader. So *some* of the links are fixed, but not all of them. Does that suggest anything to you?
Willmore,
I’m not all that sharp when it comes to programming & feeds. My answers so far include the totality of my knowledge.
The best I can tell you is that I changed the link to today’s page as well as the title. That means that the URL had the misspelling in it, and I changed it. If old comments are hard-coded to the old URL, then there isn’t anything I can do about it.
Yet, everything I have seen shows the new URL and the new title. Nothing old exists on any of my downloads.
PA’s tech support guy (David), who normally helps me on the blog, is out today. Otherwise, I’d ask him.
Edith
No worries! Thank you for looking into this! I clearly managed to find the right page. 🙂 Oh, and it seems a lot of us tech guys are Davids. 🙂
I have a bunch of questions which relate to a topic that came up in the comments a few days ago. There was a question about rust prevention and a couple of follow-up responses which recommended Ballistol. Kevin wrote “The reality is that you should apply a wax to your metal (blued metal) first, then apply a topical. A good topical is Ballistol.” My questions are:
1. What wax do you suggest for protecting blued steel?
2. How does Ballistol compare to things like Break-Free CLP, Remoil, or Beeman MP-5 (all of which I have used for one thing or another)? What is the real difference between these products? Is Break-Free safe for air gun seals or just for my firearms?
3. What is the best way to protect my older (’60s & ’70s) guns that are painted rather than blued?
4. And finally…Why in the world does the manual for a modern BSA Meteor say (in Italics!) “Do not use oils containing SILICON as this can cause damage to metal surfaces and particularly to the trigger mechanism.”? Which oils do they mean? And does this apply to my old 1970’s BSA Meteor Mark 4?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this!
Neil in VA
Neil,
Let’s take a stab at your questions.
First, it isn’t silicon but silicone oil that you don’t want to use for lubrication. Silicon would be sand. Silicone does include silicon, but it is a polymer compound and the oil is used for sealing, not for lubrication. Your BSA Meteor is the same as all spring guns in this respect, so don’t oil the moving parts with it. The piston seal, however, can only use high-flashpoint silicone oil.
Next, Ballistol is a petroleum derivative lubricant that has excellent rust-preventive properties. It will soak into rust and remove the surface flakes while neutralizing the deeper stuff. Many military organizations around the world use and specify Ballistol on their automatic weapons.
The others you mention do similar things but as far as I know, they are not used officially by any military.
Painted guns are best wiped with a dry cloth and kept clean that way. The pain is a preservative, so no coating is required.
Kevin will have to address the wax question.
B.B.
Neil,
A.G. Russell, the purveyor of some very fine knives, sells a product called RustFree which he says, ” is the best we have ever seen for preventing rust or staining on high-carbon tool steel or any non-stainless steel. This is a silicon product and is much safer than petroleum products.” He goes on to talk about using it on your fine firearms also.
I’ve been using it on all of my guns and am VERY happy with the way it’s protecting their surfaces from rust.
Bruce
Mr. B.,
Turn on sarcasm meter 🙂
Oh, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for mentioning another liquid to slather on anything that’s not moving. Just what we need in our house — another lube, oil or rust-preventer.
It’s now safe to turn off your sarcasm meter 🙂
Edith
I’ll add this to the rust prevention dialog:
https://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=10700/guntechdetail/Gun_Cleaning_Clinic__Knowing_the_Limits_of_Rust_Preventatives
kevin
Heh… of the four “best” (in terms of minimum rust after 72 hours), two are thick greases one would not want to use on a daily basis, but would be okay for packing things away for months…
The other two (Boeing’s T-9 and WD-40) were developed primarily for water displacement features and used on aerospace stuff (as I recall, WD-40 is specified for spraying the inner workings of the Titan booster series).
So, is Ballistol petroleum based? I thought it was some kind of mineral oil. Anyway, Neil, as a general point, I will pass on that Ballistol apparently does whatever is necessary to preserve just about any material–metal, plastic, wood–and it has also been hyped to clean corrosive ammo as well as non-corrosive for firearms. A true miracle product. And it really does this from what I’ve seen. I spray Ballistol on everything in sight.
Matt61
I thought Ballistol was refined Coal Oil, not petroleum.
Neil,
I used to use meguires but now use rennaisance wax on my guns. After waxing I apply ballistol.
kevin
For stuff that is REALLY ! stuck , I can also recommend Kano Kroil. I used it to un-stick a Allis mod B tractor engine. This tractor had sat so long in the woods ,a large tree had grown up through it, which had to be removed before it could be brought home.
Kano Kroil is also great for cleaning firearm barrels. Try it on a gun after you’ve cleaned the barrel using your conventional method.
kevin
My favorite metal \ paint polish is Flitz. I really like it for stainless steel over all the various oils.
http://www.flitz-polish.com/index.php?page=Product.Product&externalId=541
Kevin and anyone else,
Update on the HW50S
Spoke with Paul Watts and he confirmed that the 50 I have was actually sold as an “M” despite the barrel stamp. He said there were also a few 30’s with the same designation. These are just forerunners to Beeman’s own branding of the models with the Monte Carlo stock he requested for the US market.
By chance he said he was getting ready to run a batch of R8’s and old style 50’s as he has 5 of them in the queue so my wait will not be as long as it is typically.
I went with the advance tune, setback trigger and 5 ½ brake – he is taking my double gold .20 cal R9 in trade for most of the work. Slinging Lead – you should of grabbed it, JM kit and shoots way hot.
Since I was unable to get it to cock even after cleaning all the gunk out of the trigger I was never able to run it over a Chrony. Kevin – what kind of numbers are you getting out of your R8?
Thanks
Volvo,
That gun deserves Paul Watts attention. Good choice.
My Watts tuned R8 came in shooting 630-640fps with jsb rs 7.3 gr pellets. It’s now got over 2000 shots in it and is doing around 650fps with air arms falcons (also 7.3gr). Remember, I’m shooting at 5200 feet elevation. B.B.’s R8 seems to be shooting the same as mine since it’s doing 718fps with 7.3gr. which is that typical 9-10% variation for elevation differance.
kevin
Volvo,
Here’s a link:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/465070/thread/1270674122/Thanks+again+Paul.++You+brought+this+one+back+from+the+brink.
kevin
Volvo
Yeah, I know. I already regret passing it up.
I’ve been trying to get a handle on my impulse control lately.
Good for you. Alas, I tend to give into temptation whenever possible.
Very nice.
Your R8 has the longer stock and the checkering on the pistol grip which adds a little more pizazz.
I went with the shorter brake also.
Did you refinish the furniture yourself?
Volvo,
The finish on that R8 is original. Since those photo’s were taken I did do a little restoration on the R8 wood though using some new to me products.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/405945/thread/1290052931/Rejuvenating+an+old+dirty%2C+sweaty+stock-
kevin
Kevin,
Sold, looks fantastic!
If I can get mine to look half as good as that I will be a happy camper.
B.B.,
Is it only in my own admittedly strange ‘land between the ears’ that Crosman’s failure to offer a dual cartridge gas tube for the 2240 based guns seem odd? Their marketing department seems far ahead of the curve in most instances but they have ignored the benefits that would accrue from offering the guns already so equipped along with a bulk-fill fitting as well as the tube and fitting for retro-fit on existing platforms. It can’t be because of design and production costs because I’m sure that a suitable tube exists somewhere within their lengthy romance with CO2.
When one entertains the concept for a few minutes it seems ever more strange that they haven’t yet tapped the ready market that would be pleased to jump on a dual cartridge pistol/carbine with bulk-fill option.
If the opportunity presents itself please discuss this with them and report.
Cheers, Tom @ Buzzard Bluff
Tom,
From my perspective there are just as many guys who HATE the two-cartridge guns because they cost so much to fill. So it works both ways.
I imagine Crosman has seen this as well and decided this is the best way to address it, though a short extension tube with an o-ring and a top piercing pin would give you the best of both worlds.
B.B.
BB,thank you very much for your reply to the Whiscombe HOTS setting question.It will surely save hours of toil! I never would have gone that big without advise.I’ll share my results when I get that far.
Off topic rant….
My wife’s stereo (bookshelf) crapped this last weekend. Bought a Sony 540W bookshelf to replace it with. It does work, but is somewhat of a disappointment. I think they got the decimal point in the wrong place, or the speakers are terribly inefficient. It will not remove the cats from the room.
Cripes….my old Technics SA 303 (40W/channel) will blow it away. This piece of crap is rated 180W/channel…L+R+subwoofer.
I did not expect it to be too fantastic with such small speakers, but this is just plain poor if you want to rock. Nothing shakes off the walls.
Long live component systems and large speakers….if you can still find them.
End of rant.
twotalon
TT–
As far as I have been able to determine (I looked carefully about a year ago) the stereo market has gone crazy. Specifications no longer mean much if anything. Speakers are, for some reason, generally highly efficient (but distortion-prone or nasal; see B*** cubes) or are very inefficient sealed (acoustic suspension) units like the old Acoustic Research speakers. Which are pretty good fidelity, but awfully hard to find. The power ratings on amplifiers don’t seem to conform to any standards.
I’m a classical fan, not a rock fan. But sine waves are sine waves, and in 2011 it should be possible to buy an amplifier that’s a straight line with gain — very low distortion and lots of power out — at a reasonable price. Along with a speaker system that looks good and sounds good.
But I didn’t find anything, and so we are still using a Bang and Olufsen system that was bought in Denmark back when the dollar was king and B&O didn’t think so highly of themselves that they wouldn’t even publish specifications. That is, it is 30+ years old and had to be modified to accept a proper CD player input.
A note: if you want to go extremely high high end, McIntosh supplies brilliant stuff, and in more moderate regions, I think the upper parts of the Harman empire’s brand lineup probably still does. And watts-per-channel, even RMS at 0.1% distortion, does not translate simply into perceived volume.
What I have at home does a good job (better with the Technics amp than the Sherwood), but I like the knobs and switches better than this digital controlled stuff.
Should have bought a real stereo when I was on Okinawa a little more than 20 yrs ago. Full component system. The whole works. Something that you don’t even think about turning all the way up.
Times keep changing for the worse.
twotalon
I have found Onkyo to be the least expensive reciever/amp out there that believes in low distortion
(.08% THD) even in it’s entry level…..and wattage is for full frequency,not just measured in a “sweet spot”……20HZ to 20KHZ….AKA the range of normal human hearing.Denon and Harmon Kardon seldom disapoint,but are more money.However I bought the last set-up out of a bargain trader.$75 bought me a gently used Denon AVR-2802 surround reciever with a massive remote and a manual an inch thick! I buy my speakers from good pawn brokers…..and I make them demo them for my money.
I quit buying new because the big box stores were pushing garbage for premium prices. I DID just get sticker shock on the web…..I went to a site called “Downsize Audio Cables”.State of the art speaker wires cost a week’s pay! They look awesome,but I don’t think I even hear well enough to apreciate such extravegance.Twotalon,if you are eer near North Alabama,I’ll give you some Cerwins,or Infinitys
I no longer use.Shipping them would cost too much.
twotalon,
Yeah, and it’s sometimes difficult to find a salesperson who can actually tell you the power ratings of an amp. As Pete mentioned, audio equipment vendors no longer conform to standards, so they give you the most “powerful sounding” specs, which can be effectively useless. I still have my old Sansui amplifier that drove my AR 90’s just fine. AR 90’s are not the most efficient speakers, but are very accurate. My Sansui was “only” rated at 120 watts per channel.
In my experience, listening to various amplifier’s in showrooms, the Yamaha’s seemed to deliver better than other brands. I have a Yamaha receiver, rated at 140 watts per channel, that drives my Pioneer Elite TZ-9’s very well. The TZ-9’s are huge.
Victor
Hi, cheeky to ask on your blog but would you happen to know the thread size on the Beeman R1 (HW80) barrel pivot bolt? I’ve managed to strip the thread and need to get it repaired but can’t find a nut to check the size. Hope you can help? Regards, Anthony.
Wolflore,
That’s a question for the Techs at Pyramyd AIR.
Edith, can you ask them?
B.B.
Thanks, I’ve been trying Weihrauch with no joy. Thought you may be able to help. Cheers.
B.B.
Well, it all starts tomorrow. First piece of metal will be cut to become my synchro unit and main coupling. Nerves make my hands itch – that’s a real start to a project that was launched almost 2 years ago.
duskwight
Duskwight, what’s the project? I can sympathize with your feelings. I’m all set to begin soldering for the first time to repair my helicopter. I’ve avoided it for weeks, but don’t think I can get away from it today.
Matt61
Matt,
It’s “duskcombe”. A stubborn man’s opposing pistons springer 🙂 THE hardest part that needs most precision and thermal treatment – a synchro assembly and toothed rods along with main coupling. Other stuff feels much more relaxed, as there are looser tolerances and softer materials.
duskwight
duskwight,
You must be absolutly excited about your invention. Can you sleep at night without medication? I certainly wish you the best. Don’t forget to ask Pyramydair to sell your new rifle. I think you have a market developing.
duskwight,
Ahh! The first cut!
I hope this project goes as smooth as glass for you.
B.B.
Duskwight,
Remember the old adage, “twice cut off and still too short!”
Good luck!
AlanL
Does anyone know what the deal is with the backlog on the RWS Hobby pellets? My order for it and 10m targets has been delayed for quite awhile, and I am in withdrawal. I thought that as a non-specialty pellet, the Hobbys would always be available as well as cheap.
The avatars are pretty cool. Chuck, are you really a motorcyle policeman?
Thanks to PA for mailing out letters of protest about the California law for coloring airguns. I read somewhere that successful political action lies in providing an incentive for people and removing barriers and that was certainly the case here. I’m hoping that sense will prevail just like it did with the crazy law that would have prevented me from mail ordering pistol ammo.
Wulfraed, so you actually understand all that stuff about pinions? What you said makes sense, and generally, I was impressed with how the race was all about details like providing a little extra downdraft, adjusting the wings, oversteering, understeering and what not. Sounds like another sport that I enjoy…. As to the large hand movements, the suggestions sound good to me. My own idea comes out of using my flight simulator. I was flying my F-22 at top speed around skyscrapers in Manhattan, and even though the plane is very responsive, I happened to look down and see that my hand was jerking the stick around as if it had a mind of its own. Scaling things up to the Indy 500, perhaps something similar is happening. Or as they said in Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader was supposed to be the best pilot ever because of his ability to use the Force to see a bit into the future. In other words, the subconscious is made manifest in making rapid corrections even to the tight steering beyond what seems possible. And that Indy driving seems to be a world apart. There was some stunt attached to the race whereby some lottery winner got to ride along as Marco Andretti drove around the track at 190mph. The rider was freaked although it was just a joyride for Andretti.
Hey Frank B. How about this? I cut some European bread the other day using my knife sharpened on Japanese water stones and did not need any sawing motions. I just dropped the knife right through the bread and it separated. Pretty cool. I think I’m continuing to make progress.
What do you think about this? Is it for real?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELol1dHjHEE
Man has his own little machine gun. I’ve heard that the 1911 is an exceptionally fast semiauto, but I’ve never seen anything like this. It makes Jerry Miculek with his DA revolvers look wet behind the ears.
Matt61
Matt61,
I’ve asked PA’s purchasing dept. about the delay of RWS Hobbys. I think I already know the answer but want to double-check.
I appreciate your kind words regarding Pyramyd Air’s eblasts about SB798 in California. Pyramyd AIR has had over 1000 signers to its petition…and, of course, it’s not the only petition going around. Hopefully, sanity will prevail in California & the bill will be defeated or not signed by the governor or get held up in court because it appears to violate federal law.
Edith
Matt,how cool! It sounds like you are aproaching that point that a sword gets to,where you can stand on the edge barefoot…..but heaven forbid you move .001″ to either side! This test with bread is like that,because we know microscopic teeth do the cutting.Therefore,the bread yeilding provides the
motion across the teeth.I find the ritual of water stones very theraputic and satisfying.Follow with light backward alternating strokes on the clean ceramic rod…..you should be shaving.
With a light trigger, an AK-47, AKM, etc. is very fast if you are practiced with it. It will cycle as fast than a M-3 .45 “Grease Gun” shooting full auto. Of course, the cycle rate for an M-3 is fairly slow for a full auto, about 350 to 400 rpm. This isn’t a bad thing as it aids in controlability.
Mike
matt,
Thanks for feeding my delusions of granduer but, no, I am not a cop. I don’t intentionally try to look like one but I’ll have to admit this avatar resembles one. This is the bike I traded in for the 2011. Unfortunately, the 2011 does not have the personality of this 2003. I, also, haven’t been willing, as yet, to cough up the coins for the Harley leathers. Next year I’ll be riding back to Alaska and I’ll have to do something for better weather protection. My old threads, after 7 years, aren’t quite as waterproof as they need to be. Two years ago it took me a month to make the round trip to Fairbanks and at least 10 days were spent riding in the rain and cold, and that was in August.
Chuck,
I don’t wear leathers anymore. I have been wearing Andy Goldfine’s Aerostich suit for about 15 years now. It’s a goretex lined ballistic nylon suite with armour in the shoulders, elbows and knees. You can also order pads for the hips. While it’s not cheap, it’s longevity, ease of putting on and taking off, relative water resistance and built-in vents and loads of pockets make it my choice whenever I go for a ride. If you’re not familiar with it, check it out: http://www.aerostich.com/roadcrafter-one-piece-suit.html
Fred PRoNJ
Numerically, no… Conceptually, yes… It’s basically 12th grade physics (look under “lever” and “torque”)
Hi, finally heard back from Hans-H Weihrauch. It was M7 x 0.75
Thanks