by Tom Gaylord
Writing as B.B. Pelletier
The new Crosman 760 Pumpmaster Classic.
This report covers:
- The test
- Air Arms Falcon
- RWS Hobby
- RWS R10 Match Pistol
- JSB Exact RS
- Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
- Discussion
- Summary
Today we look at the accuracy of the Crosman 760 Pumpmaster Classic shooting pellets. Remember this is a smoothbore airgun.
I said in Part 3 that I had planned on mounting the UTG Micro Reflex dot sight when I tested this airgun with pellets, but I forgot that when I did today’s test. If it turns out that there is enough accuracy to warrant it, I may do a final test with the UTG dot sight.
I definitely do not recommend scoping this airgun for two reasons. First, the accuracy probably doesn’t warrant it and second, with a mounted scope in your way, you have to grasp the stock at the pistol grip while pumping. Plastic stocks don’t hold up well when you do that.
The test
I shot from 10 meters with the airgun rested directly on a sandbag. I used the open sights with a 6 o-clock hold. I shot 5-shot groups because this is a multi-pump and I wanted to try more pellets. I pumped the gun 5 times for each shot. Let’s get started!
Air Arms Falcon
The first pellet I tried was the Air Arms Falcon dome. This lightweight pellet often gives surprising accuracy in lower-powered airguns. But not this time.
The first shot landed too high so I removed all the elevation from the rear sight. That brought the second shot down a little. Then I fired shots two through five without looking again. In the end what I had was a vertical group with 4 shots at the bottom of the bull and that first one, following the sight adjustment, at the top. The group measures 1.518-inches between centers. Falcons are not the pellet for this 760.
After the first sighter that was too high, 5 Falcon pellets spread out vertically in the bull. Five pellets in 1.518-inches at 10 meters.
RWS Hobby
The next pellet I tested was the RWS Hobby wadcutter. These are also often quite accurate. The 760 put five of them in 0.967-inches at 10 meters. The group is fairly well centered in the bull and not that bad for a smoothbore.
Five Hobby pellets made this 0.967-inch group at 10 meters.
RWS R10 Match Pistol
Next I tried five RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets. Although they weigh the same as Hobbys, the performance is completely different, as these are true match pellets. And what a result I got!
The 760 put 4 into a vertical 0.631-inches, but one of the five went way out to the right and opened the group to 1.704-inches.
Four of five RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets went into 0.631-inches, with the fifth one opening the group top 1.704-inches.
It was the second shot that went astray and I have no idea of why it did. The tight group of 4 prompted me to try this pellet a second time. This time I really concentrated and made certain there were no slip ups. Five R10 Match Pistol pellets went into 0.485-inches in a very round group!
At 10 meters the 760 put five RWS R10 Match Pistol pellets in a nice round group measuring 0.485-inches between centers. To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee — Now that’s a group!
JSB Exact RS
Next to be tried were five JSB Exact RS pellets. The 760 put them into 1.645-inches at 10 meters. It doesn’t take statistics to tell me this isn’t the pellet for the gun.
Yeah, five JSB Exact RS pellets went into a very open 1.645-inch group at 10 meters. Not the best pellet for this airgun!
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets are often quite accurate and this time is an example. Five pellets went into a tight 0.654-inches at 10 meters.
Five Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets went into 0.654-inches at 10 meters.
Discussion
First I would like to point out that all of these pellets were pretty well centered on the bullseye. And that’s good because the sights don’t give a wide range of adjustments.
Next, I know from past tests that, while a smoothbore can be very accurate at close range, the accuracy drops off rapidly with distance. But a gun like the 760 is designed to be shot at close distances. As long as you keep it to the ranges it was made to handle, everything should be hunky-dory.
Summary
I guess I’m not finished with the 760 just yet. I still need to test it with a dot sight attached. For that test I will use the two pellets that showed the greatest promise today, plus I might try a couple others.
In case you are following this report series and trying to decide whether or not to buy a 760 I will tell you this — the 760 Classic that I’m testing is very different from the Crosman 760 of years ago. But it is a delightful airgun in its own right. My reports have revealed that. It’s small, lightweight, easy to pump and, as you have seen in today’s test and also in Part 3, it’s quite accurate at close distance with both BBs and pellets. Your biggest concern should be whether this is the model for you or you prefer one of the other airguns that are in the same class.
BB,
Thank you for showing us what it can do with pellets. For what it is and what it cost,… it is a no brainer good starter for a youth rifle.
Good Day to you and to all,…….. Chris
I taught my kids safe gun handling and accuracy in the ’90s with a number of 760s because they were relatively inexpensive. They were perfect for skittering soda cans across frozen snow on our farm. Although the 760s had built-in rails to hold a scope, scope mounts kept the top feed trough from feeding BBs reliably, and had to be removed.
Joe, you live on Maui? We live on the big island about 12 miles south of Hilo in the Puna District.
BB,
I could see this in the hands of kids, both little and big.
Sig Match Ballistic Alloy pellets are other (often) quite accurate and this time is an example.
RR,
Got it. Thanks,
B.B.
B.B.,
There will always be a need for this gun or something very much like it for training young shooters.
Too bad it doesn’t take a scope well. Dad scoped our 1968 model 760 and it seemed to help our marksmanship. We were able achieve decent accuracy out to about 50 ft. It made it a little inconvenient to load and pump, but we liked it anyway. I wouldn’t spend much time with one now (old or new), but this gun occupies an important and large market share, and you did right by reporting on it.
Thanks,
Walt
Thanks, B.B. This looks like a great gun to add to the “teaching tools” at the farm to help the young’uns (12, 13) learn to shoot. =>
B.B.,
One hole groups are always fun to shoot! I like how you decide to reshoot when your gut tells you the pellet should have done better; it almost makes up for not being able to shoot the multiple 10 shot groups you, as well as most of us, would like you to have time for. Perhaps you can get yourself cloned!
Thanks for this report as I’m enjoying the comments.
My Dad made use of an Airgun of his to teach my sister and I gun handling with dry fire only until we never made a handling error. Then and only then did he load one pellet and let us fire one shot! Talk about focusing on that one shot! Then we would go back to dry fire drills to earn the privledge of firing one more pellet. I doubt (m)any kids today would put up with that sort of strictness! Lol!
But it seems to have worked….
I can see using a lower price rifle to see if the kids or grandkids show interest in our great sport of shooting.
shootski
B.B.,
I have a couple 760 Pumpmasters that were of the model about eight or nine years ago. Regardless of the historical version, they are all fun to shoot, cute and inexpensive. The Pumpmaster is a classic, no question, so this iteration is well-named. And yet again you have shown how a smoothbore with the right ammo can be accurate.
Michael
B.B.,
More or LESS a repeat post from yesterday’s blog:
https://www.sigsauer.com/store/proforce-mcx-virtus.html
For those of you interested in potential materials possibilities for Kit Bashing, by those of you who KNOW who you are, of different power plant/ammo type versions of the MCX Virtus….
shootski
shootski,
I didn’t tell you yet, but I have one of those waiting in the wings! 🙂
B.B.
B.B.,
DANG NAB IT!
you are just having too much fun!
Good on you!
shootski
I have the previous model Crosman 760. Mine has the Five shot magazine. It’s the same one the old model 66 used, and the M4-177 and, I believe it’s the model MK-177 still uses. I have a Winchester 4×32 AO scope mounted on mine, and am approaching 3000 pellets gone through it now. I have a method of pumping it that doesn’t stress the stock. In a seated position at my shooting table, I stand the 760 on it’s but on my left leg, muzzle straight up. I might give it the first couple pumps steadying the gun with my right hand, and pumping with my left. As the pumping gets harder, I do this. As I open the pump handle all the way with my left hand, i steady the gun with my right as before. But now, when the pump handle is all the way open, and still with the 760 butt on my leg, For each closing of the pump handle, as it’s starting to close, I reach up with my right hand, and put myright thumb on the barrel and in front of the scope. Then, to close the pump handle, I with thumb on barrel, Iput the fourfingers of my right hand on the bottom of the pump handle, and pinch that handle closed using my left hand (which is still on the pump handle), AND my right hand too, using a pinching motion with my 4 fingers on the bottomof the pump handle, and my right thumb on the barrel. I thenclose the pump handle, remove my right hand from that area, and grab thepistol grip to steady the 760 for thenext opening stroke of the pump handle. This method, much harder to explain than to do, puts ZERO pressure on the guns buttstock. This method worksjust as well with ten pumps as it does with a less number of pumps. My butt stock has never even come loose let alone break.
The other thing is, I stroke the handle fairly slowly and with a short pause at full open with each stroke. I have seen videos of shooters pumping their multi-pump air rifles quite violently, as if they think it’s an Olympic event, or a sign of manliness to do so. No wonder I read so many reviews where the shooter breaks the plastic buttstock clean off. These things have plastic stocks and are not made of steel. My scope is 12″ long, and doesnot interfere withthis pumping method.
And while ut’s true I do most of my shooting at from 7 -8 yards, if I have my act together 1/4″ groups are not uncommon. My 760 usually doesvery well with RWS Meisterkugeln rifle pellets, Gamo mat h and RWS Basics, which are all wadcutters. I know I am past 2000 pellets, and working towards 3000. While it’s a smoothbore, mine doesn’t give me much when I try BB’s. I actually bought it to hopefully have a gun to shoot BB’s with decent accuracy, but, nope. But it shoots pellets well enough, and is fun to shoot, so Igrab it often when I want some target practice. I have taken rats st night with it using a red LED flashlight mounted to the scope. It makes good power and shows no sign of any problem. I use 30 weight non detergent oil on the pump cup. A auzrt of that stuff for about $4.50 will last for many years in my selection of multi-pumpers.
The 760 has been recently redesigned and is now a single shot with no magazine. Thst’s fine, but I wish Crosman would have kept the 5 round mag, as it’s xo ezsy to pump up and advance the mag to the next round, it is just as easy in total darkness. With the new one, in total darkness, you are going to have to turn on another flashlight each time you reload a pellet.
This little smoothbore can be bought for about $31.00 on Amazon right now. For the money/fun ratio of the Crosman 760, and making the gun last (using my pumping method), this may be the best $31.00 I’ve ever spent. When guys on airgun forums ask what inexpensive air rifle to get for shooting pests, guess what I suggest?
Birdmove,
You think it’s hard to explain? Try reading and understanding it! 🙂
B.B.
Hey Birdmove,
You need to put a 6″ Sunshade on your scope and post a picture! Lol!
shootski
The Crossman 760 has turned into a toy but one redeeming features it still has is a solid steel barrel, not a soda straw barrel. Crossman should rifle that barrel and then we’d have a handy little carbine.
Brent
Brent
I agree 100%. If Crosman put a rifled barrel on the 760 I would buy one tomorrow.
Well, you can buy a rifled barrel from the M4-177, I believe is the model, that is a direct fit. No mods. I think the barrel runs about $10 from Crosman.
Tried to make a video of pumping my 760 using my Amazon Fire, and can’t seem to get it to transfer to this forum. Guess I’m too low tech.
Let me try to explain one more time. Sitting in chair, muzzle up, end of buttstock on my right leg. Left hand on pumping lever, right hand holding “pistol grip” on buttstock. First, I open the pumping all the way. As I begin to close the pumping lever, I remove my right hand from the pistol grip and bring it up to assist in the pu.ping. Right hand goes in front of scope sith thumb on barrel. Fingers then wrap around thd pumping arm just above where my left hand is on the pumping arm. Then together both hands close the pumping arm. That puts all the pressure on the pumping arm and steel barrel, and none on the plastic stock. When I go to open the pumping arm again for the next pump, I return my right hand to the pistol grip to steady the gun. So, my right hands keepsmoving between the pistol grip and the area in front of the scope, where it assists in closing the pumping arm.
This puts no pressure on the stock. This works great on my 760, both my 1377 and 1322 short carbines, my Umarex APX NPG, and on a Crosman 66 I used to have. I can put 10 pumps into my 760 with zero stress on the buttstock.
People are snapping off the buttstocks on, especially Crosman M4-177’s, when they do all the pumping with one hand on the pumping lever, and the other hand on the pistol grip. That puts too much stress on the plastic buttstock. Think of operating a bellows. The motions they are making is similar to operating a bellows. You can’t do it that on a plastic stocked multi-pump airgun for long. Especially if you use 8-10 pumps.
If you sit down with with your multi-pumperand go through this as stated above, I think it will make sense. Since I want my airguns to last forever, this is how I pump them. On a Benjamin 397 or 392, you may not need to do this. But, my method does provide good leverage when closing the pumping arm.