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Crosman 38T Target revolver: Part 7

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Crosman 38T.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Grips & tips
Part 4
Resealing the Crosman 38T revolver: Part 5
Part 6

History of airguns

This report covers:

  • The test
  • JSB Hades
  • Adjusted the rear sight
  • RWS Superdome
  • JSB Exact RS
  • RWS Meisterkugeln wadcutters
  • Discussion
  • Summary

Today we shoot the .22-caliber Crosman 38T for accuracy. Everyone says the .22 is the most accurate of the two calibers, and today we’re going to see if that’s the case. Let’s get right to it.

The test

I shot the revolver from 10 meters off a sandbag rest. The airgun was rested directly on the bag. I shot 6-shot groups, since that’s what the revolver holds.

I used my reading glasses today. At 10 meters they show the pistol bull and the front sight well. And I used a 6 o’clock hold.

JSB Hades

The first pellet I tried was the JSB Hades hollowpoint. I thought they would load smoothly, but they didn’t. They flipped sideways in the loading trough and refused to drop out. I had to dig two of them out of the trough with a pocketknife.

The first pellet hit the target about a half-inch below the bull at 7 o’clock. I figured I would finish the group before adjusting the sights, so I fired the remaining five shots.

When I walked down to change the target I saw that this revolver doesn’t like Hades pellets that much. Six are in 1.735-inches at 10 meters. While the first shot hit low, the group is a little higher than that and one pellet was a perfect pinwheel.

Adjusted the rear sight

After this first group I adjusted the rear sight up a little. It doesn’t have clicks, so I watched the position of the screw slot to know how far I had gone.

38T Hades
The 38T shot JSB Hades pellets all over the place. Six of them are in  1.735-inches at 10 meters.

RWS Superdome

Next up was the RWS Superdome pellet. I had some difficulty loading these, as well. But they loaded easier than the Hades.

Sometimes they do very well in Crosman airguns and this was one of those times. Six pellets went into 0.998-inches at 10 meters.  This group was still a little low so afterward I adjusted the rear sight up even more than I had previously.

38T Superdome
Six RWS Superdome pellets gave the kind of 10-meter group I was hoping for. It measures 0.998-inches between centers.

JSB Exact RS

The next pellet I tried in the 38T was the .22-caliber JSB Exact RS dome. They loaded much easier than the first two pellets, though in the beginning a couple of them did cock sideways in the loading trough. Those had to be removed and tried again. Finally I gave up trying to load this revolver the way it is supposed to be loaded and I just pulled back the spring-loaded cover and dropped the pellet in the trough sideways. That worked much better.

Six RS pellets went into 1.591-inches at 10 meters. The group is high enough and well-centered on the bull. But it isn’t what I would call a good group.

38T RS
The Crosman 38T revolver put 6 JSB Exact RS domes into this 1.591-inch group at 10 meters.

Stock up on Air Gun Ammo

RWS Meisterkugeln wadcutters

The last pellet I tested was the RWS Meisterkugeln wadcutter. I loaded all of them sideways, just like the JSB Exact RS pellets. Six of them made a group measuring 1.632-inches between centers at 10 meters.

38T Meisterkugeln
Six RWS Meisterkugeln went into a 1.632-inch group at 10 meters.

Discussion

Well, I am surprised. So many folks said the .22 caliber 38T is the one that’s more accurate, but I haven’t seen that in this test. Superdomes did well and I suppose there could be other pellets I haven’t tried that could be better, but at this juncture I am underwhelmed. My .177 revolver is definitely more accurate than this one

What surprised me even more was the loading difficulty I encountered. I thought the larger pellet would load easier, but my .177 38T definitely loads easier.

One thing that I did note is that the sight adjustments all worked. The revolver is now sighted in.

Summary

We are not finished with the 38T series. I still want to test how rotating the barrel like 45Bravo told us about will affect the grouping of the pistol, and this .22 is probably the one to try. We also want to see what affect moving the mainspring tensioner has on velocity. So there is still more to come

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.
See Full Bio

70 thoughts on “Crosman 38T Target revolver: Part 7”

  1. B.B.,

    Hmm. I’m afraid rotating the barrel as described by 45Bravo will not help improve accuracy much unless you discover that the barrel itself is currently loosely secured to the sleeve. Rotating the barrel will shift the point of impact though, but I doubt it will actually help regarding accuracy. Then again, we won’t definitely know until you try it.

    Siraniko

    PS: I know IT will not change the background color of the blog to in order to keep with the theme of the Pyramydair.com website. Can they do something about the light grey color of the text while we are typing our comment?

      • B.B.,

        Is a separate WordPress account required in order to change the avatar picture? I have an account with Pyramydair, as well as another for the blog, but apparently another account is required? I have to come back here and search the blog for any replies, as we no longer receive email notifications.

        Geo

        • Geo,

          You replied elsewhere with “Thanks for the reply. I did not know where you saw that “Howdy, geo791”, but I did finally find it on the WordPress page.” The Howdy, geo791 should appear at the top right corner when you are logged into the blog. From there you can edit your profile to change the avatar, it will direct you here https://en.gravatar.com/ so yes you do need another account with Gravatar, their site is where your avatars will be stored.

          Mike

          • Mike,

            I still see no reference to “Howdy, geo791”. Here is a screenshot of the upper right corner. Hopefully, you will find this comment. Thanks for the information. This is my second attempt at this comment. My screen went “white” and I lost the previous attempt, along with the photo. 🙁

            Geo

        • Geo,

          When signing in and getting to the “dashboard”,.. there is an option to (show toolbar when using site). I have that checked. “Howdy Chris USA” shows up in a separate bar, above the bar with the shopping cart in your screenshot.

          Chris

          • Chris,

            Good catch! I see how that works now. Apparently, my credentials for the blog do not apply to WordPress. They accept my username but reject my email address. When I request that they send me a link to login, they confirm the link was sent but I never receive it. Maybe someone else has the same username registered as I use in the blog. Thanks for the information my friend. 🙂

            Geo

          • Mike,

            Yes, figured it out finally. There much less space for the reply comments now because of the adverts.

            Geez, did you know that they took Elmer Fudd’s gun away? I guess the cartoon can no longer show Elmer using a gun to hunt to wabbits. The world has gone crazy!

            Geo

    • IF the back of the barrel is drilled out of center and not aligning with the pellet clip chamber, the pellect could be clipping when they are fired, there by destroying accuracy.
      Rotating the barrel COULD possibly reduce that problem.

      I did not notice that this pistols barrel had that problem when I re-sealed it, I also cleaned the barrel, But installed it in the same position as it came from the factory, then shot about 40 rounds through the barrel to function test it,
      But did not test for accuracy as Tom was going to, and he also has a larger selection of pellets to choose from.

      Anything is worth a try.

      ian.

          • RR,

            Ha ha! Several weeks ago my neighbor, Denny, started helping me clean out my garage, and I now have lots of room. I always told Edith that if she died before me I was going to grow a beard and buy a Harley. I had promised her when we married that I would not ride a motorcycle and I kept that promise. She is now gone so I have already grown the beard, and it’s time for the Harley.

            While all this was going on in my life, Harley has made a concerted effort to improve their quality. I have owned many bikes over the years and I know that Hondas, Suzukis and Yamahas are reliable. Yes, I even owned a Kawasaki, and the one I owned was very reliable. But the two Harleys I once owned were anything but. My ’48 panhead only had a rear brake and it locked up 20 percent of the time. So I watched Harley over the years and I saw them go through the near-destruction of their company. Then they woke up and realized that the quality had to improve if they were to compete with the Japanese. So they did and it did and they got better and better.

            I have a short inseam and, while I like the Honda Interstate for its smooth reliable power, there ain’t no way my nearly 74-year-old shorty legs are gonna keep one upright if it goes more than 5 inches over dead center. The Sportster weighs almost 300 pounds less, is much thinner and lower, plus it doesn’t have the explosive power of the big Honda. There are Harleys that do, and other bikes as well, but short-legged old BB Pelletier doesn’t need to be on them.

            I would have bought a trike (Tri-Glide) but having just paid off my house I didn’t want another killer payment. The Sportster I got is low, not that powerful, heavy but not too heavy and I can afford the payments.

            I rode bikes for about 10-12 years in my youth and in all that time I never took a class. I have been underneath cars twice and it was my fault both times. Thank the Lord that both drivers were quick on their brakes! Now I am enrolled in a motorcycle riding course that is so thorough and demanding that when I pass I get a certificate that the state recognizes as their own and they certify me immediately.

            As far as whether this Sportster is for me, I hope that it is. I don’t like the dark “murdered” look Harley puts on it, but the Sportster 48 Special is one Sportster that holds its value because so few were made during the three years they were in production. The 2.1-gallon peanut tank will keep me close to home and my own good sense will keep me off the freeway.

            That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. 🙂

            BB

  3. B.B.,

    I’m surprised that these .22 pellets didn’t group better for you. My expectations were based on the impression I’ve been left with over the years by what I’ve read, but perhaps my impression was formed by sloppy thinking on my part.

    I am surprised by your writing that your .177 is easier to load than is the .22. I would have thought the larger pellets, easier to handle and orient, would be easier to load as well.

    Well, I’ve been wrong on at least two counts. :^)

    Michael

  4. B.B.,
    I dug through my data, and the only accuracy data I had on the .22 Crosman 38T was from 2018 (pre-farm days; hence, these groups were shot indoors at only 5 meters). Once we moved to the mini-farm, and I set up the 15-yard range, I never really shot groups; I would just set up a row of cans, then mow them down; single action…trivial…double action…trickier! =>
    Take care & God bless,
    dave
    P.S. The new blog did send me a weird message, actually 33 messages all in one day; but the links to respond to the comments all had the word “stage” as the leading word, and none of the links worked. I was able to go in individually and check the comments; and it appears that most of the comments were ones to which I had already replied. *shrugs* Any time there is a major change, there’s bound to be some software glitches; at least I have had no issues commenting in the new blog; thank you.

  5. Have RWS Superdomes on back order from PA; will see how ORK does with them once they come in. Took a shot at a small skittish green invader the other day with it from about 20’ distance but missed; blame the shooter not the 38T.

  6. In my opinion, the column and advertisements on the right side of the blog page are much too wide and taking needed space away from the blog comments. I guess as long as comments RSS feed will only show the last twenty comments, they may as well do away with that too. ;(

      • Mike
        The comment you just made doesn’t fit my phone screen even if I put it on desk top view.

        Words on the right side of the screen are cut off and I can’t scroll over to see them.

        That’s the only issue I’m (STILL) having with the blog.

        I do wish they would get it straightened out. Never had that issue on the old blog.

    • Geo791,

      The 20 comment limit is a WordPress thing that IT has yet to rectify it is independent of the website. I do agree that the right hand side margin should shrunk a little bit more. Then again it’s still better than an in your face pop-up asking you to subscribe to PyramydAir. I like your avatar. Too bad about Elmer Fudd. Lots of old things don’t make sense to this Millennial Generation. Watching Mel Brook’s “Blazing Saddles” and I can just imagine them wincing at the language used at the time.

      Siraniko

      • Siraniko,

        We used to have 100 comments in the RSS feed which was perfect for keeping track of the blog, 20 is just too small.

        And yes the world is just going crazy with the political correctness so no one gets their poor feelings hurt. Silly, folks need to get a life.

        Mike

        • Mike in Atl,

          From what I read the default of WordPress is 20 comments until IT can insert/revise their code to their new version. PyramydAir’s IT team still has to come to grips with the changes WordPress has been making to their code. Here’s to hoping that they are able to catch up soon. They were able to make the font of the comments being written darker. So it is easier to read what you are writing.

          Siraniko

    • RidgeRunner ,

      Naturally they would have their Sales Department reach out to everybody they can contact to boost sales. Glossing over the fact that the M1 and M2 have problems.

      Siraniko

      • Siraniko,

        LOL! Please forgive me for my rather poor attempt at subtle dry humor.

        I have to admit that I do not see very many used Impacts for sale. Of the few I do see, they are still outrageously priced, most especially since there have been issues with the M1and M2.

        At the price of one of these things, I expect right out of the box performance like I have with my HM1000X, which shot 1 MOA at 100 yards. BB was underwhelmed by the performance of the .177 Dreamlite as I was with the .25 Dreamlite. I have not taken it that far yet, but I am certain my Maximus will do better than 2 MOA at 50 yards.

        Please do not think of this as a tirade against you Siraniko. I am just tired of having my intelligence insulted by these overpriced airgun companies.

        • RidgeRunner,

          No problem with me. For a gun to be successful takes about ten years of development work. They see a bright future in the platform which is why they keep working on it. Unfortunately their target audience is not the typical beer budget airgunner.

          Siraniko

          • Siraniko,

            Hmmm! “For a gun to be successful takes about ten years of development work.

            I would be able to agree with that statement if you included the word typically between successful and takes. Do you not believe that there are companies/Design Engineers that are able to compress that development period? I can think of a number of airguns that seem to break your rule. Thus far my most recent example would have to be the recently discontinued SIG ASP20 in either caliber or stock material.
            It seems this was an airgun that is the like of James Dean the actor…only the good die young!

            shootski

  8. Is it only me who thinks the stock of these two are quite different?

    /product/beeman-r7-elite-series-combo?m=1561

    /product/beeman-r7-air-rifle?m=1899

    The elite stock is just a piece of art.

    • Fish,

      Seriously? No, seriously? They are both beech stocks with the exact same checkering. The only real difference is the R7 in the “elite” photo seems to have more pronounced graining. I would not rely on that photo should I was to order one of these.

  10. Speaking of HW30S, I was shooting it Friday evening and from a sittiing position I was hitting the 3/4″ spinner at 10 yards time after time until the Feinwerkbau rear aperture slid off the back. I could not keep it from doing such without a stop pin.

    I guess I will have to formulate a plan B.

    • RidgeRunner,

      Have you thoroughly degreased the clamping surfaces and dovetail? It my also help to put a tiny amount of dry Rosin powder on the surfaces. Rosin has tremendous gripping ability when compressed.

      shootski

  11. For those of you wanting more than the last 20 comment from RSS. I have been using the Aggregator app. It gives me the last 200 comments.

    I don’t know what data it collects and or sells but it is simple to use.

    Don

  12. What used to be the airgun academy on the first level of the PA menu is now on the second level under airgun resources and called the blog. To me that is a low blow to a site that really boosts the PA reputation and I am sure sales also.

    I have not said much but lately I have noticed a decline in service and support from PA that I think has come more from the bean counters than supply shortages.

    A good example was a scope I ordered that was supposed to be in stock in a few days. That went on for many many months. There is no way that was made in good faith. After I finally received the scope the it was again listed as in stock in a few days. I made a comment on the product comments that the in stock date seemed to be a ploy. The comment showed up a few days later and then was removed from the comments. I figure my comment hit to close to the truth or there would have been a rebuttal.

    Don

    • Believe the pandemic has provided a convenient excuse for companies & organizations to cut resources, quality and corners. My personal approach is to order nothing if the item is not in stock, regardless of promised “in stock” dates. Some of the problems no doubt stem from supply chain and delivery delays. Case in point: just placed an order for vintage vehicle parts from my friend and specialist supplier in Germany, with whom FM has been doing business for 25+ years; he advised the only reliable way to get parcels to the USA within a reasonable timeframe is air freight. The package must weigh 5 kilos (11 lbs) or less; then it might be received in 4-6 weeks. The freight charge is, shall we say, not inexpensive though it could be worse.

  13. Shootski,

    No room to reply above. I agree I should have qualified the with the word typically and also specified instead that a platform/type of gun would need that development time. The M1 carbine was practically done in a month but the parts and concepts that it was built upon had been floating around for years. Semi automatic PCPs are still getting the bugs worked out as the market is still figuring where it is best applied. I’m sure that the Crosman engineers didn’t think of using it for the Appleseed competition format when they developed the rifle, that’s why we have tinkerers/engineers like Calinb modifying the platform for that use. I lament the loss of the ASP20 from the market. Who knows, some company might use their innovative breech block design again sometime in the future.

    Siraniko

  14. Greetings fellow airgunners,
    As we wait for B.B. to finish his (much-deserved) Sabbath rest and post his next report, I thought I would throw in a comment on a series of reports he did in the past on the Daisy 880:

    /blog/2014/05/daisy-880-part-6/

    While the one I recently acquired seemed to be an adequate shooter, it was not doing great; even with the UTG fixed 6x scope, I could often get a 1″ group at 20 yards (resting across my International Harvester Cub tractor, and shooting the length of her garden area…when she was not around, of course!). Not fantastic, but pretty good for an inexpensive air rifle.

    However, I have been shooting it more lately, and I am getting used to the heavy trigger. If I pull SLOWLY, and REALLY concentrate (which I guess I should always be doing =>), it acts sort of like a 2-stage trigger; there is a point where the pull stacks and gets heavier, and that’s when I know I am on the cusp of a (surprisingly crisp) release.

    I used to not be able to hit the ends of these 1/2″ plastic tubes at 15 yards; but after a session on the 28-yard range (yes, I measured my paced-off 25-yard range and found it to be 28 yards, hahaha!) where I managed to pull off this 3-shot 1/2″ group, I found I can now hit the ends of these plastic tubes pretty much all the time on my 15 yard range.

    And I think that’s pretty good accuracy for this bargain basement plinker.
    The one other real plus factor is that the pumping is VERY easy, and is just as easy on pump 7 (the number I use for each shot) as it is on pump 1…at my age I really appreciate that.
    Anyway, to those who have these Daisy 880s, and love them, I’m “preachin’ to the choir.”

    Yet for some who are looking for an inexpensive rifle to do some backyard plinking, you may find this rifle worthwhile…if you put some decent glass on it…and at least you don’t have to worry about recoil. =>

    Take care all,
    dave
    P.S. As B.B. noted, these guns can be tricky to load with pellets; I took heed of his warning, and tested it with longer, heavier, pellets; and this particular gun does its best with .177 Crosman Ultra Magnum 10.5 grain pellets. Thank you.

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