The Crosman Fortify BB pistol.
This report covers:
- The gun
- Grips
- Revolver?
- The safety
- Sights
- Single action
- Fun
- Summary
Today we are looking at Crosman’s new Fortify BB revolver. This is a different BB pistol for several reasons I hope to now show you.
The gun
The Fortify is an 18-shot BB repeater that is powered by CO2. It does say 4.5mm on the gun, the instructions and in the description on the Pyramyd AIR web page, but the box that the pistol comes in gets it right — BB caliber, which is 4.3mm. And that would be steel BBs only — not lead. The barrel is not rifled.
Do not use the Marksman steel BBs in the Fortify. We know they are 4.5mm and will likely jam the gun.
The 18 BBs are held in the housing for what would be the extractor on a single action revolver. You can see that in the photo above. They are in line and a spring-loaded extractor lever is the follower. The description says loading is easy and I can see that it should be.
A 12-gram CO2 cartridge fits into the elongated grip. Nobody but an SAA fan will notice that the grip frame is longer to accommodate the CO2 cartridge. When the right grip panel comes off it exposes a wrench for tightening the screw that pushes the CO2 cartridge into the piercing pin.
Grips
The grips are ivory colored and have raised bumps for more grippy-ness. And, they fit very tight — no loose wiggle.
Revolver?
The Fortify is called a BB revolver but nothing on the outside of the pistol revolves. The pistol made in the shape of a single action revolver and you do have to cock the hammer for every shot, but as I said, nothing that you can see revolves. The hammer can only be cocked when the safety is off.
In this respect the Fortify is similar in concept to the vintage 12-shot Daisy 179 single action revolver. Both hold their BBs in linear magazines that use spring-loaded followers. But being powered by CO2 the Fortify is considerably more powerful than the Daisy — over 100 f.p.s. faster.
The safety
The Fortify uses the loading gate on the right side of the pistol as the safety. I must talk about this, because I had a difficult time figuring out how to take it off safe until I had played with the gun for about five minutes. The directions on the loading gate say PUSH SAFE PULL FIRE. I tried pushing and pulling in all directions for five minutes before I figured that I had to pull the gate STRAIGHT OUT and away from the receiver. That’s a direction I’ve never seen a single action loading gate move before. And it takes a LOT of effort!
The instructions for applying the safety are on the “loading gate”.
I read the manual and it told me nothing that wasn’t already printed on the outside of the gate. The picture in the manual shows the gate closed (on safe) and an arrow seems to tell you to push the gate forward. But that’s impossible, as the “cylinder” is in the way. What you do is put your thumb under the cutout fore the gate and then REALLY pull outwards — away from the gun. It’s so hard to pull that I was afraid of breaking the gun. After you see it done the first time you’ll understand.
To take the pistol off safe, slip your thumb into the “loading gate” cutout and pull the gate out — away from the pistol.
Speaking of the “manual”, when it talks about loading it tells you to “Insert up to 13 6mm plastic BBs into the magazine.” Okay — that’s a giveaway. The Fortify started out life as an airsoft gun. That may be why the box tells you to expect “Up To 420 Blazin’ Feet Per Second” while the Pyramyd Air description says the max velocity is about 330 f.p.s. Ninety feet per second isn’t chump change! I think the manual writers need to have the gun in their hands when they write.
Sights
The sights are standard single action sights with the rear notch a small notch at the top rear of the frame and the front sight a rounded post to keep from catching on your holster when drawn. Unlike the first generation Colt SAA firearm, this front sight is wide enough to see and the rear notch is, as well. Neither sight adjusts.
Single action
Single action means the hammer must be cocked for every shot. This cannot be done when the pistol is on safe. Pulling the trigger does nothing until the hammer is cocked. This trigger is single stage (no lightweight stage before the sear is reached. It has no real creep, but it’s on the heavy side. Of course I will measure it for you when we look at velocity.
Fun
We haven’t reviewed a fun gun for quite a while, so this series should be a pleasant departure.
Summary
We don’t spend much time with air pistols these days and even less with single action BB revolvers. This is an affordable one you air pistoleros might want to watch.
Everyone,
Well, this time WordPress rescheduled the blog for this day but next month. Another reason to get up early for me.
BB
That’s OK. It gives me a chance to be first.
Well, what can I say. I am not a CO2 fan myself, but I can most definitely see this in some little tykes holster, at least until they get caught shooting the neighbor’s cat.
“You’ll put your eye out kid.”
Yes, and it sounds like the little tykes will need their parents to reload it….
Safety device???
-Y
Yea, what can I say. This is what happens when the Left Coast gets involved. I have a Left Coast kitchen faucet I have to “fix”. I have to figure out where the flow restrictor is and remove it. No wonder so much of the Left Coast burns down each year. They cannot use any water.
Tom,
Talk about things going in full circle. Now we have a revolver with a linear feed for BBs whereas previously we had automatics with revolving clip for pellets.
Aside from the item in hand while making the manual next you’ll ask that they chronograph it before committing to print what is on the manual.
Siraniko
Stick ‘em up wabbit, there ain’t enough room in this town for both of us…
Here’s something off topic, but it does have to do with Crosman CO² Pistols:
I just got another Crosman Mark 1, but it came as a lot of three air pistols with a Crosman 111 and a 112, which I am not familiar with, but I am reading up on them. Right now, I am cleaning off surface grime, but eventually I want to see if they shoot. I don’t have the bulk canister, but I have a full case (500) of CO² cartridges. Is there a way to adapt a CO² cartridge to fill the Model 111 / 112? I suppose it would need a way to pierce the cartridge and have a valve?
Roamin Greco,
https://www.amazon.com/Gallo-Drain-Unthreaded-Cartridges-Condensate/dp/B07SVH5B78/ref=asc_df_B07SVH5B78/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=642185390561&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8389793475311991287&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007525&hvtargid=pla-1949099928413&psc=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1OmoBhDXARIsAAAYGSEh4utppIl5aiqc-EufLKcUoUTZKi09QhM0sal7imRb8_Iy7zxiMZYaArBxEALw_wcB
One of these might work with the proper fitting on the end of the hose.
shootski
Intriguing. I never knew these existed.
Roamin Greco,
Trust that the “Jack of All Trades” reader of this blog will know about stuff like this…LOL!
shootski
RG,
The ‘Jack’s’ idea will likely work with some modification, but if you can contact Mike Reames, he makes an adapter that will also work.
Does Mr. Reams read this blog?
That I do not know.
I wish I had one of these when I was a kid! Way more than 6 shots on a reload, JUST LIKE THE OLD WESTERNS!!! HA HA!!
Well my cap pistol with the roll of paper “caps” had more than six shots too…..
The specs in PA claims the safety is manual. Given the difficulty of thumbing the safety off, buyers better hope this is true.
Deck
BB,
Where to begin. First, I for one love the straight 18 shot magazine. I love where the bbs are loaded. But the safety is just awful. So much an eye sore and distracting. How about this for a safety: hammer cocked, not on safety, hammer not cocked, safety. Lastly is the low fps. This isn’t a blow back. No reason not to be at least 420 fps but with Crosman’s other cheapbC02 pistols they easily get 450-495. fps. I will still be watching it but let down.
Doc
Doc Holiday,
You wrote: “Lastly is the low fps. This isn’t a blow back. No reason not to be at least 420 fps but with Crosman’s other cheapbC02(stet) pistols they easily get 450-495. fps.’
PAIR and box art artist thinks caliber is 4.5 so… 0.02 = slow FPS or possible jambs…LOL!
They were probably shooting the Steel Marksman 4.5 bb!
shootski
BB,
This pistol is pretty cool, and I think the price point is good; it looks like a throw-back to the Daisy 179.
In which case, I wish they’d gone all the way, and made it a catapult gun.
I used to have a Daisy 179; the only thing I didn’t like was the accuracy.
(And that’s the reason a collector now has the pistol in his Daisy collection.)
I was hoping that with modern techniques and materials, a gun like this could be made that does not rely on CO2, yet still has some accuracy to it.
The only other issue with this gun is the safety; it would be so much nicer if it operated the other way.
Then the product liability lawyers would still be happy, and the shooters could just leave the safety in (for a nice clean look) and they’d be happy as well.
Still, all in all, it’s a fun gun, which is always a good thing, and it has the Western style…also cool.
I just hope, in the future, Crosman strives to make a non-CO2 version; a nice catapult gun that could hit the mark at 10 feet or so would make for an excellent “I’ll shoot it in my office on rainy days” gun. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
P.S. My point is this: there are already a bunch of CO2 guns like this; hence, it would be nice if Crosman would go the extra mile, and create something no one else currently offers.
I admire Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier) for seriously reviewing a revolver without a revolving cylinder, let alone any other oddities.
Tom:
Thanks for getting to this review so quickly. As the airgun just came out last week (although it has been in Crosman’s catalogue since early 2022).
To me, it seems way more like the old (1950’s) Hahn 45, than the Daisy 179. Although I have never had a chance to shoot the Hahn (but I have shot the later model pellet versions, Crosman 44 & SA6), the description seem to be similar, non-rotating cylinder, 18 BB capacity. Except the new Fortify has the CO2 hidden better, in the grip, like the newer single action western airguns (and the old Healthways Western Plainsman).
I agree, the safety seems unnecessarily complicated. Could not they just go with a safety like on the Remington/Crosman 1875 & Umarex Colt Peacemaker?
And what’s with the 6mm reference in the Manual? Was this first introduced somewhere as an airsoft pistol?
But still, at the price, I can’t see how this isn’t a “must buy”, for anyone that appreciates old west replica airguns. I bought my Daisy 179 for $9.99 at Woolco in 1979. Adjusted for inflation, this would seem to be at a similar price.
Finally, I’m real interested in your comments on the feel of it in your hand. I understand it is all plastic, so does it have a cheap plastic feel? Or does it have a bit of weight to it, esp. with the CO2 in it? As an old “gunslinger” I suspect everyone really appreciates your comments.
BB1Shooter,
The Fortify is light, at one pound. The base of the grips seems wide to me.
As for the airsoft heritage, that was what I observed.
BB
Thanks Tom,
I looking forward to your further reviews on the Fortify. More comments on how it feels and compares to the old Crosman Peacemakers & the new Umarex Colt Peacemakers would be greatly appreciated.
But at the price (close to 1/3 of the cost of the Umarex) you can’t expect it to be the same quality, feel & performance.
Keep shooting.
Actually, one clarification to the above. I now understand that the old Crosman Hahn 45 (later branded as the Crosman 45) although a 18 shot BB gun, had a rotary cylinder that held 6 BBs and had another 12 BBs under the barrel feeding into the cylinders, to make it an 18 shot capacity.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170929065107/http://www.co2airguns.net/Collection/Hahn%2045/index.htm
https://worap.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/classic-replica-air-pistol-review-crosman-wild-west-revolvers/
The Healthways Western Plainsman probabaly more closely resembles this Fortify. As it had the CO2 in the grip, and a non-rotating cylinder with spring fed internal 15 BB magazine located under the barrel. They got around the need for an oversized grip, by using a smaller 8.5 or 8 gm CO2’s.
https://web.archive.org/web/20171001092004/http://co2airguns.net/collection/Healthways%20Western%20Plainsman/index.htm
I have two of these Healthways, a spring one and a CO2 one. The CO2 one shoots real strong (at more than 450 fps). The spring one shoots weaker than the Daisy 179. It hardly dents cardboard at 24 ft. So those asking for a spring powered Crosman Fortify, be careful what you ask for.
B.B. and Readership,
Before someone comments about Tom’s use of FRAME and RECEIVER interchangeably read this: http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2013/04/parts-of-firearm-receiver.html#:~:text=In%20the%20case%20of%20pistols,the%20firearm%20body%20or%20frame.
One of the best resources i have ever found for proper arms terminology.
Some few of you readers may find it interesting for much more!
shootski
I can get past the safety, once in the off position, it would probably stay there.
Whats weird to me is the ejection lever, that serves as the follower for the BB loading mechanism, its on the wrong side, even the Daisy 179 I have, (that needs to find a new place to live) has it in the correct position.
By the photos, it looks like it’s standing off to the right side of the gun like a flag…
The grips don’t look bad, they might even feel good.
Ian.
If it can be fanned or slip fired it would be a fun plinker for sure. Please check on it, If it’s not too fragile.
First off, I would totally deactivate the safety and keep the thing closed. Designer must have had his head in a dark place.
Been “Off the grid” since the Aug 17 Coyote Wildfire took out my utility pole.
No electric power or water without generators. Think I did some damage to my hands twisting off tight gas caps on cans and generators. Not to mention pull cord starts. My fingers and hands really hurt. Should have pulled out my strap wrench weeks ago. Live and learn.
You can only leave your fridge off for so many hours at night, so sleep has been cut short every day.
The new pole and service panel are installed and ready to go. Waiting for county inspectors OK to be sent to SDGE to come out and hook me up and install a meter.
Decided to keep the second Crosman 362 100yr Anniversary Edition with the sad looking wood stock. Evidently there are many improvements over the standard one incorporated according to HAM. Need to refinish the stock somehow, someway?
when you test it i’d be very interested to know how accurate the loudness rating of “2-Low-Medium” is. i’m hopeful for it to be right, but apprehensive due to the inconsistencies of information with the packaging and manual, and have a feeling crosman may have supplied another bit of old information from when it was going to be an airsoft pistol. here’s to hoping i’m wrong.
Well, this BB gun may be worth every penny that Crosman charges for it, but is it a good buy? I think that I may have had this one or one very similar to it as a boy of 6 or 7 back in the early ’50s. Wahoo! Shoot ’em up! I wore the chaps and hat, so I must have been a real cowboy, right? (In retrospect, I think that my gun was a cap pistol, but you get my drift)
I think that now I value my Colt SA Pellet pistol even more. Ride ’em, hook ’em, brand ’em. Yep . . . Ride ’em up, head ’em out. Orv.
Hoppalong Doc,
Orv,
…so I must have been a real cowboy, right?
Did you have lariat (Lasso) and Cowboy Boots?
shootski
Yahoo and yippee caiyo ay yea! Oh ya. . . chaps boots, spurs, but sadly merely a rope, not a lariat, as I could never seem to encircle even a post. Oh, remind me to tell you why one should always wear pants under one’s chaps. What can I say as I was “butt” a lad of 5 or 6. If I knew how to post pictures on the blog, I’d show y’all a picture of me aboard a pony displaying all the cowboy gear, including a 6-shooter and 10 gallon hat. Yes indeed, those were the days. Pow -pow! Orv.
BB,
Have you done a review of the Umarex, Ruger-licensed Mark IV? I searched and didn’t get a result.
Half
Half,
I guess not.
BB
Tom,
The scuttlebutt: fun, reasonably accurate, VERY heavy trigger that breaks in to just heavy.
Michael
BB,
The reason I was looking for a blog on the gun is because I have one and found the trigger to be quite heavy. It’s designed very much like the Browning Buckmark, also made by Umarex, and even seems to share many of the same parts, but has a much heavier trigger pull. A video I found for improving the trigger requires removing a few parts that AREN’T in the Browning. They seem to be there to block the sear arm from being able to release the sear engagement, unless the trigger is actually being pulled. In other words, a drop safety. If you drop the gun, while loaded and cocked, the sear can’t release because those parts have to be moved out of the way by the action of the trigger just prior to the trigger engaging the sear arm and that makes the gun safe from firing from an impact with the ground, but it also makes the trigger horrible, since those parts are spring loaded and resist being moved.
I had hoped to find that you addressed this in a blog because I’m curious as to whether this feature was a requirement by Ruger before granting the license to produce the gun. If I recall correctly, Ruger invented the transfer bar safety after someone dropped a fully loaded Single Six on its hammer and died as a result. It seems curious to me that the Buckmark is short these parts, although it looks like they could be dropped right into the gun if you wanted to. (haven’t tried it, but I think you could) Do you think Ruger wanted to make sure that no other accidental discharges would be linked to their company? Would you know anyone in the industry that might know the answer? I took the parts out of my gun because I figured that if the Browning didn’t need them, neither did the Ruger, and it makes the trigger much better. Great little gun,now.
Just one of those questions that get into my head sometimes and makes me pursue an answer.
Half
The first time I saw a picture of the Fortify about a year ago, I wanted one but there was no availability. Maybe Crosman “jumped the gun’ and may have wanted to get it right before introduction. But what could be wrong?? I now own one and I love it but here are some initial thoughts on things that would personalize it for me..
I am not sure the Fortify name will catch on and I guess it is short for Forty Five. It is not the name so much as it is the fact that it is plastered boldly on the gun. How many times have we said and read that we want realism, not printing on the gun. But that is ok …. I will remove it as I want the other cowboys to think I am a gun slinger not a sugarfoot.
It is a nice gun but could be a great gun if the anemic white grips were replaced with other options like wood grain, or engraving / embosment. Grips are like nice hubcaps that can make or break a car’s appearance….ooppps….what’s a hubcap you ask?
It is good that the highly visible integral BB mag makes it handy to see how many shots are left but tells all that …. you are not a buffalo hunter …. you are just a can killer.
I love Crosman and am just “cow poking” a bit of fun at them but here is what I will be doing to make it a great gun for me and maybe you …. different grips, internal weights, remove graphics ( Fortify ), BB mag cover, 450+ FPS to improve accuracy ( per my testing on other guns ).
Thanks to Crosman for providing a real fun new platform to experiment with and build on.