Crosman’s 362 100th Anniversary Edition. This is not a stock photo: it’s the actual rifle being tested.
This report covers:
- The test
- Crosman Premiers
- JTS Dead Center 18.1
- H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme
- Benjamin High Compression pellets
- Something special
- On the level
- H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme shot level
- Benjamin pellets shot level
- Bottom line
- Summary
Today we test the accuracy of the Benjamin 362 100th Anniversary Edition again and do something a reader suggested after the last report. In fact we do two things readers suggested. Reader MMCM said, “When my 362 gets to wandering, I check the grub screw on the front barrel band. Seems all the pumping can loosen it.”
So I checked it. It was tight.
Reader Bill said, “Just put on your best dot sight and all the questions will be answered. 10 meters, 10 shot groups with the most promising pellets.”
So I mounted my UTG Micro Reflex dot sight. To do that the rear aperture sight had to come off and I show you that now.
The rear elevation slide comes out exposing the two screws on the left that hold the base on the breech.
With the rear sight off it was easy to install the UTG Micro Reflex dot.
The test
I shot five-shot groups with all pellets except in one instance I will mention. The rifle was rested directly on a sandbag 10 meters from the target. The rifle was pumped five times for every shot.
Crosman Premiers
I sighted in with Crosman Premiers and also shot the first group. I was shocked to see five pellets go into 1.67-inches at 10 meters.
The 362 Anniversary put five Premiers into 1.67-inches at 10 meters.
JTS Dead Center 18.1
Next to be tested were JTS Dead Center 18.1-grain domes. The 362 put five into a 1.194-inch group at 10 meters. It’s better but ugh!
Five JTS Dead Center domes went into 1.194-inches at 10 meters.
H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme
The next pellet I tested was the H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme. These fit the breech tighter and I recalled they did better with open sights. With the dot sight five made a 0.423-inch group at 10 meters. Now we’re talking! I’ll come back to this pellet!
The 362 Anniversary put five H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes into a 0.423-inch group at 10 meters.
Benjamin High Compression pellets
The last pellet I tested was the vintage Benjamin High Compression pellet from about 60 years ago. Five made a 0.515-inch group. That’s another one that’s not that bad, and four are in 0.306-inches. For that reason, I decided to try something special with this pellet, as well.
The 362 put five Benjamin domes into 0.515-inches at 10 meters.
Something special
I selected the Benjamin domes for a 10-shot group. It was a tossup between them and the Hunter Extremes and that was my call. Ten Benjamin domes made a 0.85-inch group at ten meters. It’s the third-best group of the test — so far!
The 362 put 10 Benjamin domes into this 0.85-inch group at 10 meters.
During this group I felt I wasn’t keeping the 362 level the same all the time. That will open a group. You don’t have to level the dot sight on the rifle; you just have to shoot the rifle in the same orientation every time. So I shot two more groups — with a bubble level on the rifle.
A bubble level has been added.
On the level
The bubble level would keep all the shots consistent. Let’s see what happened.
H&N Baracuda Hunter Extreme shot level
This time the 362 put five H&N Baracuda Hunter Extremes into a 0.553-inch group at 10 meters. Without the level the group measured 0.423-inches. So the level didn’t help anything.
With the level on the rifle the group was no better than without it. In fact, this group is larger, at 0.553-inches between centers.
Okay, no improvement there but let’s wait to see what the Benjamin pellets do. Remember — in their first group they had one pellet that didn’t stay with the other four.
Benjamin pellets shot level
With the level mounted five Benjamin pellets went into 0.575-inches at 10 meters. Without the level five are in 0.515-inches. Another group that was larger when shooting with the level.
With the level mounted five Benjamin pellets made a 0.575-inch group at 10 meters.
Bottom line
I think we have seen all the accuracy the Crosman 362 is going to give with these pellets. It does seem that the rifle likes larger pellets best.
The dot sight did reduce the group size, but the level did nothing beneficial. Would a scope make any difference? Some of you believe it would and others think it wouldn’t. I guess I gotta try so we can all see.
Summary
The Crosman 362, 100-Year Anniversary Edition multi-pump air rifle is beautiful, but the accuracy seems to be about what we can expect from the standard 362.
We will test it one more time with a scope.
“Would a scope make any difference? Some of you believe it would…”
Yeah, BB,
I am in that group.
Hence, since you said, “I guess I gotta try so we can all see,” I’ll just wait and say something then. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
Dave,
Thanks to you and your generous gift to me of a scope, and I can confidently expect B.B.’s 10 meter groups to shrink. They did for me, thanks to you!
B.B.,
As you have noted countless times, as our eyes get old, they can use all the help they can get. In my case, no help for my eyes equals scatter-gun sized “groups.”
Dave, thanks again for the scope!
Michael
Michael, you are most welcome! 🙂
Tom,
Well it is what it is. It’s a beautiful gun. Hopefully somebody sometime soon can discover what it needs to improve its accuracy. Other than large pellets there doesn’t seem to be anything that can be done to improve the accuracy much. I don’t think a scope will improve the groupings much.
Siraniko
BB,
I am one of those people who do not believe mounting a scope will be of much benefit. I would suggest including the bubble level with the scope. You would then at least eliminate that particular variable from the discussion.
Unfortunately, some airguns are just not great shooters. No matter how nicely you make something look does not mean it is better. A little lipstick on a pig does not make her into something else.
Some of these “old gals” here at RidgeRunner’s Home For Wayward Airguns are not the best dancers around, but they sure are fun to dance with anyway.
BB,
Since this air rifle seems to favor larger pellets, perhaps you can throw a few Ely Wasps downrange with the next test?
RR,
I thought about that too late this time, but that’s a great idea.
BB
If any of you folks are reading this, I will tell you right now that I am going WAY off subject here.
I ran into this article about a new HPA compressor the other day.
https://hardairmagazine.com/news/new-omega-pocket-charger-battery-hpa-compressor/
This little thing has two things going for it, IMMHO. It is inexpensive and it is battery powered. I have what has become a plethora of battery powered tools here. They do quite nicely if you have extra batteries to keep you going, which I of course do.
The only issue I personally have with this is I will have to get another brand of batteries, as what I have now will not work. Now, this statement is based on the fact that I have not tested this compressor myself, but it is a reputable brand.
It is my hope that we will see more of these in the future. I also anticipate the price coming down at least a bit more. Look at hand pumps.
Well here we are after 4:00 I can’t sleep cuz I have chemotherapy at 8:00 a.m….
So my brain won’t shut down.
Thankfully I have airguns and ridge runner, keeps me from shooting off the porch in the middle of the night LOL.
With the help of a friend I have temporarily invested in the most cost-effective Chinese export pump.
This is the class design to fill 1 l or less
No bigger than a lunch box, 14 lb.
I won’t quote the brand name nor will I
Say any more than so far so good.
All that being said, I find the design most interesting in its departure from the huge motor in the shoebox pump I have.
To run off my car’s battery I expected substantial gauge wiring. Boy was I wrong! This thing is working perfectly fine with the supplied wiring….. Which is smaller gauge than I use on non subwoofers! Then I noticed the wattage
Of the brushless motor is only 300 watts.
Now that ridge runner has me thinking about a battery powered pump, I am realizing how practical that may be.
Ridge runner if you have an old drill or old charger you can remove the battery receiver from…… A 14 volt battery from a drill with at least a couple amp hour capacity would be a cinch to wire.
That would give you the same arrangement albeit slightly less aesthetically pleasing. Since the pump is happy with alternator output…. It will receive the same 13.7 to 14.4 volt input.
That will make no engineering difference
To the pump’s operation.
Your mileage may vary. This middle of the night brainstorm was brought to you by caffeine….. The quicker picker upper.
One more thing I want to mention, I said this pump is temporary….. As soon as finances allow I will be picking up the Rovair unit at which time this will be the dusty closet backup unless I need it to turn someone on locally to HPA.
“I have chemotherapy at 8:00 a.m”
Frank, I’m praying all goes great for you, man! 🙂
Thank you my friend!
I didn’t get any sleep overnight before my chemo infusion.
But your prayers worked at all went well. Thanks to my hydration level
I did a 7-hour infusion and a little over 5 hours.
My hair is coming out but other than that…. Not so bad. So anyway yes thank you for the prayers.
I wouldn’t want to do anything in life without them.
“I did a 7-hour infusion and a little over 5 hours.”
Awesome!
“My hair is coming out but other than that…. Not so bad.”
Personally, I think you could rock an Elvis wig…with the shades to go with it, of course. 😉
Still got you in my daily prayers,
dave
Praying for you. Also, Frank! It’s great that you have your airgun hobby and display to help keep your mind engaged!
Brent
Your prayers are so very kind
And appreciated. If I didn’t have a single airgun left I would still cherish this community. Some of the very finest people in my entire life reside within the air gun hobby.
Thankfully in the real world I am nowhere near out of airguns and airgun experiences to be had.
Right now I am playing with up 4,500 PSI paintball bottle with a regulator. Running my 25 caliber Condor on it. And teaching myself everything I need to know about regulators their maintenance and adjustment. I am using an Air Force CO2 valve….. So I will be exploring what can be done with the existing plenum volume
Once I get an input pressure
Around 1200 PSI to that valve
I will keep reducing preload on the hammer strike. Until I begin losing FPS. And I will adjust from the top hat after that to trim out as much waste air as possible . That should give me a crazy long shot count at whatever Sweet spot velocity shows best accuracy.
Frank: Was this a “first” for you? I’ve been there and done that. Take extra time to rest and recover from the infusion. I remember getting one when I was remodeling the home we live in that the wife inherited. I had my AM infusion and thought I’d work in the house after it was over. Instead, I pulled the canvas off of my late father-in-law’s powered recliner and got on it and pulled the canvas back up as a blanket and slept the afternoon away. Didn’t hit a lickprobably the best thing I did while working on the house. I’ve been on a cancer journey with meds since ’09. Stay hydrated and take nutrition even if it is the “last” thing you want. If you start having fevers, and particularly, if you become florid (red) and maybe itchy, call your provider a.s.a.p.
My friend thank you so much for your comments.
Your wisdom and compassion are most helpful on my journey. Being constantly reminded that people care
Is it powerful healing tool.
I shall pray for your continued health
Frank: Health is a matter of relative age and diagnosis. I have had five forms of CA: Prostate, Basal Cell, Squamal Cell and Melanoma, Kidney Carncinoma and my “favorite” Leukocytic Leukemia. The last is the on-going one and I’m on my third major medicinal intervention – with success to date.
My daughter is a master’s prepared Certified Family Nurse Practitioner (should have been a physician!) and quips that “no one dies of Leukemia anymore.” It’s a treatable condition most likely caused by exposure to ag-chemicals while a rural pastor and firefighter and whatever malevolent genetics I inherited (like the prostate cancer).
The secret to survival is to comply, comply, comply with medical management and to keep your physician informed of new problems of symptoms.
Oh, and give yourself “forgiveness” for your illness. YOU didn’t chose this, it happened. So it’s not a mark on you but simply a disease process. Heck, cosmic rays from some far off and long deceased celestical bodies may have altered a gene or too – so don’t own any “blame” but deal with the reality.
Good luck and blessings in this Christmas Season.
‘;
L Franke,
Please accept my sincerest thanks for taking the time to compose that reply.
I have intended to reply for a couple days.
Everything you said has not fallen on deaf ears.
I am blessed with the ability to look at life from many different angles. One angle that never varies is just how blessed I am. Consider yourself counted in that regard!
The very best of the holiday season to you.
Frank B
Frank,
Until I just now read about your chemo, I had been nervous about a dental appointment later this morning. Not any more, suffice to say. Your courage makes me now feel a little silly. Thank you for inspiring me to shrug my shoulders and just “suck it up,” as we used to say in the high school football locker room.
My prayers are with you as well.
Michael
Frank,
Oops. I forgot that I’m a day behind in my reading. I hope the chemo went well.
Michael
Michael your comment made me smile from ear to ear. Partly because I know I am a coward.lol
All strength comes from God. And when you pray for strength God gives you exercise!
Frank,
And whatever you do, don’t pray for patience! 😉
BB
Tom I hear if you pray for patience……. He sends you an unending stream of people who think their air gun was made by Benjamin Franklin himself.
We’re talking people that will argue about it too! Thank you for the laugh
LOL! Here I am on Saturday, up at 4 AM.
I will have to give your caffeine induced brainstorm some almost serious thought.
If you are just a little more patient, someone will eliminate some of the bells and whistles as they did on this battery powered pump and bring the price down more.
RidgeRunner,
I don’t think they will re-invent the wheel. I think the Omega Pocket Charger will most likely use a popular name brand Li-Ion rechargeable power pack used in power tools. Probably DeWalt or Makita.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
As far as I am concerned, they did indeed “reinvent the wheel”. I have a plethora of 20V Dewalt and 20V Craftsman. The Omega compressor uses an 18V Makita. By the way, the Dewalt and the Craftsman are slightly different and not interchangeable.
Fortunately the Omega compressor comes with a charger.
Read about that little pump; if you get one, hope you’ll share your opinion of it with our group. It’s about enabling us. 😉
LOL! I may buy one, but do not bet on such. I have an AV compressor on a cart and a very large carbon fiber tank. I may think about such way in the future, but not right away. Think of this as a public service announcement.
Ridge,
that is exciting news. I hope the trend continues. I myself am not on the dark side due to the hassle and cost of equipment alone. But they way it’s going, who knows. I will keep following these trends for sure. Thanks for the link
Doc
Doc,
This is a great idea.
Something you may keep in mind is it will only get so cheap. They may come down a little more, but at some point, quality will begin to suffer. I personally would stay with someone who I am certain can back up any warranties and/or fix any issues. Some sources will be quite questionable.
The batteries it uses are Makita. You can find adapters on Ebay that will let you use other major tool brands 18V batteries, i.e. Dewalt to Makita, Milwaukee to Makita, Rigid to Makita, etc.
I am very interested in this pump. I am a contractor by trade and use Makita cordless tools. My cost would only be the pump. Seems brilliant if it works like we think it should.
I had not thought of or heard of such adapters. I may have to take a look into that.
As most of my “toys” at RRHFWA use 20V batteries, this 18V Makita battery will require me to pick up another different battery setup. Sigh.
Of course, since I jumped on the home compressor and carbon fiber tank band wagon a while back, this little compressor is hopefully out of the question for me.
BB,
I hope I don’t rock the boat here.
If the rifle can put 4 out of 5 pellets in a .306 hole, that is how accurate it is, with that particular pellet, with that many pumps at that given distance in whatever the level of barrel break-in or cleanliness it is in at the time. What caused the 5th one to wander off?
Putting a Dot Sight would not increase the accuracy of the rifle. It would increase the accuracy of the shooter. And a scope may even help more by providing more visual reference information and a bigger picture to the shooter.
The only thing that could cause one to wander would be the pellet or the shooter, assuming there was no wind interference or big June Bug flying by. And how many thousands of an inch does a breath or heart beat affect things?
Not really a problem for someone capable of ten shots in a single hole at 10 meters but are you in tip top shape for that? Just speaking. I’m sure the sandbag would compensate for anything like that.
So what is being tested is the ‘Accuracy of the pellets’ used in the rifle through compatibility with the rifle or precision manufacturing and consistency of the pellets. Not really the accuracy of the rifle. That is .306, for now, at 10 meters, with 5 pumps.
Another kind of pellet at any other number of pumps may improve that but how long would that take to find out?
And as mentioned before, you only have limited time, but a tremendous amount of experience to make a judgment call on the rifles accuracy and we accept that. But until the perfect pellet at the perfect amount of pumps for the desired shooting distance is discovered, for each rifle, we may never know. And that bugs me.
That is why I would like the manufactures to provide some helpful information in their handbooks as to what type of pellet they at least intended the rifle to shoot. If they ever did anyway, probably not and we will be left to wander the world of pellets, with endless episodes of trial and error, until that ‘one’ is found or we may never know how accurate the rifle is. (Drama intended)
Fortunate for me it’s not too important. There are lots of pellets and airguns with minute of gopher head accuracy. Field mice … not so many!
But if I only shot paper targets, who knows? May cause frustration or lead to insanity for a perfectionist.
Hope you find that pellet. 😉
Thanks Bob!
Enjoyed that post, you made a lot of good points – ideal for a Friday as it gives food for thought for over the weekend.
I view multi-pump airguns and precharged pneumatics as being the same thing. Essentially, both use air stored in a plenum to launch the projectile, differing only in how the air charge was acquired.
The main difference between the two platforms is that the pressure and the hammer spring in the PCP can (usually) be finely adjusted and in the MPP the pressure changes dramatically at each pump… 5 pumps might not be enough but 6 is too much. In tuning PCPs, I’ve often found that a couple of fps can make a big difference in group size, MMPs just don’t have the resolution to be as precise.
As you said, you would have to test each pellet over a range of pumps to see if it could be compatible (stability and harmonics wise) with the airgun. This would be tedious (but fun) and, with the coarseness of the pressures, it’s quite possible that the best power (5 1/2 pumps?) for a particular pellet would never be found.
My take on multi-pump airguns is that they are idel can-bashers. You could use one at a 10 meter or a 100 meter benchrest competition but it’s not what they are designed for, there are other tools for those jobs.
As to “What caused the 5th one to wander off?”. I shoot 10 meter airguns (pistols and rifles) and know that the “flier” is caused by a defective pellet (or sun-spots or a disturbance in the force) because our form (one must never doubt that one’s form) is always perfect and we believe (and trust) that our airguns are perfect as well. 😉
Have a great weekend!
Hank
B.B.
I am very surprised that your reflex dot sight does not have a built in level.
Why all those electronics and no internal level?
-Yogi
PS I have never used a reflex dot sight, and never plan to…
Yogi.
Ya gotta realize, they were invented for quick target acquisition not really accurate target shooting. But when your eyesight starts to fade and open sights are becoming difficult to see, or use, they are an outstanding aiming device. Not as good as a scope but they are adjustable for aiming, intensity and size. If you don’t want batteries Trijicon, and perhaps others, have some that don’t require them.
Small ones on pistols can be a bit hard to find the dot in the lens. I imagine that’s why they favor larger ones sometimes, especially when not carried.
Maybe a proper scrub with bore Brite
Or even some fire lapping with felt cleaning pellets??
Even maybe a couple felt pellets shot into some plastic bags so they can be inspected?
You would think I made a commission on felt cleaning pellets LOL
What would you inspect the felt pellets for after you recover them from the plastic bag?
Gremlin kaka? ;o)
Looking for little sparkles of lead
Or even excessive discoloration.
Or anything else otherworldly LOL.
I’m inclined to agree with the barrel cleaning. It’s a must for any new gun as they’re usually full of gunk from manufacturing
Frank:
Use a flex plastic rod and PUSH the felt pellets through the bore. They will clean and mop up stuff so much better than with the force of the air blast.
Slow and consistent push will do the trick and let the felt be absorbant as it goes.
I would agree for a comprehensive cleaning…… So of course you are both helpful and right.
Well I would want to come from breech to muzzle and that this is more of a test. I’m looking for things that rise to significance like chatter marks
Which of course I could feel for but if they are bad enough at this point they should give up traces of lead.
Firing with just a couple pumps will definitely pick that up. Then I would quantify it by pushing through to know where to concentrate initial lapping
With some good non-embedding
Compound. Or of course it could be fire-lapped with again just a couple pumps. And then patched clean and tested
BB.
This afternoon I tried to post an entry to Shootski but it never posted. In fact it disappeared entirely.
It was way off topic and may have had too big of a picture or I timed out. Not sure and no big thing.
Then I thought, wow did I just fall back into delayed entry for review with all this off-topic stuff?
After participating here for well over 10 years, with not a whole lot of pertinent information sometimes, being a collector. I begin to feel like I’m talking to old friends or pen pals with the same interests and my thoughts begin to wander off topic as we get to know one another.
I am going to blame you Tom for creating a very unique Airgun Blog and being a unique kind of guy for making it so and continuing on in rough times. God bless.
Bob M
I would like you to include me in this specific list of Tom’s blamers.
God bless you, Tom and all those blamers in this company of old friends/pen pals as you put it.
BB,
I’m with Bob M here in wanting to thank you for the work you do to provide your readership with your expertise in trying to understand our air guns, how they work and what to expect of them. You have a great readership who behave as gentlemen and have plenty of good information to share.
When I write, I always want to address my comment to, “BB and Friends,” but I don’t for some reason. But that’s how I feel after more than ten years as a reader. Reading this blog makes me smarter. Thanks again for your input, BB and Friends.
Regards,
Will
I feel the same way Bob.
I haven’t been commenting much recently. As someone who prefers cooler temperatures and puts outdoor chores off until the fall the last couple of months have been extremely busy. Added to dealing with my wife’s health issues I’ve been quiet (maybe that is a good thing 😉 ).
Now that there’s snow on the ground (and it’s hibernation time here in Canada) I’ll be able to participate in the blog more.
There’s a great bunch of guys from all over the world that hang out here! It’s good to be a part of that.
Hank
“…dealing with my wife’s health issues…”
Hank,
I’ve been praying for her everyday and will keep on doing so.
We are in the midst of a week where it will hit the freezing mark each night.
To you, that likely just seems like “warm sweater weather,” LOL! 😉
Blessings and happy shooting to you,
dave
Thanks Dave!
Yeah, it’s still “jean jacket and baseball cap” weather as far as Canadians are concerned. I don’t hesitate to go out to grab an arm-load of firewood in midwinter sub-zero temperatures wearing shorts, a T-shirt and slippers …no sense, no feeling eh? 😉
Knit hat, scarf, parka and glove weather is coming though. Good that I’ve lots of indoor things to do.
Cheers!
Vana2,
Hank I hope and pray you will always be able to find the inner strength to carry on.
I am called upon most days to remember my wedding vows to my spouse as well; apparently many who read and share here are as well.
My slippers are Ugg® Boots with lugged Vibram® outsoles so i’m cheating.
The water is cold (48°F/6°C) and i’m getting ready to test out some Norwegian Brynje SuperThermo (3/8” or 1cm mesh) base layer under my DRYSuit and fleece Union Suit.
I use my sea kayaking to be my respite from the demands of caregiving so i do it until the ice closes me out.
shootski
“I don’t hesitate to go out to grab an arm-load of firewood in midwinter sub-zero temperatures wearing shorts, a T-shirt and slippers…”
Hank, I feel like a wuss! I walked the dog at 32F and put on my full winter coat, LOL! 😉
Hank
I just sent a prayer for your wife. Prayers from someone she doesn’t even know can help. I have been helped.
1’m guessing your indoor activities includes a place to shoot. Being aware that you rotate shooting all your airguns, this requires a place suitable for shooting all your inventory. But you could just put on long pants and step outside and shoot a few groups.
Deck
Thanks Deck!
Yup, I can manage an honest 10 meter range in the basement.
There’s a rubber mulch target box permanently setup and in the winter the adjacent table hosts various airguns available for use every time I pass by.
When I feel to shoot higher power or longer range shooting from the basement door is an option.
Hank
Hank,
I forgot you are in Canada. In my search for the elusive Umarex Beretta M9A3 FM, I tried a well-known Canadian air gun dealer, but they don’t have ’em either. I now believe they never made it to North America. Maybe if I can get one of our friends from continental Europe to lend a hand.
I wonder if Carel is around today? :^)
Michael
Michael,
It’s been a while since I was looking for my FWB 300 and last talked with Carel. I think he still visits the blog once in a while and BB might have his contact information.
Yeah, there’s a lot of airguns that aren’t available in Canada 🙁
Any airgun with a built-in moderator is automatically illegal unless the manufacturer is willing to make a Canadian version with no baffles – due to the (relatively small market) most don’t bother.
Any pistol over 500 fps is considered a restricted weapon subject to the same regulations as a magnum powder burner.
There’s instances of airguns that were banned here because they “looked dangerous”.
Wish the Canadian regulations were realistic!
Bummer!
Hank
Hank and Michael,
Contact Carel through the American Airguns classified page.
BB
B.B.,
I think I’ll do that. Thanks.
Michael
Bob M,
Shipmate!
So THAT explains the disturbance in The FORCE.
shootski
Thanks for posting the photos of how the Williams sight mounts to the rifle. That’s how I envisioned it just looking at it fully assembled. My limited experience tells me that the magnification of a scope will help. But I also find that the inexplicable flier pellets still happen with most of my guns. I have temporarily mounted a scope (using a clamp-on mount) on the Baikal M46 pistol so that I can better test its accuracy. So far, no fliers using the RWS R10 pellets. If anyone has a suggestion for a suitable pistol scope that has adjustable parallax for 10-meters and a long enough eye relief to comfortably shoot the pistol, I am listening. The scope I put on there temporarily requires my eye to be about where the rear sight is. So I need to find one that is better suited for a pistol. So far, the ones I have seen have parallax at too great a distance for the type of shooting I intend to do. Thanks.
I use a UTG 1.25-4X32 on a P17 Beeman pistol, it works well at 10 yds on low power. There was a UTG 1.25-4X24 made at one time as well. These scopes aren’t offered anymore, so maybe a wtb ad in a forum would turn one up…
Thanks, I will see what I can turn up on a used one of those. I have, since my earlier post, found two UTG scopes that look promising. The 2x7x44mm Scout Rifle Scope has a long (9.5-11 inch) eye relief and adjustable objective lens down to 10-yards. That might suit shooting from a rest. Also, their 2x7x32mm handgun scope has a very long (13.5-25 inch) eye relief (which would suit off-hand shooting) but non-adjustable objective lens.
B.B., don’t know if this is helpful or interesting, but another one of your readers started a spreadsheet that anyone can read or add to in an effort to compile data on the interaction between multipumps, pellets, # of pumps, and accuracy (precision). I dumped all my data into it at the time, for my base Crosman 362.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1A7DbYotHteZNxjIdSZfcG00edrjkUYcus0OD43qLPPM/htmlview
Errata:
“Bottom line
“I think we have seen all the accuracy the Benjamin [Crosman] 362 is going to give with these pellets.”
Roamin,
Good catch. Got it.
BB
At 83, maybe I’m just a grumpy old man. Some of my kids might even agree. But any one of my Sheridans or 392’s will shoot better on average than the new Anniversary 362 seems to do. I think Crosman/Benjamin should have put more thought into maintaining the older models of the 39x series guns in the lineup. I know, cost of materials/labor in the older models ran up their costs. But $300+ for a wood stock and long barrel on a fancied up 1377? Come on, maybe I am just a grumpy old man living in the past. If my wife was still alive, she would probably agree. My two cents that aren’t worth too much! End of my soapbox.
B.B. and Esteemed Friends,
Given that you accept that barrels drive most precision issues:
Got a question. So back in the day when the Benjamins all had their barrels soldered to the pump tube if nothing could be done about the barrel in place to get better groups you had at most three choices: TRASH the whole thing buy another hoping for better luck, save the guts, furniture, place order a pump tube with barrel hoping for more luck at lower cost, or simply work with what you got.
With this gun it would seem barrels can easily be removed and replaced…Tom is my assumption correct?
shootski
…a ramble in honor of it being Friday 😉
As a designer by trade and having worked in an engineering environment my whole career I learned early that using the right tool for the job was important. Choosing the right tool requires using the correct perspective and point of reference.
In a design review, if an incorrect correct point of reference is used (like specifying an Air Arms quality of bluing or gold plating on a pipe wrench) you might be quoted Flanigan’s Rule Of Accuracy: Measure with micrometer; Mark with chalk; Cut with axe. …A tongue in cheek reference for “the design does not match the requirement”.
What I’m getting at is that when we judge a product we should keep in mind the point of reference used in its design and manufacture. I love my Kia but it will never be a BMW, it’s not meant to be in that category.
Getting around to airguns (finally) and relevance to today’s blog on the Crossman 362 accuracy, I would categorize this MPP (by its power, power plant, sights and accuracy) as a “20-25 yard casual plinking rifle” and not penalize it for lacking 10 meter gun accuracy or benchrest gun range. I think that with some pellets it’s shooting well and I’m happy with that as is (I have a .22 caliber 392).
I suspect that (within the limitations of the power plant) accuracy could be improved (maybe a LW barrel? add a hammer spring adjustment? a match grade trigger?) but any changes would likely violate the designs price point requirement.
Anyway, lots of choices out there. Do diligence, understand the product and find what meets your needs.
Happy Friday!
Hank
Vana2,
Hank total agreement.
Crosman barrels are cheap compared to LW and you could order a number of them to swap out…(perhaps perform various VooDoo on) a luxury that we didn’t have with the soldered barrels at least not very easily.
shootski
B.B. and Folks,
I just could not believe that B.B. received both the stock 362 and the Anniversary model with poor accuracy. I know I am biased about the guns because I have bought 4 of them. Gave one away already.
I have the 100 year anniversary model that is still stock other than a trigger tune.
I have a synthetic stock version that I added the steel breech and gave it a trigger tune. It has a UTG red green target dot sight on it.
I also have another synthetic stock version with a trigger tune that I added the steel breech and a Crosman Maximus barrel. It has a UTG mini swat 3-12 scope on it.
Today I shot all three guns with a cold start (both me and the guns, no warm up) with 5 pumps for each shot at 10 meters starting with the Anniversary model and ending with the Maximus barrel 362. I shot 5 shot groups with one exception where I shot a previous bull with the following bulls pellet. I did not mark it down quick enough and don’t remember which bull it was. I first shot Crosman Premier pellets 14.3 gr to at least have one pellet that matched up with B.B.’s testing. Next was the AA Falcon 13.43 gr pellets and last was the JSB Exact Jumbo Diabolo 15.89 gr pellets.
I have to say the front sight on the Anniversary version was very poor with my old eyes. I could not use the 6 o’clock hold, I had no clear vertical reference. I ended up covering the bull with the front sight so I shot where I thought the bull was based on moving the front site till the bull appeared and then placing the sight back over where I thought it was. For target shooting I would definitely change the front sight. I also think the groups would be better with a scope. I had one shot in all three targets with the dot sight that opened up the groups. I don’t know why.
On my last target bottom right the first 4 shots were all in the same hole that did not grow until the 5th shot. It would have been the best group of my life. I have always been a big fan of the Maximus barrels.
Looking over the results I have to say that there is not that much difference between B.B.’s testing and mine. I do think my Anniversary version would do better with a scope, at least with me shooting.
Below are pictures of the guns and the target.
Don
PS all shots were using a rest.
Here is the Guns.
Here is the target.
Benji-Don,
I probably won’t be buying one of these for me; but if i got one for the grandsons i would certainly at a minimum upgrade or get a number of barrels to try with each purchase based on what you have just shown us.
The trigger tune is almost a given with Crosman airguns.
Thank you and NICE shooting!
shootski
Shootski,
With most of the Crosman barrels a good crown job and a polish of the leed and tranfer port can make a big difference. I don’t know why but the Maximus barrels seem to be the best. Hopefully they still have some.
Don
Please explain how you do a crown job and polish the chamber and transfer port.
Roamin Greco,
WELL NOW you have gone and done it!
https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2011/09/the-importance-of-the-crown/
The comments section is interesting too…
Ballistics (Internal, Exterior [aka. EXTERNAL,] and Terminal) have seen so much significant change in the past decade that it bewilders even those who are correctly called Ballisticians.
Let the FUN BEGIN!
shootski
Thanks!
Benji-Don,
Totally agree except for the Crown.
shootski
Shootski,
That is why I am still pondering my answer. My crown jobs work well on “Crosman” barrels that show visible burrs or uneven ends on the rifling, but not every time. If I did not have an extra barrel or mind getting one I would be very slow and deliberate in the work.
I put the barrel in my drill press and straighten it from both ends. I then use a round or tapered diamond burr, 800 or finner grit on the crown while slowly spinning the barrel. That normally maintains a symmetrical grind to the crown. I then follow up with a felt polishing tip on my cordless hand drill with a medium grit polish. With the drill I can spin the polishing tip in both directions. On the leed I use a similar process and proceed very slowly.
Benji-Don, you should do a guest blog on the trigger tune.
Roamin,
I learned the Crosman trigger tunes from this blog. Gunfun1 and Chris USA and others went through the basics many times. Usually the tune involves trimming or replacing the trigger coil spring with a weaker one. If you do a search on the trigger tune for the model you are interested in you will see many articles and you tube videos on the subject. There are also kits available to make the trigger weight adjustable.
If I get some of these models wrong some one correct me please. Keep in mind the Crosman rifle models 2260, Discovery, Maximus, and 362 have the same basic triggers. The Crosman pistol models 2240, 1377, 1322 have the same basic triggers.
The original Discovery gen1 and the Chalenger trigger assembly will fit the rifles above and provide a great adjustable two stage trigger.
The Benjamin Marauder pistol and the Crosman Silhouette pistol trigger assembly will fit the pistols.
The triggers have changed over time with different generations of the guns. Before you make order parts from Crosman for a different gun do your research. Get the parts lists from Crosman for both guns and check the part numbers.
Don
Thanks!
Above, I said “The original Discovery gen1 and the Challenger trigger assembly will fit the rifles above and provide a great adjustable two stage trigger”.
I should have said the Marauder gen1 not Discovery.
Don
Just noticed a store selling .177 Syn Winchester 1100S for $59.95. They are 11lb break barrel Magnums and look very much like a Ruger Magnum. Probably is everything bad in a powerful break barrel, extremely loud and capable of hitting a pop can at 75 yards … but for that price?
P/A does not have it. But “Sportsmans” who look for a “Warehouse” full of gun equipment and such might find it. Nice truck, garage or barn airgun? not for kids. Looks like 33% reduction in price?
Airgun related and yet, off topic..
Today’s sunshine and very mild and almost becalmed weather put me in a plinking mood. Rather than resist, I eeny meeny miny moed my toys rack and a bolt action lead bb springer, my VZ 35, was it. 🙂
As she was passing, I asked my girlfriend to video me on my old iphone while I took a few shots.
I hope the following link to my proton account will let you download to view that short 40 seconds (52 MB) video:
https://drive.proton.me/urls/8D5K0YNCQ4#DkGakzXSzvBc
———
PS Not for a while yet, but when the link no longer works, it’s likely due to me having renewed my limited proton storage
What a beautiful day! Lucky you!
Roamin Greco,
ah yes, it was unseasonably nice. Thanks for taking a look. 🙂
Luckily today was almost as nice and again, without much wind:
Today’s toy was my little Weihrauch HW50S. Plinking was too moreish to go back for my iphone, so no pictures… 🙁
What fun! 🙂