Today reader RidgeRunner completes his blog series on his experiences with the Crosman 150 air pistol. If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me at blogger@pyramydair.com.
Take it away, RidgeRunner
RidgeRunner’s Crosman 150 – Part Three
by RidgeRunner
The Crosman 150 I sealed.
Quinn’s Crosman 150
RidgeRunner’s Crosman 150: Part 1
RidgeRunner’s Crosman 150: Part 2
This report covers:
- Excuses, excuses, excuses
- Air Arms Falcon .22 Cal, 5.52mm, 13.43 Grains
- H&N Baracuda .22 Cal, 21.14 Grains, Round Nose
- Crosman Premier .22 Cal, 14.3 Grains, Hollowpoint
- JSB Match Diabolo Hades .22 Cal, 15.89 Grain, Hollowpoint
- H&N Field Target, 16.36 Grain
- Sig Sauer Venom, 14.5 Grain
- H&N Field Target Trophy .22 Cal, 14.66 Grains
- H&N Sniper Magnum, 17.9 Grains
- Who’s counting?
- Summary
Today I look at the accuracy of the Crosman 150 I recently resealed. We already know that the power is fine.
Excuses, excuses, excuses
My first excuse is, as I have stated previously, I am not a pistolero. I would not give one thought to competing with one of these things, though I do enjoy shooting them.
Another one of my excuses is my eyesight. I could clearly see the dots I was shooting at ten yards away, but for some reason just could not focus on the sights of this pistol.
Excuse number three is my grip on this thing. I would try to rest it on the bags and hold it as lightly as possible, but I kept tightening up my grip. I am certain that did not help at times.
Another excuse I have in all of this is my measuring. I was shooting at some rather heavy cardboard and this made for some ragged holes, which means my measurements are really not that precise. One of these days I may break down and use target paper.
Well, enough with all of this. Fill up your coffee cups and get ready for a long blurb about the accuracy of this pistol, or lack thereof.
Air Arms Falcon .22 Cal, 5.52mm, 13.43 Grains
After zeroing the pistol in as best as I could, (I remembered my screwdriver this time) I shot ten Air Arms Falcon .22 Cal, 5.52mm, 13.43 grains. As I am sure you will notice, it is still low and a little off to the right. Filing down the plastic front sight on this thing will raise it up a bit, but moving the rear sight all the way to the left just did not center the group on the dot. Close enough for now, but I am going to have to try something else. Despite all of my above excuses, I did manage to shoot a group of about 1.35 inches.
The Crosman 150 put ten Falcon pellets into a 1.35-inches at ten meters.
H&N Baracuda .22 Cal, 21.14 Grains, Round Nose
The next pellet I tried was the H&N Baracuda .22 Cal, 21.14 grains. Although they are much heavier than the Falcons, the group came way up. All I can figure is they fit the bore slightly better. This pellet also shot the best group of the day, measuring about 1.26 inches. Just so you know, this group only had nine in it as I had pulled one and did not measure it in.
The 150 put nine H&N Baracudas into a nice round 1.26-inch group at 10 meters.
Crosman Premier .22 Cal, 14.3 Grains, Hollowpoint
Since this pistol is a Crosman, I thought I should give the Crosman Premier .22 Cal. 14.3 grain hollowpoint a try. I pulled a couple of shots, but still managed to make a group of about 1.87 inches with eight of them.
Eight of ten Crosman Premier hollowpoints made a 1.87-inch group at ten meters.
JSB Match Diabolo Hades .22 Cal, 15.89 Grain, Hollowpoint
Now I decided to try the JSB Hades in 15.89 grains. Nine of them went into 1.61 inches. Yes, again I pulled one. Pistols can be real bad about that.
Nine of ten JSB Hades pellets went into a 1.61-inch group at 10 meters.
H&N Field Target, 16.36 Grain
For my next trick, I reached into my ammo can and pulled out a tin of H&N Field Target, 16.36 grains. You cannot get these things anymore, which is a real shame because one of the “old gals” here at RRHFWA really likes them. This pistol did not seem to care for them that much though. They made a group that was 2.09 inches.
Ten obsolete H&N Field Target pellets made a 2.09-inch group at ten meters.
SigAir Venom, 14.5 Grain
Another pellet you cannot seem to get anymore is the SigAir Venom, 14.5 grains. It did not do too well in this pistol anyway as ten of them made a 1.93 inch group this day.
The 150 put ten obsolete SigAir Venom pellets into 1.93-inches at ten meters.
H&N Field Target Trophy .22 Cal. 14.66 Grains
The next pellet I tried in this pistol you can still get, though it did not seem to really make a difference. I pulled out a tin of H&N Field Target Trophys in 14.66 grains. This particular tin was the 5.55mm head. Even so, this pellet only made a group about 1.93 inches across. That’s not that good, really.
The 150 put ten H&N Field Target Trophy pellets into a 1.93-inch group at 10 meters.
H&N Sniper Magnum, 17.9 Grains
Last, but not least, I pulled out yet another tin of pellets that no longer seem to be available, the H&N Sniper Magnum in 17.9 grains. I think I need to quite hoarding some of these pellets and reinvigorate my stock. Just as well, this pellet made a group of 2.26 inches. Pretty bad.
Ten obsolete H&N Sniper Magnums went into 2.26-inches at ten meters.
Who’s counting?
I do not know if any of you folks have been counting the number of shots I have taken in this little accuracy blurb, but for those who have not bothered I put a fresh CO2 cartridge in this pistol and took ten shots to zero it in. With the eight pellets I shot in this accuracy report, that totals ninety shots I have taken on this one cartridge and there is still gas left. This thing is VERY conservative with CO2.
Summary
I may or may not refinish this “old gal”. That decision has not been made as of yet. She will be staying here at RRHFWA though. She is by far not the most accurate pistol I have, but she is quite capable of killing feral soda cans and a whole bunch of them to boot. She sure is a fun little plinker and I would highly recommend you folks out there get your hands on one of these and reseal it. It is not that difficult and this pistol sure is a lot of fun.
Thanks BB.
Editor’s note: You’re welcome, RidgeRunner. That old gal is now yours!
Tomorrow, folks, I have something very special and weird for you!
RidgeRunner,
Congratulations on your resealed pistol and thanks for the blog! That is definitely a pistol for fun times and not for paper punching. Too bad you weren’t able to test with the new Benjamin Domes. If it proves accurate enough then a 400 count tin and 4 CO2 cartridges would make for a very portable fun combo when out hunting feral soda cans. Lighter than going out with a PCP pistol and the requisite tank to reach 400 shots and something more relaxing and less tiring than cocking a breakbarrel pistol all day.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
I keep it in a Allen brand soft case that also holds a copy of the manual and in the pocket on the side it also holds eight CO2 cartridges, a tube of Pellgun oil and at least one tin of pellets.
I have the Benji domes in .177 and .22 in my Wish list. You may rest assured this and the other “old gals” around here will have their performance tested with these pellets before the year is up.
“This thing is VERY conservative with CO2.”
RidgeRunner,
Yes, that’s a pretty impressive round count, especially considering that this a .22-caliber pistol!
As Siraniko pointed out, she’s surely accurate enough to be a fun plinker with lots of shots per cartridge.
Thanks for this great set of reports. Perhaps you’ll report of some of the other gals at RRHFWA.
I’m sure I’d not be the only one interested in that. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
I guess I am just going to have to dig out my “round tuit” when I get some of these new Benji domes and see how they do.
Sounds good, man! 🙂
RR,
Stop beating yourself up. I doubt if many here could match BB when it comes to writing a blog and being totally prepared for it.
You certainly gave this pistol a run for its money and every opportunity to shine. It is now clear what category of airgun shooting it performs well in, Plinking. Wall hanger being the least desirable.
Accuracy is sometimes a means of determining usefulness and not an indicator of its ability to perform well in something it was never intended for, like precision target shooting.
Thanks for the work.
Bob M,
No, this pistol will not compete with my Izzy or any other precision 10-meter air pistol, but it sure is fun. With a small pack of CO2 cartridges and a tin of pellets, you can get tired of shooting this thing. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to run out of CO2 in that pistol. It still has some gas in it.
It is most definitely worth getting your hands on one of these things and resealing it.
Ridge, those are respectable groups. For low speed in both pistols and rifles I tend to prefer wadcutters for consistent grouping.It is amazing how well wadcutters can do at low speeds even in a smooth bore pellet gun like the Umarex “cowboy” lever gun. RWS Meisterkugeln Standard .22 Cal, 14.0 Grains, Wadcutters or RWS Meisterkugeln Rifle .177 Cal, 8.2 Grains, Wadcutters seem to work best in any 500 fps to 700 fps air gun I own.My 2240 and Walther LGV Master love Meisters. I keep meaning to try the Excite plinker WC’s and will if ever PA gets them back in stock.
Oh Boy, BB has something weird tomorrow , serious bait there 😉
SSC,
I might have to get me some more .22 wad cutters and try them out. I gave Quinn my last tin of Meisterkuglen when I gave him his grandfather’s 150 back.
I am also looking forward to BB’s blog tomorrow.
RR,
If feral soda cans are you usual target, why didn’t you shoot them instead of your invasive cardboard stock?
Sounds like you gun wants to kill feral soda cans, not punch up cardboard.
-Y
Yogi,
It can be sorta difficult to show groups on the feral soda cans as they are always tumbling around in the yard when you hit them, but the invasive cardboard stock (I like that) usually sits in one place most of the time.
Fill the cans 1/2 way with water…
-Y
That will work for a couple of shots until they start “bleeding” all over the place.
Thanks for the report RR. Those are some good groups for a pistol at that distance. There’s a reason that the 10-meter pistol targets are much larger than the 10-meter rifle targets. The number of shots you got out of one CO2 cartridge is amazing. You must have still had it on low power to achieve that many shots. If so, it would be interesting to test the accuracy at high power.
Elmer,
That was on high power. I did not shoot it on low power. I do not know if I have that many .22 pellets and I know I do not have that much patience.
I have popped it off on low power accidently before. It makes a little pif instead of a loud pop and the pellet drops about a foot at the ten yards I was shooting. The pellet also did not go completely through the invasive cardboard stock I was using.
Wow, that’s amazing. Thanks again!
Once again I would like to thank BB for sending this to me. This little project was fun.
“Hear, hear!”
RidgeRunner,
I too thank B.B. Pelletier,
for making you share your gift with guest blogs. 🙂
And I had fun too, reading about your experiences, thanks.
3hi,
I met BB almost twenty years ago at the Roanoke Airgun Show and have been a “loyal” follower even longer. I bought my first air rifle based on what he said about it in one of his blogs.
Over the years, I like to think we have established a strong friendship; however, I did possibly strain it a bit by not sending him a can of Hubs this year. 😉
BB “massages” my ramblings a bit and makes them read better than they really are, although I do like to think I am getting better. 😉
RidgeRunner,
yes, I had an idea that you have known B.B. Pelletier for quite some time. And I also suspected that all guest blogs are in reality a team effort between author, editor and publisher… 🙂
I think that B.B. Pelletier’s both strengths and weaknesses, at least in the written world, are related to his modesty and wonder whether behind that pen name there lurks a similar gentleman with feathers in his hat that go quietly unnoticed, thus unappreciated.
I hope to find out more, especially from those who know Tom Gaylord, about his personal palette of unsung qualities… 🙂
RR
Thanks for doing blog reports.
Looking at those group shapes I think what we see is what this pistol is capable of doing. A different pellet may shine a little brighter but not by much. I don’t believe there is significant shooter error to blame. Now if your Izzy groups look like this I stand to be corrected. That is a lot of shots for a .22 on one CO2.
Cereal boxes will make cleaner holes. I put them on steel target frames with a little help from metal clamps office supply stores carry.
Deck
Deck,
Cereal boxes do indeed make cleaner holes, but I have a big old stack of this “invasive cardboard stock” to use up. I do have some target paper also. I should use it more often, but I did not really expect much from this pistol. I am trying to save my target paper for future blogs that the shooting will be more promising with.
This is what FM calls an “FG” – Fun Gun. Definitely it is CO2 sparing, compared to the .22 38T residing here; lucky if one gets 20 shots out of a cartridge with that one. Like the idea of using cereal boxes that show impacts better; can see using these to back up a paper target so the pellet holes can be more accurately measured. Ok, Cheerios everyone!
FM,
Why not just shoot the Cheerios? They may not photograph very well, but it sure would be fun and the birds would like it.
FM be afraid the birdies might ingest Pb with their Cheerios, RR – and Mrs. FM would object; it’s her “go to” cereal. FM has taken an oat to harm no Cheerios.
You will have to use those Al or poly pellets. An oat to harm no Cheerios is a serious thing though.
Just learn to shoot through the centers like Jimmy Stewart.
RidgeRunner,
The BZ hoist remained up for your Part 3 the hoist will be lowered ceremoniously at Official Sunset this evening.
They will be neatly folded and await the next deserving Blog.
You need to go to the range more often! Then you would feel much better about your pistol groups. Just look at most of the targets shot at 7 yards or less; many can’t even keep most shots on the paper.
One question. Are you getting the correct size punctures on your cartridges?
Another enjoyable read.
shootski
shootski,
Are you referring to a genuine pistol range? Way too much noise going on there. I like my own range. I have a decent shooting bench and marked ranges of 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 yards. I do not have to wait for the deer to get out of the way as Hank does, but I do have to watch out for the squirrels.
As for the CO2 cartridge size punctures, that is not really a problem as the entire tube is sealed and becomes flooded when the cartridge is pierced. The only way the gas can escape is when it is metered out by the valve through the transfer port. As the shot count shows, it is very frugal and efficient.
RidgeRunner,
I already forgot about the 150 charging the tube..duh!
My excuse is:
All of my Crosman CO2 pistols and rifles were cartridge direct to valve at first; still are for a few.
Yes, it is an eye opening experience to see folks shoot your target even two lanes over when you put your’s any distance beyond theirs. I like to get out the 4′ .44Mag when they do that…so i’m one of thoe noisy people at the pistol range. Many go home right after my first 6 shots ;^)
shootski
shootski,
It is indeed a rare day that I do not hear the bang of some powder burner going off. Sometimes it may even sound like a small war. It is usually a rare night to not hear one.
I figured yours were all direct feed from your remark. I really like the way this one works. I can drop a full CO2 cartridge in her and I have to shoot it once to puncture the cartridge.
I really like the way these “old gals” are made. Many of them were built with the idea that this was going to be the only airgun this person would likely buy and it had better work properly their entire life. Not only that, but that person would be able to pass that particular airgun down to the next generation.
Many of the old European airguns were built that way. Once upon a time, the Europeans would have been most fortunate to afford just one airgun. Back when my 1906 BSA was made, quite often a group of working stiffs would form a shooting club and get together and buy one or maybe if they were really well off two.
Weihrauch still builds some of their older airguns to that quality. Some of the other older English airgun models are also still built to this quality. I myself have not had much experience with the newer models as I will not spend those ridiculous amounts on airguns, most especially when I am able to acquire such fine, old airguns as I do for so little.
I am certain you understand the quality to which I am referring as you have a considerable collection of DAQ airguns. 😉
How does your experiences with the 2240 stand in comparison to this elder 150?
Personally, I would much rather have this150. The 2240 is a fine CO2 pistol and is quite adaptable compared to this thing. I find this to be more fun though.
Shootski,
Gotta assume they all have hearing protection on. May be the shock wave that gets them. Car windshields vibrate when that’s fired.
Bob M,
I know at the NRA range they do require hearing protection.
But maybe they don’t have enough…or properly fitted.
The 4″ S&W M29 does thump nearby chests with a full power load.
shootski
Believe it was probably a .44 that spooked Mrs. FM the time her Worser Half attemped to get her started shooting; she walked into the shooting galleries – at an indoor range – and even though she was wearing suitable hearing protection, someone fired something that sounded/reverberated as if it were a small cannon. Mrs. jumped slightly, made an unhappy face and decided to walk out.
Haven’t been able to convince her to give the shooting experience another try. 🙁
FaawltyManuel,
Sorry about the first experience she had i hope she tries at last one mor time.
Perhaps women’s day would be a possibility; especially if the invitation comes from another female. Also outdoor ranges are usually less able to reflect those shockwaves.
shootski
We will keep fingers crossed for that though for certain she will NEVER agree to fire a .44 .
Additional information on a few airguns.
Guys I apologize for not adding my thoughts, or specific information, on the Barra 1866 Co2 lever action, Crosman Mag Fire Ultra, BM8 and who knows what. I have a shooting bench now, but my time is not my own these days.
Repairing rain damage between ‘Rain Rivers’ here in CA and taking advantage of a dry road condition to shop, get meds, see doctors and give my mental old friend a haircut, each of which involves 50 miles of driving, is using up my daylight. The rush? hour heading back into Mexico on a one lane road I must take is extremely frustrating with road repair going on.
It’s so overcast, cold and dark out now as the next storm moves in, I doubt my Chronograph would work.
I did post a comment or two on the last BM8 blog about my thoughts on the usefulness of it as a Survival Rifle but it’s not exactly technical info. Just my opinion.
Don’t think there is enough room in my trucks to shoot a rifle for accuracy. ;( Out my back door? Need to think about that more. May work but a definite Pain In TA going up and down stairs and walking over to the distant fence gate to my neighbor’s property. Thursday is looking good.
And the rain begins …
RidgeRunner,
Completely understand your conception of quality.
I suspect that the 150 is a more efficient design because it converts the liquid CO2 to gas in that big tube. Does the tube ever get really cold?
As far as my DAQs; they are NOT in a collection.
They are all Working Gals :^)
The decem (dek’em) are how i refer to them.
shootski