Crosman 3622 PCP Air Rifle.
This report covers:
- Crosman 3622 pressure gauge?
- The cost
- “Huh?”
- So, figure
- That’s not all
- Are we learning?
- Unavailable
- Summary
Crosman 3622 pressure gauge?
“I don’t understand why the Crosman 3622 comes without a steel breech, a pressure gauge or a quality peep sight. These are all things airgunners with some experience want.”
The cost
Okay, so you don’t mind paying $250 for the rifle?
“Hey come on, BB. Pressure gauges sell for a couple bucks. Bought in bulk they probably don’t cost more than 50 cents.”
You’re right. Crosman can probably get a good pressure gauge for about 75 cents. So you don’t care if they add $12 to the retail price?
“Twelve dollars? I don’t mind them making a profit, but an extra $11.25 for a $0.75 item seems excessive.”
It would be. But who told you the difference between their cost and yours is all profit? What is their standard manufacturing load multiplier?
“Huh?”
How much do they have to add to their retail price to get those three items you say you want on the 3622? Figure:
— The depreciating cost of their facility
— The cost to heat and cool the plant, plus water, sewer, etc.
— The depreciating cost of their machinery, tooling, etc.
— The cost of their labor (for manufacturers which Crosman is, the 2003 industry standard multiplier for labor was 290.78, so for two decades later figure 400 — and that’s being generous)
— the cost for advertising (double the highest number gotten from the other multipliers after they are added together)
So, buying that 75-cent gauge adds an easy $6.25 in cost — and that is before you factor in any profit. My guess of a $6.25 increase in COST to Crosman is generously low. Now, at $149.99, the 3622 is already loaded so all we are doing is adding a 75-cent gauge. Figure a $12 increase in the retail price, just for that one item, once profit is factored in.
A better peep sight that Crosman doesn’t make sells for $49.95 retail, so, assuming that sight’s manufacturer will deal with them favorably they might be able to buy them in bulk for about $20. Loaded out through Crosman’s books and then shaved for competition it will cost the buyer about an extra 50 dollars.
The steel breech already sells for $45 retail, fully loaded, so there is no increase there.
So, figure
150 — 3622
50 — peep sight
12 — pressure gauge
45 — steel breech
—-
$257
That’s how much it really costs to add these three items to the basic 3622. Not what YOU pay — what THEY have to sell it for because of what THEY have to pay.
That’s not all
“Oh, and it ought to have a wood stock option.”
Okay. They still have to invest $125,000 in the molds for the plastic stocks on the standard models and now you want them to add to that the cost to source and purchase wood blanks and then either make them in-house or source a separate manufacturer to machine the stocks for the optional orders. They do it for an additional $75 retail and you are angry because you think can buy a nice 24-inch piece of 2-inch clear walnut for $35 at your local wood dealer.
Oh, yeah? Try to buy a thousand and see what they tell you. And you woodworkers know I’m way underestimating the cost for walnut. Such a blank will cost closer to $75 today. Try to buy a 2-inch walnut board right now.
Are we learning?
I have alluded to these multipliers in a great many reports in the past. Some of our readers work in the area of manufacturing and know them all too well. To the rest of us with our noses pressed against the glass window of the manufacturing world — we haven’t got a clue. If it costs them 75 cents they ought to sell it to us for $1.50. Right?
The problem is, we are estimating the cost to build a single airgun by what we think we can do it for if the parts are purchased one at a time. We don’t consider our time or the place where we live in the cost. But manufacturers have to. If anything, the cost to buy a product is a small fraction of what it takes to make one. There are hidden costs most of us never consider, but any manufacturer has to consider them if they want to remain in business.
Do any of you remember that the first approximately 4,000 Benjamin Discoveries came with genuine walnut stocks? That was because Crosman had purchased those stocks for a different project that never happened and then sat on them for several years before the Discovery came along.
The walnut stocks were actually costing Crosman money to store until the Discovery used them. And what did people say when the walnut ran out and Crosman started shipping Discos with beech stocks? That they were cheapening the design — am I right?
Unavailable
What happens when a component you need (like computer chips for cars) suddenly becomes unavailable — and you still need 2,000 of them to fill existing orders and to remain in production of a best-selling item this year? Beyond just the rising costs, there are other factors that plague the world of manufacturing. Today has been a brief look at just a few of them.
Summary
We watch the new airguns coming to market and we wonder why this and not that. Most of us fail to appreciate the gamble the makers undertake to make a profit. When things work out there can be rich rewards. When they don’t — well, who remembers the Compaq computer or Control Data Corporation? Or Adam Osborn? Or DEC?
All of this doesn’t mean you should purchase anything you don’t really want just because of what it took to make it. Just try to understand why what you do want costs as much as it does. And appreciate why BB sometimes gets out his pom-poms when a really great deal comes along!
“I can buy this Chinese rifle with a steel breech and gauge for only a little more!” Well, let’s see…. total labor cost much lower, fewer environmental laws to comply with (that’s why the original Redfield rifle scope company went out of business, btw), and I would think the Chinese rifle is a “better” deal!
Personally, I want Crosman to sell an upgraded version (steel breech, aperture sight for the dovetail in the breech, longer barrel threaded with a metal front sight assembly, and sling swivels). I would pay the $300 Pyramyd would have to charge for it (probably closer to $350, actually), but would enough people? Probably not.:(
Having worked in manufacturing I understand what you are saying.
From the Airgun part of me I look at it like this.
I grew up on a Benjamin 312 multi pump, I would go through a tin or more of 250 pellets in an afternoon at 10 pumps a shot.
That’s fine when you are 12 years old, not so much when you are 60.
Or you may have an injury that prevents you rotating your shoulders in the directions needed for a multi pump.
I see it this way, the 362 multi pump sells for $109 and you have to pump it for every shot. For $49 more, you can gain entry into the world of PCP Airguns that you DON’T have to pump for every shot.
With a 2000 psi fill you can hand pump a few minutes and get 25 full power shots per fill.
The prices of small portable electric compressors are getting lower every year.
Gauge? Why do you need a gauge, your hand pump or tank or electric compressor that you NEED to fill the gun has one.
And it doesn’t take long for you to learn the sound of the gun when it is getting low.
Steel breech?
The 362 multipump doesn’t come with one, so its increase in cost is the same cost per gun to add one to the 3622.
Better peep sight?
It’s not a 10meter match gun.
It comes with the same sight as the 362 multi pump.
It’s a fun close range gun to let you try precharged Airguns at a minimal cost.
Many of us have medium to high cost Airguns. Yet we still drag out the airgun we grew up on just to HAVE FUN!
And that’s what airgunning is all about.
Ian.
Tom,
You really laid it out in terms that a layman could hopefully understand. That’s why it is going to be difficult to shift manufacturing back to the US. Labor costs along with other manufacturing conditions can raise the price to something that the average shopper will simply shake their head wondering why they should purchase something made in America when the same thing could be bought at a lower price coming from overseas. Capitalist corporate greed has gone to the point of squeezing every bit from the bottom line so that only the shareholders will be happy. Definitely not something that can be easily fixed as everybody wants have their cake and eat it.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
It may USED to have been capitalist corporate greed alone. Now it’s also the greed of the employee who wants a fat retirement, medical days off, personal days off, lots of vacation and other benefits. The two — employer and employee — have conspired to make this happen.
BB
And the greed of governments bloated with bureaucrats who do not know anything about how a free market works, who force entire industries to pay high wages for what is low-wage work, which in the long run translates into higher costs for customers with no net increase to the quality or the quantity of what they’re getting for their hard-earned money. Case in point is California’s recent mandate to pay fast-food workers $20 per hour; welcome to the future of the $50 hamburger and, for those unfortunate employees who will be affected in unintended ways, welcome to the future of unemployment and being replaced by a burger-flippin’ robot which costs far less to run/maintain and does not call in sick.
So, now we have the greedy capitalists, the greedy employees (of those capitalists), and the “Govmint” (elected by the capitalists and their employees) and, of course, the environmentalists who insist on all those silly regulations,, who are to blame for these high prices.
Did I forget anyone? Is there room in there for any more? One more I can think of is,, well,, me. I have a bit of money in mutual funds and a little in straight stock and my retirement income depends a little on my 401k.
If any of those drop in value, I get a little upset. My mutual fund manager does, too, and the people who manage my 401k get especially annoyed. All this annoyance leads to buying and selling of those stocks that don’t “perform”.
So., ultimately, it is everyone who is in a similar to mine ( which turns out to be a lot of us) can also be held responsible. We are all capitalists, at heart. And it shows.
Nothing wrong with capitalism. The alternatives are far worse. What is bad is when we allow other countries to play on an uneven playing field. Our predecessors hoped that those countries would become more like us with the increase in wealth, but they had their own ideas of what to do with all our money and intellectual property.
Those other countries tend to try to keep the industries within them from going elsewhere by subsidizing the crap out of them. It helps keep prices lower (inside their borders) and since imports are then more expensive, they don’t have to regulate them, as prices do that.
What we see is (what we think of as) “cheap imports”,, be they cars , steel or air rifles. What they see is capitalism on a national level.
Who is right? Probably both. Maybe neither. Who am I to say. I tend to end up with more questions than answers.
Ed
Yes, those CEOs are greedy and demanding a BMW work car in addition to the Benz for the wife.
Labor has had a DECLINE in earning over the decades since the 60s. Don’t give me that “greedy worker bull crap.” CEO pay in the USA, and that includes the swarms of “camp followers” in the management ranks trends upwards of 400X the average pay of the average employee. Elsewhere in the world it is more like 30X. We, in labor, KNOW where corporations are getting ruined and its not on the shop floor.
Secondly, CEO class folks have been trading the security of the United States for their personal profits. A drive through the Ohio River Valley from Pittsburg south shows you the failure to maintain a strong steel capability. Here in Ohio, at least, we have brought some IC Chip production BACK to the US. The same greed of the industrial ruling class has sold out critical industries to foreigners. That excessive profit-taking has also made it possible to purchase legislators across the governmental spectrum to suppress labor and outsource production.
Labor has, in FACT, been taking a beating for decades while Robber Barons have been selling out the security and economic weal of the nation. So, don’t go blaming the hourly employees for the avarice of the bosses; the numbers in that DON’T add up….
LFranke,
hear, hear – I very much agree with your comment !
I believe that financial wealth is continuously created. And the system seems to work like milk! 🙁
What I mean is, the cream rises to the very top…
For the past five years I have worked twelve and sixteen hour shifts five days a week. Some times six. I was soooooo tired and burned out. These past two months I have stopped working and collected my accumulated vacation and sick days off.
My point of view. I have made my employer a pretty penny these past five years. He doesn’t have to kill me in the process of making a profit.
Click to Edit – 28 minutes and 33 seconds
Reply
Oh old BB,
If only you knew how messed up today’s US economy is for young people…
If you own a house, you have more than most of them will ever have.
Seems to me, we need more Employee Stock Ownership Programs, to change the paradigm and incentives.
Agree.
Keep ‘em coming on the 3622. I was so impressed with the pump version I bought 4 including the walnut model, gave 1 away as a gift. When the PCP version came out I was intrigued, watched some initial reviews and took the leap into PCP. Still getting the hang of PCP but I can see the value and appeal. Maybe you can give more “newb” tips in your follow up pieces since this gun will probably bring over lots more to the dark side. Can it be degassed without firing, are they safe to clean if they’re pressured? The manual was pretty rudimentary.
BH,
You asked many good questions. I will try to answer them as we go.
BB
BirkshireHunter,
I can imagine how often you reach to the forearm of the 3622 to pump it for the next shot, after you’ve been so used to using the 362! Have fun!
Cheers
Will
BB,
I know this to be true because it is the same in other fields.
People who are into DIY loudspeakers will sometimes wonder why fairly expensive speakers seem to be equipped with pretty cheap drivers. It seems that making the cabinet and shipping it make up the lions share of the total cost to the end user. So why don’t they “just add better drivers”? Probably for the same reason Crosman can’t “just add a gauge”.
On the flip side, this means that you can build *very* high quality speakers for a very reasonable cost if you are willing and able to build the cabinets yourself. This is especially true with large or unusual designs that wouldn’t really sell on the mass market. You also gain the ability to tailor things to your room and to your liking.
But when it comes to quality, but mass-produced stuff like some of the affordable small studio monitors that increasingly appear on the market, it becomes hard for DIY projects to compete on a price/performance basis.
“who remembers the Compaq computer or Control Data Corporation? Or Adam Osborn? Or DEC?”
I do… but then I probably know more about old computers than I do about guns 🙂
Stephan
Stephan,
How about Heathkit? You could buy a kit for very high quality electronic items (ie shortwave radios, electronic test equipment, even a color TV!). Eventually, overseas labor became so cheap and their quality improved to the point that it no longer was cost effective to do it yourself. Even if a kit was available, there was very little cost differential between the completed item and the kit. Finally, component items (transistors, resistors, capacitors) were combined into an integrated circuit (chip) and no assembly (or very little) was required.
If you want to work on it, go ‘old school’. Just like air rifles, I guess.
Have fun.
Bill
Bill,
I have heard of “Heathkit” gear, but am I not familiar with any particular product. I suppose I would have enjoyed assembling something like that.
I have done simple repairs on CRT monitors, but I do have a healthy respect for picture tubes and the voltages stored in them even after turning them off 🙂
Stephan
Yes I remember Compaq, I was working for them, then suddenly POOF
I was an employee of Hewlett Packard…
Ian.
Still have my matrix printer from the late 1990’s
I have seen Crosman airguns using brass, aluminum, and steel in their components. In the multipumpers, there was a time where their valves were made of aluminum, but they didn’t last long and they resorted back to brass? The cocking bolt of vintage 1377’s were made of brass, sold by the millions, now the current bolt is made out of steel because it’s cheaper.
I have a feeling the brass hardware of the 392/397s will eventually go the way of the dodo and will be replaced with steel. There are many ways to cut corners to maximize profits, but as long as economical air guns are manufactured with quality materials and are reliable, I am happy and not nitpicking any of the manufacturers.
You guys should count yourselves lucky. Even if we got the 3622 on our side of the pond it would probably cost the equivalent of £380!
OUCH!
I have to agree with those others who have experience with the manufacturing industry and the inherent costs associated with such, having been there, done that and thankful they at least gave me a t-shirt to show I had.
I also understand why some on the consumer side are railing. The issue they see is the rising costs of items, not just airguns, versus their lack of rising income. As is typical, many fail to grasp that the rise in income directly affects the rise in cost, amongst other things. Yes, upper management salaries are part of the problem, but not as much as many believe.
Why do I mostly purchase these “old gals” instead of the “latest and greatest”? For one thing, most of those costs have been “absorbed” by others who later find that they cannot sell these older models at such prices.
Another thing I will not do is buy from one who is attempting to make a living from selling. They must consider many of these same factors when conducting transactions.
I have stated multiple times that it would cost thousands of dollars to manufacture the 1906 BSA today. I picked it up for almost nothing. When it was manufactured, many today would consider its price to be quite low, but at the time most people could not afford the cost of such. Inflation is another factor that must be considered.
Should I live long enough, some of the costs associated with the modern airguns I desire will be written off and they will become affordable to me. If that does not happen in my lifetime, oh well. I for one will enjoy shooting the ones I have now.
R.R.
It’s amazing how inflation has affected the purchasing power over the years.
You can check how much an item costed back in 1913 and what it costs today with the inflation calculator:
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
What I, and I hope so many others remember, is the incredible amount the inflation rate increased recently. I know Sleazy Joe and his gang are so proud of the fact that they have decreased the inflation rate recently to what is considered normal, and they hope that we as voters forget about the massive inflationary spike we had to endure recently.
Just the other day I received a new PAIR catalog that stated my Texan LSS has gone up over $200 in the past year. Normally I would be thrilled to know this, but all the other airguns I might consider trading this for went up also. Did wages go up? Only in the Peeples Democratik Republik of Kalifornia. Now they cannot afford to buy a hamburger.
As a resident of California, let me tell you. Real wages have not gone up. I don’t blame Joe but current world events. If the USA wants to export Democracy at gun point, we have to import whatever is coming in.
Alex2no,
Generally speaking, real wages have NOT gone up. Unfortunately, if it were not for the Asian suppliers, we on this side of the pond would be quite poor.
I do not care for Sleazy Joe for multiple reasons. Financially, he is attempting to force us to buy transportation vehicles we cannot afford. He is also attempting to strip us of our Constitutional Rights. He has also been bought.
It is not my fault you live under the Gavin Regime. The Democratik Socialist Party may be on the rise today, but like the other dictatorial powers of this world, it will eventually be thrown to the ground.
Until this happens, you and I will just have to agree to disagree.
Your explanation is a good one, and accurately describes “overhead” cost that I was very familiar with in my career.
It seems to me that in China, they have a different financial and “means of production” structure. All the manufacturers are under government control in large part. They don’t mark up everything between suppliers as they move up the supply chain, and the “profit” is not as much a consideration. They build a factory (historically, with capitalist help) and then run it, continue to make a product, and set the price to sell that many. Check prices on things like portable radios, cutlery, flashlights. AMAZINGLY priced for the US market, and shipped directly (and cheaply) to US customers. Difficult for any “free market” competition to match.
This isn’t really directly related, but I notice a current oddity in market pricing. Right now, you can purchase .22 LR ammo (Aguila, Federal) for about the same price as .22 pellets per round. I’ll have to ponder this. Certainly a rather strange turn of market.
Why are the Chinese airguns so cheap? If you use slave labor, costs for such are reduced. Having the government subsidize the costs inherent in manufacturing helps to reduce the costs further. Buying off certain government officials helps also.
This does not only pertain to airguns. So many of our products are manufactured overseas as the cost of doing business in this country has risen dramatically over the years.
There used to be a company near Lynchburg, Virginia that manufactured circuit boards. In an attempt to keep their jobs, the employees informed the management that they would continue to work with no raises. The management informed them that if they worked for nothing, the company could still make the circuit boards cheaper in China.
As others and I have pointed out, when you do not need to pay attention to the costs of manufacturing, you can do such at what some consider a reasonable price.
As time goes on, I will likely present other random and meaningless thoughts. 😉
A lot of people don’t know that the reason the original Redfield scope company went bankrupt was they didn’t/couldn’t comply with environmental regulations on chemical disposal.
That I am sure was one of the contributing factors. Proper chemical disposal can be quite expensive. It is one of the reasons the company I used to work for no longer has a paint booth.
Was it the sole reason they went bankrupt? I seriously doubt that.
I own a business. I’m familiar with “manufacturing load multiplier aka overhead”. Some significant costs that should also be added to the equation are taxes (real property taxes, personal property/inventory taxes, income taxes for business and employees, i.e., FICA, Social Security, etc) and the cost of product development that never makes it to the market.
I’m also a firm believer in buying Made in the USA products. However, in a global economy many USA consumers only use price as their primary determining factor for buying all products. This creates a competition for USA products and shrinks market share for those companies in the USA that need to spread costs over more units to keep the price down for USA consumers. When you multiply this effect by overseas knockoffs that are designed to compete directly with the USA made product it’s tougher to quantify this “cost” of doing business since the result may be that you can’t sell out your production run and are ultimately forced to discount the price to BELOW cost.
Has everyone noticed that the price for the Crosman 362 Anniversary Edition has been reduced to $299.99 (25% discount) by Pyramyd Air?
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/crosman-362-100-year-anniversary-edition?m=5418
This may be faulty reasoning, but for the money, the 3622 seems a pretty good deal “as is.” It is a good entry-level gun for anyone wanting to dip their toes into PCP World. Customers have to be educated to accept that if you want more quality, you gotta pay more for it, if you want more “goodies and gadgets,” ditto. Another thing is, it is not called the “free market” for no reason; you are free to buy or not – you have choices and have the power to choose. We are fortunate to live where we have choices and, for the most part, still have the power to choose even if, as said a former neighbor who was in construction, when assessing the quality of the home he and his Mrs. were about to purchase, aforesaid choice is “the best of the ‘sheetrock.'” Hope that expression is considered family-friendly, B.B.
That’s Fawlty reasoning, not faulty at all.
BB
Thanks for the recommendation on the p17 the other day, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it so far. Haven’t picked up the .22 to see if I’ve improved any with it but I should be able to find out in the next day or so.
Has PA ever considered doing a postal style match for the blog readers once or twice a month? Could even just be done in the comment section of a blog post. There’s enough activity that I could see it being successful and it would probably be great fun.
CKChevy,
We have done a type of postal match and the shooters stayed away in droves.
Glad the P17 is working for you.
BB
B.B.,
“It seems to me…” that this is a great topic for all of us.
It and the Readership’s comments got me to thinking…
The Story of Two shootski.
The first Shootski (note the capitalization) was born in in the 18th Century C.E., in a small Austrian alpine village near the home of one B. Girardoni. Shootski grew up watching B. Girardoni build airguns and other things when he wasn’t tending to the small herd of milk cows his family owned along with helping make the excellent cheeses his family supplied to the Church Leaders in Salzburg and even the Royal Court in Vienna. Shootski saved every Groshen he could but never ever got even enough, 32 to the Thaler, to pay for a base Girardoni air rifle that cost a princely 23 Thaler. Lest you think that Shootski’s family was poor in fact they were landed and owned most of the local cheese and dairy production. Shootski used his Davids Sling to fill his long range marksmanship needs until his death at the ripe old age of seventy. He loved the Alps and felt blessed every morning for his good health the snow to ski on.
The other shootski (note no capitalization) was born in Vienna to a pair of Stateless people driven from their homeland Yugoslavia by WW2 and the aftermath. Even though they had both been born in Austria-Hungary his parents had little chance of becoming Austrian Citizens. But WW2 had brought shootski’s father connections to the UK and USA.
Long story skipped here.
shootski’s family moved to the USA to keep the CCCP out of their lives. shootski grew up with airguns and firearms in the USA and not with a herd of Milk Cows and cheese wheels. shootski was lucky joined the Navy and has always had money for airguns and firearms.
shootski bought a .25 caliber Quackenbush steel pistol breech and barrel for his Crossman 2250, shootski realized he had found the American Girardoni builder that Shootski never could afford. It took many hours calling (with the help of family and friends) the DAQ telephone number but shootski managed to get .458, .308, .575 (58 caliber) air rifles and air pistols. Yes, they aren’t Air Assault devices nor are they semiautomatic or even multi shot…
OH!
The DAQs also don’t come with pressure gauges, regulators (dual gauges), sight systems, scopes, electronic controls…but shootski is way happier than Shootski since he IS an Airgunner.
Think about what you would have if you went back five or six generations in your families history.
shootski
I have talked to enough manufacturers representatives to just appreciate anything they can bring to market. Bringing a new product to market is an amazingly complex process. We need to be thankful for the wonderful airguns we have available to us.
David Enoch
BB,
I know that your plate must be really full and do not know what is coming up next (my crystal ball is broken). But is there another historical blog coming up about darts? Your references to the Bugelspanner really peaked my interest (and I have gone back several times to look at the previous articles).
Thank you very much.
Bill
Bill,
Yes there will be another dart blog soon.
BB
I’m just glad that they’re made in the USA! I own three Crosman products, of which only one was made here, the other two in China.
Even adding the cost of the steel breech, it’s still a remarkable price.
Just my 2 cents.
“Are we learning?”
BB,
I believe we are; thank you so much for the way you laid out these lessons, especially for the benefit of those who have never worked in manufacturing.
I once worked at a company where we supplied dozens of antenna systems to a customer.
They liked them, and “said” they wanted more…but they never actually ordered any more.
Months after the last system was shipped, they asked for a quote on a couple of dozen more.
When they saw the new price per system, they freaked out, and asked why it was so much more money.
“Why? Because, as we warned you, the production line has been SHUT DOWN!
To make more of these systems, we would have to set up a whole new production line.
And the skilled workers who worked on YOUR systems, are now working on OTHER systems!
That’s why we told you to place this order BEFORE the production line was shut down!”
It just amazes me how people don’t get that.
Then again, if you aren’t watching that production line in action, I could see how you might miss that. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
Hello all,
Making breakfast right now. Scrambled eggs with chorizo, potatoes and pancakes. Avocado, refried beans, salsa coffee and the rest.
I own some elegant vintage airguns (Beeman R7. Weinrauch HW 50S, Feinwerkbau 124 , BSA Airsporter MK1, Diana 23, 25, 27, 35…) These spring rifles got it right. I have never considered purchasing a current offering. The sights, trigger or something is always off. My point of view for manufactures is to better the best of the past. Technology, knowhow and better and less expensive ways of manufacturing things should have advanced. If not, why are these manufactures still in business. If these manufactures want my business, get to work. The wheel has already being invented. I rather scroll the web for older guns that need to be refurbished and spend $25 $55 to bring them back to life.
I acquired my Sheridan Blue Streak C9 for $99 a few years back. Is this Crosman 3622 at $250. 2.5x better?
Alex2no, I like your list of elegant vintage airguns! 🙂
I rarely disagree with you Tom, but this time I do. I just don’t get the hype with this 3622. The Diana Stormrider II has almost everything on the wishlist for $200 bucks ($220 now) and has had it for over 5 years. Metal breech? check. Pressure Gauge? Check. Peep Sight? Nope but you do get a Wood Stock and multi shot capability instead!! All of this for well below the $252 mark mentioned to upgrade the 3622.
I think it is great that manufacturers like Crosman are trying to lower the entry floor cost to the PCP world but the 3622 just doesn’t seem to hit the mark to me. Not when there is another option that appears to be a lot more gun for about the same cost as 3622 with only an added metal breech. (it actually seems irresponsible and possibly dangerous to me release a pcp without a pressure gauge. Especially one marketed for new PCP users)
Just my opinion though. — Bob
Honest Bob,
I realize you are stating: “Just my opinion though. — Bob”
Pretty strong opinion…
“(it actually seems irresponsible and possibly dangerous to me release a pcp without a pressure gauge. Especially one marketed for new PCP users)”
I must ask, “…irresponsible and possibly dangerous…” how so? What does the pressure gauge on the PCP actually do for safety?
They are typically much cheaper, smaller, and less accurate than the ones on the fill system. They are typically used by the folks who don’t count their shots taken to know when to fill.
shootski
Hey Shootski, It truly was just my opinion and in fact shows my ignorance as well. Ignorance being a lack of knowledge and/or experience. Although I have several PCPs, I have only been shooting them for a couple of years. I have a hand pump for emergency backup but other than one use, just to make sure it worked, I have never really used and did not think about the gauge on it. It just seemed like it would be possible for a total PCP new user to overfill the gun and BOOM, blow out the seals.
I believe I was wrong about that now, but I also do not think a lot of first time pcp shooters would know to count their shots either. I could certainly be wrong about that as well, ie…just my opinion 🙂 Now that is not a big deal as we deal with CO2 guns with no meter and you just know to replace the caplet when the sound changes and/or shots start dropping noticeably. Same thing probably could apply here.
I will stand by comment that the Diana Stormrider 2 is a better value though. Thanks for the discussion. You know me and I am not an argumentative kind of guy and I am still learning as an air gunner. Just had a difference of opinion here based on my lack of experience.
Bob