This Crosman 600 was modified into a bulk-fill pistol.
Part 1
Some facts about bulk-filling you may not know
This report covers:
- Every 600 is unique
- Get ready
- Fill the gun
- The test
- Crosman Premiers
- JSB Exact RS
- RWS Hobby
- Shot count
- Trigger pull
- Summary
Today we will test the velocity of the modified Crosman 600 semiautomatic pistol. We will also determine the shot count, to see if the large bulk tank offers any more shots.
Every 600 is unique
In my experience with Crosman 600s I have found that each pistol can be unique and different from all others in one way. The triggers are always good and I haven’t seen one that wasn’t accurate, but the pellets they will accept and feed smoothly from their 10-shot linear magazines differs from gun to gun. I have probably shot twenty-five 600s in my time. I’ve owned 5-7 of those outright and I’ve shot others that belonged to friends.
Some of the pistols would shoot almost anything you loaded into them. Others were very picky and only liked one or two pellets. As best I could remember the subject pistol worked with several different pellets, but it has been years since I shot it, so we’re going to find out together.
Get ready
From Friday’s report titled, “Some facts about bulk filling you may not know” we learned that it’s difficult to fill a CO2 tank when it still has liquid CO2 inside. I had no idea where the gas in this pistol was so my first task was to shoot the pistol until the gas ran out. I used Crosman Premiers to do that and here is the result.
Shot……..Vel
1…………..476
2…………..489
3…………..480
4…………..468
5…………..486
6…………..482
7…………..482
8…………..378
9…………..bloop!
This string is interesting for a number of reasons. First — it tells us that this modified pistol is considerably more powerful than a conventional 600. My stock 600 in the rocket box averaged 390 f.p.s. with Premiers.
Second, this string tells us the pistol was almost out of gas. Notice that the next to last shot was 100 f.p.s. slower than the others before it and the last shot was a bloop, meaning it went out too slow to register. Remember that I told you a CO2 gun runs out of gas suddenly like that.
Third, I had forgotten that when a 600 runs out of gas the last one or two shots are full-auto. They probably won’t launch pellets but if the magazine is empty you get a short and rapid burst of shots.
Fill the gun
Now the pistol was empty and needed to be filled. I put a couple drops of Crosman Pellgunoil into the gun’s fill port and then connected the 10-ounce CO2 tank to the port. Opening the bulk tank’s valve filled the pistol in complete silence. Sometimes you can hear the gun fill and other times it’s silent — it depends on the gun. Filling only takes a second because the gas pressure in the bulk tank forces the liquid CO2 into the gun rapidly.
Fill the pistol from the bulk tank. The tank is above the pistol to force liquid CO2 into the gun’s reservoir.
The test
Now that the gun is filled, let’s test it.
Crosman Premiers
Ten Crosman Premiers averaged 491 f.p.s. but one of those shots was recorded at 600 f.p.s. Subtract that anomalous one and the other nine average 479 f.p.s. The low in that string of nine was 468 and the high was 489 f.p.s The stock 600 averaged 390 f.p.s. with the same pellet so this one is at least 89 f.p.s. faster. Is that because of the longer barrel? Most of it probably is, but I’m pretty sure that Dave Gunter who modified this pistol also did some interior work on the powerplant.
JSB Exact RS
JSB Exact RS domes averaged 478 f.p.s. in the modified 600. The low was 454 and the high was 494 f.p.s. And there was one pellet that would not fire with these pellets, so I loaded a tenth one after taking the bad one out. The stock 600 shot the same pellet at an average 376 f.p.s.
RWS Hobby
The last pellet I tested was the RWS Hobby wadcutter. They averaged 462 f.p.s. in this pistol with a low of 441 and a high of 484 f.p.s. So the spread was 43 f.p.s. The stock 600 shot them at an average 376 f.p.s.
Hobbys usually feed well in 600s, but remember — each pistol is different. They fed well in the modified 600, but there was one feeding problem. I noticed during loading that one pellet was deformed and didn’t slide down into the linear magazine tube as well as the other nine. I photographed the line of pellets in the mag and you can see that one pellet is deformed.
Ten pellets loaded into the linear magazine. The second one from the front on the left side is deformed and didn’t fit well.
The pellet second from the left was deformed and shouldn’t have been loaded.
I tried several times to shoot this deformed pellet out but no dice. As a result of the deformity, that pellet got stuck in the feed arm and would not align with the barrel to fire. Fortunately I was able to get it out of the feed arm and then out of the magazine tube.
This RWS Hobby pellet would not shoot out of the 600, but I managed to get it out of both the feed arm and the magazine.
Shot count
I shot the filled pistol 29 times and the last shot was a Premier that went out at 375 f.p.s. The velocity was dropping fast, so I think this bulk-filled pistol gets about 30 good shots from a single fill. Those shots are considerably more powerful than shots with the same pellets in a stock 600 pistol. But oddly the shot count of the modified pistol is quite close to the 25 shots the stock pistol gets from a 12-gram CO2 cartridge. Even with the modifications the 600 is still a gas hog.
Trigger pull
The trigger pull is single-stage and the pull is pretty long. The gun fires right at 2 pounds.
Summary
So — clearly this modified 600 is more powerful than the stock pistol. But as far as handling pellets what’s the verdict? Does this pistol handle pellets well or not? Before today I would have said it did, but each of the three pellets I tested had at least one pellet hang up. Maybe this gun is picky?
I wanted to try some of the new pellets but I also wanted to compare this pistol to a stock one and the pellets I shot today were the ones I had data on. In the accuracy test I will cycle in some of the new .22-caliber pellets.
Tom,
The bulk tank may be twice as long but it is narrower than the original coupled with the pistol shooting a lot faster than stock then the 30 good shots makes sense. Was the discharge louder or similar to a stock pistol? If it is noticeably louder then there is a possibility of increasing the shot count with a slight decrease in velocity. Not sure what kind of internal modification was done though that still allowed the pistol to function reliably.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
Ooops! I didn’t post the shot sound. It was 110.6 decibels. I don’t remember what a stock 600 sounds like but probably not much different.
BB
Tom,
Just for completion can you please test the loudness of the stock 600? You didn’t have your audiometer yet back in 2016 when you re-introduced us to the Crosman 600.
Siraniko
Siraniko,
45Bravo has that pistol now. It will be difficult to test again unless he brings it back to me sometime.
BB
I’m surprised you were able to shoot domed pellets from the linear magazine. Great report!
I’m thinking a heavier wadcutter, like Meisterkugeln for rifles with their thicker skirts, may do well in this powerful pistol and still feed well.
I’ve recently seen a couple of heavily modified Crosman 600s with a 88 gram CO² bottle attached, and a stock / arm brace for a carbine look.
Consistent velocities for this nice pistol – now for the accuracy test, whenever you get that Round Tooit.
BB,
That low shot count surprised me. I have a very similar 600 that I modified with a longer barrel and a B&A extended gas tube about fifteen years ago. My stock gun was getting 33 shots at about 310 fps. The longer barrel brought it up to about 475 fps. The extended gas tube took the shot count to about 70. I didn’t do any valve work.
Derrick,
What can I say? This is how it tested for me.
BB
Years ago, you mentioned running Eley Wasp domed Pellets through the 600s. Both of mine run flawlessly with that pellet. As a bonus, wasps are so short that 12 will fit in the magazine tube.
Interesting report, thanks. Did you weigh the amount of CO2 that you filled the gun with? When you do get to testing accuracy and trying some of the newer pellets, I suspect that the new Benjamin single die pellets might load well and be accurate. The harder-than-just-lead alloy might help keep them from easily deforming like the deformed pellet you photographed.
Elmer,
I did not weigh the amount of CO2 that was put into this gun. I was also filming my fill and learning how to use a Go Pro Hero9 Black and iMovie at the same time.
BB
BB,
I would have expected the shot count to have gone up with the longer tube and with bulk filling, most especially since you did not have the cartridge itself taking up some of the volume. I was getting over 80 shots from one cartridge with the 150. This thing really is a gas hog.
On another totally different note, it has been confirmed, I will be taking my grandson to the North Carolina Airgun Show on Saturday, November 2nd. The show itself is Friday and Saturday, Novermber 1st and 2nd. Here is a link to some information about the show.
https://www.tmacsairgunservice.com/documents/image2024-05-30-125107.pdf
This fellow is also pretty good at working on the “old gals” and has lots of parts.
https://www.tmacsairgunservice.com/
Enjoy and most importantly, safe travels for both of you. Hate to miss it this year but ’tis what ’tis.
FM,
Thanks. You will be missed.
You are welcome; people miss FM because they tend to shoot high.
LOL! I can see that happening.
BB,
I’m pleased to see you’re working with this pistol, it’s a fine gun to use and it has a unique loading system. Mine came from the flea market with a pellet stuck in the transfer arm, with a bit of the nose caught in the barrel, so the mechanism was jammed, until I pushed the pellet out of the barrel with a handy bamboo skewer. Do y’all think it’s an old Benjamin ash can?
My 600 stuttered and was cranky in getting the first shot off, but it worked beautifully otherwise. And it was a gas hog, only allowing about 20-25 shots/cartridge. I sent it off to a company in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina called Henry Ford Airguns.
https://www.crosman600repair.com/
The gentleman there advertises that he blueprints the gun and then improves the efficiency of gas use to make the gun shoot pellets faster and shoot more of them before running out of gas. He gave me an information sheet to help me use the gun, too.
I haven’t tested it for pellet speed or shot count yet. It’s clearly more powerful, but the accuracy is different; it seems to shoot wild. I wonder if the barrel can be rotated to index it, or is there a dimple to capture the grub screw?
My wife doesn’t like it when I shoot the 600 in the basement because it’s so loud. But I will gather that data and report back to you. I’ll tell her I’m doing it in the name of Science, and I think she’ll be okay with it. My cat will be unhappy about the noise.
Regards,
Will
Will,
Yes, your experiment sounds very interesting. And I do think that is a Crosman ashcan pellet.
Sorry that your cat doesn’t like the noise. I used to have a cat that would climb into my steel target trap and dare me to shoot at her. Of course I didn’t.
BB
Well……I think this clearly answers the question, “Is it OK if I store my gun with CO2 in it.”
kevin,
Uh,yeah.
BB,
How is that 150 doing?
RR,
The 150 is resting comfortably and awaiting it’s turn in the blog.
BB