Jim McArthur
13-09-2008, 11:06 PM
My wife let me shoot the Crosman .357 I bought her as a birthday present. Both of our previous air pistol experience has been with my Umarex Smith Co2 revolver, and my Beeman P3 (HW 40).
At approximately 32 ounces (screw metrics! :p) it's about 4 ounces heavier than the Beeman, which we both find too light to hold steady, and about 12 ounces lighter than the too-heavy Smith. Both of us can handle the Beeman and the Smith tolerably well using both hands, but we have problems with the light weight of the Beeman, and the heavy weight of the Smith, when firing one-handed. The Crosman was a tad lighter than ideal for me, but a significant improvement over the other two.
The Crosman fires .177 pellets from a 10-round magazine, just like the Smith. Unfortunately, only one magazine came with the gun. I have to see whether the Smith magazines are interchangeable, or whether I can get additional Crosman mags.
We put 80 rounds through it with no malfunctions, other than one pellet requiring two attempts to fire. The sights were excellent, the trigger crisper than the Smith but not so crisp as the Beeman, although my wife liked it better, as she finds the Beeman trigger too light.
It shot a bit high and to the right for both of us southpaws, but I didn't attempt any sight adjustments on our first outing.
I like the way the barrel breaks forward, although that feature took some getting used to after my side-break Smith. I also prefer the Crosman's Co2 loading drill, which doesn't require any tools or loosening screws. I'm always afraid of dropping the grip screw from my Smith.
Overall impressions? This pistol is attractive, accurate, fun to shoot, and great value for the money. It doesn't seem as well made as the other two, but for just under $50.00, it's a great buy! :)
Jim
At approximately 32 ounces (screw metrics! :p) it's about 4 ounces heavier than the Beeman, which we both find too light to hold steady, and about 12 ounces lighter than the too-heavy Smith. Both of us can handle the Beeman and the Smith tolerably well using both hands, but we have problems with the light weight of the Beeman, and the heavy weight of the Smith, when firing one-handed. The Crosman was a tad lighter than ideal for me, but a significant improvement over the other two.
The Crosman fires .177 pellets from a 10-round magazine, just like the Smith. Unfortunately, only one magazine came with the gun. I have to see whether the Smith magazines are interchangeable, or whether I can get additional Crosman mags.
We put 80 rounds through it with no malfunctions, other than one pellet requiring two attempts to fire. The sights were excellent, the trigger crisper than the Smith but not so crisp as the Beeman, although my wife liked it better, as she finds the Beeman trigger too light.
It shot a bit high and to the right for both of us southpaws, but I didn't attempt any sight adjustments on our first outing.
I like the way the barrel breaks forward, although that feature took some getting used to after my side-break Smith. I also prefer the Crosman's Co2 loading drill, which doesn't require any tools or loosening screws. I'm always afraid of dropping the grip screw from my Smith.
Overall impressions? This pistol is attractive, accurate, fun to shoot, and great value for the money. It doesn't seem as well made as the other two, but for just under $50.00, it's a great buy! :)
Jim