Crosman 2260 Rabbitstopper

[Home Brew]

The Crosman Rabbitstopper 2260 air rifle is a single shot, bolt action, .22 calibre C02 powered rifle manufactured in the States and predominantly aimed at the youth market.

My Dad bought this rifle around two years ago with a cheap 4x20 scope for just under £150. The first thing that struck me about this rifle was the stunning stock (walnut?) which would not look out of place on a rifle twice as expensive and, along with the small brass bolt, help make this rifle pleasing to the eye.

A quick glance around the rest of the rifle confirmed my fears. Trigger-plastic, trigger guard-plastic, breech/bolt housing-plastic. All of the plastic on this rifle make it look and feel like something from the latest Toys'R'Us catalogue and not a proper pellet gun.

The 2260 takes a single C02 bulb and once this is in place the rifle will be set to do around 20-25 shots at around the 8-10 ft/lb mark (a little low for full on hunting but fine for close range ratting, ferals and plinking). The accuracy of this rifle is second to none with one hole groups at 25 yards easily achived.

The trigger is a heavy non-adjustable affair which dosn't aid accuracy at long distances but is adequate for close range work.

The open sights supplied with the rifle are near useless. On my rifle the hood from the front sight came off within days of me having it so I decided a decent scope was required. Big mistake. The Rabbitstopper lacks dovetails and therefore a set of promounts must be purchaced which clamp to the barrel onto which you mount your scope.

These mounts have a habit of sliding left and right on the barrel which means the scope will move out of zero if knocked even gently. These promounts are also too far forward even when mounted as close as possible to the breech and so to get a decent sight picture I was having to crane my neck. The low cheekpiece also dosn't help with eye alignment and so eventually I had to remove the scope and admit defeat.

In the US this rifle is priced at around £60, which is much nearer its true value however we pay more than twice that over on this side of the pond. Rip-off Britain as usual!

I would say that if you are looking for a rifle in this price range steer well clear of the Crosman 2260. A decent springer such as the AGS SR2 will do all the 2260 can do and more. However if you are hell bent on a C02 rifle have a look at the qb78/79, both priced well below the rabbitstopper and superb rifles.

The Crosman Rabbitstopper-leave it on the shelf.

[SharpHunter]

I beg to differ I have MANYY pictures of me with this gun after productive hunts. Though mine is customised a little.. I hand built a stainless steel trigger.. fitted a silencer adaptor, had a new action and stainless bolt put on.. new springs.. lovely rifle now







Nice gun! even standard, this gun is underestimated.

[Home Brew]

...that looks a superb rifle mate especially that trigger . Mine is fresh as it was out of the box, but I'm looking for ways to modify it so I can use it for hunting (instead of buying a pcp). Is there any chance you could pass on how you tuned this rifle and where you got the parts from. Obviously I don't expect this to be discussed on a public form but could you PM or e-mail me the details.

Many thanks in advance

Ralph

[SharpHunter]

Hi HB,
I will post up the whole project for you its still 12flbs, so no worries about it being public. Its very difficult to get a co2 gun to FAC class as the pressures are a lot lower then 200+ bar coompressed PCP guns

[Home Brew]

Cheers mate, that would be super.

Regards

Ralph

[Darren Petts]

Getting these to 11.5 ft/lb is no problem but please remember that you'll always have a gun that'll struggle to fetch £60 secondhand no matter how much cash you lash on it. They can be great fun to work on but they'll never be worth the price of a secondhand decent springer let alone a pcp. If you want to spend the time and effort that SharpHunter has that's fine just as long as you keep in mind that your efforts are for your own satisfaction only rather than something you'll get a £value return on. I once had a ratty that someone had spend the best part of £400 on in parts alone! Suffice to say it was worth a quarter of that at best.

[Home Brew]

Hi Darren, do you think that a tuned CO2 rifle could ever compete against a pcp? I think that a tuned 2260 would fulfil the role of a recoiless hunting rifle very well even through the CO2 and parts add to the cost. As I only hunt once once a week at most (deprived child :-)) the cost of CO2 would not be that great and easily paid for by my £8.00 a week paper round. What do you reckon?

Regards

Ralph

[SharpHunter]

High HB,
The modifications done to my gun are in excess of 120 pounds for parts, work time, paint, oil and gas alone. The gun in its previous state was bought for 65 pounds.

It will never compete with a PCP as A) I only get 20 shots on one co2 bulb, and B) the accuracy is effected by temprature, bulb pressure (affected by temprature as well) and the fact that it will never be as accurate as a second hand PCP.

I didnt build my gun to make it as good as a PCP, otherwise I would just bought a PCP and hunted with that. The tuned Rabbitstopper needs a lot of TLC, and understanding to use it. You must be mechanicly sound enough to strip this gun apart for further tuning, adjusting and maintainance.
A cheap 150-200 pound PCP will do the job far easier then the modified Crossman RS. 20 usuable shots is just a joke if you ever want to target shoot. This gun is used for squirrel hunting because it is light and easy to point upwards.

[Home Brew]

Obviously I am not just modifying this gun to use to hunt with but also for self satisfaction and just a bit of fun! Sharphunter, you are the bloke 'in the know' tell me truthfully, how badly affected are these guns by temperature change? When the tuning kit turns up from T R Robb do you think it best that I set it nearer the 10ft/lb mark as to allow for temperature changes?

Regards

Ralph

[SharpHunter]

You cant really adjust the power that accuratly with co2. Its pressure and density is not the same as compressed air. You will often have a amall amount of compressed liquid co2 behind the pellet apon firing, rather then a jolt of compressed air. rather like a co2 pistol.
Temprature has a very large effect on the pressure of the co2 bulb. The changes can be quite huge. Efficiancy has to be sacrificed for power during the winter, (will have around 20 full power 12ftlbs shots on a cold winter day) I have since put my gun into the safe to wait untill summer.

I doubt you will get the gun to 12ftlbs or more even on a full tune. The bolt is not long enough to get enough momentum for fac power. Even using a big spring..

Good luck, hope it works out!!

[baz]

They are very easy to improve BUT if you want to shoot live animals then get a gun thats made for the job, the name "Rabbitstopper" on the box is out of order, these rifles are not fit for the job as they come out of the box and shouldnt be used for much more than plinking and maybe close quarter ratting

Baz

[Bad Beagle]

I can see that a fine job has been done improving this gun and that I am not knocking - however, why ? Why not spend the money on a secondhand quality springer (to avoid pump/airfill costs) or a secondhand S200 which does represent fantastic value for money without all the alteration ?

I guess the answer is why do some people spend thousands on modifying a Vauxhall Corsa for the Southend Cruise - because it gives them pleasure.

[SharpHunter]

Exactly.
I built this gun to show its possible to turn a cheap crud gun into a better gun.
Yes I do shoot a nice springer, and a Stealth PCP.. not to forget my Webly Raider.. but something about this gun always apealed to me. So I got it, modified it, and im happy with it. I cant shoot springer rifles to save my life.. as I have always used PCP for a long time now.
The Rabbitstopper has not stopped any rabbits yet, only half a dozen squirrels. I like it, nice and light to point into trees all day.. but a bit of a gas guzzler.. runs well of any pellets, and pretty accurate out to 25 yards.

[Darren Petts]

(will have around 20 full power 12ftlbs shots on a cold winter day) .....
I doubt you will get the gun to 12ftlbs or more even on a full tune.

If you get 12 ft/lb in winter you are going FAC in summer!
Getting these over 12 ft/lb is possible though pointless on 12g bulbs as consistency does a runner much above 11.5ft/lb so any mods will need to be checked over a chrono. If you don't have access to one then save your money for something else. Set the gun up on a very warm day to ensure legality and you'll then have to put up with far less power in winter