Theoben .20 Beeman Crow Magnum

[Ramjet]

Got a new toy toy in the mail today! I'd wanted an Eliminator in .20 ever since watching Kevin shoot his .25 on the Pellets and Pistons YouTube channel. After a member here graciously offered to let his go I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough.

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I opened the box and the seller had gone above and beyond and shipped it in a protective hard case. When I opened it I was definitely taken back for a moment he had sent plenty of pictures but they didn't do this thing justice. It is beautiful in person!

Well as soon as I was done cleaning the drool off of myself and the floor I took it over to the shooting bench. I went to cock it and the barrel cracked open just a hair. I pulled hard and nothing. Pulled harder with both hands and FINALLY it cocked back. Loaded up a pellet and shot it. It was loud lol. Definitely not an HW30S. I pulled the valve plug on the back and released a couple spurts or air. Cocked it again (still a beast but manageable for my little arms) and shot one over the chrono.

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NEARLY 29FTLBS! Thats awesome but I don't need all of that. I proceeded to release air and chrono it until cocking it was more manageable but still put out some impressive numbers. I ended up right at ~24fpe. Still not an all day shooter but at least I can cock it easily enough now. I'll probably end up bringing it down to Hunter Class power levels around 19.5fpe. That will be easy on the arms and still a pretty decent laser.

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Here are my first 30m groups with the Crow Mag shooting the JSB 13.4gr pellets. Grouping pretty well for a "new" gun IMO

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What an apsolute beauty!
Congrats.

 

[KWK]

Almost everything I know about this stock I learned from this post. I think Boyd's made it?

Theoben - Theoben Eliminator with Laminate Stock

Many years ago I came across an article which was comparing the Eliminator and the Crusader. In that article the Eliminator was sporting a beautiful laminate stock. From that moment, the chase was on!!! I put out advertisements in all the forums wanting to buy one in this configuration. No...

www.airgunnation.com

Custom Stocks UK made their stocks. I think they still make some of them for Theobens

 

[dgeesaman]

Sweet rifle. I’ve wanted an Eliminator since the 90s. .20 is about the perfect caliber for them. If you have it at a field target shoot I might just need to try it out if you’ll allow it…

 

[Sqwirl57]

Sweet rifle. I’ve wanted an Eliminator since the 90s. .20 is about the perfect caliber for them. If you have it at a field target shoot I might just need to try it out if you’ll allow it…

I think we can make that happen!

 

[KWK]

They claim to design stocks to fit most models but I emailed them and they declined. I've heard the same on forums.

 

[kingfisher61]

Enjoy that beautiful CM. Love that laminate stock!!! .22 Theobens were Anshutz. Most others were Lothar Walther barrels.
60 lbs is a bit much....I had one that was over 70!!! Had to turn that sucker down...I was afraid of bending the barrel.
Those shot groups are impressive for initial tries. They can produce one holers with practice. One of my .25 Eliminators does this with ease. It's set to 23 ft/lbs.
Best of luck with yours.
Shout out to Will for his gracious personality.

 

[razor62]

Congratulations on a terrific rifle, my friend.

 

[kingfisher61]

This trigger is definitely better than the new Evo trigger couldn't agree more. The Evo trigger is till pretty solid but the Crow Mag has a nicer break to it. My Sirocco isn't quite at 55 levels but its basically a hot HW50S. I think its somewhere around 830-850fps with an 8.44gr.

I'm pretty sure Dave Slade did your trigger. That would explain it's favor over the Evo.
He's done a few of mine....day and night difference. Plus he likes to up the power....another tell tail of DS.

 

[KWK]

The most factual Theoben information I have found is in Airgun World reports. Their articles are Theoben Encyclopedia. You have to track down the particular articles. They documented Theoben and tested every model they made through the years. You can also glean a lot of information from the adverts they contain.

 

[maxtrouble]

Holy crap! That rifle is beautiful. Congratulations on such a wonderful find. I do not know how the original owner let that go.

 

[r1lover]

Hard to cock at full power is really underselling how hard they are to cock haha. I had to bury the stock into my inner thigh and crang it with both hands to get it down. Even at 24ftlbs its really no slouch and I cannot imagine most people would like it. 20ftlbs will probably be pretty easy though. Keep in mind that I'm 5' 7" and like 150lbs so I'm far from a big guy. That being said this gun really made me appreciate how great Sig did with the ASP20. At essentially the same power level the cocking effort is significantly less.

Wow, what a gun! Beautiful! Start doing chin ups and keeping shooting that gun and you'll pack 10 lbs. of muscle onto that cocking arm, lol.

 

[Sqwirl57]

Wow, what a gun! Beautiful! Start doing chin ups and keeping shooting that gun and you'll pack 10 lbs. of muscle onto that cocking arm, lol.

 

[Sawney Bean]

I find that using two hands to cock a magnum springer sometimes helps. My Gamo Magnum is the only rifle I feel the need to cock in that manner, but if I’m plinking with it it sure makes shooting easier.

 

[Sqwirl57]

Broke the Crow Mag out after work (is there a better way to wind down??) and setup my target stand at 50yds to see what she could do. Little windy today but nothing crazy. I shot 4x 5 shot groups starting from the bottom and working my way to the top. This scope is a basic duplex reticle so I was kinda eyeballing my holds from yesterday's 30yd zero. All in all, she shot very well. Better than I could muster!

 

[kingfisher61]

Broke the Crow Mag out after work (is there a better way to wind down??) and setup my target stand at 50yds to see what she could do. Little windy today but nothing crazy. I shot 4x 5 shot groups starting from the bottom and working my way to the top. This scope is a basic duplex reticle so I was kinda eyeballing my holds from yesterday's 30yd zero. All in all, she shot very well. Better than I could muster!

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No springer can produce .5 inch groups at 50 yards says who??? That's great for a windy day.

 

[Sqwirl57]

No springer can produce .5 inch groups at 50 yards says who??? That's great for a windy day.

Going to sort some pellets later today and give her a fighting chance at some really excellent groups

 

[kingfisher61]

Going to sort some pellets later today and give her a fighting chance at some really excellent groups

JSB Heavies. The power of the CM will overpower lighter pellets. But I'm sure you'll find the best one soon enough.

 

[Sqwirl57]

JSB Heavies. The power of the CM will overpower lighter pellets. But I'm sure you'll find the best one soon enough.

I will get some coming!

 

[Sqwirl57]

Some sorted pellet 50yd groups. Pellets were sorted in 0.10gr increments. I removed that 2nd group from the bottom because it went to **** after I adjusted my scope and then seemed to settle in on the 3rd. Anyway 3x 5 shot groups that almost averaged MOA at 50yds. Can't ask for much better than that but I'm going to try. I'm going to pull some patches through he barrel and see what happens next.

 

[Sqwirl57]

As an added note, the Crow Mag seems to have zero hold sensitivity issues. Free recoil vs pulling it firmly into my shoulder yields nearly the exact same POI That I found a bit suprising.