Though accuracy is almost always my highest shooting priority, there are a myriad of other important shooting requisites. Some of the more obvious and discussed aspects relate to power, ballistics, and aesthetics of our shooting equipment, gadgets, and gizmos.
And while the highly customized .22 Crosman 2300 pictured above possesses gobs of endearing qualities near and dear to my requisites in an air pistol, one aspect it also possesses that I consider at least somewhat under-discussed, under-appreciated, and very rare is it's ability to maintain perfect zero without coddling, and between too-prolonged periods of neglect (storage).
After mounting the vintage Thompson-Center Lobo 3x pistol scope and sighting the lovely rig in at 25 yards, I'm almost embarrassed to admit I put that beautiful thing in its case on a shelf in a closet for many months; only removing it occasionally to admire, fondle, dry-fire, and wish for a lighter break to its 'glass-break' crisp trigger action. That the trigger-break is among the heaviest of all my guns (air and fire powered) is my only excuse for not shooting her as much as she deserves; instead usually grabbing something more sophisticated with trigger actions measured in ounces rather than pounds. BTW, those guns almost without exception wear optics of 9X to 18X magnification; largely due to what I often call 'telepathic' triggers.
So with a guilty conscience eating away at my psyche for neglecting this lovely piece of handgun art, today I freed her from entombment, dry-fired one shot to confirm she's held pressure those many months of confinement, dragged out the hand-pump I now use for nothing else, and engaged a properly-sized aiming spot on my shooting plate set at 25 yards... despite winds too gusty to expect impressive results.
Mustering complete and utter concentration from all two of my remaining brain cells (that apparently survived the 1970s FUN onslaught), the five 14.3 grain JSB Express pellets printed not only a very gratifying .464" center-to-center group, but, the real subject of this long-ass post, RIGHT ON THE MONEY, where it shot before many months of exile and neglect! BTW, that five-shot group will hide completely under the dime sitting to the right of the group.
Point is, impressive accuracy is well and good; but a gun's ability to maintain perfect zero through imperfect conditions might be more important. Certainly is for hunters and in certain types of competitions.
These are the performance notes from my testing-
14.3gr JSB Express, 1600 PSI fill (on HiPac kit), 10 shot powerband- Low= 570, Hi= 601, ES= 31, SD= 7, Average= 587 FPS/11.0 Foot-Pounds
The PowerMax HiPAC device easily converts Crosman Co2 guns to high-pressure air by replacing the Co2 tube-cap, though hammer-spring replacements help fine tune performance with this device. This pistol averages .65 - .75” groups at 25 yards on Co2 or air.
And while the highly customized .22 Crosman 2300 pictured above possesses gobs of endearing qualities near and dear to my requisites in an air pistol, one aspect it also possesses that I consider at least somewhat under-discussed, under-appreciated, and very rare is it's ability to maintain perfect zero without coddling, and between too-prolonged periods of neglect (storage).
After mounting the vintage Thompson-Center Lobo 3x pistol scope and sighting the lovely rig in at 25 yards, I'm almost embarrassed to admit I put that beautiful thing in its case on a shelf in a closet for many months; only removing it occasionally to admire, fondle, dry-fire, and wish for a lighter break to its 'glass-break' crisp trigger action. That the trigger-break is among the heaviest of all my guns (air and fire powered) is my only excuse for not shooting her as much as she deserves; instead usually grabbing something more sophisticated with trigger actions measured in ounces rather than pounds. BTW, those guns almost without exception wear optics of 9X to 18X magnification; largely due to what I often call 'telepathic' triggers.
So with a guilty conscience eating away at my psyche for neglecting this lovely piece of handgun art, today I freed her from entombment, dry-fired one shot to confirm she's held pressure those many months of confinement, dragged out the hand-pump I now use for nothing else, and engaged a properly-sized aiming spot on my shooting plate set at 25 yards... despite winds too gusty to expect impressive results.
Mustering complete and utter concentration from all two of my remaining brain cells (that apparently survived the 1970s FUN onslaught), the five 14.3 grain JSB Express pellets printed not only a very gratifying .464" center-to-center group, but, the real subject of this long-ass post, RIGHT ON THE MONEY, where it shot before many months of exile and neglect! BTW, that five-shot group will hide completely under the dime sitting to the right of the group.
Point is, impressive accuracy is well and good; but a gun's ability to maintain perfect zero through imperfect conditions might be more important. Certainly is for hunters and in certain types of competitions.
These are the performance notes from my testing-
14.3gr JSB Express, 1600 PSI fill (on HiPac kit), 10 shot powerband- Low= 570, Hi= 601, ES= 31, SD= 7, Average= 587 FPS/11.0 Foot-Pounds
The PowerMax HiPAC device easily converts Crosman Co2 guns to high-pressure air by replacing the Co2 tube-cap, though hammer-spring replacements help fine tune performance with this device. This pistol averages .65 - .75” groups at 25 yards on Co2 or air.
