Crosman Nitro Piston 177 Report

[normal]

I think I've given the Nitro Piston gun I had a fair shake.  The manual says a 100 round break in is to be expected.  At least 500 rounds in, the thing still scatters most pellets all over a 3x5 target at just 10 meters.  The best it will do is 3/4 wide by 2" high at that distance with Beeman Crow Magnum or Silver Arrow.  I can shoot 3/8" groups all day with any of my several RWS models with open sights at that distance and could from the first shot out of the box.  It is clear enough that this thing has a barrel lock up problem.  I've seen such before on a BSA Lightning XL that was so bad it was dangerous.  The barrel flips randomly when the gun goes off.

Further, the trigger is unstable.  It was pretty nice for the first couple hundred rounds but now sometimes it is so light it almost goes off by itself, sometimes the pull is several pounds.  I have not touched the adjuster.

Another thing is that the barrel is crooked:  it dog legs about 1/8" left from pivot to muzzle.  I have seen three samples of the Nitro Piston and all had this last issue.  One was 1/4" out.
 
The gas spring will push a lead free lightweight out at 1150 fps more or less as advertised, but it wilts badly as pellet weight goes up unlike my metal spring guns.  It only manages 700 fps with Crosman Ultra Magnum for example.  My RWS 34 Panther does better across the board for a lot less money and has a fine trigger to boot.

It's on its way back to Pyramyd who were their usual accommodating selves.

My dealings with Crosman make me think it's an unhappy place that survives on the backs of people who keep trying in spite of "leadership."  Like sweetheart Jan in parts or the enthusiastic engineer I talked with one day.  Poor QC in several areas I've seen reflects the mood.

[PellHead]

I just recently received my nitro .22 and have a totaly different experience. At 50 yds, I can do 1.5" groups with RWS Hobies. I only have about 250 roounds through it at this point. I have not had any of the stock peeling probllems alot have reported, but it also doesnt' feel "rubbery" as others have described it. It feel more like regular flat paint. Perhaps that was a markieting thing that didn't work out? It had some mold seams that were very slightly rough, but nothing like what some have reported. Overall fit and finish good for a synthetic stock.

I don't have a chrono, but I have 1 1/2" of duct seal in my trap, and at 30 yds the same loads are going all the way to the back within 1/4 to 1/8" of the back. I have not had a chance to try other ammo yet.

The trigger has a longer first stage than I like, but the second stage is crisp and precise, much better than I expected. I have not tried to adjust it yet as I wanted to wear it in first and. It shoots very smooth, easy to stay on target and has crisp recoil. Over all, very happy and has at least lived up to all of my ecpectations. Glad you were able to send it back and hopefully Crosman will get it's quality control in check! I think you just got a bad one dude!

[Gene_SC]

There will always be lemons with production air guns. Not defending any manufacturer but that is the facts.

[North Pack]

I've had nothing but good experiences with Crosman. One gun had a problem on arrival, they sent me a replacement and never asked for the original back. Two guns for the price of one. Turns  out "the problem" was only a poorly adjusted trigger, - nothing serious. I asked them if they wanted the first one back, - Crosman said if you don't hear from us, - keep it, never heard back, - a free gun.  Great customer service in my opinion, - sorry to hear you had those problems.

[Jaymo]

Amen, Gene. Just like with guns, appliances, power tools, and cars. When I bought our new dishwasher back in 2005, the people at Lowe's tried their best to talk me out of it and into a VERY expensive Maytag. They told me my $225.00 dishwasher had had numerous complaints from buyers. Leaks and noisy operation. It was what I could afford at the time and it's simple, no cpu, no membrane switches. Just rotary timer switch and rocker switches. It's so much quieter than our old one, we won't be getting rid of it any time soon.

[Remo]

I also purchased a .177 Nitro because I wanted a rifle with a gas ram power plant.  The first NPSS that arrived had the stock peeling issue and also suffered from low velocity, shooting JSB exacts at about 850 fps, sometimes less.  Accuracy with the first rifle seemed OK, but it was returned to Crosman very quickly for a replacement.  Crosman took back the rifle no questions asked, replaced it immediately and I had one of the best customer service experiences that I've ever had during the process.  Crosman's people were friendly, informative, helpful and to make a long story short, made me feel very comfortable about how they built and stand behind the NPSS product.  The replacement rifle arrived and the breakin began again.

The new rifle had a very small bit of stock peel, but that was more than within acceptable limits.  Velocity of the replacement rifle was an acceptable 900+ fps.  The trigger was as described elsewhere on GTA, but a few turns of the adjustment screw improved the shot cycle quite a bit.  Shortly after breakin,  I noticed that the replacement rifle's barrel sleeve had begun to rotate when I cocked it, and it was easy enough to turn it with one hand.  I also noticed what appeared to be some pieces of O-ring material that had worked loose between the barrel sleeve and the end cap as well as near the breech block.  Another phone call to Crosman and this rifle was sent back for inspection/repair/replacement also.  No questions asked, no problems.  Another very pleasant phone conversation with Crosman tech people who seem to take a very personal interest in customer satisfaction.
Both rifles were returned to Crosman on their dime, I didn't even have to pay shipping charges!!

I can't speak highly enough of Crosmans dedication and customer service.  While the Nitro product has experienced some bumps during the introduction, Crosman's customer service has certainly been FIRST CLASS all the way.  I'm happy to give the NPSS a chance when the manufacturer stand up like Crosman has!!

Eric

[chuckster750800]

Normal, sorry to hear about your problem with the Nitro, maybe you just got a bad one. Don't worry Crosman will take care of anything that's wrong or they will replace it. They sent me a new stock because of a pealing issue with my .22 and the new stock has been holding up great. My Nitro groups as well as my Diana 34 and my MM B-26-2 and is one good shooter. Hope you get everything taken care of.

Charlie,

[doc1310]

I also am sorry for the problems that you have had. I have the NPSS in .22. Other than the stock peeling, which Crosman fixed by send out a replacement,  I have had nothing but a great shooting experience. It seems that most of the negative comments about the NPSS comes from the .177 family. We had a member here that won a NPSS when Crosman first came out with them and it was a .177 and he had a terrible time with his. Crosman replaced it, but I don't know how it fared after that. My NPSS has been a dream, accurate, quiet, non-pellet fussy. The scope rocks and did I mention quiet! Since your sending it back, trade for a .22 and see if it make a difference. My NPSS shoots Beeman FTS double gold pellets ( 14.6 gr) at 794 fps with a FPE of 20. Thats darn good for a break barrel, light weight, accurate and quiet rifle. I think you got a lemon more so if the barrel is crooked. Good luck, let us know what happens.

Regards,

[Gene_SC]

The lower noise level you are speaking of is because it is a .22.. .22 springers seem to be bit quieter at the muzzle than the .177's

[normal]

Maybe my Nitro was a lemon, but I've spent enough time trying to decide what's a lemon in a couple of other cases that by the time the list of issues got that long, I was in no mood to play games even for a "free" gun.  I don't much enjoy trigger time when things are clearly not right.

As for the 177 vs. 22 muzzle report, I might guess that, assuming the same spring, the smaller pellet leaves the smaller hole sooner leaving behind a bit more energy to waste as noise.   Fits with the generally less efficient nature of 177.

[vanish]

Remo,
I purchased a Crosman .177 Digital Camo NPSS last week, been having problems with accuracy using the Crosman Destroyer .177 Cal, 7.9 Grains, Pointed, and Crosman Field Hunting .177 Cal, 7.4 Grains, Pointed  pellets.  I have shot about 65 rounds so far.  Any advice on pellets for this gun?   I noticed as you mentioned, that the end of my barrel turns in my hand.  Should I send this back to Crosman?  What did they do to fix yours?
Thanks I'm new to this site
vanish

[longislandhunter]

Welcome to the GTA Dan, very nice to have you with us  

I'm not surprised that the pellets that you've tried haven't been very accurate.  Stay away from the pointed pellets, they don't fly well in most guns.  The only guns I have that really shoot the pointed pellets well are my slower fps guns, like my cheaper Chinese springers.  As for for the Destroyer pellets, while some guns do in fact shoot them well I've found that they are a bit light and as a result don't shoot well in most guns.  Usually the best pellets to start with are a good domed pellet like the Crosman Premiers, the Crosman Premier Hollow Point (really a domed pellet), JSB Exacts, RWS Superdomes, etc.  

I don't know what's available to you locally as far as pellets go but if you have a Walmart near you pick up a tin of the .177 Crosman Premier Hollow Points  (CPHP).  Every Walmart I've ever been in has had them in stock.  I've found them to shoot very nicely in most of my rifles and they are great for hunting small game.  They are also dirt cheap which is even better      They aze called "hollow points" because they have a recessed dimply in the tip of the dome, but I really consider them more like a plain domed pellet as the hollow point doesn't really expand on game from what I've seen.   Give the CPHP's a try,,, I think you will pleased with their performance.  

Also, do yourself a favor and order yourself a good .177 cal pellet sampler pack.  StraightShooters.com has a nice sampler pack, I think Pyramydair.com also sells one.  These packs will give you enough of an assortment of pellets to fins out exactly what pellet/s your rifle likes.  Once that's done you can then order more of the "good" pellets.  In the long run the sampler packs can save you a bunch of money  that you would've spent on pellets using the "trial and error" method

Here's the link to the sampler pack that StraightShooters offers.......

http://straightshooters.com/straightshooters/sssampler.html

As for your barrel turning in your hand,,,, I have no experience with your rifle so I'll leave that advice to someone who knows the answer.  

Once again, Welcome  to GTA.  I'll be looking forward to your future posts....  And if you hunt with that shooter be sure to post the stories and pics in the "Hunting Gate",,,,, we just love hunting stories and pics..


Jeff

[Rickster]

I was dissapointed with the accuracy of my Crosman Nitro .177 until I started using the round end of a pellet seat to seat my pellets.
It seems to like The HN Feild Target trophys 8.64gr the best. One hole groups at 10 yards, and 1 inch groups at 20 yards.
CPHP's work pretty good. Mine doesn't like RWS superdomes or Beeman silver stings at all.
And this springer is hold sensitive.
It isn't as accurate as my .177 M-rod, but it is more challenging to shoot.

Rick

[Gene_SC]

No fun shooting a lemon for sure. My experience with the Crosman NPSS Nitro Piston  .177 has been nothing but great. From the weight and balance through the whole shooting cycle. I have two of them now and really enjoy shooting them which has not been much.. But soon that will change.. I have not been a fan of the gas ram guns outside of the Theobens. But of course those guns were springers fitted with gas rams. Not until Crosman designed the combustion chamber around the gas ram in there newer models. The Benji Trail's and Crosman and Remington NPSS versions are the start of what is to become very popular. I still love my springers and probably will never stop shooting them but now that Crosman has introduced an affordable gas ram air gun it just magnifies the pleasure of shooting air guns..

[Gene_SC]

Hey Dan, it has been my experience not only with gas ram guns but with springer as well. It generally takes a few hundred pellets shot for them to settle in as long as the mechanics are good. Not until then will you be able to really determain which pellet that particular gun will like best. The barrel lans need seasoning and the the seal needs to seat and with springers the spring needs time to settle down.

The issue with the barrel turning in hand is actually the shroud and you need to call Crosman and seek warranty.

Best of luck