Author Topic: Crosman 795  (Read 7741 times)

Offline vinceb

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Crosman 795
« on: April 15, 2007, 08:43:16 AM »
For some reason, I always had a hankering to try the Crosman 795. Not sure why, maybe it's because it's one of the few American-made springers out there. In any event, I found recently found myself with 1) some extra dough, 2) a dealer with decent prices AND who would ship to NJ, and 3) a wellspring of goodwill towards Crosman. Needless to say, all this spells "NEW PURCHASE!"... so I ordered up a 795 (and a 1077 just for kicks). Besides, I wanted another "kids gun" to have around.

Perhaps the "wellspring of goodwill" comment deserves a little elaboration. Crosman has developed a well-deserved reputation in the customer-service department, and very recently they helped me out on a cracked stock for a year-old Quest - by sending me a brand new gun, and NOT wanting the old one back. As we already know their parts support is excellent, and when I call them I almost ALWAYS get a real person on the other end of the line.

So a few days after a call to DNR sports (and $57+shipping against the credit card) I've got a new 795 sittin' on my doorstep.

It would be natural to compare the 795 to the Gamo Cadet Delta, which is a rifle in the same power and weight range - although a new Gamo tends to cost a bit more (by about $20). And since I've got a Delta hangin' around as well, I was able to shoot them side-to-side.

To begin with, the 795 resembles the Delta in having a metal receiver and a plastic-coated barrel assembly. Like the Delta, the pivot and lockup mechanism is all plastic as is the stock. The sights on the Delta are fiber-optic with no hood on the front, while the 795's sight has no FO inserts and the front is hooded. The 795 rear sight is flimsier, but has a traditional elevation adjustment knob that is preferable to the notched ramp on the Gamo. Also, the 795 doesn't run out of elevation adjustment at 10 yards like the Delta does.

At less than 4 1/2 lbs both guns are light, but the Crosman is close to full-size (pull length is about the same as a 220), while the Gamo is much smaller. An adult will feel "scrunched up" shooting the Delta, but the Crosman feels closer to normal. Overall, the Crosman is about 4" longer.

The lockup on the 795 is cheap, and (as explained later) rather disappointing. While the Delta has the standard spring-loaded wedge arrangement (in plastic), the 795 has a different arrangement. There is a round bar protruding from the front of the compression tube right below the transfer port, and the pivoting breach has a clip that grabs it when the breach closes. It's very similar to the clip that holds the cocking lever in place on a B3 or a B4-2. No, it doesn't look very strong or very sturdy. Will it hold up? I have no idea. Another unfortunate design feature is the use of a roll pin for the breach pivot, which means that the breach can not be tightened as it wears. It should not be terribly difficult to remedy by the owner - a simple nut and bolt could be substituted - but it definitely shows more corner-cutting by Crosman. Then again, the clip that forms the breach lock-up would also tend to center the breach, so maybe that's not such an issue.

The trigger is also a major difference between the two. The Gamo has the usual Gamo trigger, far from the best but also far from the worst. The 795 has a direct-sear, which can be "the worst". Fortunately the low spring pressures prevent it from being all that bad, but the Delta definitely has the nicer trigger of the two.

Both guns are capable of putting out close to 5 ft-lbs of energy (CPL's in the low 500's), but for some reason the Crosman is much easier to cock. My 7-year-old girl can (barely) do it, I'm sure she couldn't cock the Delta. This is sort of odd, since the Delta is closer to her size.

Firing neither gun is a very pleasant experience. The Gamo buzzes and vibrates like, well, like a Gamo. The Crosman on the other hand has an even harsher firing behavior - it "gongs". Fortunately, on the Crosman, it was very easy to fix.... BECAUSE I can declare (with confidence) that the 795 is the easiest springer to work on, BAR NONE. The reason? It has only about 1/4-inch of preload. The action comes out of the stock with 4 screws, at which point the trigger assembly/spring retainer just slides out the back of the compression tube. Remove the scope stop screw - and the spring, piston, and seal just pull out. Since this is a low-powered gun dieseling isn't likely to be a problem - just smear some heavy grease on the spring, stick it back together, and you'll now have a very smooth shooting rifle.

At this point I should mention that this particular 795 had another flaw - the rear sight hit the edge of the compression tube breach slot when cocking. I almost sent it back - but a little filing took care of that problem.

Unfortunately, the accuracy of the Crosman doesn't seem to be up to the standards of the Gamo, and I have a strong suspiscion why. Breakbarrel guns are worthless without a good lockup mechanism - and as I mentioned, the lockup on this thing seems to be rather poor.

Since I was having so much trouble getting groups under 1" even at 10 yards, I decided to try a scope. The first group seemed to be better, about 1/2" at that distance but very low - 2" low with the scope elevation all the way up. Well, the groups would grow and shrink at random, so I tried something different. Instead of resting the gun by the stock forearm, I tried resting the barrel - forcing the breach to stay tightly closed. That raised the POI over 4" at 10 yards - indicating, as I suspected, that the lockup mechanism is doing a lousy job. Unfortunately, since there's no detent or detent spring as such, it's going to be difficult (or impossible) to fix.

So, overall - well, I hate to say it - but the Delta really is the better rifle. The 795 is not without its charms, but the crude trigger and shortcuts in construction definitely detract from its appeal. It does have very good power for its cocking effort... and leaves us with the kid-sized gun being harder to cock than the more adult-sized rifle. But regardless of anything else, the poor barrel lock-up seems to ruin the gun, and without a better mechanism it's just not gonna be a decent shooter. It's good enough to plink cans at 30-45 feet, but frankly that's not much better than a BB gun - something that is cheaper to buy, cheaper to feed and a repeater to boot. While it has more power than something like a Daisy 105 or Red Ryder, the power is pretty much useless - it's not strong enough to be a short-range hunter, and not accurate enough to be a longer-range target shooter.

It's a shame, but the 795 is probably not worth buying. For $20 more the Delta is a better made and better shooting rifle, and since refurbs can sometimes be had for as little as $45 it's definitely the way to go. I hates to put down a Crosman product, but in this instance I can't honestly do anything else...




Offline nyairman

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RE: Crosman 795
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2007, 09:02:22 AM »
:) Great review Vince :) . I too have looked at that Crosman. I am glad you did such a indept review on it. I'm thinking that I would not push the order button on that gun after your review. I like the idea of buying American made products as a rule, but I do want my monies worth as well. Again, a very good review,...Thanks Vince.

Greg
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Re: Crosman 795
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2007, 10:42:24 AM »
I have one 795 for 4 years and it is still shooting like new after more the 4000 pellets.
It is Canadian tune.
Mine has no scope rail.
It is OK for shooting cans at 33 feet.

Offline DanoInTx

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Re: Crosman 795
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2007, 01:11:54 PM »
They have these things at my local Ace Hardware store.  I have to admit I have eyeballed them a little bit, for, uh, my kids to shoot, yea, that's it:)  Good as always to read one of your reviews Vince.
Dan

Current shooters: Beeman HW97K .177 with Hawke Eclipse 4x16x50SFAO and Steve C. stock, Beeman R9 .177 with Hawke Airmax 4-12x40AO and Gene\'s Midas touch, Air Arms S200 with Bushnell Banner 6x24x40AO Rowan brass bling and Steve C. custom stock, BAM B25, BAM B40 .177 with BSA 3x12x44AO, Benjamin Marauder .22, Benjamin 397 pumper.

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