Author Topic: Remington Stairmaster 77  (Read 7810 times)

Offline vinceb

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Remington Stairmaster 77
« on: January 21, 2008, 09:00:19 AM »
OK, it doesn't really excersize your legs like a Stairmaster - but it does give you a workout nonetheless...

The Airmaster 77 is a multi-pump pneumatic in .177 caliber, and it is capable of shooting both BB's and pellets. BB's can be loaded into a reservoir which then feeds a spring-loaded 17 round magazine, while pellets have to be loaded singly into the breach well. The rifle is fairly light, weighing at a smidgen over 4.5lbs. Overall construction is reminiscent of a Crosman 1077, with a barrel tube nestled inside an outer shroud. The receiver housing is a metal casting, but the stock, cocking handle, and miscellaneous other parts are plastic.

This particular gun came into my possession a little over a year ago, when my daughter-in-law's boyfriend (lonnnnng story!) asked if he could keep it stored at my house. OK, I says - after all, there's plenty o' room in my closet.

Well, they've since broken up, he's not asked for it back, and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. But since it's here and it's a gun I'd never buy on my own - what the heck, I'll give it a bit of a workout. Probably doing the gun a favor, since it's generally not good for any mechanical contrivance to sit unused for long periods of time. So I pull it out of the closet, drip a few drops of oil onto it's felt pad, and start playing with it.

The Airmaster is a "bolt-action" rifle along the general lines of a bunch of other guns - the Crosman 760, the Daisy 856 and 880, and so on. It has a well into which pellets are dropped, and frequently land, nose first, tail first, or backwards. The deep, narrow well makes it difficult to get larger fingers in there it flip it around correctly, so a toothpick or something similar might be helpful to correct a pellet that "lands" wrong.

I'll be honest, I never really liked multi-pumps, and chrony testing this gun reminded me why. I didn't measure every single pump stroke, but by pump #5 the effort is up to about 30lbs. Full power (10 pumps) ends up requiring about 35 lbs of effort - so at LEAST strokes 5-10 end up taking about as much force as a single cock of a Gamo or Quest. And that's for one shot.

And what do you get with that one shot? Using Crosman Premiers, 10 shots across the chrony went from 719 to 735fps for an average of 728fps and about 9 ft-lbs of energy. 'At's a lot of work for so little return. Of course this is fairly typical of multi-pumps, and if you're willing to put up with a reduced velocity of about 600fps you can stop at 5 pumps. BB's, by the way, tend to go about 7-8% faster.

The trigger is so-so, with lots of creep and a moderate 5lb pull. Compared to the direct-sear Chinese and Norica rifles it isn't bad, but it shouldn't be difficult to make a lighter trigger on a pneumatic gun like this. The front sight is plastic with a fiber-optic insert. The rear looks to be the same simple blade sight as on the 1077 with no fiberoptics, and with a stepped ramp for elevation adjustment. WIndage is taken care of by a slotted hole in the rear sight and the holddown screws. It works, but it is difficult to adjust it in increments or to return to one setting after you've moved it. It's a cheap sight that belongs on a BB gun, not a rifle that tries to position itself in a higher niche.

After the chrony shots, I tried four different pellet at 10 yards indoors in an effort to evaluate accuracy. I used a Powerline 3-9x32 scope (not the cheapie 15mm that came with it). Granted - this gun is a few years old, and when the original owner shot it as a kid I imagine he used BB's a lot since they're cheap and easier to load. That could have taken a toll on the barrel. Premiers, RWS Geco's and Gamo Match all seemed to group on the order of .65" or so, which was a bit disappointing (Copperhead Wadcutters scattered something fierce). Granted, the trigger is heavier than I hoped for - but pneumatics are generally easy to shoot well and I was really expecting better than this. BB's, by the way, wandered around on the paper to the tune of about 3".

In general, this gun left me rather unimpressed. I wanted to like it - after all, the BB/pellet multi-pump is something of an American icon. Certainly the so-so accuracy is something to gripe about - and I don't care if it's caused by using steel BB's because the gun was made for them too. Maybe the real kicker is the price - over $70 for the "kit" which includes a $5 scope and so on. That's getting close to Crosman Quest territory, and the Quest is easier to shoot, faster to reload, more powerful and more accurate. It doesn't have the power "adjustability" inherent in a multi-pump, but I think that the only reason most people would shoot at a lower power is to avoid all that pumping!

Shooters who are used to the lower powered models 760, 856, and so on will probably find the added power of this gun to be an attractive bonus that might be worth the extra money. But, I think, only them. Frankly, I'm not sure that this gun would hold any real appeal for anyone else...

Offline preez

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RE: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2008, 01:17:50 PM »
Good review Vince. The Airmaster was the one that got me in trouble with this AG addiction. I only had it for few weeks and exchanged it for a quest, which went back also... Airmaster actually shot ok for me with open sights, as the $5 scope was actually worth $.25 and came off very quickly. Overall, just like you said, it isn't worth all the pumping.

Chris
Bam B-26 .22, Hammerli 850 .22 HPA, Marauder .22

LITTLE HUMILITY GOES A LONG WAY!!!!!!!!! - Joe Cuz

Offline nyairman

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RE: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2008, 02:36:58 PM »
Another great review Vince. If I were a " young-gunner" I would jump on it. But my multi pump days are about done. Like Chris said it is not worth the trouble. But I still use my 760 with 1 pump to keep the nutters at bay hehe! :p

Greg
Do not ever forget 9-11-01

Offline 70GTvert

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2008, 04:34:01 AM »
Same gun as the Crossman 2100, just relabeled. Reason I keep it around? For close in small pests, 4 pumps will take them out (think chipmunk) and if there is a miss, there is little damage that stray pellet may cause.
I came into this world with nothing, and I still have most of it left!

Offline 6speed

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2009, 11:52:54 AM »
Please look at the Daisy 901 for an inexpensive rifle in this multi-pump confirguration.  It is better than the 2100   or the 77.  Also see my review.

Offline birdmove

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2009, 04:09:05 PM »
I'm actually happy as a clam with my Airmaster 77. I also have a Crosman 1077 with Cenerpoint 4x32 scope, and a Beeman model 1024 springer with the cheapo Chinese made 4x15 or 4x20 scope on it (I have a Leapers airgun scope 3x9 with AO coming).The Airmaster is by far the most accurate,consistent,and least pellet picky of the group.And while I have got some good groups with the Crosman and the Beeman, the Airmaster just keeps churning them out.I got a nice Leapers 4x32 airgun scope with AO and military reticle.My Remington likes RWS Hobbys,RWS Diablo Basics, RWS Super H Points,Beeman Laser Sports,Beeman Silver Bears,Gamo Match wadcutters.It doesn't really care for the Crosman Premier wadcutters or hollow points. I shot some of my best groups with the Gamo Hunters.I have a literally, one hole group using these pellets.I mean a group of three shots with a center to center measurement of 0.0".That's at 10 yards off a table with a small portable bench rest.It's only a three shot group (I usually do five shots) because after I saw the group of three shots, I was afraid I'd ruin it with a flyer if I kept shooting. But right after that group, I shot a five shot group almost as tight. It measured center to center using my calipers, .10". I can't shoot that well at will, but the gun obviously isn't holding me back. The springer, on the other hand, is maddeningly inconsistent. I have established that its pellet of choice is the Crosman Premier wadcutters.Other pellets that I have tried have just been a waste of lead.But I have got some nice groups-just nothing like the Remington is getting.The 1077 isn't very consistent either,though I have got some good groups with it too.
    I am still working with all three guns, and I think I'm getting a little better with the Beeman now that I'm down to using the one pellet.
    But the Remington Airmaster? That gun is a definete keeper!!

    jon
Jon in Puyallup, Wa. USA

Offline lillysdad621

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2009, 03:44:53 AM »
gotta agree with you. I actually purchased the crosman 2100 just because i did not like the silver barrel (it spooks the birdies...lol) and i actually scoped it with a rws 4x32 compact. let me tell you, this little rifle is dead on accurate. i sighted it in at 20 yards with 4 pumps, at 30 yard you just need 6 pumps, at 10 only 3, it's that easy. It is on a strict starling diet, and it does like the little pests. it works out blowing up paintballs at 25ish yards.it likes crosman hunting pellets, crosman premieres HP, hates rws hobbies and amaizingly enough it throws crosman heavies at 30 yards with authority. IT WILL TAKE OUT A CROW at 30 yards with 10 pumps. It chronos at 735 fps at 10 pumps with 7.9 g. and 520 with heavies. I actually use it more than any other of my rifles (s200, bsa SS, rws 34, R7, shadow, 1077, qb78) and is my trunk gun. well... it shares the trunk with my latest project... a B3-1 home tuned that spits out HPs at 683 fps avg... it  is just a matter of how much pumping i want to do...

Offline Leadhead

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2009, 04:27:23 AM »
I purchased a Crosman 2100 from PA about 3 weeks ago, but had to send it back. 10 pumps with cphp just barely reached 400fps. I called PA to tell them I wanted to send it back for another one, & the young lady asked me if I really wanted to do that. She said Crosmans quality has been hit or miss lately. I said we'll try one more time & see. So I guess.........we'll see... :o

Benjamin Marauder .22(#004), Leapers 4-16x50AO
Crosman 2100 w/Leapers 3-9x32AO, Crosman 66, Crosman 760

Offline birdmove

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2009, 02:02:48 PM »
Thats funny. I just ordered a B3-1 from Toolsnow.com. This is the underlever, not the side lever with the folding stock.For $25.00 I figured I'd take a chance.

   jon
Jon in Puyallup, Wa. USA

Offline birdmove

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2009, 02:05:17 PM »
I'm impressed with my Remington (made by Crosman). I think I'd try one more time if I was you.

    jon
Jon in Puyallup, Wa. USA

Offline lillysdad621

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Re: Remington Stairmaster 77
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2009, 12:52:37 PM »
tell me how that goes because i want to order one too... i got the sidelever one and i modded and home tuned it. it shoots 7.9 premiers at 685 fps all day long. and is accurate. but i still love my 2100.... check on the crosman gate the evil looking 2100 they posted today....