Question(s)

[PryorDaniel]

I'm somewhat new to air gun hunting, and these forums. I used to hunt birds with a Remington AirMaster 77. I still have the gun and pull it out from time to time. I now use a fully stock Crosman Storm XT. I got a squirrel the other day in my backyard that was causing some problems and that's my only kill with my new rifle. I have a couple questions about the gun and also a couple about hunting small game in Southern California.

1) What are some cheap mods I can do to the gun? (I'm on a very tight budget right now)

2) What's the best way to keep the scope from sliding off the rail? It seems like no matter how tight I have the screws, it still slides off.

3) What kind of small game can I find out here? I know there's doves, pidgeons, crows, squirrels, rabbits, etc., but is there anything else like ground hogs?

4) How do I adjust the trigger on the gun? I see the screw but it looks like it has some type of spring loaded bar over it, about as thick as a paper clip.

5) What would be the best pellets to use? Right now I use pellets by Crosman since I figured Crosman would make the best pellets for use with their guns, but any advice would help.


Thanks,
Daniel

[longislandhunter]

Hi Daniel,

First off I'd like to welcome you the the GTA,,,, it's nice to have you with us :)

As for the Storm XT,,, I don't own one so I don't have any first hand experience with that rifle, but I'm sure there are plenty of GTA members who are familiar and who will chime in as far as mods for the gun. I am pretty sure that Bobs (Charliedatuna) GRTIII trigger blade will fit in the rifle and if I'm right then that would be the first "mod" I would take care of. That trigger will be the best money you ever spend on your rifle. Like I said,,, I'm pretty sure it fits in your rifle but the other members can verify that.

AS for the scope creep,,,,, you didn't say what kind of scope mount you have on the gun. I'll assume it's the one that came with the gun, but whatever kind it is it's apparently not getting the job done. Do yourself a favor and get an "Accushot" one piece mount, it costs like $16 bucks from Pyramydair.com or several other places. Install the accushot 1 piece and your scope problems will be a thing of the past. Just remember to clean EVERYTHING with denatured alcohol before installation. Clean every part of the mount,,, screws included, and also clean the top of the rifle receiver and the inside of the grooved dovetails. Make sure there isn't even the slightest hint of grease or oil anywhere. Then install the mount and scope and use a drop of blue loc-tite on the screws and a dab on the dovetail grooves. Your scope will stay put forever if done correctly.

As for pellets,,,,, for hunting my primary hunting pellet is the JSB Predator pellet,,,, but I am also fond of Crosman Premier Light domed pellets ... (CPL's). Best thing to do is get a variety of pellets and do some grouping tests with your gun. See which pellets group the best at your average hunting range then pick a pellet from them.

As for what you can hunt,,,,,, the other membes will have to chime in as I've never been to California so I'm of no use there.

Again,,, welcome,,, looking forward to your future posts.....

Jeff

[only1harry]

Daniel,
Jeff made some very good points.  I would also say that you may hunt what your gun is capable of at certain distances.  

I don't know exactly the velocity of various pellets with the Crosman Storm are but since Pyramid Air or Crosman says 1,000fps for .177, I 'd guess around 800-850fps with Crosman Premier Lights (CPL's) 7.9gr. since those #'s are always exaggerated.  They don't use lead pellets when they test to get that high velocity.  Most of us that have several airguns also own a Chronograph (aka "chrony") that measures the muzzle velocity of our guns.  We also use a chrony to troubleshoot and diagnose problems in our guns..  

So assuming your rifle puts out the same kinetic energy with a 7.9gr CPL as most other Crosman rifles with the same advertised velocity, your gun has between 12 and 13 Foot-Pounds of Energy (FPE) at the muzzle.  You gun is what we call a medium-powered air gun.  12-13FPE is respectable so your gun has decent hunting power up to 30yds for smaller animals such as birds, squirrels and cottontail rabbit hit in the right spot for a quick kill.  

You talk about crow and groundhogs, etc.  Even though you don't have groundhogs in SoCal., you would not want to shoot a G-hog with your gun unless you were within 10yrs or so.  Larger animals require more power (kinetic energy) to attain that deep penetration and bone crushing output that you want to achive to kill the animal quickly and humanely.  
You may have seen the pic of my large groundhog in this forum, but that was shot in the head with a 23FPE Magnum spring rifle at a distance of 23.5yds and it still was not enough to bring it down before it reached its hole, partially my fault because I was shooting without a scope and the shot was slightly off.. Anyway that was using a much heavier .22cal 18.2gr pellet that carries much more Kinetic Energy than a 7.9gr pellet.  In order for a Crosman Quest to attain 23ft-lbs of energy the CPL must shoot closer to 1200fps.  

So to summarize what I 'm trying to say is that if you are going to hunt you need you need to familiarize yourself with the dymanics and physics of the projectile and know your gun's limitations as far as hunting larger small-game or any game and recognize the distance that you safely take an animal at.  A gun that shoots 12-13fpe at the muzzle (Muzzle energy or ME we call it), usually only has about 8FPE  remaining energy at 25yds (sometimes 7fpe depending on the ballistic coefficient of the pellet) and 3 or 4FPE at best @ 50yds.  8FPE is good enough  for the animals I mentioned above with a well placed shot at 25yds, even a crow (crows are tough), but is not recommended for larger game like groundhogs, raccoons, etc. A Magnum air rifle is preferred otherwise you risk wounding the animal and losing it, and having it die much later after it suffers.  So once you get passed 30-35yds or so where you power starts dropping down to 6fpe, you need to be mindful that only a headshot will do (except for smaller birds) on a squirrel or rabbit and you better be confident at your marksmanship abilities that you can accomplish a headshot that far out.  For ex. a squirrel needs 4-6FPE on pellet impact to bring down, etc.  You have to be mindful of all these variables to make hunting a more pleasurable experience.

Going back to g-hogs, you guys in SoCal should have the G-hog's smallest cousin, the praire dog which is about 1/2 the size of the g-hog who is more common in the Northern Region of the US and in Cananda.  G-hogs hybernate in the winter so you only find them in the colder states up north.  Prairie dogs in CA can be hunted all year round I believe.  Research the laws because you don't want to be arrested or summoned for shooting an animal out of hunting season. Try to obtain a hunting licence and read up on the regulations.  In most states, the grey squirrel, cottontail, crow, etc. are protected and can only be hunted during a few months out of the year. Also most song birds and migratory birds (mocking bird, robin, etc.) cannot be hunted at all.  It's a Federal law.  

Don't be afraid to ask questions.  You may also find what the velocity, power of your gun is and what pellets it likes to shoot accurately on the Airgun forum here from others.  The CPL pellet is usually a pretty good and safe choice to go with in most .177 pellet rifles but you need to try out a few different ones to see which one your rifle is accurate with.  Also heavy pellets are not recommended with a medium powered guns (med-high powered ones).  They will shorten the life of the spring.  The best mod you can do to you gun like Jeff said is to replace the trigger with the GRIII trigger.  A better trigger with a much lighter pull makes a gun more accurate (so you don't shake or pull the gun when squeezing the trigger).

[Big_Bill]

Welcome to the GTA Forums Daniel,

We are happy to have you as a part of our AirGun family !

Jeff and Harry have pretty much answered your questions, an as I do not have a Crosman Storm, and do not live in Calf. I just wanted to welcome you to our home away from home, :-)

And YES, YourCrosman Storm does accept the GREAT GRT-III trigger, I checked, and for $32.00, it will will be the best money that you have ever spent.It will make you a very happy shooter, as it has for everyone that has bought one. Go To: http://charliedatuna.com/GRT_III_trigger_home.htm

I hope to see your post soon, don't be a stranger now .

Bill

[Progun]

Daniel welcome aboard, this is a great place to be. Jeff and Harry are spot on  with expert advice. Welcome again to the first day of class.

[PryorDaniel]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes. I'll probably look in to scope mounts before a new trigger, but I'll definately get both in time. Thanks for clarifying that the Storm doesn't really have the power to take down a large critter unless it's close range. And again, thanks everyone for the warm welcomes, I look forward to my stay here with you guys