Squirrels!!!

| August 19, 2016
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

Well the neighbors at my folks place decided to feed the animals. And by animals I mean pests. They’ve even gone so far as to raise a dozen baby squirrels in their home, and post on social media how they are worried because they are finding squirrels ‘wounded’ with bb gun injuries. I guess somebody else in the neighborhood is sick of them also, and just needs a better air gun to get the job done properly.

 


 

The squirrels devastate every fruit tree and fruit bush at my folks’ residence. They’ve destroyed just about everything this season! The peaches, nectarines, apples, fuju persimmons, currants, and grapes have all been destroyed by squirrels, and the damn squirrel lady of a neighbor is helping increase the population.

 

Well she won’t have to worry about finding them wounded anymore… Because I brought the 1322 to my folks’ place, and at 8.5 FPE it is a squirrel dispatcher. At first glance the video looks like a miss, but its actually a near perfect shot to the skull by the ear. The dirt that flies up is actually the squirrel kicking and twitching as the energy of the Crosman premier domed 14.3g pellet snaps its head into a partial spin, and it’s body and legs rotate around. The 20 yard shot to the brain, is an instant and humane shot, and the neighbor won’t be finding a wounded squirrel to nurse back to health.

 
Squirrel Control

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Chinese B3-3 VS Crosman 1322

| August 10, 2016
B3 vs 1322 Airgun
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

Ever wonder how the Crosman 1322 stacks up against a generic Chinese B3-3 air gun. It’s a battle between budget air guns. We tested them both, and while its not an apples to apples comparison, it wasn’t much of a competition either.

Crosman 1322

Manufacturer | Crosman
Model | 1322
Type | Multi-pump pneumatic
Caliber | .22
Action | Bolt
Cost | 59.99
Cost Upgrades | 39.99
Additional Costs | No additional Necessary Costs.
Optics | Standard front and rear sights are good.
Safety | Cross Bolt Style
FPS Advertised | 460
FPS Chrony | 515
Energy | 8.20+ FPE
Weight | 2.5 lbs
Mods | Steel Breech, Re-Crown, Transfer Port enlarged, Valve Chamber ground larger.
  • Pros
  • Price Point
  • Very Accurate
  • Good Quality
  • Lightweight
  • Lots of Aftermarket Parts
  • Cons
  • Barrel Band Has Flex

Buy a Crosman 1322 American Classic | Buy a Crosman Steel Breech Kit (.22 Caliber)

In its stock form, the 1322 is a good air pistol. With a steel breech upgrade, it packs a lot of performance in a small, lightweight form factor.

 

Chinese B3-3

Manufacturer | Unknown/Various
Model | B3-3
Type | Underlever
Caliber | .22
Action | Breach Opens/Underlever
Cost | 55.00
Cost Upgrades | 0
Optics | Open front and adjustable rear sights.
Safety | Trigger Action Lever
FPS Advertised | 450-700
FPS Chrony | 425 w/14.3gr
Energy | Unknown 5.74 FPE
Weight | 8 lbs
Mods | Front Sight Removed, Barrel Re-Crowned, Rear Optic ground flush. Necessary Optics upgrade. Sights would not hold elevation.
  • Pros
  • Okay For Small Pests
  • Affordable
  • Cons
  • Poor Quality
  • Barrel had a minor bend
  • Front sight guard was bent
  • Rear sight never held adjustments
  • Required new optics
  • Poor Accuracy
  • Dangerous underlever cocking action

Buy a B3-3 22 Cal. Air Rifle

Its cocking action was scary, and it was reasonable to fear a broken finger should it malfunction, but it functioned. That’s about all that can say be said for the Chinese B3-3 underlever air rifle. The velocities and accuracy were underwhelming, and inconsistent.

 

The Takeaway

A Crosman 1322, in its stock form is lighter and outperforms the Chinese B3-3 any way you slice it. Its a much better value at the similar price point. If you are looking for a budget .22 air gun, 1322 is a no-brainer. The base model will help you rid pests and even put a variety of small game and birds on the dinner table. If you want more performance, upgrades are available and affordable, or some research and elbow grease will get you far. We couldn’t honestly recommend a B3-3, when much better, higher quality options exist.

See the penetration test and article, See Test

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22 Pellet Penetration Tests

| August 10, 2016
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

22 Pellet Penetration Test Pellets: Crosman Premier Domed 14.3gr | Crosman Premier Pointed 14.3gr | Daisy Precision Max Pointed 14.0gr

Pellets were fired from the Crosman 1322 and the Chinese B3 rifle. The Crosman 1322 is shooting 14.3 gr pellets at a max 8.42 FPE, and the Chinese B3 at about 4.5 FPE. Pellets were shot through two cardboad panels, into 3/8″ plywood, at 5 yards.

8FPE Penetration5FPE Penetration

At 8.42 FPE from the 1322

Crosman domed pellets penetrated deeply, and nearly exited 3/8″ plywood panel, leaving clear damage and missing splinters of wood.
Crosman pointed pellets deformed more than the domed pellets, and more energy was absorbed by the panel. Less penetration occurred, and less damage on the rear of the 3/8″ panel was visible. Damage on the rear of the panel
Daisy precision max pellets deformed the most, penetrated the least, and the energy was transferred completely.

At about 4.5-5 FPE from the B3

Crosman domed pellets penetrated the deepest, and left slight, but visible splintering on the rear of the 3/8″ panel. The pellet fell from its hole versus staying burrowed into the panel.
Crosman pointed pellets performed similarly to the higher FPE test, with less penetration than the domed pellets, but at 4.5-5FPE left no evidence of damage on the rear of the 3/8″ panel. The pellet fell from its hole versus staying burrowed into the panel.
Daisy precision max pellets penetrated about half way into the panel, deformed greatly, and fell out of the panel.

The deformed pellets from the low FPE tests are visible in the photos. If you only had 3 over the counter pellets to choose from, and you want more penetrating energy and retention of energy along a wound channel, then choose a Crosman premier domed. If you want more energy to be released in the target with less penetration, chose the Crosman premier pointed pellets. In addition to frequent ‘flyers’ when testing accuracy of the Daisy precision max pointed pellets in another test, the softer alloy penetrated the least, and soft inconsistent skirts meant that pellets did not consistently seal against the barrel of the test air guns, and caused sporadic ballistic performance. The Daisy precision max pellets are not reliable for small game hunting, or pest control.

pellet deformation

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The Ruger 10/22 Trigger Job

| August 2, 2016
Photo Credit: Keith Knoxsville
A Hen and a Drake Green Teal on the truck bed. Not a limit on anything, but a fun morning out.

Continuing the posts on the accurizing a Ruger 10/22 on a budget. The absolute best thing to do with a ruger 10/22 to get repeatable results is to improve the trigger. Less creep, less pressure, and a more crisp break makes a world of difference.

OEM_Ruger_1022_trigger

Now you could buy entire drop in trigger groups to replace the original trigger group, but most drop in trigger groups will cost as much or more than the gun itself brand new. Kits from KIDD, Volquartsen, Power Custom, and others will double the investment you have in your 10/22. The much cheaper and almost as good alternative is to stone your hammer, or simply replace it with a better one for 35 bucks. Buy the Volquartsen Custom Target Hammer

The hammer is manufactured with a much higher level of precision and quality than the OEM ruger hammer in the picture to the left. It includes shims and springs. I only replaced the hammer and shims, and did not use the included springs. A common recommendation from many others in the 10/22 world. The difference is night and day. Installing the Volquartsen hammer reduced the trigger pull resistance from approximately 6-8 lbs. down to around 3 lbs. This makes it much easier to control any unintended movement from pulling the trigger while shooting, and greatly improved accuracy and repeat-ability. Buy the Volquartsen Custom Target Hammer
new_grouping

How big a difference does it really make? The group on the 3″ Birchwood Casey Splatter target is the first 10 rounds I shot at 50 yards, with bulk ammo, after replacing the trigger. The group is decent for getting accustomed to what feels like a brand new trigger, and I have only continued to get it tighter with subsequent trips to the range. Between crowning, bedding, and replacing the hammer, I am now the weak point not inherent inaccuracy of the rifle.

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