So you bought a Crosman 1322 or 1377, and like every other 13xx owner, you want to modify it for greater power, accuracy, or performance. Fortunately, the P13xx series of air guns lend themselves to a lot of mods, and while everyone has their own take on which mods and drop-in parts work best, we’ll give you our honest take on reliably getting a stock 1322 from 460 fps to over 600 FPS.
This is for a 1322! Buy a steel breech, extended barrel and barrel band, Alchemy AirWerks RP Pump Valve Kit. Teardown and install all parts, be sure to lubricate parts with a silicone-based lubricant. The RP Pump Valve kit will include a bigger transfer port, and heavier hammer spring to replace the originals. Add an optic, sight in, go knock down some squirrels.
We’ve got a few articles on power mods, and even some accuracy tips, but we constantly get questions and are asked about the following topics, “Should I do a Crosman 1322 barrel upgrade?”, “What is the Crosman 1322 maximum power?”, “Is the Crosman 1322 good for hunting?”, “What power mods…?”, “14 inch barrel FPS…?”. The questions are endless, and although it feels repetitive, we put together this article with comparison photos, and even a slow motion video of the impact energy of an upgraded 1322, for those that want more power from a Crosman 1322, and don’t have a machine shop.
We focus on the Crosman 1322 because we prefer a .22 caliber for airgun hunting of small game, but our how-to guide also works the same for the Crosman 1377.
Upgrading the stock 13xx with our recommendations will add $150 in cost to the stock 13xx. At around $200 it is easy to start considering an entry-level PCP. However, the 13xx can perform like a PCP, while still remaining usable and reliable in the backcountry, or anywhere a heavy pump can’t easily go. The Crosman 13xx models of air guns have been a go-to air gun since the late seventies for good reason. They are easy to modify, they are accurate, and they are reliable. While it’s very easy to go down the rabbit hole with mods, our base recommendations will turn your stock 13xx into a very effective small game hunting air gun, or high-performance plinker. You will likely get in excess of 12 foot-pounds of energy from these upgrades. That is more than enough energy to dispatch a lot of small game, within reasonable distances. It’s also enough energy to punch holes through 1/4″ plywood, and softer 3/4″ pine boards. Check with your own city, region, state, or countries regulations to make sure you haven’t broken the law with the increased power, as many countries regulate an air gun as a firearm if it exceeds a specific threshold.
Upgrading with a steel breech, new barrel, and barrel band will remove the OEM fixed sights. We recommend a low-power optic, but there are many optic and fixed sight options, with a wide range of costs. We’ll make recommendations, but it’s not the focus of the upgrades.
Step 1: Upgrade the Breech
The stock Crosman 13xx breech next to an upgraded steel breech.
If you want more power and performance from your 13xx, then swapping the stock composite plastic breech with a stronger steel breech is a must. It increases strength and rigidity, and provides a more stable base for mounting optics, but also holds an upgraded barrel in place much better than you could with a stock breech.
Step 2: Upgrade the Barrel and Barrel Band
The stock 10 inch barrel and barrel band next to an 18 inch barrel, and more rigid barrel band.
Upgrading a barrel can mean simply changing it for a high precision one, crowning it for increased accuracy, or increasing length for greater velocity, and power. Our upgrade focuses on barrel length. We upgrade the stock 10.1” barrel with an 18” barrel.
Generally speaking, every inch of increased barrel length will increase velocity 10 fps. There is a diminishing return at a certain length, and so the longest 1322 barrels are usually no more than 24 inches. To take advantage of a barrel longer than 14.5 inches, you’ll want to increase your valve volume, and transfer port size.
Buy a 1322 Barrel Band
Buy a 1322 18 inch Barrel
Buy a 1377 Barrel Band
Buy a 1377 18 inch Barrel
Step 3: Upgrade the Piston / Valve / Transfer Port
The Alchemy AirWerks RP Pump, heavier hammer spring, and larger inner diameter transfer port.
Upgrading the piston, pump, and transfer port on the 13xx series of air guns increases overall power and performance. A larger volume of air, as well as increased and more rapid airflow into the barrel, pushes a pellet with greater pressure, resulting in greater velocity and power.
We have done our own valve mods, but the easiest and most reliable all-in-one mod kit we have found and used is the AlchemyAirWerks Pump RP Valve SuperPack. It includes a Pump RP Valve, Power Hammer Spring and a Transfer Port with 25% greater airflow.
The RP Valve increases air volume, so it increases the stored energy. It does however require more pumping to fill the larger volume of air to the same pressure as a smaller volume of air. The combination of a better valve, hammer spring, and a transfer port that allows greater airflow, address the fundamentals for increasing power and performance.
The RP Valve is a great alternative to a more expensive flat-top piston mod, which only improves pumping efficiency over the power increase provided by Pump RP Valve, but if you are feeling spendy, or just really want the increased pumping efficiency,
Buy the AlchemyAirWerks Pump RP Valve SuperPack
Step 4: Add Optics
a CVLife 4X32 Compact Scope and Redfield See Through Rings, are a good combination for the 1322.
Optics are a must after upgrading a steel breech, barrel, and barrel band, but the options and costs are vast. Our affordable and reliable go-to, after a lot of experimentation, is a super affordable CVLIFE 4×32 Compact Rifle Scope, and Redfield See-Thru Dovetail rings.
A lot of airgunners seem to pair their airguns with a UTG 3-9X32 BugBuster Scope, but for a more affordable variable optic, the CVLIFE 3-9×40 Compact Rifle Scope, or Pinty 2.5-10×40 Illuminated are also good options.
Buy Redfield See-Thru Dovetail Rings
Buy a CVLIFE 4x32 Compact Rifle Scope
Buy a CVLIFE 3-9x40 Compact Rifle Scope
Buy a UTG 3-9X32 1
Buy a Pinty 2.5-10x40
Wrapping Up
A Stock 1322, Breech, Barrel, Barrel Band, and RP Valve Kit combined will set you back about two hundred dollars, but you’ll be able to reliably shoot small game with about 12 foot pounds of energy everywhere you go. You won’t need a high-pressure pump, or CO2 cartridges to use your airgun. You’ll still need to add fixed sights or an optic, which will add another thirty dollars at a minimum, but will allow you to take full advantage of the increased performance, as its max effective range on small game moves out to about 25 yards from the OEM effective range of about 10 yards. Good shot placement will even allow you to take doves, pigeons, and small pest birds at 50 yards. Don’t believe it? Check out this video. This is with a factory 10.1″ barrel, a lightly modified pump valve and transfer port, and a steel breech.
Comments
Well said. A small and worthy investment for any prepper. I got two and even stock they have excellent utility, pellets are plenty cheap too. Well worth upgrading even just for the sake of reliability.
Not very pleased with your selection of the “Pinty 2.5-10×40”. The scope appears great, and a bargain! But the rail clamp is not 3/8th! So either the clamp has to be changed for an aditional cost, or an adapter used (which raises the sight and adds $15 to the cost).
Were you displeased with the mounting options or the scope itself? It is a fairly budget-friendly scope.
For less than the price of even a slightly upgraded 1322 (pistol, breech, pump-rp-valve kit, sights/scope, longer barrel, shoulder stock, etc.), plinkers, preppers, small game hunters and the mechanically declined can save money and effort (and their warranties!) by instead going with one of two cheaper, slightly upgraded 1322-based carbines now available from Crosman that require no extra cash or work at all — the complete freedom and utility of a smaller pistol (a ~16inch long pistol! ) might be lost, but as it was for me, the many advantages of the alternatives could be well worth that ‘trade-off’ — with more impact energy, better accuracy and even higher quality manufacture and materials, of course I’m talking about the very nice Crosman 2289 Drifter ‘Kit,’ $119 in mid/late ’21, along with the even better (and less expensive!) Crosman 362, just released in Q1/Q2 of ’22 ($100). As delivered, both still lack the steel breech upgrade, so just as with the pistol, there’s no built-in, solid means of reliably mounting advanced optics, but the longer barrels and upgraded innards mean greater distance, more knock-down power and improved accuracy, especially useful for taking small game with one shot, so as soon as I read about them, I was an eager early-adopter. Luckily, I don’t like scopes unless absolutely necessary, so this configuration suited me fine, especially since both rifles retain the same iron/open sights with which 1322 users already are familiar. So, with a little tweaking and sighting-in, they’re ready for very accurate shooting to naked eyeball distance on arrival, which usually is all that’s necessary for smaller game animals such as squirrels and rabbits. However, if a scope is necessary, the same capacity for upgrade and customization for which the 1322 is famous is there still, as both products should accept any of the many mods and upgrades available for the 1322. Stepping up from the 1322, the Drifter is very nice and easily breaks down from its carbine to pistol configuration (and back again) with a snap-in shoulder stock. That configuration allowed a tiny bit of movement between stock and pistol, which I didn’t like, so I chose to drill out the hole in the plastic hand grips (for some reason, missing on the 2289) and use the screws that came with it to attach the stock to the thin metal pistol grip for a MUCH more stable and reliable hold. At a guess, I’d say the Drifter probably provides some 8 to 10 foot pounds of energy as delivered (maybe more?), depending on pellet weight, but the newer 362 as delivered gets very close to 15 foot pounds of energy with heavier (~18-20 grains) pellets, right out of the box! Even better, it has the same overall quality, solid construction and comfortable feel & handling of the Benjamin 392s — at half the price and without that awful buttstock hump! — and full power requires only 8 pumps instead of 10, every one of which is FAR easier than the effort required for the Benjamin 392s (!), so it was love at first sight-in for me. 🙂 I’ve been using it now (the 362) almost exclusively for a couple of months and was surprised, yet VERY happy, to discover pumping it up reasonably easy from the get-go, but that pumping ‘breaks in’ with regular use and soon gets even easier: mine now pumps up easily enough that it rivals the effort required for a new Drifter carbine (which needs only a bit more oomph than a stock 1322)! That’s GREAT news! How easy? I’m 65 and disabled and I can use it with no trouble, although I wouldn’t want to give it all 8 pumps for every single shot over the course of a long target-shooting session. However, younger and healthier folks should have no trouble with it at all, regardless of the number of pumps used — and remember: the more it’s used, the easier it is to use it! When it comes to choosing favorites, sure, I love my P1322 with its shoulder stock, followed by my 2289 Drifter carbine, but when it comes right down to it, I’ve been using my 362 almost exclusively ever since it arrived, and since it’s so hard-hitting and easy to power-up, it’s certainly proved itself just about the perfect variable pump airgun for me. The Crosman 362 and 2289 Drifter are inexpensive alternatives (or additions to) to upgrading the trusty 1322, and the 362 as delivered is just about as hard-hitting as a heavily modified 1322 anyway, so just a heads up for those interested in a better 1322 without the expense and effort otherwise necessary, or anyone wanting an extremely capable, high-quality and hard-hitting air rifle that has to represent one of the greatest bargain prices ever! Food for thought…
Thanks for the comment. I think you are right in general. At the time of writing the article, it was true there are maybe some better values in the end, but if you enjoy tinkering then the 1322 is an easy entry point into modding and understanding airguns. As of Late April 2022, there are so many good and affordable options, including PCPs. If we did a comparative review, and broke down costs, what do you think people would like to see? Also, correct me if I am wrong, but the 362 is not a compact format like the 1322, and it also ships with a plastic breech. So if you want to maximize the performance, you’ll be adding about the same costs for a steel breech, optic mounting options, air valve, etc. Thanks again for your thoughts, looking forward to hearing back from you.
1322 and 1377 are the essence of air gun evolution. it is due in large part that these are tinkerers dreams and as such has helped in a very large part to bring airguns to where they are and are going. Within the crosman platform imagination seems to have no boundary’s. Yes they can easily become money pits but often the reward awaits somewhere down the line
I’ve got a 2240 that just ceases to evolve its pushing the sound barrier uses air , sees at night, and films. It still has a long way to go to achieve my ideal vision of a ratter but the satisfaction is worth the effort and cost over time. Would i put it up against an off the shelf marauder or a gauntlet ? NO. But i wouldn’t put the gauntlets performance up against an fx either. The 1377 project has only just begun and most the upgrades you mention have been started and ordered including a match grade trigger assembly on order , the pump arm has been replaced with one from buck rail which i am very impressed with. It will look good wrapped in a gun skin and will serve even a better purpose keeping the new internals in check .the only decision and a big one in fact is which scope to add . one i can film through with clarity and one that i wont feel bad wrapping in a gun skin. Im looking through a hawke on the 2240 2-7×32 but am leaning more to a handgun scope for this 1377. The objective must be at least 32 and not to costly.
The pain , The pain, good for the soul . no pain no gain.
I agree that some decent guns can be had and forego the expense , time, and effort . the p- rod for one fine example . buy a p-rod pump it up take it out aquire dinner clean it up put it away clean and eat dinner.
1377 tear it down build it up sight it in do over take it out miss a rat resight hit a rat. Require a second shot not good for the rat . tear it down tweak the power sight it in take it out hit the rat lights out painless . well i hope so.
Time for dinner. Get the p-rod oit smack the bunny clean and eat put it up. Perhaps i should check accuracy before next din din . only takes a few shots at the target. Heck they zeroed it at the warehouse.
neighbors got rats in feed . time to tweak .
Ignore me . im simply bored waiting on parts
Thanks for the comment. Would love to see some picks of your ratting setup!