Crosman 2100 vs Daisy 880

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22junkie

Member
Nov 2, 2015
80
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Georgia, United States
I can't remember what my original reason for buying a Daisy 880 was, but it was probably a weight issue. My HW95 is heavy to me and I feel like this is a hindrance to my shooting fun. I have a single pump pneumatic Avanti 753 and 853 and like them, but thought a little more speed would be nice. So, one day in Walmart I saw the 880 for $45 and took it home. It shoots RWS Superdomes and pointed pellets very well and I usually just plink at 50 yards with 6 or 8 pumps. It doesn't get harder the more you pump it. It is about the same on the 8th pump as it is on the 1st, so it doesn't tire you out. The only thing I have done to my 880 is take the barrel sleeve off and wrapped some tape around the muzzle and put the sleeve back on. That did seem to have a positive impact on accuracy.
Lately I was thinking it might be nice to try out the Crosman 2100 since the power levels are supposed to be similar and I found one for $60 including shipping and it came this morning. I'm underwhelmed at this early stage. I can easily pump the 880 10 times but the Crosman 2100 gets harder with each pump so I really have to begin fighting it on pump number 6. It looks nice enough and reminds me of the old Remington Nylon 66 Mohawk Brown, but the cocking effort is brutal for anyone who isn't pretty strong, so this rules out women and I think quite a few men would find the cocking effort takes the fun out of shooting it.
So, my point is that if you are considering a low cost multi pump that you can shoot all afternoon, the 880 may be the one you want. The Daisy trigger isn't as good as the trigger on the Crosman and the build quality very nice for a gun in this price range. When I was in high school my dad bought me a Sheridan Silver Streak and this gun reminds me of that wrestling match and why I didn't take to it.
 
I bought both of these guns a few years ago. My son was getting old enough to shoot by himself and I also wanted to compare both of these popular pumpers.

I came to the same conclusion, the 880 is the better overall package. Not what I expected, but I still own the 880 and the 2100 is gone.

Both are fun to shoot/plink, but any of my HW springers are far more accurate.

R
 
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The first gun of any kind that I shot was a Daisy 880 in the mid 1980s. That was not new then; it had a metal receiver and everything was well-finished. I think they were about a $100 gun back then, and $100 in 80s money is a lot more than that in today's money. I wish I had that gun, still.

I had a 760 Pumpmaster in the later 80s, and my brother had a PowerMaster. As you said, the Crosmans get harder to pump as you go. I think the Daisy did too, it's just that the 880's design has SO much more leverage it is not readily perceptible.

Today, the 880s have plastic receivers, which tend to crack over time from pumping stresses. I think the 2100 stil has a metal receiver, which is worth something. But it's harder to pump, which means it won't get shot as much and also harder to load, so I'd take my chance on the Daisy or maybe try to find an old one and rebuild it.

BTW - I have a Daisy 953 and I love it. Very accurate and a neat, simple 5-shot clip design. Only issue with it is that it doesn't cut clean holes in normal paper; you need a fresh backer board or fancy target paper. Awesome plinker though! I find myself reaching for the HW30s instead; It's triple the power for more range and feels like about the same amount of effort, and with a much better trigger. Same accuracy at close range too. Still made of steel and wood, but triple the price.
 
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I spent a while researching this trade off before buying my first gun, and I also went with the daisy 880. For $36 + tax at walmart its really hard to beat. I had some back and forth conversations with the Airgun Evolution youtube channel guy, and he strongly recommended the 880 over the crosman 2100 for the same reasons you mentioned - easier to pump, cheaper, but otherwise pretty similar. I moded my 880 trigger by sanding down the sear, and now it's great. I did ruin one trigger though by sanding too much off, if you take off too much then the safety will no longer engage. 

Interesting that the above said the HW30 is triple the power, I'm getting 8 ft/lbs, 600fps with 10 pumps on my 880. But I thought the HW30 only gets 5ft/lbs?


 
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I own both of these guns and while I do agree that the Crossman is more difficult to pump, I feel that it (the Crossman) is a superior air rifle because of its build. Take apart both of them and you will see, there are more metal parts in the Crossman and I feel a better-designed mechanism. I had to take apart the Daisy because it stopped firing and found the C clip on the end of the stopper shaft was gone. A difficult part to replace which has rendered this beautiful air rifle useless until I source this 20 cent c-clip. The trigger release on the Crossman is a better-designed mechanism and the parts are heftier than the Daisy. 
 
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I had both of these guns in the 80s and both were metal recievers....the crosman 2100 was for sure more powerful but they both were equal In Accuracy dept. Back then the best pump rifle to have is the sheridan 20 cal which I finally bought and it was worth the $130 I paid new for it :)....the daisy was 39.99 and crosman was $10 more at Kmart back then.
 
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