Am I Expecting too much from Crosman Pellets?

When I first started air gunning a little over a year ago I bought a Gamo Whisper Fusion Mach 1. I bought a few tins of 22 cal Crosman HP pellets at the local Walmart to get started. After I started shooting I was glad the cheap pellets did ok as I knew this was gonna be way different than shooting powder burners. I was shooting indoors and grouping 3/4 inch and figured that was ok to start. What did I know as I was new to the sport. As I shot more and more the groups tightened up but I still had fliers that I knew weren't my fault. I noticed that when a pellet dropped into the chamber there was a good chance it was going to fly left and high. This brought out the metric dial calipers and the sorting started. I found that the really bad fliers measured under 5.4mm. Some were as low as 5.25mm. If I measured the pellets and only shot 5.5mm or larger my groups shrunk to 3/8". I shot 15000 pellets the first year and at least 10000 were Crosman 14.3 gr. The thing is some tins ran 25 to 30% undersize pellets. The ones that were undersize were placed in a tin and when I got a full tin I took it back to Walmart and got a refund. I also started using H and N FTT 5.53mm. They shot great and no sorting required. The last batch of Crosman pellets I got were domed and I bought 6 tins from Walmart online. I opened the first tin and it ran 40% undersize. I took them back and got a refund and took a black marker and wrote defective/undersize on the paper card they are attached to. I recently bought a Marauder and decided to try some Crosmans I had in a tin that were measured and they shot one hole at 12 yards. So here we go again. I bought 1 tin of HP pellets at Walmart to try and I was amazed. Out of 500 pellets I got 9 pellets undersize. I went back and bought 2 more tins as that was all they had and measures some out of each tin and found less than 2% undersize. I waited till they got some more in and got 1 tin and the same. Less than 2% undersize so I went back and got 3 more tins and checked a few from each tin and they ran great as well. So my question is should I expect the Crosmans to be crap, since they cost less than half of what the H and N pellets do, or should I expect them to be 5.5mm as advertised? My thought is if they can do it with the pellets I am getting now they should be able to provide a pellet as good as what I have just bought. Just because it is not undersize doesn't mean it is anywhere close to the pellets that are twice as expensive but I do feel if I buy a pellet advertised to be 5.5mm that is what it should be with a few defectives in a tin of 500. I also wonder if I am the only guy who sends the undersize pellets back because if everyone sent the pellets back that were defective then just maybe Crosman would take a closer look at their quality control. Again I am not suggesting the Crosman domed and HP 14.3 gr. pellets should be the quality of H and N or JSB but I do feel if they can run 2% defect now they should have been able to do that in the past and should be able to do it in the future. And if because of people sending pellets back to Crosman they upped their game, a great big thank you to Crosman and to all that sent pellets back.
 
Seems like quite a lot of bother for 6.00/500 pellets. Your attempt to change the business model of Crosman is doomed to failure.



But hey, you need a hobby. Keep it up.

It is a bother for a tin of pellets which is why I stopped buying the Crosman pellets but if the defect rate was only 2% they would be great for the grand kids when they come over to shoot. With a defect rate of 2% I wouldn't measure, just let them shoot. I could also use them shooting indoors at twelve yards during the winter and off hand practice. As far as measuring, being retired affords me with more time than money so I can measure pellets while watching TV.
 
Crosman’s pellet quality began sliding about 5 years ago. At first I was cautiously optimistic it was just a temporary hiccup and they would get it sorted out. Half a decade later, I have to conclude it’s a feature, not a bug. Keep them on Walmart shelves alongside lesser pellets from Daisy and Gamo, and rely on name recognition and a $6 - $8 price point to sell as many as possible. Sadly, even the boxed pellets previously made for serious airgunners have suffered a similar decline.

interestingly enough, my experience has been that they are oversized and have pronounced flashing and parting lines...all characteristics associated with using dies well beyond their useful life.
 


I think you are right. To expect the quality to run as I have found recently may be pushing it a bit. I am glad however that I tried them again after not buying any for several months. I think I will continue to buy one tin when they come into my local Walmart and check 20 or so for head size and if they seem ok I will buy more from that batch. I just measured a tin of 500 and got 8 undersize but not terrible. They were all 5.4mm or larger. Not bad at all for the price. Also with those results I will not measure as I am shooting them in a break barrel at the time and if undersize I can tell when inserting the pellet in the chamber. I still wonder what happened to change the consistency of the pellet size. I'll probably never know.
 
I have noticed I have better luck shooting crosman pellets out of crosman guns then say shoot crosman pellets threw a gamo. Interesting note. I have seen lots of vids, articles, and forum post stating that threw their crosman gun, the only other pellet that shoots better than crosman are jsb and by a very small amount. Look threw some of Tom's reviews of crosman guns
 
I purchased some Crosman pellets for a 22 pump build I am doing for my daughter. I could put a pallet in the barrel and blow through it and the pellet would come out the other end. That's sad! Especially when you consider I have COPD and don't breathe very well. I'll just order some h and n or jsb pellets soon

I hear where you are coming from. Some tins are fine with only a few undersize pellets. I have had tins with high % of undersize pellets and some measuring as small as 5.2mm. I bought several tins from Walmart online a few months ago and they were terrible. I started a return and they refunded my money and did not want the defective pellets returned. The ones I buy over the counter that are undersize I take back to Walmart and get a refund.
 
Is the OP buying pellets to measure them or to shoot?

I choose not to shop at Walmart for the reasons laid out by the OP. IF you choose to shop at Walmart you have zero moral high ground. Especially when it comes to "demanding" some level of quality higher than you are willing to pay.

That said, I find Crosman wadcutters to group better with fewer fliers than the other pellets I've tried, regardless of brand.

I don't know how the OP is ignorant of this or how many other people don't know this but Walmart products are the bottom tier by Walmart intent. Manufacturers, at the behest of Walmart corporate, cheapen their Walmart offerings to the nth degree. Nobody shops at Walmart for the high quality merchandise. They shop Walmart because it's cheap.

If you want a quality product for your money stop shopping at Walmart.
 
Is the OP buying pellets to measure them or to shoot?

I choose not to shop at Walmart for the reasons laid out by the OP. IF you choose to shop at Walmart you have zero moral high ground. Especially when it comes to "demanding" some level of quality higher than you are willing to pay.

That said, I find Crosman wadcutters to group better with fewer fliers than the other pellets I've tried, regardless of brand.

I don't know how the OP is ignorant of this or how many other people don't know this but Walmart products are the bottom tier by Walmart intent. Manufacturers, at the behest of Walmart corporate, cheapen their Walmart offerings to the nth degree. Nobody shops at Walmart for the high quality merchandise. They shop Walmart because it's cheap.

If you want a quality product for your money stop shopping at Walmart.

You obviously have a problem with Walmart which is between you and Walmart. I merely stated I bought the pellets at Walmart. Crosman pellets can be bought at Pyramid Air as well as many reputable dealers including directly from Crosman. I simply asked if I was expecting too much from Crosman, not Walmart. I humbly apologize for my lack of moral high ground as well. But again this post is about pellets and not retailers which you must have missed when reading and looking for a post to crap on.
 
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No, I'm just not ignorant.

You can believe whatever you choose. The reality is Walmart doesn't stock quality, they stock cheap. The fact that Walmart stocks brand names you recognize is intentional, but it doesn't mean the products on Walmart shelves are the same quality as Pyramyd Air stocks. Walmart doesn't hide this, and it is fundamental to their business.

You can either educate yourself or pretend everyone else is just a meanie when reality clashes with your worldview. I think you and I both know which way you tend.
 
I have found the CPHP shoots quite well in my rifles, acceptable for backyard pesting for sure and at such a price point I use them to trim tree branches.



One thing this subject sadly brought to light is the unpleasant insults pointed at the OP, ?? Even in this somewhat small group of folks in a niche hobby there exists those that hide behind a keyboard to be unnecessarily rude and derogatory for no real reason than perhaps to make their own self feel superior. Kudos though for you attempts to shroud them with creative use of words. 



To the OP I found it interesting that you provided facts to back up what I for on have suspected regarding CPHP pellets. 
 
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