Chipper #51 for the season, #4 for September

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Years ago, as kids we used to slay those grinnies up at camp. I'd grab the old Crosman 766 and a box of wad cutters and disappear for hours on end. Used to shoot em at my grandparents house too because they would destroy Grandma's flowers gardens. 

Then someone told the my dad they were a protected species here in PA. Don't know why, not like there isn't millions of em. So, no more chipmunk safaris at camp. Sad, sad ,day for a twelve year old. If they are doing damage it's different.

How are you liking the Fortitude? Looks like ya got it dialed in pretty well. Any issues with it? I was thinking about getting one for practice shooting and to shoot English sparrows inside my buddies barns. My other PCP is too powerful for inside the buildings.
 
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Years ago, as kids we used to slay those grinnies up at camp. I'd grab the old Crosman 766 and a box of wad cutters and disappear for hours on end. Used to shoot em at my grandparents house too because they would destroy Grandma's flowers gardens. 

Then someone told the my dad they were a protected species here in PA. Don't know why, not like there isn't millions of em. So, no more chipmunk safaris at camp. Sad, sad ,day for a twelve year old. If they are doing damage it's different.

How are you liking the Fortitude? Looks like ya got it dialed in pretty well. Any issues with it? I was thinking about getting one for practice shooting and to shoot English sparrows inside my buddies barns. My other PCP is too powerful for inside the buildings.
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For what I do, the Fortitude in .177 works fine. Here is a post (pasted below) where I give my thoughts and experience with it. You can also add that the grip butt cap fell off, not sure why? Also the stock butt cap broke off when I took a fall off of my porch. The stock butt cap snapped back on OK, but I could never get the grip butt cap to go back, however it is not a problem for me.

If you could still get one for what I paid, $232.49 including tax and shipping, I would recommend one. However, they raised the price quite a bit ($423.80) and the discounts I used back then are no longer available, although I have read that if you call Crosman you *may* still be able to get a discount. YMMV

I've had a .177 Fortitude Gen 2 for a little over a year now and here are my thoughts and experience with it.

The length of pull (LOP) is very short and the butt plate is slick/slippery. I added a slip on recoil pad which extended the LOP and added some grip.

The trigger does need attention. All I did was to lightly polish the contact points and did the 2 screw modification. Trigger is still not good, but it is usable and I have found that I can get used to just about any trigger with enough time and practice.

Something not mentioned very often is that the shroud MUST be centered in the barrel band! The barrel/shroud is supposed to be free floating and NOT touching the barrel band.

However…

If you put much pressure on the stock at the end nearest the muzzle, the pressure tube WILL make contact with the shroud and cause POI shifts. Unfortunately, this makes attaching a bipod by using the sling mount at that end of the stock useless. This problem shows up mainly when using a rest or a bipod, but I don't think it will affect most off-hand shooters as they will probably not be supporting the rifle out that far on the stock. I always use a rest of some sort and have gotten used to putting the part of the stock where the main screw/pressure gauge is located on the rest and not the end of the stock near the muzzle. This solves the problem, but took a little getting used to.

I can't tell you how many shots I get per fill because I never let the gun get much below 2500psi/about 30 shots before I refill it with a hand pump. Usually between 30 and 35 pumps.

Luckily for me, mine shoots the CPUM 10.5 pellets at 1 MOA or less out to 40-45 yards. Back when I had access to shoot out to 60 yards, it did just as well. Never tried it farther than 60 yards. I can't tell you how far I have my hammer spring turned in, but I shoot the CPUM 10.5 pellets @ ~755fps for ~12-13fpe at the muzzle.

The regulator on mine seems to work well, but I can't give you a spread sheet on the extreme spread. Last time I checked I think ES was around 15 or 20 fps and SD was probably about 5-7 fps but I only tested for the first 30 or 40 shots.. No regulator creep that I can tell. I can let the gun sit for long periods of time and the first shot is always on target.

Noise level is decently low. I wish it was a little lower, but I have not felt it necessary to put a moderator on it and if I do, it will be one I make myself.

Hope this helps.
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Oops, forgot to mention 2 other things that needed attention with my Fortitude.

The cheek rest is too low. I fixed this by using a length of foam pipe insulation fitted on the comb to raise it. I secured it with duct tape, but I have seen others have used zip ties to do it. Also, at least on mine, the bolt can swivel to the unlocked position very easily, especially if the gun is inverted. This can cause problems if you fire the gun while the bolt is unlocked like blowing out the breech O-ring, etc. I used a hair rubber band tied to the trigger guard and the bolt. Works perfectly. 

Neither of these fixes are what you would call pretty, but they work well and I am only concerned with the utility of the gun, not looks.
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Thank you for the input. Always nice to hear honest first hand 'reviews".The barrel band issue is something I was not aware of. Also kind of a deal breaker for me.
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I just now took the barrel band off completely for consistent shots. For some reason it became impossible to adjust it where the shroud was not touching it.

If this causes problems I will be sure to post about it, but so far all it has done is to get my consistent accuracy/precision back! (grin)
 
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Thank you for the input. Always nice to hear honest first hand 'reviews".The barrel band issue is something I was not aware of. Also kind of a deal breaker for me.
Click to expand...


I just now took the barrel band off completely for consistent shots. For some reason it became impossible to adjust it where the shroud was not touching it.

If this causes problems I will be sure to post about it, but so far all it has done is to get my consistent accuracy/precision back! (grin)
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Well, the problem was NOT the barrel band. It was the 4 screws that hold the breech block on the gun. They had become loose and THAT is what was causing the barrel/shroud to make contact with the barrel band and causing erratic behavior, but I didn't notice it until I took a fall recently, gun in hand (took a header off of my back porch) and apparently that shook it completely loose, although it took me over a week to recognize there was a problem and almost another week to find the real problem.

The barrel band is back in place and my accuracy is back, but I am still dialing in my longer shots for true precision. Missing by 1/4 inch on a chipmunk can mean the difference between a good clean kill and having to make a follow-up shot or simply losing the pest when it runs off wounded and I only count confirmed kills.

p.s.

I know this p.s. is a long time from the original post, but I just wanted to make sure that I did not mislead anyone. The problem with the pressure tube making contact and changing the POI is still a problem. The loose screws on the breech block were fixed, but the fact that putting pressure (and it doesn't take much) on the end of the stock nearest the muzzle WILL cause the POI to change is still a problem even on a new Fortitude with everything at factory standards. If the shroud is perfectly *centered* in the barrel band, it will cause the POI to go UP. If the shroud is not perfectly centered in the barrel band, the POI can shift in almost any direction. I can't see where the POI will ever change in a proportionally DOWN direction, but just about any other direction is in play.

If Crosman had not raised the price so dramatically on the Fortitude, I would still recommend it for those who want to pest out to 50 yards. However, at the prices Crosman is asking now? I can't recommend it. There are too many other options.

Here is the quote from my previous message:

However…

If you put much pressure on the stock at the end nearest the muzzle, the pressure tube WILL make contact with the shroud and cause POI shifts. Unfortunately, this makes attaching a bipod by using the sling mount at that end of the stock useless. This problem shows up mainly when using a rest or a bipod, but I don't think it will affect most off-hand shooters as they will probably not be supporting the rifle out that far on the stock. I always use a rest of some sort and have gotten used to putting the part of the stock where the main screw/pressure gauge is located on the rest and not the end of the stock near the muzzle. This solves the problem, but took a little getting used to.
Click to expand...
 
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